Irina’s Surgery – March 5/7, 2013

[jrnyc]

hi Irina
i had a catheter (for Lyme) after a long line (PICC) got infected...
just be sure to keep the entry point of the PICC covered and clean...
it should be fine...

i was on oral antibiotics for months and months for Lyme after i was
done with IV antibiotics...
just a suggestion...be careful of stomach irritation that oral antibiotics
can sometimes cause...
i was sorry i didn't take Carafate, or something like it, while
i was taking oral antibiotics...i finally had to quit the oral meds
due to stomach irritation that ended up giving me problems...

i think you will recover well from the complications...
and i wish you an uneventful recovery from the spinal surgery...

jess...and Sparky

[Irina]

hi Irina
i had a catheter (for Lyme) after a long line (PICC) got infected...
just be sure to keep the entry point of the PICC covered and clean...
it should be fine...

i was on oral antibiotics for months and months for Lyme after i was
done with IV antibiotics...
just a suggestion...be careful of stomach irritation that oral antibiotics
can sometimes cause...
i was sorry i didn't take Carafate, or something like it, while
i was taking oral antibiotics...i finally had to quit the oral meds
due to stomach irritation that ended up giving me problems...

i think you will recover well from the complications...
and i wish you an uneventful recovery from the spinal surgery...

jess...and Sparky

Hi Jess,

We are doing picc line only until April 2 and oral meds then. Only 5 more days of IVs so I hope picc line won't get infected. I spoke with Dr. Hu's office and they said that the treatment I am getting is perfect and the chance of hardware infection is very small (if I follow doctor's orders with antibiotics of course). That was a relief to hear. If it were not for my complications, I'd say that recovery from spinal surgery is not as bad as I expected.

[Irina]

My picc line is out and I am on oral antibiotics now. It is so nice not having to deal with this picc line when having shower etc.

I am working with physical therapist to decrease my right hip pain, which started after the surgery. This is L4-L5 nerve that causes it and the pain goes all the way down to my foot, specifically my big toe. I would say that hip-foot pain bothers me more than back pain. I hope pt and gababertin help, and if not, I may want to remove the illiac screw at some point.

[mabeckoff]

Glad that you are doing better.

Hope you get some relief from your hip pain

[jrnyc]

good to hear that the PICC line is out and now the oral meds will
help you....i know you have more freedom without that long line in.
hope you feel better every day....and that the PT and meds help you.

jess...and Sparky

[Irina]

good to hear that the PICC line is out and now the oral meds will
help you....i know you have more freedom without that long line in.
hope you feel better every day....and that the PT and meds help you.

jess...and Sparky

Actually, PT makes my hip/leg/foot feel worse. I've had two sessions and told the physical therapist that I was hurting after the first session, well I was hurting way more after the second session today. I was plain miserable the whole day after this session in the morning. Not just ache - bad pain! People who had PT, please share your experiences - was PT helpful at all?

[titaniumed]

Irina

The nurses and PT people were coming to my house for 6 weeks to make sure I was doing something......Just walking 200 feet for me was a major endeavor.

After surgery, some areas are just so raw that just about any movement triggers pain. Its something that I would battle through on a SMALL scale....walk smaller amounts many times during the day.

These things are little tests and we have to learn to balance our therapy carefully. If its too painful, you might want to rest and back off PT for a day or two. Nerves and some soft tissues seem to heal at a non-linear rate. The pain can stay elevated for a long time, then suddenly quit just like turning off a light switch.

Try to stay strong. You are at a tough point in recovery. The 4-6 week mark was the hardest part for me.....

Ed

[LindaRacine]

Hi Irina...

I'm guessing that Dr. Hu and Jo-An would tell you to back off, at least with your current therapist. Who are you going to, and what are they having you do?

--Linda

[Irina]

Hi Irina...

I'm guessing that Dr. Hu and Jo-An would tell you to back off, at least with your current therapist. Who are you going to, and what are they having you do?

--Linda

Focus Healthcare is coming to my house. The exercises I am doing are:

1 While laying in bed, bend the knees at 90° and squeeze the ball hard. Lower the knees and repeat, lower the the knees to almost flat position and squeeze the ball again.
2 Sitting - tie the knees with rubber band and push the legs apart as wide as possible
3 Sitting - have somebody wrap a rubber band around your leg and pull the band away from your body. At the same moment, resist and pull the leg under the chair.

She had me do many repetitions of those and then we went for a walk around the block - it's 1/3 miles walk and I walk around the block twice. My left leg is fine, but right one was killing me.

[JenniferG]

Ouch!

Is it worth checking that this is ok, with your surgeon? At my 6 week checkup, I asked my surgeon should I be seeing a Pt. "No!" was the stern reply. I know lots of people do, so I'm unsure why he was so against it, perhaps because there was none that he trusted in my area?! He just wanted me to walk.

Personally, I'd be afraid of anything that hurt that much.

[golfnut]

Dr. Lenke doesn't trust any physical therapist except the one who works in his office. I was anxious to get back in shape as quickly as possible, but he did not allow me to see a PT until I was a year post-op. His PT gave me some easy exercises to do at home-almost all were done while laying on my back on the bed.
His quote to me was that most physical therapist don't realize the magnitude of this surgery and they do more harm than good. He said the best thing that I should do was to walk.

[Irina]

Dr. Lenke doesn't trust any physical therapist except the one who works in his office. I was anxious to get back in shape as quickly as possible, but he did not allow me to see a PT until I was a year post-op. His PT gave me some easy exercises to do at home-almost all were done while laying on my back on the bed.
His quote to me was that most physical therapist don't realize the magnitude of this surgery and they do more harm than good. He said the best thing that I should do was to walk.

I totally agree with it. Even a physical therapist, who is coming to my house, said that the best thing I can do is to walk. It is true that they don't fully understand the magnitude of the surgery and all the limitations. Next time I'll ask her to do some easy general strengthening exercises, perhaps for my arms or breathing exercises would be even better. Today I took it easy - just walked outside for a total of one hour in three intervals and I feel much better.

[Confusedmom]

Irina, at one month post-op, I was lucky to make it around the block - about 1/2 mile - 1-2 times per day. Plus walking the "track" in my house. Like Karen said, we weren't allowed to do PT. I'd back off and try again in a few weeks.

Evelyn

[jackieg412]

Hi,
I am glad you are getting better. I was also told nothing but walking at first. I did that little by little and increased 1st the amount of times I walked and then the distance. Keep up the good work and this will get better!

[JenniferG]

I totally agree with it. Even a physical therapist, who is coming to my house, said that the best thing I can do is to walk. It is true that they don't fully understand the magnitude of the surgery and all the limitations. Next time I'll ask her to do some easy general strengthening exercises, perhaps for my arms or breathing exercises would be even better. Today I took it easy - just walked outside for a total of one hour in three intervals and I feel much better.

Glad to hear you're feeling much better Irina. What you did today sounds just perfect for so early out.