Surgery with Dr. Lenke

[Doreen1]

I've been able to lay on my stomach for a few weeks now, not sleeping, but just spending several minutes in a new position. It is so refreshing that laying on my stomach
doesn't hurt like it used to preop. So I just need to be ultra careful on a lounge chair, huh? I'll be about 8 months post op when the time comes to try out the lounge chair scenario. ;-)

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doodles]

I can't believe you can lie on your stomach so soon. That's great. Maybe I need to try again; it's been a while. Janet

[nanlo]

Hi Doreen,
Gosh, I have to check in to the forum more often... Paris! SOOOO exciting! I was able to sit in a reclining beach chair about 8 months out. It was the getting up and down without bending to the low chair that was tricky! Regarding exercise - does anyone else like the wii fit? I love it.
Nancy

[Doreen1]

Silly question. For those fused to sacrum, are u able to do any form of yoga?

Warmly
Doreen

[debbei]

Hi Doreen,

I'm fused T3 to L3, and any yoga type stretching makes me uncomfortable.

[golfnut]

Doreen,
I asked Janet (Dr. Lenke's Physical Therapist) about Yoga and she didn't recommed it, however, I have read about others on the forum who have returned to some type of Yoga after surgery. I don't remember the length of their fusions. I will be interested to read other responses to your question.

[Doreen1]

5 Month Post Op

A fellow scoli sister summed it up best for me recently: I've had a bittersweet year. Tomorrow celebrates 5 months post op and I still am amazed that I'm "on the other side." I've been prescribed some exercises by Dr. Lenke's physical therapist:

Upper Body Workout while lying on bed, x3 set of 10 reps:
Flys
Presses
Tricep curls
Bicep curls (sitting on edge of bed)

Lower Body Workout, x3 sets of 10 reps:
Single Leg Step-Up (at bottom step of our stairs)
Modified Lunges (can you believe it??? Lunges???)

My weekly workout schedule is:
single leg step-ups, everyday
walk 5 miles every day, Mon - Sat
lower body workout, Mon, Wed, Fri
upperbody workout, Tues, Thu, Sat
rest, Sunday

Dr. Lenke explained to me that walking is the most critical exercise postop as it is a weight bearing exercise that promotes bone growth. According to Dr. Lenke, full fusion occurs between 6 - 9 months postop. I'm doing everything possible to walk as much as possible (as long as it doesn't cause me pain) because I am in the crucial fusion period.

The day after my last blog post in February, I weaned completely off all pain meds. Occasionally, I take one Tylenol if my back tightens up after an upper body workout, but I haven't had to take one in a few weeks. I can honestly say that at this stage of my life, I am the healthiest I've ever been.

I'm still limited with certain movements until one year post op: no bending, lifting, twisting. I tried squatting downward to get items into the lower dishwasher rack, but when I talked with Lenke's nurse, she told me I shouldn't be doing that. I'm not able to get items into/out of the dryer either as that involves both bending and twisting. We'll probably invest in front load machines soon.

I'm struggling to cope with Ma's passing, it's been difficult for all of us. The greatest gift Ma gave me was spending her final weeks taking care of me postop. I'm thankful she was able to witness my successful surgery. Thank you, God, for an amazing mom and incredible best friend. For those of you reading this who smoke... QUIT, you are literally killing yourself. It has been a blessing to spend more time with Pa lately. I pray God keep him strong and healthy.

Read the rest of my updates on my blog, in my signature.

Warmly,
Doreen

[rohrer01]

Doreen,
It's so very nice to hear how well you are doing. I wish I could say the same, someday. I WILL feel better whether I get the surgery or not. I am starting a new phase in my treatment. I will be starting Botox injections for muscle dystonia very soon and I'm hopefully going to be starting an exercise program at the heart rehab center at my hospital. You can't beat $50 a month! So, I'll do that in addition to my walking, which I need to get back in to. You are able to walk farther than I can. I can almost make it to 3 miles before I start having pain, so that's where I stop. So you can give yourself a big ol' pat on the back for being so diligent about doing what you are supposed to do!

