greetings; i'm new here. impending surgery slated for may 20. i need support.

[Back-out]

Welcome back to the land of the living, home of the (pain)free. Well, if not quite the latter, at least - I echo Jess's amazement - narcotics-free.

Yes, DO be sure about that ibuprofen dosage. NSAIDS are said to retard bone fusion but maybe that's more a concern for fogies like me. Then too, perhaps your doc evaluated your bone density and whatever else is involved and figured the trade off was worth it, especially if it's temporary.

Wouldn't fret about that lumbar correction . As a percent of what you'd hoped (50% less) it sounds like a lot, but 15 degrees is really very low. Speaking as one with 60 deg lumbar if it hasn't increased since the last reading in March.

It certainly is a HUGE plus to be off narcotics already. Don't know whether I'm dreading the surgery per se more or the pain meds dependence (and then withdrawal). I've been detoxed before from a super high dose and it's one of my worst memories (and I've got a bunch). You're way ahead of the game, not having that ahead of you.

The bubble deal is new to me, but it makes perfect sense and Hey, what do I know? So much was done, sculpting you. I used to be a sculptor and I picture this surgery as a work of sculpture - since to succeed it has to be planned and rendered three-D. In fact, there's a 4th dmension to be factored in too - Time. They have to understand how the corrections will settle in over that axis too.

I picture your bubble as what is so often left in the clay after a figure is modeled over the armature - the rods and screws, etc. Since you don't have to be "Fired" in a kiln (which would make it explode ) you'll be OK!

Major congratulations! You're a trouper. I have a son your age, and he was showing signs of scoliosis a few years back. I definitely need to have a look at him again when he's home next. Especially from what I've read about curves being missed in adolescence - that, plus heredity.

How are you with the computer? I expect with modern PC usage, more guys will develp scoliosis from vairations on the PC sprawl/slump. I worry about my son's computer "hump" - he's an addict, like so many these days. Do you use one much? Was just reading about ergonomic seating at the PC. I really need to adjust his chair/desk/monitor relationships and my own too (shutting barn door after horse etc., there)

Hopefully, since he's taking a year off college, he'll be able to be around when I have the op. (But my S.I.L. had BETTER come through for the intimate stuff! Can you imagine helping your mom shower? I thought so...)

Rah Rah YOU! (Nosy - what's your major?)

Amanda-Mom (me and Rohrer )

[Confusedmom]

has anybody ever heard of an air bubble being trapped under the skin/muscle following surgery?

EDIT: forgot one question! since i'm fused to l4, does that mean my l5 disc will automatically degenerate as i get older, since it is bearing the brunt of my weight now? i used to be an avid runner; now i'm afraid i won't be able to run anymore because the impact of the activity will destroy my remaining discs.

Congratulations on your surgery! What a relief to be home and already off the narcotics!!

When I had my gallbladder removed I had pain in my shoulders that they said was air remaining in my abdomen. Apparently they had to inflate my lungs during anesthesia and some of the air stayed in. I gather it is kind of common, though I don't know if this is the same kind of air you are experiencing. Anyway, it did go away in a couple of weeks. They actually said I could use gas medicine to help reduce it.

On the fusing to L4 question, my surgeon did tell me that my L5 disc would likely degenerate over time (he has proposed fusion to L4). I guess they hope that we will just get by, but there is always the possibility of a second surgery. But nothing in the near term--I gathered it would be several years--so rest easy and just focus on recovering from this one!

Evelyn

[rohrer01]

Welcome home, Sacket!!!

I'm really impressed that you don't need narcotics! Don't try to be a man too much though if your pain gets bad. It's better to address it and be able to keep active than to let it get out of control - from personal experience even though I haven't had this particular surgery, I live with pain.

I'm surprised to hear that you are fused T4 - L4. I thought you were going to have only the lumbar done. Did he do it for cosmetic reasons? Good deal for you! Better done now than have to return for another surgery.

My question to you is did you have anterior and posterior? The reason I ask is how did the air bubble get in there unless you had your abdomen opened? From what I know about the body, the air bubble will be absorbed by your body, although I would expect it to have been gone by now. Not trying to worry you, maybe it was really BIG. Gosh, that would hurt! I've had air trapped in my diaphragm before, no fun.

Well, I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I have been checking this thread frequently over the last week waiting to hear news from you. I'm glad that everything is okay, and 15* is great! That size of curve wouldn't even put doctors in the worry category. Congratulations on your successful surgery!!!

