3 months post op L5/S1 PLIF - questions

[kangaroo]

Hey everyone,

My father underwent a L5/S1 PLIF (posterior fusion). It has been approximately 12-13 weeks since surgery and I have a few questions and observations that I would like to share.

1) Pain killers are being weaned off at the moment. Dad has gone from 20mg Oxycontin to now using normal 5mg Oxycodone tabs twice a day. Withdrawal symptoms have included depression, lack of energy and fits of being cold. Next weaning stage will be done next week I think. I doesn't seem like Dad is in too much pain after cutting down. Real test is when oxy is cut off completely.

2) The main complaint at the moment is lack of flexibility and energy. He is doing physio and hydrotherapy. Mind you, he does quite a bit of non demanding house work and helps Mum with the food and such. Normally after dinner (6-7pm) he barely has any energy left. Does that seem normal at this stage? Another complaint is that he feels very cold at night. We have heaters and everything else on (near the end of Winter in Sydney, AU) but sometimes cannot bear it. Mostly the cold is near his legs. He sits and stands mainly after 6pm after doing all his walking and exercise in the morning. Is this normal? Can anyone share how energy levels might return?

3) We had a post op meeting at Week 7. The instrumentation looked good but fusion had still not started. There is another appointment at middle of September (3.5 months post op) to see if the fusion is occurring yet or not. Fingers crossed for that. Although, he does not see himself working maybe until the 6 month mark :-(

4) Any other tips for someone on the 3 month mark that I may have missed? I am trying to keep his mind active at this stage and his mental health. Any thing we can look out for and observe to predict and determine how successful the procedure has been.

edit: His exercise program consists of walking about 4-5 km a day, all during daytime. Sometimes during night time on the treadmill at slower speeds. Fewer kms during days of physio and hydro.

Thanks for reading everyone. I really just needed to share all this with someone.