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Can you feel the rods?

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  • Can you feel the rods?

    Hi All,

    I'm just 8 weeks post op and even though I'm still on pain meds (low doses), I can feel the rods in my back. It's not really painful (but that could be due to the meds), but when I stretch in my sleep, I feel them. Is this normal? Is there ever a point where you stop feeling them?

  • #2
    Hi...

    I think many of us felt the implants, especially in the immediate post-op period. Unfortunately, that feeling for a small number of people, never goes away. Hopefully, you're not one of them.

    Regards,
    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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    • #3
      Thanks Linda for your reply. I really hope I'm not one of them. I guess, I would be ok as long as they don't make me too uncomfortable.

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      • #4
        Hi, I can feel the bottom of one rod and a couple of screws. I am one year post op. I also hope you are not one of them. It is uncomfortable.
        Mattie

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        • #5
          I am almost at the 3 month mark and I am aware of the hardware in my back. I can't feel them to the touch but I can feel them on the inside if that makes any sense.
          surgery 9/06
          Rothman institute

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          • #6
            I felt them a lot of the time in the first year post op. Then for years after having had a hook removed that was very bothersome, I felt some screws and the rods but not painfully more like they were there, on and off for most of the time.

            Now it's only a few screws around shoulder blades, that touch a nerve and it causes infammation. With time you won't feel the rods as much or at all, maybe some stiffness is more the word for what the feeling is.
            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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            • #7
              Thanks everyone for your replies. Luckily, I'm not uncomfortable, I just feel them. I can't wait to see what they will be like after I'm out of the brace.

              Nickie

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              • #8
                Hi Nickie,

                Your guestion is a good one that is hard to answer. For the first few months after my surgery I felt like i had 2 boards up my back. As time passed the sensation of that got less and less.

                I had several trouble spots at first, and all but 1 has gone away. I know in the first 9 months of my recovery, I always had so many questions and thoughts that I kept to myself. It can be so hard too know what is normal and what is not!!!

                I think the fact that you are not uncomfortable, is a good sign. You are naturally going to feel them for a little while. You body has just been through a lot and it has to adapt and adjust to it's new "enviroment".

                Shari

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                • #9
                  Hi Nickie--it does get better!

                  I am 4 months post-op from posterior surgery T5 to L5. At first I could feel my rods from the very top to the very bottom. But that has gradually been fading away. Now I am not conscious of them except for a couple of times--1. when I roll side to side in bed
                  2. When I first get up in the morning and my whole body is very stiff and sore for a while until I get moving around.

                  I think that the feeling started to get a lot better about 3 months as the muscles slow down on the spasming. Now the rods are just like my own backbone!!

                  Deb
                  age 47
                  posterior surgery 7/24/06
                  for S curve T70,L76
                  50% correction
                  DON'T WAIT TO GET STRAIGHT!!

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                  • #10
                    Hi there,
                    I'm post-op by 14 years and yes, I still notice the rods.

                    It's mostly if i'm lying on a hard surface or if i sit against a chair that has spindle things in the wrong places for my body. It's not painful at all, and most of the time I'm not conscious of the rods, although I think that is because I've become accoustomed over time... I just re-position until I am comfortable.

                    However, if you've read some of my other comments on this forum, I do find it difficult to stay in one position for too long! But this is not from feeling the rods, its more from muscle fatigue and bone stress around the rods.

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