I know what you mean about missing your Ma. My dad has been gone just a little over a year and it seems like yesterday. You NEVER quit missing them. As for the smoking, AMEN! My dad quit when he was about 40 years old, but started when he was like 12. That was quite common back in those days. He suffered many mini strokes and had hardened arteries. The doctor said that even though he quit many, many years ago, there was still irreparable damage that he had to suffer in his later years. Perhaps he would have made it past 79, perhaps not. I don't believe it was the strokes that took him, but it still affected him very much.

I wish you the very best, and I'm confident with all you are doing AND having such a skilled surgeon, your fusion will be a success, too.

Rohrer01

[Doreen1]

Doreen,
It's so very nice to hear how well you are doing. I wish I could say the same, someday. I WILL feel better whether I get the surgery or not. I am starting a new phase in my treatment. I will be starting Botox injections for muscle dystonia very soon and I'm hopefully going to be starting an exercise program at the heart rehab center at my hospital. You can't beat $50 a month! So, I'll do that in addition to my walking, which I need to get back in to. You are able to walk farther than I can. I can almost make it to 3 miles before I start having pain, so that's where I stop. So you can give yourself a big ol' pat on the back for being so diligent about doing what you are supposed to do!

I know what you mean about missing your Ma. My dad has been gone just a little over a year and it seems like yesterday. You NEVER quit missing them. As for the smoking, AMEN! My dad quit when he was about 40 years old, but started when he was like 12. That was quite common back in those days. He suffered many mini strokes and had hardened arteries. The doctor said that even though he quit many, many years ago, there was still irreparable damage that he had to suffer in his later years. Perhaps he would have made it past 79, perhaps not. I don't believe it was the strokes that took him, but it still affected him very much.

I wish you the very best, and I'm confident with all you are doing AND having such a skilled surgeon, your fusion will be a success, too.

Rohrer01

I hope your new pain program provides you with relief soon. How is your recovery from the stomach surgery? At this stage of your journey, do you have a timeline for when you will schedule spine surgery?

Warmly,
Doreen

[rohrer01]

I recovered from my "female" surgery just fine, except for developing an ileus. I've just been plagued with infection after infection related to upper respiratory (I have asthma and develop pneumonia very easily), antibiotics and steroids and the ills they bring plus falling and getting hurt and then lifting grandson and getting hurt. Blah! Still not quite through with everything, but soon. It takes awhile to settle these things down. :-/ My regular walking routine came to a crashing halt. I'm just now trying to get my intake of protein back up to the 70g/day that they want me on to build muscle. I'm too thin and have no muscle mass... I've always been that way, though.

As far as surgery, who knows? I'm not sure what I want anymore and the doctors keep upping my surgery threshhold. At first I was told 40*, then 50*, and now 60*. I'm thinking what the heck? My lumbar keeps getting more and more involved and I have DDD at L5/S1. If they keep procrastinating, what could have been maybe a 4 - 6 level fusion is already up to 14 levels and at that rate I'll end up being fused all the way down. You can't leave an L5 if it is already going bad. It's frustrating to say the least. My first surgeons as a teen suspected that I would definitely hit 40* by age 40, which was right on. They said that I should be fused at that point. But when I got there, no surgeons I've seen since seem to agree with their ideology. I can see the sense in it, though, since now the rest of my spine is slowly but surely taking an unnecessary hit. So that's the best answer I can give.

TiEd's new post gave me some hope, though, that things are progressing technologically in the right direction. I'm hoping that this new technology will become the standard of care. The one doc in the video said he used the model to practice on. How cool is that?!

Thanks for the concern!
Rohrer01

[Confusedmom]

Doreen,
So glad you are doing so well! You are a true inspiration. I can't wait until I am off these pain meds, too.

Is that five miles at once you are walking--as in going out for a five mile hike every day? Or is that five miles on the pedometer? Pre-fusion I walked about a 15-min mile, so assuming I will eventually get back to that, five miles would be at least an hour and 15 min. That's without the strength exercises. That's a lot of time exercising! Just want to know what lies ahead....

I am doing over a mile a day now, but that's on the pedometer. I can't go farther than around the block at a single time, or I get really sore.

