surgery in 2 days

[Radiogirl]

CONGRATULATIONS BETHANY!!! YIPPPPEEE! GOOD JOB GIRL! You did it. Now it's your job to rest, and recover. Take it easy and post more when you can. I have been sending prayers and good thoughts your way!
Laura

[sillycoffeegirl]

Thanks for all ur wonderful prayers and everything. I know they worked. My doctor said the surgery went very well. Sorry I haven't been posting lately I've just been in a lot of pain. Got out of the hospital last tuesday nite. My back feels so tight and stiff rite now. It feels super swollen still is there anything I can do about that? And when does the pain usually start lessening?

[debbei]

Thanks for all ur wonderful prayers and everything. I know they worked. My doctor said the surgery went very well. Sorry I haven't been posting lately I've just been in a lot of pain. Got out of the hospital last tuesday nite. My back feels so tight and stiff rite now. It feels super swollen still is there anything I can do about that? And when does the pain usually start lessening?

AT this point in your recovery, feeling still and tight is perfectly normal. Your back is swollen now and that's normal too, and will go down over a number of months. I found that at the 2-3 week mark, I was feeling significantly better--not perfect, mind you, but significantly better than right after surgery.

Hang in there; you've been through the toughest part.

[sillycoffeegirl]

Thanks debbie

[JDM555]

Hey! Congrats on getting through surgery. I know it's tough, trust me. It will all get better though, I feel 100x better now than I did a couple days after my surgeries. My back felt SOO tight, I know what you mean. Just hang tight and get through the days and before you know it, you will start feeling a lot better. I hope you recover nicely and don't worry about eating too much/swollen back/walking a mile a day/etc. Just rest and take your pain meds. Take a multivitamin/iron pill to get your blood back to normal and get your daily vitamins in. Drink a lot and lay down a lot, don't push yourself too soon. But if you can walk, go for a little walk.

Congrats again, post some before/after shots of your back now so we can all see how much straighter you are! Did you gain any inches?
John

[mbeckoff]

Congratulations to getting thru the surgery

It is less than 8 weeks for me now

Melissa

[JenniferG]

Congrats Bethany. I think for me it was nearly three weeks getting the pain under control but once they did, I went ahead in leaps and bounds. I was 19 days in hospital but once home, on the right meds, and in a decent bed, there was no looking back.

From my experience, being pain-free to enable you to sleep well and good food, is essential for a good recovery. (Not sure about others, but there was no chance to sleep much in the hospital - it was so noisy. Unnecessarily so, much of the time.)

[sillycoffeegirl]

Does anyone know when one can usually start driving again?

[sccrm08]

I had to be off all pain meds and feel well enough to drive. It took me 3 months to drive and then I drove as little as possible.

[mbeckoff]

Why did you drive as little as possible?

Melissa

I had to be off all pain meds and feel well enough to drive. It took me 3 months to drive and then I drove as little as possible.

[debbei]

Does anyone know when one can usually start driving again?

My dr. cleared me for driving at 6 weeks. At that time I was on 2 long acting pills per day and 2 short acting. I was uneasy driving much until I was totally off meds completely at a little past 3 months. The pharmacist told me to be really careful, because although the dr. gave me clearance to drive, if there were an accident, it could be determined that I was on meds and I could be sued.

[Vali]

My surgeon cleared me to drive at my 8 week appt as i had been off meds from day 15 post-op, however, i was in no hurry to drive as i was worried that my reaction time was not quick enough. With regards to the swelling, try to stay off your feet as much as you can. Happy healing!