Originally posted by ksmom0611
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Walking for me was 2-3 houses and back, several times a day, and plenty of pacing in the house. It took me a year to get up to a mile, and I “was” in excellent shape from skiing. I think my massive anterior surgery,(ALIF) having a broken shoulder, and gall stone problems added more time to my recovery. Yes, I felt better as time passed, but my pain before my surgeries was mind blowing. I cant believe I fought it that long.....If I had to do my scolisis surgeries all over again, I would do it at age 40. My surgeon repeated to me several times “Why did you wait so long?” I didn’t think I needed to answer that one.
After the surgeries, I walked on eggshells for a long time. My surgeon actually ordered me to go skiing at 12 months. Doctors orders you know. (smiley face) We also talked about the crashes since its part of skiing......no velocity, and no more airs, you can crack a fusion..... I have old threads here that include old photos and video of me skiing and hiking in some of the fantastic National Parks and ski areas of our country.
I don’t think my spinal outcome could have happened any better giving the circumstances. I am 100% satisfied. I didn’t think it would have turned out so well, maybe that wasn’t the way I should have felt about the whole thing.....??? We think about complications and what can or could happen, it’s a natural feeling, but probably not great for the mental side of things, but also acted as a protective mechanism as far as healing is concerned.
I feel I was 90% recovered at a year......a rough sort of healing rate of 10% per month, that came in bumps. No improvement for 2 months, then a 20% instant improvement. See-saw type good days and bad, with more good days of course. That’s how you know you are recovering! The second year was my fine tuning year where I had to push harder as an athlete and that wasn’t easy. Fatigue lasted for around 2 years, and boy do I miss those naps.
I have always thought of medications as temporary aids......They mask pain, and help heal, but in the long run they can create ALL sorts of problems... It’s a goal to quit, it is, and if you can, do just that. You will save yourself plenty of heartburn. Pain is an adaptable, I know, I endured massive amounts of it for years.....Recovery includes HEALING pains, I figured that it wasn’t all that bad and that the meds were complicating the systems in my body “and” mind, and emotional thoughts do trigger pain from a neurological standpoint....Think pain, and that’s exactly what you get. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken with diversion. I figured its worth a shot, and it works, I’ve done that study. Soaking in hot water helps in this regard.
You guys are doing great....
Hang in there
Ed
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