[sacket]

hello, friends! thank you for following up with my thread and for the congratulations as well.

today has been pretty rough--i've been having EXTREME amounts of abdominal bloating for no apparent reason other than as some weird after-effect of surgery.

I'm a bit concerned about the high dosage of Ibuprofen though, because I thought anti-inflammatories were a no-no for fusion surgery.

uh-oh, something new to worry about! luckily, i have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon this thursday (two days from now), so i will ask him then and hopefully clear this all up.

Are you walking every day? To me, that is the important part about recovery, if you possibly can.

i have been walking every day. i tend to get out of breath and tired quickly, mainly because i am so bloated that i feel about eight months pregnant. in fact, i would say that between the back pain and the abdominal discomfort, the abdominal discomfort is worse. hopefully it'll all get better in time. it has been a struggle just to eat because i feel so bloated. luckily though i have had NO nausea/vomiting to date.

picture your bubble as what is so often left in the clay after a figure is modeled over the armature - the rods and screws, etc. Since you don't have to be "Fired" in a kiln (which would make it explode ) you'll be OK!

nice metaphor. i figured it was just some air that slipped in when my back was opened up, then got trapped when they sealed me up again.

How are you with the computer? I expect with modern PC usage, more guys will develp scoliosis from vairations on the PC sprawl/slump.

i did used to use the computer a lot, though not so much anymore. my posture is probably worse from it, but i never used to lean to one side or anything that would cause scoliosis; at least i don't think i have. i've had slight scoliosis for as long as i can remember; only a few years ago did it get worse, and i'm pretty sure the computer wasn't a factor in its progression.

Rah Rah YOU! (Nosy - what's your major?)

i am double-majoring in food/nutrition and psychology. :]

On the fusing to L4 question, my surgeon did tell me that my L5 disc would likely degenerate over time (he has proposed fusion to L4). I guess they hope that we will just get by, but there is always the possibility of a second surgery.

scary! but i still plan to stay active, and all i can do is hope that orthopaedic surgeons have perfected a minimally-invasive disc replacement surgery if/when i start having problems with l5. :]

My question to you is did you have anterior and posterior?

just posterior. which makes all these abdominal problems all the more elusive...

I'm glad that everything is okay, and 15* is great! That size of curve wouldn't even put doctors in the worry category.

yay! and it may be even less; that was just an estimate from the surgeon when i asked him. when i go in this thursday, i'll be getting my official post-op x-rays from which he'll make a more accurate cobb reading.

thanks all and talk to you soon! i'll let you know how it goes this thursday.

[jrnyc]

wow.....sacket, i thought you had front and back surgery...so you are that bloated from posterior only!?! i didnt know that could happen!
surgeons are getting better with all kinds of minimally invasive...that they can do minimally invasive approach for lumbar now is amazing to me...i am sure if (though hopefully not) you need more surgery in 20 years, it will be alot better than now...all of medicine seems to be improving...with time...

feel better soon...i hope the discomfort goes away...be sure to ask your surgeon about that, and the meds, on thursday!

jess

[LynetteG]

I'm 8 weeks post op, and I was terribly bloated and looked pregnant too the first four weeks. Now my stomach is flat. So it will get better

[foofer]

Sackett!

Welcome to the forum, congratulations on your successful surgery, and hello...(just catching up with a couple weeks- you got in on the game just before your surgery, didn't you?)

After reading posts for several months, it sure seems like bloating,etc is just a part of it. By now, you are probably better. Seems like the digestive system and other bodily functions just go on standby, waiting to take their turn.

Anyway, it's nice to see someone just drop in, get operated on, and be fine, so thanks for being here....

[sacket]

...i am sure if (though hopefully not) you need more surgery in 20 years, it will be alot better than now...all of medicine seems to be improving...with time...

i hope i never need a disc replacement! any tips to guard against disc degeneration? am i too young to start on glucosamine/chondroitin? i'm sure stuff like yoga helps too, but we'll see if i'm even flexible enough for yoga once my back heals.

be sure to ask your surgeon about that, and the meds, on thursday!

yes, i will DEFINATELY be asking about the bloating, the meds, and that mysterious air bubble tomorrow. when i called to schedule my follow up, they originally wanted me to come in on july 1! i said no way! a whole month!? i'm not waiting a whole month to get some answers! so they got me in for tomorrow (thursday), and i consider myself VERY lucky that i have an opportunity to get some of these issues addressed now instead of having to wait in misery.

