Surgery this Friday

[TwinmomTN]

Gas pains

Any tips on getting rid of gas pains? I know Doreen had this problem. But it makes it very difficult to eat. Sorry for typos. We are now under a tornado warning. Ugh!

[nanut]

Gas Pains

I am sorry to hear about the gas pain issue! One thing that I found helpful was to take simethicone (gas-x) tablets after meals (mostly dinner). Another thing I became famous for was Pacing-once the meal was finished I was up and moving. As I look back on that time (nine months ago) I remember gas pains as something I dealt with as well as stomach distention. Hang in there, It does get better-one day at a time!
Stay safe from the weather threats!
Nan
54yo
T10-L5 fusion with instrumentation
July 12, 2011
Straight and feeling pretty darn good

[mdtaffet]

Any tips on getting rid of gas pains? I know Doreen had this problem. But it makes it very difficult to eat. Sorry for typos. We are now under a tornado warning. Ugh!

Pam, I don't really have gas pains, but I can tell you that my drinking habits changed dramatically after the surgery. Before the surgery, I drank Diet Coke pretty much all day long -- for breakfast, lunch, dinner, in between, and well into the evening. After the surgery, I found that the Diet Coke tends to give me too many "bubbles" that I can feel churning around. I still drink it, but now no more than 2 1/2 glasses at breakfast time. I don't have any soda the rest of the day. I now will have a glass or two of fruit juice (orange or grape, or sometimes both at different times) with lunch or mid-afternoon. I have a glass of iced tea with dinner, and the rest of the day I now drink water. I also start my day with prune juice now, upon the orders of my doctor after I had an early bout of constipation.

[So yes, breakfast is preceded by prune juice that I have with my morning medications -- i.e. the vitamins and long-time prescriptions, etc., then accompanied by at least 2 to up to 2.5 glasses of Diet Coke -- mostly to chase away the taste of the prune juice and to satisfy my craving for soda. I spend a LONG time at breakfast these days -- enough to finish the entire front section of the morning paper and part of the entertainment section as well. Thanks to my new routine, I stay fairly regular. I'm just worried what's going to happen when I have to go back to work full-time, and have to drive an hour each way to get to the remote worksite...]

[JenniferG]

Charcoal tablets!

[Confusedmom]

Move around as much as you can. That helps get the gas out. Also, it seemed to decrease dramatically after just a couple of weeks. I wonder if some is still from the effects of anesthesia? Early on, I was taking 4 Senna Plus tablets a day plus Miralax. If you can get rid of the constipation, it should help with the gas pains, too.

[SisterFriend]

Pam

This is the first time I've used the forum, so I hope I'm doing it correctly. I met you and your husband at Dr.Lenke's office 4/18/12 during your Pre-op. My husband and I are from Iowa and I was using a walker. I think our husbands kept each other company while us girls were having fun getting our test done. Ha Ha. Anyway, when I saw Twinmom from TN and having surgery with Dr.Lenke on Friday, I knew it was you. I've had you in my prayers as Pam, mother of twins from TN. Tee Hee. hope all is well. Would love to hear from you. I believe doctor is trying to move my surgery up to August. Sooner the better. I gave Naomi a message for you, but might have been too late, If you see her, ask her. God Bless,
Laurie (and husband Clark)

[king14]

You will be in my thoughts and prayers! Best of luck to you!!

[TwinmomTN]

This is the first time I've used the forum, so I hope I'm doing it correctly. I met you and your husband at Dr.Lenke's office 4/18/12 during your Pre-op. My husband and I are from Iowa and I was using a walker. I think our husbands kept each other company while us girls were having fun getting our test done. Ha Ha. Anyway, when I saw Twinmom from TN and having surgery with Dr.Lenke on Friday, I knew it was you. I've had you in my prayers as Pam, mother of twins from TN. Tee Hee. hope all is well. Would love to hear from you. I believe doctor is trying to move my surgery up to August. Sooner the better. I gave Naomi a message for you, but might have been too late, If you see her, ask her. God Bless,
Laurie (and husband Clark)

Yes, we did meet briefly in the hallway.My husband enjoyed visiting with both of you. Sounds like a good chance of your date getting bumped up. Mine did with three day notice but so elated that it did. Best of luck to you and keep us updated.

