L5-S1 Charite Revision Surgery 8 day post op

[sahuaro]

Hi Blair:
Glad you are doing so much better; it sounds like the difficulties you're experiencing are part of the recovery process. My GI doc recommended citrucel which is a megadose of fiber (one of the pleasures of aging is "irregularity" associated with travel ).

I have to say I read this thread backwards last night (most recent first) and thought the pain meds were having strange effects on some of the posters--Dr. Apostle! what a name for a shrink! I didn't get to meet him when I saw Dr. Regan but I'd guess if you're going to proceed to surgery, he does get involved (which means I will meet him).

Hope everyday brings more progress for you, Blair!

[Maria]

Ok Blair,
This is going to be a bit graphic but here goes..

On Methadone the gut seems to want to stop working. In order to get it work, I take the laxatives as I mentioned, which would be 17gm. of Miralax a day in cup of coffee and 2 Senakot-S in the nighttime.

I'd like to have normal bowel function the a.m. and sometimes I do but sometimes I'm just really *tied up*. When getting badly so after a two days of no you know what.. OMG.. I mean, my stomach is really a mess~

So I can see how you'd spend 5 hours in the bathroom (easily, unfortunately) and almost end up in the ER for relief.

Enemas can be a helpful thing.. the ones you buy at the store. I recommend having a few on hand just because to empty the lower part of the colon is easy and really doesn't require much work at all. It's when you want to give a high enema you should either know how or head over to the hospital for help with this..

This is not a pretty topic but I must say in nursing I gave my fair share of enemas and one thing I can manage is giving the lower colon one to myself if necessary (and probably rigging higher colon one as well) .. it's nasty work but someone's got to do it!

There are serious issues such as an ileus which of course would not be addressed with a simple enema but what I try to do is not let myself go without 3 days of having a bowel movement (after this my stomach is in fits anyway), and make sure you have active bowel sounds (all the gurgling and so forth)

Continuing god luck with this issue and of course, recovery which is ever prominent!!! Hopefully you don't mind as women (middle aged for me) the attention span has shifted a bit for *good looking treating doctor recall*!!!!!!

take good care!!!!

[dshobbies]

Blair,

I'm glad that you're walking better and will hopefully get rid of the walker soon. Once I no longer needed it, I kept it in front of the toilet to hang my head on during those marathon 'sessions'. Sometimes I was just so tired. All I can tell you is that it does get better, it just takes a lot of time. And though I don't think I tried an enema, I did use Ducolax suppositories as needed. I personally found this part of the healing process to be the most diffiuclt. You can deal with incision pain with meds, as you can with other pains, but those damn bowels wouldn't cooperate for some time. Take everyone's suggestions and try them all.

So hang in there... it will get better.

And on that other topic, hey guys, where do your tastes lie? Whose your #10? Read my new joke!

Dale

[Maria]

Blair..
RE the enema ~ even administering a fleets might be difficult by self in terms of revision surgery and positioning ~ had temporarily forgotten this. Agree about the suppositories as a first line measure in terms of lower colon removal of fecal material altho they are similar w/self placement.. watch yourself should you be in the position (no pun) of utilizing either.

Tom Selleck's mustache..

[fortitudine]

Blair,
This is my first time on the forum since the end of April when I had a total knee replacement. I have been on 60 mg MS-contin for 3 months now and I know what you've been going through, gut-wise. I was taking 4 senokot-s - 2 in the am and 2 in the pm, which was a bot too much. It's damn difficult to figure out the right dosage as it's affected so much by the rest of your diet. I'm trying 2 or 3 a day right now, and I'm also finding it a challenge because of the 2-hour window you need forthe senokot before or after other meds. Sounds like you are doing well, I hope things continue to improve. By the way, I hope you did well on your finals!

[Maria]

Hey Blair,
how you're doing and hoping it's well~

[Blairsara]

Hi everyone I hope you guys are doing well. I thought I'd give my weekly update

Good stuff first:
I've been doing really well still! i can now go in a car. I'm now walking for 25 minutes at a time instead of 20. I have been out to lunch 3 times (but I can only sit for a really fast lunch - has to be under 30 minutes). I've gone shopping twice!!! I now have clothes that fit me since i lost a lot of weight and have cute shirts that fit over my brace! NO MORE WALKER!!!!!!!! I now have a four pronged cane as of last week. They wanted me to go to a one pronged cane but i want to take it slow with the big changes.

My stomach problems are better. My pain management doctor gave me some kind of prescription that's in powder form and you put in a drink. It's helped a lot and I feel so much better.

My friend's husband had back surgery about three months ago and she recommended getting the "Zero Gravity" chair from Sharper Image. This, besides the pain pump, is the best invention known to mankind!! I can sit in it for hours and hours and am fine. It's not too expensive only 150ish and so worth it. Relax the Back Store also has it - I found that the one from this store was more comfortable and had more padding than the one from Sharper Image.

So besides the next few things I am doing really well. I am still really positive and am actually really happy. I know the pain is going to suck, but I went through such terrible pain for so many months that I'm kind of used to it. I also found out one of my grades and I kicked major butt!!!! I was hoping for a C- and I got a B+!!! Now I just have to wait to see how i did on the final that was the day before my surgery.

So now to the not so great news:

My legs have been twitching for about a week or two. Sometimes it gets so bad where my entire body moves. Does anyone know why my legs are doing this? Also, I have more pain on my right side than my left as of a few days ago. I have the tingling sensation across my lower back and across my stomach but i expect that to be normal considering they opened me up in the front and drilled 6 holes in my back... so its normal right?

I'm still not sleeping as much as I'd like but it's better than what it was.
And I can't put as much pressure on my right side when I'm lying down than I can on my left. I'm trying to keep my back stick straight but it's really hard. I'm not bending or twisting or anything cause I'd probably hit myself before having someone else do it. :P

Hope everyone is doing well!

Blair