I'm 8 weeks post op, and I was terribly bloated and looked pregnant too the first four weeks. Now my stomach is flat. So it will get better

yay! this is good to know! finally, once the bloating goes down, i'll be able to ditch the oversized t-shirts! this is a lot to look forward to.

Welcome to the forum, congratulations on your successful surgery, and hello...(just catching up with a couple weeks- you got in on the game just before your surgery, didn't you?)

thank you foofer. and yes, i came in pretty last-minute.

Anyway, it's nice to see someone just drop in, get operated on, and be fine, so thanks for being here....

thank YOU for being here too. :]

[sacket]

is anybody still around? ;]

well, as you all know, i met with my surgeon on thursday. i am so glad that you all mentioned about the ibuprofen slowing bone fusion--apparently what had happened was that after i said NO MORE NARCOTICS, the hospitalist prescribed me ibuprofen for pain without consulting with my surgeon; i guess she didn't know it could slow bone fusion, and of course i had no idea at the time. but yes, as it turns out, it is a "no-no" for fusion surgeries.

now i am on 1000 mg acetaminophen as needed. my surgeon also gave me a prescription for darvocet, but i'm too scared to take it after all the bad things i've heard and my fear of becoming dependent. plus, i've been off narcotics for this long (i stopped morphine after day 5 in the hospital), so i figure why start up again?

the pain is bearable. i went out to lunch on thursday, and yesterday i went shopping with my family, so i think i'm doing comparatively alright. today i worked out in the garden, and tonight i am cooking dinner for everyone. i bend at the knees and pelvis, and so far that's been working out really well. i also take 1/2 mile walks every day at dusk. i feel fortunate that i can go out at all and that i'm not homebound.

yes, i was fused from t5 to l4. my surgeon says he is glad he fused my thoracic curve as well as the lumbar. originally he'd thought i had a primary lumbar curve and a flexible, compensatory thoracic curve, but once he opened up my back and started fusing the lumbar curve, he realized that the thoracic curve was much more structural than he'd thought. i guess that makes mine a double major curve?

anyway, i'm elated with the result. i got my cobb angles measured on thursday too. he had a hard time measuring them exactly because he said they are almost undetectable. the lumbar curve is only 8 degrees! that's not even considered scoliotic! it feels wonderful to have a straight back. i know i'm taller, but i haven't measured myself yet. i will get back to you all when i know for sure.

my surgeon said the mysterious air bubble should go down in time, but that he wants to do another ct scan in two weeks to make sure. really, though, the last thing i want is MORE radiation. in the past year, i've had three ct scans, dozens and dozens of x-rays, and the fluoroscopy during my surgery. i'm probably destined to get cancer later in life, but that's okay, because i'm not going to worry about that now, and it's not a death sentence.

luckily, the abdominal bloating i complained about earlier seems to be subsiding. slowly. very slowly. today i wore a more fitted t-shirt and didn't look as pregnant. :]

so, barring that weird air bubble, everything is going well, and my surgeon seemed impressed with my relatively quick recovery. i go back to see him on july 1.

hope you all are doing well. have a safe rest of the weekend.

[jrnyc]

hi sacket
glad you checked out those meds! safe than sorry, etc...

you sound as if you doing fantastically well! congratulations...and keep healing!

jess

[Fingers Crossed]

Wow! I am absolutely amazed at how well you are doing. Walking, gardening, cooking, etc., and little (if any) pain meds. My 14-year-old daughter is scheduled for fusion on Aug. 20 and I have to say reading about your recovery is making me feel infinitely better. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Also wanted to say "wow" to the help others gave you on the ibuprofen issue. That is such a great example of the power of forums like these to help people navigate the complexities of modern medicine. Amazing!

Jill

mom to 14-year-old with 52+ T curve and 30 (compensatory) L curve; scheduled for T fusion Aug. 20)

[JenniferG]

Wow Sacket, you're doing so well! I am always amazed at how well young people generally do after this surgery. I am so glad you checked about the ibuprofen quickly. That's the sort of thing that makes this forum invaluable. We can't all know everything, but pretty much everything is covered here.

Congratulations on your new, straight body!

[sacket]

glad you checked out those meds! safe than sorry, etc...

you sound as if you doing fantastically well! congratulations...and keep healing!

jess

thanks jess!

