emotional issues post op.

[bsprings]

Hi Lesly,
I am almost 3 months post op and I know how hard it is -I just want to feel normal again! I find that walking helps me-emotionally and physically. A few days a week I go to a flat spot and walk 2 miles-I do feel better afterwards. Did you switch your meds cold turkey? I think that could be the problem if you did. I think it is better to gradually switch. I have heard it can cause depression otherwise. Hang in there Lesly!
Cathie

[Lesly]

Hi Cathie!
Yes! Dr. Boachie just switched me-- I took my entire supply of oxycodone and then woke up one morning and started the vicodin. I didn't think this was the right thing to do either, but I thought maybe I should give it a few days to see if it starts working better and I feel better. Or maybe I should call the dr and get it switched?
Lesly

[joeb-z]

From observation, recovery is a physical and emotional roller coaster. The pain medications do not help the emotional side of things, they contribute general anxiety and inhibit clear thinking. Plus, every time you go to another level of activity, you crash a bit afterword, both physically and emotionally. It may be reassuring, in terms of emotional swings, anxiety and pain to keep a diary of the weather, increased activity, stresses etc. and look back when you are not feeling well. Impatience (cabin fever) is a problem. There is a tendency for yourself (and others) to try and declare yourself prematurely "better" and load you up with jobs. Everything is individual as to scoliosis surgery recovery, but adding 50% to any time expectations is not a bad idea. Also, don't prematurely assume family burdens etc. if it costs you quiet time and exercise time. Your first job is recovery.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

I am now 6 mths post-op & I will have my check-up next Monday. I still don't still feel like 'me' before surgery.. I am not on any pain meds since about January or so. I am still pooped after I make dinner & many a night still have to go to bed early. It's the energy/stamina I used to have that I now miss. Keeping in mind, I have 2 active young boys! I still have some numbness/stiffness around the incision. I surely will ask about this but do think (I hope) I will be told it is normal & at my age(47) to give it a year...I just had it in my mind that by 6 mths I'd be active like I used to be-wrong!...I agree with Joeb-z, it has been a rollercoaster ride! Personally, this has been way worse emotionally for me than the physical stuff. You learn sometimes the hard way, to learn patience...! Ly
http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com

[JoAnn5]

It seems like the 3-4 month period was the worst for me.... I even started having anxiety attacks that i had NEVER had before. I have always been the one that my family would call on when things went wrong. When i returned to work at 3 months, i guess they just assumed that everything was back to normal... They called me at work one day when my elderly mother could not be located... I left work just imagining the worst, that she would be lying hurt or dead when i got to her house... and by the time i arrived, i was having a big panic attack.... She was at her doctor's appointment, just as she should be, doing fine.... but I wound up having to go to the ER because i could not get control of myself!!
Thank heavens for my sensible General Practitioner who recognized this as a result of all i'd been thru with the surgery... She prescribed some Xanax for me to carry with me in case i feel that panic beginning again. I haven't had to take them very often at all, but just knowing that is what is going on and that i have them if i need them is all the reassurance i usually need.
I think it was an eye-opener to my family too, that even though incisions heal and work resumes, the Fragility is still there for quite some time!

[HGD24]

My suggestion for feeling better would be to have as many friends and family around you as possible. We often had friends and family visit, especially when I was feeling down, and it really helped get me over that hurdle. They would remark at how great I looked and at how much better I was walking than the last time they saw me, etc and it just helped to really pick me up and keep me going. Even talking to friends and family who live far away helped alot.

I think that it's great that you've planned a trip. It will really help you to look forward to that as well. We went to DisneyWorld 10 months after my surgery and having that trip to look foward to was such a big focal point for my recovery. Good luck!

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Joann- I have to say I felt the same as you. I also had some panic attacks around 3-4 mths. Especially after I fell back in Feb. I was so shaken up after that & a wreck that I did something to my back/hardware. Now I'm just more careful & that fall made me realize that I was'nt back to normal..yet. I should have said in my earlier post that at 6 mos, I am feeling way better..just lacking the stamina/energy level I had before the operations so I get a bit down on myself & fustrated from time to time.. all in due time, I guess.
Heidi-you are a real inspiration, too, to me!
Ly

[Theresa]

Hey There Everyone,

If you look back on some of my first posts back in May 2004, you will see that this is exactly what I went through. At that time there really wasn't anyone else here that had the surgery. Everyone else was waiting to have theirs. Unless you have gone through this surgery, you just won't know what we are talking about. I guess we can say we're in a club all our own. Other surgeries that I have been through are not this emotionally draining. My revision surgery in June 2005 wasn't accompained with this problem. I'm hoping this next surgery this June won't have it as well. This will pass, even though it seems like it won't. Remember, One Day at a time.