Bummed

[Nancy Joy]

OK, I should maybe be excited but I am really bummed out today. I had my "whatever" check up (5 months from 1st surgery, 4 from 2nd) and probably asked too many questions. Everything is looking great and I am doing very well from a medical stand point. That IS a relief and good to hear. BUT, and I knew the answer but was praying differently. No horse riding- definitely not until a year has passed and then questionable. Ok, I can begrudingly accept that as it is dealing with an animal. Then I asked about jet skiing figuring that would be no problem. It was a definite NO! I am really having a hard time with that one as I could always have control of the situation- you know, go 5 mph if I had to. These lumbar fusions are very limiting because your ability to twist is gone as well as bending. I definitely notice it when driving (is anyone coming from that direction????). I will get over this but I decided to whine to those who will understand. My lifestyle has always been soooooo active and I have to remember how limited it had become before surgery and that is why I did this. Thanks for letting me vent. (0h, I stopped there with questions cause I didn't want anymore "no's". He did lift weight restriction to 15 lbs. which I can't do yet if I try!!)

[LynnMarie74]

NancyJoy,
Im so sorry to hear about your restrictions & feel free to vent away...we all do it and we are all here for each other. Lord only knows Ive done my fair share! Did he rule out cross country sking? There is swimming...which it good for you and fun. You can do alot w/15 lbs free weights too, right? Maybe this will open up a whole new world of unexplored activities for you....a chance to try new stuff. Not that this is the same by any means, but I was really bummed out when I was told I had to wear a heal lift (forever) in my shoes as my right leg was longer than the other. I love my heels, strappy sexy sandles and flip flops! I was mortified & really upset about loosing 99% of my shoe collection!! I vented & cried. I ended up just accepting it & finding other shoes I found to be acceptable. lol But...I guess I got lucky(again, using lucky loosely and becuz I dont have a better word! lol) as I was never really that "active". Other than the occasional bowling, darts, pool & Wii sports(LOL that counts, right?! lol) the only outdoorsie stuff I do regularly is camping...that I will miss this summer as I cant see myself sleeping in a tent on the ground...no thanks. Enough about me.....I hope you feel better about everything and Im so happy to hear your check up/follow up apt "medically" went well. That is ALWAYS excellent news! Take care of yourself & have a good weekend!!!!

[debbei]

Nancy Joy,

I"m so glad that medically everything is good. I'm so sorry about the restrictions. It must be hard to hear for things you love so much. Did he say that after a while you could jet ski?

I'm just a boring chicken and did none of those things before surgery, so I don't miss anything now. I used to 'Shop for Sport' but I'm restricted from doing that now due to lack of a job.

[Pooka1]

No horse riding- definitely not until a year has passed and then questionable.

Wow. Sorry about that.

What kind of riding did you do if I may be so bold?

There are moving sofas out there with smooth trots and rocking horse canters that might not stress your back. The ones with smooth trots command a higher price of course in the non-gaited breeds.

[marmyte]

nancy i have to say i'm surprised your doctor has floated the idea of "no riding ever". i was diagnosed when i was 14 and the prospect of mentioned back then, but my surgeon is very much a worst case scenario kind of guy and the things he said to me improved a lot over time.

in the end, he gave me permission to get back on a horse at 7 weeks post op! i was so surprised that i nearly fell off my chair. i was 18 when i had surgery, just an anterior release and fusion. at that appointment he gave me permission to drive and told me to start swimming, but kept contact sports banned (which i wasn't bothered about). he knew i'd ridden since i was 4 and was happy to let me get back in the saddle, and told me to stick to canter work as it's smoother than trotting. oh and he said i wasn't allowed to jump (i jumped for the first time at 6 months post op) but off i went and got back on.

i'm fused to L3 and i think the only riding thing i couldn't manage would be to mount from the ground, as i just don't have that sort of stretch in my lumbar spine anymore.

good luck with your recovery, i hope that you'll be able to get back on eventually. even if you can't ride a horse maybe you'd be allowed to learn to drive them? that's always something i've wanted to learn.

[Singer]

Nancy, I believe different surgeons have different restrictions, and you probably happen to have a relatively conservative one. I think we all need to balance risk against quality of life and think hard about what it is we really want to do.

Lumbar fusions really are the kicker when it comes to loss of mobility and restrictions...and it was a surprise to me post-op as well. It took me a while to realize that surgery did not make everything "all better" -- it made everything different while it stabilized the curve. Some things for me are better post-op and some things are now beyond me (like digging a garden -- something I used to love).

Personally, I think going 5 m.p.h. in a jet ski in calm water would probably be okay!

[asccbodypro]

Nancy,

Sorry to hear about your restricitons not being lifted. I am having my surgery April 15 and gave up weight training (was a bodybuilder) due to the pain I was having. It will be interesting to see when I will be alowed to start really lifting weights again post-op. Keep in mind that I don't lift as much weight as I use to while I was training for competitions. I would just like to do it without pain What kind of curve did you have? I am assuming by your fusion you had a lumbar curve. god luck and remember, good things come to those who wait....so they say)

[Nancy Joy]

I thank all of you for your kind words. The more I thought about it, after his "no" was an afterthought of "at least not until a year has passed". To answer some questions- We raise, buy, train and sell horses so always have between 10-30 or so.

Pooka1.- I used to ride in an Equine drill team and love to team sort. I know those would be out of the question so my hubby bought me a beautiful western pleasure mare last month who is smooth as silk. I have done some very light riding the last 10 years as that was when I had to start giving up a lot of things. I just want to trail ride and goof. I thought his comment would be the jolting and I had my argument ready but it was the twisting and general motion he had a problem with.

Marmyte- My daughter had surgery when she was 13. She told me yesterday the Dr. had told her it would be a year before she could ride also. I forgot that as she was riding with his blessing at about 12 weeks. She said yes but she healed so fast.

Chris- I agree on the jet ski. I didn't ask to go out and hot dog like I always do. That was one activity that actually made me feel great- I think it must have stretched muscles without putting strain on my back. I will probably test that one anyway. and yes, I thought all would just be hunky dory for the rest of my life- now that was obviously a little naive but I am not one to ever give up!

Susan, I have never been a professional body builder but have the weight bench, every excersize video made, etc. Since my weight restriction went up I am going to start doing at least some light arm work and build up gradually as they are nothing but skin and bone now- no muscle!!

Since I quit asking questions, I rode a 4 wheeler yesterday- very carefully!!!! My hubby took pictures I didn't know he was taking. (oh, he made me sell my motorcycle!- that was probably very wise but hated doing it) I am mentally better than I was when I posted but you all sure have helped and I am happy I did vent so you could encourage me. Thanks so very much.