Congratulations on your new, straight body!

thanks jennifer. and yes, i'm so glad i joined the forum, because otherwise i might've never known about the dangers of ibuprofen with regard to fusion surgery.

Wow! I am absolutely amazed at how well you are doing. Walking, gardening, cooking, etc., and little (if any) pain meds. My 14-year-old daughter is scheduled for fusion on Aug. 20 and I have to say reading about your recovery is making me feel infinitely better. Thanks for keeping us posted.

honestly, jill, i'm pretty amazed too! i must say, at least for me, the most difficult part of my recovery is being able to sleep soundly through the night. changing positions/getting up out of bed is difficult; i wouldn't say painful though. just awkward. personally, i haven't noticed that the acetaminophen helps much. in fact, i haven't taken it in over twelve hours.

from what i've read on this board, the post-op experience is vastly different for everybody; luckily, i'm on the lighter end of the pain spectrum. like i said, for me, getting up from bed can be difficult, but once i'm up, i'm up.

i've been trying to find activities to fill my time each day. today, i transplanted some potted herbs. for tomorrow, i've decided to prepare a five-course dinner for four. i guess the advice i'd give is to try and find activities that are more interactive than just sitting and watching television, because, although it may seem counter-intuitive, doing so really helps keep your mind off your back.

mom to 14-year-old with 52+ T curve and 30 (compensatory) L curve; scheduled for T fusion Aug. 20)

best wishes to your daughter for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery.

[sacket]

okay, now i am freaking out again!!!

sunday evening, i started experiencing a worrying pain. i am so worried that i might just be deranged. the reason is because it feels like the SAME pain i was having before surgery, except worse, and more throbbing-like instead of a burning sensation. once again, it's centered around my right scapula. it seemed to come on rather suddenly, but it may just be because i've been up standing a lot more this past week (standing up still for longer than five minutes really used to trigger this pain before surgery too).

on sunday night, after showering, i noticed in the mirror that my right shoulder blade is jutting way out. not the whole blade (as in winged scapula), just the lower tip. looking from the left, my back looks normal. from the right, that part of the scapula is an inch or more out compared to the left side.

i am freaking out because i'm fearing the worst: this pain has not responded to the surgery, and i'll have to live with it the rest of my life.

fighting off tears, i investigated the problem further. looking again in the mirror, my left shoulder appears normal, while the right is all slumped forward. i tried physically rotating it around with my left hand, but it won't stay back! furthermore, i am able to reach all around my back using my left arm, but my right arm has very little flexibility, and i have trouble even touching my spine with my right hand. it's not the arm itself; i suspect the limited flexibility is due to the blade being rotated out of place.

worse still, my surgeon is out until next thursday! june 17! what am i supposed to do!? i mean, the physical pain is tolerable (if i make some accomodations and lay around all day); it's just the principle of the same old pain still being there that almost brings me to tears. the psychological weight of the whole situation, i mean. today i've been so afraid to trigger the pain that i've avoided standing as much as possible.

does ANYBODY know what the hell could be going on?!? i don't mean to seem selfish, but this is all i have been able to think about these past couple days, and i don't want to be that way. i know i'm not that way. i'm not a selfish person. it's just SO difficult to distract myself from the shoulder blade pain and even more so from the idea that it could be permanent.

my only theory is that for some reason, whatever muscle that is supposed to hold the shoulder blade back in place, flush against the back, is weak or strained or just not doing its damn job. maybe the serratus muscle? or my trapezius...but only on the right side? i don't know. i'm just so confused/angry/fearful that i can't even think coherently. it's like a freaking laundry list of emotions.

HELP!!! i already called my surgeon's nurse, and it looks like i have to wait until my JULY appointment to speak with him.

[jrnyc]

hi sacket
couldnt sleep...saw your post..

i remember reading about such pain on forum...searched "scapula pain post op" and found some referring to just that...i think jenparker was one of the patients complaining of it...also you could try reversing search words to "post op scapular pain"...seems the two first words of the search phrase are considered most important...

i hope you connect with answers until you see your surgeon..plus, in the morning, hopefully more folks will read your post and reply...

maybe you could at least get to speak to your surgeon or another one in his office sooner than your next appointment!

i feel bad for you, because you sound a little panicked about this..and i know what worrying and fear can do..especially after a surgery...

best regards
jess