I think of you and the loss of your mom, often. I'm glad she was there to see you through!

Best,
Evelyn

[Doreen1]

Doreen,
So glad you are doing so well! You are a true inspiration. I can't wait until I am off these pain meds, too.

Is that five miles at once you are walking--as in going out for a five mile hike every day? Or is that five miles on the pedometer? Pre-fusion I walked about a 15-min mile, so assuming I will eventually get back to that, five miles would be at least an hour and 15 min. That's without the strength exercises. That's a lot of time exercising! Just want to know what lies ahead....

I am doing over a mile a day now, but that's on the pedometer. I can't go farther than around the block at a single time, or I get really sore.

I think of you and the loss of your mom, often. I'm glad she was there to see you through!

Best,
Evelyn

I walk 5 miles (10,000 steps) throughout the day using a pedometer:
3,000 steps (1.5 miles) when I wake up, before I go downstairs for coffee/breakfast: 45 min
3,000 steps before noon: 45 min
3,000 steps before dinner at 6p: 45 min
1,000 (.5 mile) steps after dinner is cleaned up: 20 min

I discovered that if I walk my neighborhood on a lunge workout day, I'll be hurting a lot in my pelvic area because there are a lot of steep hills in my neighborhood. It works out much better to do a neighborhood walk on an upper body workout day. My second set of steps for the day are alternated between walking my neighborhood or going to a local walking trail. All other steps are done throughout my house.

I asked Kelly recently if I was walking too much and she said that patients should be walking 1 mile for every month they are postop as long as it doesn't cause pain. Obviously, there comes a threshold when one just doesn't have the time to do excessive amounts of walking, so I have no goal to walk more than 30 miles a week. Walking actually feels good which makes it easy for me to get in 5 miles a day. I can say that I was in no condition to walk 1 mile at 4 weeks post op. At 5 weeks post op I was able to consistently walk 1 mile a day. Leading up to 11 weeks post op I found it easier to walk a little bit further and was up to about 3 miles a day. At 12 weeks post op I was walking 4 - 5 miles a day.

I forgot to mention that a few days before Easter there were two days where I spent 3 hours/day cooking in the kitchen. I haven't been able to do that in years without being in horrible pain. It was so refreshing! I also surprised myself when I attempted to paint my toe nails and actually did a great job... thank God for long arms! I sat on my bed and propped my foot on the nightstand and took my time.

If someone had told me while I was still preop that I'd be doing all these things at 5 months out, I never would have believed them.

I think I read one of your posts recently, Evelyn, where you asked about doing laundry. I'm able to get items into the washer using the grabber, but my hubby or daughter take care of removing items from the washer and doing all the dryer stuff. Our laundry room is long and narrow so any attempt on my part to get to the dryer involves bending and twisting. Until Lenke clears me to do that or when we get front load machines (whichever comes first), I'll let hubby and daughter continue to do the laundry.

You are doing great with your recovery, take your time and don't rush things. Feel free to talk with Kelly too. I called her frequently and she was more than happy to give me advice on what is allowed/not allowed according to Lenke's recovery plan.

When are you scheduled for your follow up visit?

Warmly,
Doreen

[Confusedmom]

Doreen,

Thanks for all the details on the walking. My first post-op appt is this Weds. I leave tomorrow afternoon. I will call you afterwards because I want to hear more about your exercise routine.

Thanks,
Evelyn

[Doreen1]

Doreen,

Thanks for all the details on the walking. My first post-op appt is this Weds. I leave tomorrow afternoon. I will call you afterwards because I want to hear more about your exercise routine.

Thanks,
Evelyn

Call Kelly and ask her if u can meet with Janet on Wed who is Lenke's PT. Janet gave me the exercises. Have a safe trip!

[Doreen1]

Doreen,

Thanks for all the details on the walking. My first post-op appt is this Weds. I leave tomorrow afternoon. I will call you afterwards because I want to hear more about your exercise routine.

Thanks,
Evelyn

I forgot to ask why are u seeing Lenke so soon for a follow up? I thought he did first follow ups at close to 3 months post op.