If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Hi everyone, so im doing great! Really well! I walked 22 hours after my surgery and have been cleared by pt and OT on the second day after surgery. After the mishap with doubling up the Norco, they have me on percocet and mild muscle relaxer and I feel much better! No iv either!! My dr said I could have gone home Friday ( 3rd day after surgery) but he was waiting until I have had a BM. (TMI) well here I am still in the hospital ... Still have not gone... They've done EVErything on their end to help it along, but I'm still here waiting on my system.
All in all I feel really fantastic, obviously I am sore and In pain but I've been doing laps every hour and it feels so good to be out and about. I included post op X-ray photo. (Not full spine) my X-rays look great, I feel great, but if you look at me from the front I'm side shifted. Because they did a selective fusion the side the lumbar will change over time (it's already changed 20 degrees) but I'm still jetting out to the side since my T spine is so straight now . That part kinda upsets me bc from the front I looked way more normal before surgery... But keeping my chin up and I'm hopin for the best!!
Had a wonderful visit from a fellow forum friend and have been very blessed with the outcome!! Will keep u posted!! Good luck to everyone else who has an upcoming surgery![ATTACH]1364
It's way too early to worry about final posture. My one kid needed months for her shoulders to come even and the other needed months to correct a torso lean.
By the way, neither of my kids had a BM before being released from the hospital. It was not one of the requirements to leave.
So glad you are having a relatively easy recovery. It is no doubt due to your excellent physical condition going in.
Best of luck going forward.
Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis
No island of sanity.
Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works? Answer: Medicine
Wow! Sounds like you are doing fantastic. I hope things start moving for you... this will no doubt be a difficult thing for my body to do!
Best,
Heidi
Scheduled for surgery with Dr. Lenke Oct. 2012
53*T 71*L
Surgery 10/05/2012 T4-pelvis
Correction: looks perfect! Will find out how perfect at future appointments
Try not to worry about your posture. All your soft tissues have gone through the ringer, and take many months to heal....
Drink plenty of water...this will help with the BM’s.
You made it!
Ed
49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
Pre surgery curves T70,L70
ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada
Day 1 after surgery!!! Feel reAlly good. Will write more tomorrow, it's hard to concentrate on such a small screen! I'm posting, not the hubs. thanks for all your help!!! Couldn't have done this without his forum!!
Thanks to you from all of us waiting for our surgeries for giving us a terrifically positive way to look at the day of/after! I'm amazed you posted but awfully glad you did. My surgery with Dr. Lenke is coming up 10/19 and at this rate you'll be walking 5 miles by then! Continued good luck and recovery.
Wow, Sara, I am impressed by your speed of recovery. It is so refreshing to read optimistic posts like yours. Thank you so much for letting us know about your progress!
I am stronger than scoliosis, and won't let it rule my life!
45 years old - diagnosed at age 7
A/P surgery on March 5/7, 2013 - UCSF
Your x-ray looks wonderful. Don't worry about TMI. Anything can be discussed on this forum. Best of luck with a smooth recovery.
Karen
Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
Rib Hump-GONE!
Age-60 at the time of surgery
Now 66
Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
Retired Kdgn. Teacher
See photobucket link for:
Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right. http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/
Sarah--
It sounds like you are doing extremely well! And that x-ray is amazing. Continued best wishes for a good recovery. Janet
Janet
61 years old--57 for surgery
Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.
All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.
Well Done you!
Havent been on here much iv just been concentrating on my recovery.im hoping your starting to feel better now.cant wait to hear about your correction,i hope your happy.
Im nearly at 8wks post op now.im mostly sore from my costioplast,forgot how painful and sore they make you or that might be my age creeping up x
27 yr old Female.
Scoliosis since 12yrs, fusion to lower curve in 1998, costioplast 2001 and further corrective surgery 26 July 2012.
Now the proud owner of a very straight spine. T1- L5 fusion.
Mr Dunsmuir, Orthopaedic Surgeon, LGI Leeds.
Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
Osteotomies and Laminectomies
Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free
hello everyone, so after my last post, i went to the bathroom and went home!!
I've been home since sunday and I've been doing really well, My family says I'm doing too well for my own good and I'm antsy.
Although the correction in my T spine is fabulous, my L-spine is still crooked and although it has corrected some (about 20 degrees, remember no rod, selective fusion) it's the reason of my side shift. Dr says it took a while for my spine to compensate so it will take a while for it to "de"compensate. (maybe up to a year) Which I understand in my brain but I have done so much research of women my age who had the same surgery, same levels, and they had immediate correction in their L-spine. So then I have to remind myself that I'm not a "classic case" my super bendy spine does its own thing, and maybe because its so flexible it didn't feel the "pull" when they corrected my T-spine. . Only time will tell, but patience is not a strong suit for me. Ugh...trying to stay positive! (included full spine xray)
-Anyway some things that I think, made my transition home, so much easier. I get around really well, i pop in and outta bed. I wait for my husband to get home and we go for really long walks outside. I'm in good shape. BUT having a hospital bed at home made it so much easier for me. (I have a really high bed, and getting in and out of that thing was super hard). I didn't realize how much energy I was spending trying to get in and out of it until i switched to a normal level hospital bed.... that being said if your bed is of normal height, i don't think this is necessary.
-i've been taking miralax everyday and it's a lifesaver!!
- shower help is a must. I get light headed in there. and i've only managed one since i've been home. (that's on my list of things to do today) hahaha -
- eating after the pills helps my constant stomach ache
Questions -
-Has any one else had acid reflux after surgery. I've NEVER experienced Acid reflux before and it sucks. And I get like bubbles in my throat, and its hard to swallow... weird.
-How to get that dang tape off around the steri strips. ( I know the steri strips come off in there own time, but trying to get that tape off is BRUTAL, not to mention being sore on your back and you really can't scrub)
- Weaning down, I've already starting to go from my 4 hour pills to 6 and my 6 hour to 8. - is it too soon to wean? At night I take them as they are perscribed so I can sleep, but during the day I try to push it....
Wow! That is all I can say to start! Your recovery so far has been impressive to me. As far as the meds go, if you are not in need of them, going off early is not a bad thing. I am a PA and we wncourage our patients not to take them if they feel good, but not to let the pain get crazy before taking them. Keep up the fast healing! Many of us awaiting surgery are looking at you for inspiration.
Tamena
Diagnosed at age 12 with a double major curve
Braced till age 15
SSBOB T12-L2 Anterior age 34. (October 22,2012) Dr. Robert Gaines Jr. ( Columbia, MO)
Revision Surgery T2-Sacrum with Pelvic Fixation Prosterior age 35 (November 13,2013) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
Revision Surgery L4/L5 due to BMP Complication age 36 (November 20,2014) Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, Mo)
Revision Surgery due to broken rod scheduled for October 19, 2016 with Dr. Michael Kelly (St. Louis, MO)
Did you get my email? Your radiographs are similar to my one daughter's and she resolved her torso lean. My daughter had a false double (structural T curve but large compensatory L curve) and you have a double false double (only large compensatory T and L curves) in my opinion. :-) I think it will resolve. I think you saved your lumbar.
It is way too early to worry. I think your surgeon is correct about the one year time frame which would be similar to my daughter.
Hang in there and good luck.
Sharon
Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis
No island of sanity.
Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works? Answer: Medicine
Comment