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Weird Sensations Rather Than Pain Post-Surgery

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  • Weird Sensations Rather Than Pain Post-Surgery

    I had spinal fusion done about five months ago. All of my lumbar and some of my thorax. I can add more details later.
    I hear about people's experience with pain, both on this forum and elsewhere online. I don't have 8 or 9 level pain and I know I should be grateful for that, and I am. But I have a rich variety of painful sensations.

    What pain I have is weird and unsettling. It might be better described as strange sensations rather than pain. It's as if I can feel the rods and that they are bending when I move, which probably isn't possible. When the pain level is relatively high it feels like I have a hot, flexible poker going up the length of my spine, and the poker is bending and flexing at a point halfway down. This is often accompanied by a profound numbness that seems to move ever upward, then retreats. Some numbness is normal, but this is so deep it is rather creepy.

    When I lie on my back it doesn't feel flat, as though it has taken on a weird uneven shape and my weight isn't evenly distributed, making this position uncomfortable. Or that someone scattered children's wooden blocks over my soft bed and the corners are poking my back here and there at random.

    It hurts when I breathe sometimes, the pain feeling akin to a muscle pull. I sometimes wear my brace even in bed because the support seems to reduce the pain level - not supposed to wear it in bed.

    For several months my doctor has said I'm recovering normally. So I felt like I have to get used to the pain until it goes away. But it's scary and I really can't get used to it. I can't help feeling that it bodes ill, because no one else seems to describe their pain this way and neither have I found anything in my research so far.

    Well, my last checkup with the surgeon was different. it turns out that I'm experiencing "adding on" and I have to have more surgery. I'm wondering if most of my pain is caused by the new curvature, which is progressing rather fast, and is not so much from the surgery itself.

    Another oddity, I felt pretty good right after surgery. The post-surgical pain didn't start until about a month later. The new "adding on" wasn't detectable until months after the pain started.

    Before the surgery, my scoliosis didn't really cause me pain. The curve was low down and caused intense fatigue in my hip area when I walked. I could only walk once around a track and then would need to sit and rest.

    Has anyone else been surprised by unusual types of pain or sensations they have experienced after surgery? Or with adding on? Or am I just crazy?
    Last edited by Tina_R; 10-25-2019, 10:58 PM.

  • #2
    Originally posted by Tina_R View Post
    I had spinal fusion done about five months ago. All of my lumbar and some of my thorax. I can add more details later.
    I hear about people's experience with pain, both on this forum and elsewhere online. I don't have 8 or 9 level pain and I know I should be grateful for that, and I am. But I have a rich variety of painful sensations.

    What pain I have is weird and unsettling. It might be better described as strange sensations rather than pain. It's like I can feel the rods and that they are bending when I move, which probably isn't possible. When the pain level is relatively high it is like I have a hot, flexible poker going up the length of my spine, and the poker is bending and flexing at a point halfway down. This is often accompanied by a profound numbness that seems to move ever upward, then retreats. Some numbness is normal, but this is so deep it is rather creepy.

    When I lie on my back it doesn't feel flat, as though it has taken on a weird uneven shape and my weight isn't evenly distributed, making this position uncomfortable. Or that someone scattered children's wooden blocks over my soft bed and the corners are poking me here and there at random.

    It hurts when I breathe sometimes, the pain feeling akin to a muscle pull. I sometimes wear my brace even in bed because the support seems to reduce the pain level - not supposed to do this.

    For several months my doctor has said I'm recovering normally. So I felt like I have to get used to the pain until it goes away. But it's scary and I really can't get used to it. I can't help feeling that it bodes ill, because no one else seems to describe their pain this way and neither have I found anything in my research so far.

    Well, it turns out that I'm experiencing "adding on" and I have to have more surgery. I'm wondering if most of the pain is caused by the new curvature, which is progressing rather fast, and is not so much from the surgery itself.

    Another oddity, the post-surgical pain didn't start until about a month after surgery. The new "adding on" wasn't detectable until months later. Before the surgery, my scoliosis didn't really cause me pain. The curve was low down and caused intense fatigue in my hip area when I walked. I could only walk once around a track and then would need to sit and rest.

    Has anyone else been surprised by unusual types of pain sensations they have experienced after surgery? Or with adding on? Or am I just crazy?
    Hi Tina....

    While I think it's different for everyone, the odd sensations are not uncommon. I think the new pain/sensation are more bothersome because we're not used to it. It often takes up to 2 years to recover fully. So, there very well may be something wrong, but you'll need to wait it out for awhile. Hopefully, the new stuff will go away, or you'll get used to it.

    --Linda

    --Linda
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

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