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  • post-op medications

    i've been curious about something. i done a little research on scoliosis surgery and what happenes afterwards. a couple spots i looked at said something about being put on medications after surgery. is it true, and if it is, are the meds permanent?



    I also was wondering something else.... i do volunteer work at the nursing home in my town. i really don't do much lifting, but i do alot of pushing (you know, i push the residents in their wheelchairs if they want to go for a ride or to eat). Probably the heaviest thing i lift is the container with the bingo stuff in it. that only weighs about 5, maybe 10 pounds. anyway, my question is, if i need surgery, how soon would i be able to do this again? most of the time, i just sit with the residents and do stuff with them, just to make them feel good. sometimes i even massage the nurses backs if they've had a stressful day . i'm hoping that if i need surgery that i'll be able to go back to this in a month or two.



    Thanks for letting me ramble so much you all!!!!


    Ginny

  • #2
    Ginny,

    My son had surgery 2 weeks ago, so I can tell you what our experience was.

    After surgery, he had morphine in an IV (for less than a day) along with a self-administering type of morphine for an additional 2 days. (The patient can give medication on an "as needed" basis although there are restrictions so that the patient can't get an overdose.)

    By the 4th day in the hospital, he was off morphine and on oral pain killers (tylenol & codeine). He was given a prescription for home, but stopped using those after about 5 days.

    Everyone's pain level is different and different doctors prescribe differently, but that was our experience.

    Our doctor said don't lift anything too heavy. He didn't put weight restrictions on it but I've read that, at first, there is a limitation of 10 pounds. I would think that you would be able to go back to volunteering whenever you felt up to it but, again, your doctor will be able to give you the best guidelines.

    Good luck,
    Susan

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