Great recovery

[KleinJ]

I’ve been reading about different issues with medication and post op complications. I hope you all don’t mind but I would like to offer a really positive experience for those thinking about or waiting for surgery. Everyone’s experience and perspective is unique and I certainly do not want to diminish anyone else’s pain.

I am 4 weeks post op today. My week long hospital stay was tough from what you would expect - pain, IV, nausea, blood loss, getting the intestines to work…

I was prescribed Tylenol with codeine because everything else they gave me caused me to get sick. The second and third week all I needed was 2 pills before bedtime and an occasional pill during the day. Now I’m off all meds.

Week 2 – I went to the hospital to have my staples removed. I walked from the parking lot through the lobby and to the doctor’s office. I was able to walk around the block two times. I started sleeping through the night with a break sometimes to eat a bowl of cereal. I was really famished this second week.

Week 3 – I walked the kids to school (they asked me to wear a shirt over my brace). I also went to my office for a couple of hours to see colleagues and to go through the mail.

Week 4 - I went to Costco with my mom and to the mall with a friend. Both were short trips but I felt fine. A few curious women asked about the brace. I overheard some different women at the grocery store talking about my “weight loss” device. I didn’t bother to inform them of the surgery. I might try driving today without the kids in the car.

I’m not lifting more than 10 pounds and I need to wait another month before my doctor says I can start PT. Mentally, physically and spiritually I feel like a new woman. My hip pain caused from my rotated spine is gone as is my rib hump. I show my straight x rays to everyone who comes to visit. I am experiencing some discomfort from the bone graft (sacral iliac) but it is not interfering with day to day life. Compared to my back and hip pain before surgery it is very manageable.

Maybe this type of recovery is because my fusion is shorter (T10-L4) or because it was just posterior. I started out with a 55 degree thoracolumbar curve and a 45 degree thoracic compensatory curve. Now my structural curve is 6 degrees and the compensatory curve is almost gone. I’m 41 and I’m looking forward to living the second half of my life pain and deformity free.

Best to all of you,
Jody

[flowerpower]

Wow, what an amazing recovery! Did you do anything to prepare for surgery, like physically or nutritionally?

Hope all continues to go well in the recovery process...

Renee

[lelc2002@yahoo]

yes-excellent recovery...all the best to you, Lynne

[suzyjay]

That's great. I feel better when I hear stories like yours. I wish you continued success in your recovery.

Sue

[twisted07]

thankx

it's really good to her that your surgery went well and you are doing fine i'm waiting,my curve is 85 degree just to hear that you are walking good make me happy that's the problem i'm having also the hip, back and leg pain. keep us updated

[CHRIS WBS]

Well, that's certainly a refreshing commentary. Hearing about all the pain associated with this surgery can get pretty unnerving. Continued good healing to you.

Chris

[abhbarry]

That is great. Yes, we all have different experiences and different lengths of fusions, which makes a difference. My fusion is from T4-L3. I am just over 3 weeks post-op and am walking at least 1/2 mile each day. I also went to the mall last night for a very short time (the car ride from my house to the mall is under 5 minutes). It was great to get outside, but I still would not want to do that on a daily basis.

I still can't sleep through the night. I'm up every hour to two hours needing to be turned over, mostly because of hip pain. Is anyone else experiencing this post-op?

Best,
Anya

[SoonerSonia]

This is so great to read. I'm having surgery tomorrow morning and I'm just starting to freak out. Up until now the "what if's" stayed out but they are starting to creep in just a bit. Congrats on such a successful recovery!

[Suzy]

Hi Jody,

I am so glad you posted your great recovery. I felt as though I was re reading my own recovery. I too am fused T10 to L4 and was 43 at the time of surgery. I was 49* lumbar and now 8*. Let me tell you it gets even better. At 16 months out I sometimes forget I ever had surgery. I haven't found but one thing that reminds me that I did have surgery and that is turning to check my blind spot while driving. (I can't quite twist around enough.) The pain I had is gone as well as my hump and I have my life back! I hope you will stay on the forum and keep everyone up dated on your great recovery. Best wishes, Suzy

[LEELEE85]

Thats so good to hear about you good recovery.

Anya - I am going through what you are i wake up during the night cause i start too feel uncomfortable and i toss and turn through out the whole night. My hip pain so now gone. My pain is all in my ribs cos i had anterior as well.

Can anyone tell me when the rib pain goes away and when your stomach doesn't feel so tender to touch???

I am nearly 5 wks post op on monday.


Lee

[Shari]

Hi Jody,

Congratulations on your great recovery and thank you for sharing such a positive experience here!!!

You will never know how many people you have helped with your encouraging recovery!!!

Keep on posting!!! There's value in your words, especially to those contemplating having this surgery.

Shari

[AlmostNinja]

wow, that is so amazing! you are all so tough and inspiring!

i had my surgery dec 14th of 2006. about 7 months ago. 75 degree kiphosis reduced to 30 degrees, and 55 degree scoliosis reduced to 18 degrees.

everything went so smoothly, and i'm thankful every day that i had the surgery, it really changed my life. i don't even notice the rods.

but i've just been so uneasy about getting back to my old self. just hearing that you drove so soon is amazing. it took me 6 months to work up the nerve to drive. I've been scared to go swimming, or ride a bike.

I'm just such a clumsy person, trip and fall ALL the time. i get so distracted. i used to trip down the stairs at least once a month.

2 months after my surgery i slipped and fell on the ice, and i thought my rods were going to snap off, but they didn't.

i hope i can get back to my old crazy outgoing self.

thanks to everyone for all your inspiring posts!

[rainbow2010]

When I had my first surgery back in 1975, all I was allowed to have was morphine for three days post-op. No pain meds after that. I was taught relaxation methods to help control the pain. My daughter used tylenol with codine for about a week after she got home from the hospital and no other pain medicine. She learned how to relax her body and control the pain. It isn't much different than natural childbirth techniques. I guess I am against pain meds, because I grew up around law enforcement and saw what alcohol and drug addictions can do to people.

[Janet]

Clumsy??

AlmostNinja

Other than the unfortunate slip & fall on ice, are you still tripping & falling post-surgery? Maybe you are not really clumsy but your center of gravity was way off pre-surgery.

I have extreme kyphosis. For most of my adult life I've been unsteady & often fall when I trip - I can't regain my balance once I start to tip forward. This has gotten worse in recent years: I've landed on & bruised my face & broke my glasses, landed on my upper arm / shoulder & messed up my rotator cuff, etc. When hiking I fell down a ravine; I don't hike anymore.

The point is that I always thought I was clumsy. When I was evaluated by Dr. Boachie earlier this year, we talked about my center of gravity being not where it is supposed to be, which affects my balance. Hopefully surgery will address that.

Is your balance improving?