Hi Kathy,
It is great to hear from you! I thought of you last night with this emoji🙄 while I stared at the ceiling the entire night. I never slept once! It was so annoying. It had been a long eventful day as we left my recovery house in La Jolla and drove home, which ended up taking over 3 hours because we stopped for a quick lunch and gas. I was doing great in the front seat of my mom's comfy car with 2 soft pillows and 2 ice packs. I walked around while they ordered lunch and after we started on the second half of the drive, my back started feeling very tight and I could not get comfortable. I popped 3 Dilaudid ( it was time for my usual one) and an anti-nausea pill and I had the brilliant idea to lay own in the back seat of my Dad's pick-up ( which has very soft seats). We had to pull over, move luggage around but once I reclined, propped up on a few pillows I felt soooo much better. Even semi-reclined sitting in a car has its limits with me. If you have a car you can lay down in on the ride home, it really helps.
It was great to be home after almost 7 weeks. I was up more trying to get things put away so by the time it hit 9:30pm, my low back was killing me and I went to bed. Although I never slept! The pain went away but my bed is firmer than the other mattress I got used to, so I am hoping it is just an adjustment.
My upper back is really not in pain anymore, it is all in my lower back. I feel like I have the bear claw people talk about in my low left side. I think I could almost be off the pain meds if it wasn't for that spot. It makes it very hard to walk more than a few houses down. So frustrating. I still walk very slow.
It is hard to realize at home all your stuff up high or down low is not accessible anymore. I need to rearrange things better but I get the pain and just want to get on the couch. Have you felt restless? I do yet I don't really feel like going out or seeing people yet. My kids have been so sweet and helpful, even my 4 year old. It seems he really understands my limitations. Keep me posted on how you are going. I hope we get some sleep tonight!!
Best,
Jana
Diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis at age 11
Dr. Edgar Dawson of UCLA
Braced and "stopped" below 50 degrees
Age 25: 47 degrees, 48 degrees
Age 38 (3 babies later): 60 degrees, 63 degrees and 2.5 inches shorter
Age 41: 64 degrees, 70 degrees
Dr. Gregory Mundis Jr. of Scripps Hospital, La Jolla CA
June 2015-ALIF on L5-S1 for a slipped and degenerated disk
June 14, 2016-T4-L4 spinal fusion with instrumentation
Post-surgery: 16 degrees, 12 degrees and 2 inches taller