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feel like top of rod lifts up at times

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  • feel like top of rod lifts up at times

    I am new to this site, but I had my surgery in 1983 and I now have a 19" harrington rod and bone was taken from my right hip and fused to my spine.
    I have all the regular problems like flatback, disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, and ostioarthritisis, along with recently found out pinched nerves in c-4 and c-5 causing numbness and tremors in hands. But there are times when if I move the wrong way I swear I can feel the top of my rod lift, and when it goes back into place sometimes my neck cant move right for a couple days of my shoulder will kill me for a couple days, then it will just go away. When I tell my family Dr about this he looks at my like I have three heads, I am scheduled to see Terry Trammell in Indianapolis this friday 8-12-05, but I am wondering if anyone else has ever felt anything similar to this.

    Also does anyone have any tricks on a comfy way to sleep at night, I am struggling to get 1-2 hours of sleep a night, then I wake up and take more pain meds and muscle relaxers. I am still working but not sure how much longer I can keep up that pace without proper rest.

    Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    Only thing about sleep I can tell you is that it doesn't come easy and I was an insomniac before the surgeries, so it's of course worst now. I try to relax before heading to bed(massaging my neck/shoulders/feet, reading, stretching) and I always take a relaxing medication, it's called Imovane(Swiss I think, Ambien in the US since I'm Canadian). It helps relax my muscles and nerves and gives me 5-6 hours of sleep on a GOOD night, but I do wake up often and take hours to fall asleep most of the time.
    35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
    Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
    Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
    Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
    Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

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    • #3
      Sleep has been a dram

      This is the first message I've posted, but thought I should share. I haven't had nearly the difficulties that I've read about in some of the threads. My surgery was in 1980 when I was almost 18. T4-L4 fusion with Harrington rod isnert, bone grafts ffrom right hip. No real problems.

      For years I slept on a very firm mattress - foam actually, as I had been told this was best for support. When my family moved from the southwest to the midwest three years ago we decided to chuck our old bed and try a SelectComfort bed (the kind Lindsay Wagner advertises on TV). It's basically a heavy-duty air mattress and you can adjust the firmess or softness as necessary. Let me tell you that it has been heaven! My "sleep number" is 30 most times, though sometimes I go to 25. Whether life is normal or I've overdone things I always have the right mattress firmess. For me it's been great. They've got a guarantee if you don't like it.

      Good luck!
      Tish
      Diagnosed age 10, fit with Milwaukee brace at 11, wore until 17. Curve 45 thorasic, 45 lumbar. Surgical fusion T4-L4 in 1980 at age 17 w/Harrington rod. Curve down to 30T/32L. Discovered fractured rod in 2003 during chest x-ray, no symptoms or idea how it happened.

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