[TwinmomTN]

Home again

Hi everyone! We are finally home after a grueling 8 hour drive. Needless to say I felt terrible when we arrived finally. But we arrived to find our house decorated by our 11 year Old twins with welcome signs, streamers, and balloons Anyone else noticed a tightness or soreness in chest along with sides feeling sore at about 2 weeks out? I didn't seem to notice this until the last few days. I know central line and several other issues may be at fault.

[golfnut]

Pam,
How nice that you came home to a decorated house by the twins! That's so sweet. Eight hours is a really long trip. My drive home was 40 minutes and I remember every bump on the highway. I felt tightness for a long, long time, so I am sure it is normal. My left ribs ached for months which is probably due to them getting repositioned. Dr. Lenke got rid of my rib hump, so I accepted the rib pain with no complaints. It eventually went away. Best of luck with a smooth recovery.

[TwinmomTN]

More silly questions

I am so worried about twisting and not properly log rolling in bed. How did everyone cope with changing positions during the night? I flip flop and change positions at least every hour or so in bed. Do you need assistance with pillow placement (especially for side sleeping with pillows in front and back) during the night or just try to cope best as you can on your own? I think one would twist a bit to reposition a pillow behind your back. Do you wake your spouse or how is this handled?

[golfnut]

Stayed on my back

Pam,
I was a tosser and turner before my surgery and worried,like you, about twisting too much after surgery since I wasn't braced. This may not be the answer you want to hear, but I just log rolled onto my back and didn't move off of it until I needed to get up. I'm pretty sure that someone told me not to even attempt to lay on my stomach because it caused some arching of the back. I still don't lay on my stomach, although it was my main sleeping position before surgery. During the first month post-op, I had trouble sleeping, which most likely wasn't due to my position in bed, but the meds and abdomen discomfort. Eventually, I felt like I actually slept better by staying in one position instead of turning and turning and turning like I did before surgery.
At a year post-op, I sleep some on my sides, but mainly stay on my back. I got used to it and actually prefer it now.

[Doodles]

My situation was and still is at 3 years out very similar to Karen's. I too was a stomach sleeper but that just doesn't work now. I log rolled onto back from beginning and really never moved all night. I still don't other than to get up--but get right back to back position. Early on I guess I had to be moved with husband's help to side & he had to help reposition pillows. Definitely needed help for that. Don't worry--tossing and turning is not really an option. Janet

[Confusedmom]

Well, I've got a slightly different take on this. First, my post-op instructions said sleeping on your stomach is okay. However, I have never had the desire to try it. I was a back sleeper before surgery (since bracing in middle school, actually). I maintained that for probably the first six weeks post-op. When I needed to go to the bathroom or take meds, I would do the logrolling by myself, but carefully. The key for me is remembering to tighten my abs. Everything hurts less when I do that. Just in the past week or two I have found some comfort in switching positions during the night. I will logroll to one side or the other and stay that way for an hour or two. At first it hurt my ribs too much, but now it seems to be giving my back some relief. If you do sleep on your side, a pillow between your knees is supposed to give you better spinal alignment. Truthfully, though, I often don't bother. Also, when on my back I don't use a pillow. It strains my neck too much. Good luck! Glad to see you posting again.

Best,
Evelyn

[Karen Ocker]

Turning in bed after surgery

After my surgery I felt like I would break in two if I turned. I then employed a technique I learned in Pilates which really helped: I would tighten all my abdominal/pelvic muscles before moving or turning. This acted like a splint and significantly reduced discomfort while changing positions.
This still helps to protect my back if lifting something or doing something strenuous.