How was physical therapy at first & weaning off meds.

[Suzy]

Hi All, I will be stepping in to a new phase of recovery soon and am looking for HONEST answers. Really I can take it! I am 10 weeks post-op and have reduced pain meds to 2-3 Norco a day, 1/2 5mg valium 2x a day. I will cut my 50 mg. morphine patch by 1/2 next week. I go to 3 month check up in 2 1/2 weeks and will (maybe?) start P.T. Did you need more pain meds to get through P.T. at first? I know when I reduce the morphine patch my Dr. told me to expect I will need a bit more pain med to get through it. I want to know how you weaned your self off the pain meds while increasing the activities. I hate what the meds are doing to me. No appetite,constipation and stomach ache. Ugh. This continues though I keep reducing my meds. I started to drink nutritional supplements as I can't seem to get any weight to come back. (I added 5lbs for good measure before surgery,have lost it plus another 13lbs) A lot of people say this is one heck of a diet plan,I agree! I felt GREAT on Sunday and did a few more things around the house then normal and ended up in bed most of Mon. How did you work through it all? Suzy----- Surgery 2/22/06 T10 to L4 49* now 8*

[JoAnn5]

hi suzy.... first of all, hugs to you cause i remember those days too well!! You are on different meds than i had, so i'm not sure what to tell you about weaning off them... I never had morphine after i left the hospital. I had oxycontin for a couple of weeks, then it was changed to hydrocodone, mainly so the dr's office could phone-in the prescription to my pharmacist. Then gradually the dosage of that was reduced. Muscle relaxants stayed the same, but i hardly take them any more now at 6 months out... When i was doing PT, though, i'd get tight, crampy muscles and would have to take something at night to be able to lie in the bed. Just trust your dr and take what you have to have.... there is plenty of time later to worry about weaning off the meds when your pain is more managable.

I've done exactly the same thing as you by feeling so good and doing too much... then paying for it the next day... Like that old song ... "Time is on our side". Relax, vegg out, and try not to worry about things... Drink lots of water!! There is also a great laxative that is very gentle that maybe you can ask your dr about prescribing for you called Glycolax... it's very gentle but effective... its a powder you mix in liquid... i put mine in my first coffee every morning. It isn't gritty or a fiber-type thing either... you can use it daily forever if need be.... My 86 yr old mother had hip-replacement and was having some problems... i told her about this Glycolax and she asked the dr for some and has had no worries since then... It's really a good thing (as Martha Stewart would say...lol)

[sweetness514]

Hi Suzy,

As you know all our recoveries are unique and so are the meds our doctors give us. I was only given some Codeine meds for three weeks, and after taking some more prescribed by my family doc, I was off them at a little over one month post op. At that time only took some Tylenol for a few weeks, and was wrongly prescribed NSAIDS that I stopped taking after a few weeks also for other bad symptoms(my family doc didn't realize they are very bad for the fusion). I continued taking my sleep aid called Imovane 7.5 mg, it helped me relax my muscles at night. Didn't do any PT until years later(that helped my neck but nothing else really), and walked everyday instead and went to the pool after a month and a half post op(first walked in the pool and then started swimming). Even if I was not on meds in the day, I was in pain for a year at least post op, felt more normal after two years. I just rested when I needed to, and had a lot of patience...That's my experience and I wish you luck with the rest of your recovery.