Prodisc Surgery With Dr. Goldstein

Eddie G · #1 (**permalink**) 11-06-2006, 01:22 PM

It's almost 2 weeks post-op. Dr. Goldstein said my operation was a success from his standpoint. My stomach pain is alot better (4.5/10) and I can lay on my side in bed now. I have to sleep with a pillow on my belly because my cats tend to walk or sometimes even JUMP on my belly. (OWeeeeeOW OW OW) I have a soft brace that I bought that also helps with the cats and any coughing/laughing I may experience.

My physical therapist comes 3X a week. He doesn't do much with me now except stretching me and walking with me, and I am walking ALOT. Today we must have walked a mile in the park. I do alot of walking by myself and use the walker for safety. The weather has been really nice lately so the walks are a pleasure. I also plan on going for some light massage therapy this week.

My back pain is an 8/10 and also with some leg pain which feels different from my previous leg pain. My only relief (besides the pills) is walking/stretching. I walked around the mall for 3 hours yesterday with Sweety. I need to do some walking every day. Walking really helps my pain (while I'm walking) I hope this back pain goes away soon. It's bad.

I was hoping that I was one of those miracle cures who had no pain after a few days......NOT

I heard of one guy who had sex 3 days after surgery and wound up with retrograde ejaculation which went away (I'm certainly not that guy) It may be a few months for me since it took longer for my bowels to even start working properly in the hospital. I guess I'm just a slow healer. The swelling of my belly is going down a little bit more each day.

I have an aide who comes every day to help me. She usually goes shopping, does laundry, and helps me with whatever I need for 4 hours a day. Anything I need to do myself is set up for me to do without bending. For example, the cat food is now on a table instead of on the floor.

I was up a few times last night. The pain makes me lose alot of sleep. I take morphine & wait.
My Pain Manager is switching me to Roxicodone as he thinks the effects are less "loopy" than morphine. I will try it today.

dshobbies · #2 (**permalink**) 11-06-2006, 05:29 PM

I'm sorry you haven't experienced the quick relief from pain you were hoping for. There is a huge amount of swelling going on back there with everything on fire. It sounds like you're in good hands and if walking helps and you can do it, then by all means walk. You might want to walk more often but for less time because you also don't want to overdo.

This somewhat rocky start doesn't mean you won't find the pain relief you're seeking. It just means it's a rocky start. Keep up the good work and you'll get there.

Good luck, Dale

Eddie G · #3 (**permalink**) 11-13-2006, 12:39 PM

It's 20 days out and I'm still in the same amount of pain (8/10) that I was in before surgery. I'm still walking alot and stretching. I don't mind waiting too much since I waited for 3 years already. I'm glad most of the stomache pain is gone. So thats a step forward. I see Dr. Goldstein Wednesday and I have alot of questions for him.
What did my disc look like when it was removed?
How much distraction was involved?
Is the scar tissue that was left from my previous discectomy going to be a problem in the future? I hope the ADR broke apart the scar tissue and it will be a non-factor in the future.

chasswen · #4 (**permalink**) 11-13-2006, 08:19 PM

hello eddie
have new films been taken yet i surely would like to make sure things are where they belong. or possbily maybe your facets.
my prays are heading your way for things to turn arround for you.

chuck

Eddie G · #5 (**permalink**) 11-14-2006, 02:29 AM

I did get facet joint injections last year that gave me no relief and a negative diagnosis. I'm just going to keep giving it time, but my mind remains open to all possibilities.

I can't wait to see my CAT scan (whenever Dr. Goldstein orders it)

I just had a nice long walk followed by a nice long massage and now I feel relaxed enough to chill out & watch the NFL.

My Northface winter jackets were delivered today so I plan on doing ALOT of walking this winter.

I better get some long underwear too...

C YA

Eddie G · #6 (**permalink**) 11-16-2006, 10:54 PM

Well it's been 23 days and my pain level is the same. I am still walking alot.
I saw Dr. Goldstein yesterday for my first follow-up and he took an X-Ray of my disc and everything is exactly where it's supposed to be. I'm 10mm taller. When I asked him about my 8/10 pain he said that since I was in pain for three years it's not going to go away in three weeks so I am still very optimistic.
The Worker's Comp nurse at work denied the continuation of my home health care attendant so I need to find another way to get my shopping done, clean my bathroom and lift my garbage to the curb. I'm not sure what they expect me to do about these things. Sure I can pay out of pocket, but this whole ordeal is their fault and they should take care of me to make sure I don't hurt myself lifting bags & such. Oh silly me! I just forgot that I'm just a number and not really a person to them. These are the same people that offered me a surgeon who never did a disc replacement before! The home attendant denial is just not worth the fight so my home will now be a pig sty. Oink FREAKIN Oink!
They approved my outpatient physical therapy at Kessler. Thank you Jesus! Dr. Goldstein put electric stim on the prescription. Surprise Surprise! I get to keep using my electric stim (which will help me take less drugs) The Oxycontin is bad enough, but when I add Morphine or Roxicodone to the Oxy, I have awful nightmares and I'm up all night either in pain, or frightened because the dreams seem so damn real. I can't wait to get off these narcotics. (Don't you guys have medical marijuana in California? Does that work for anyone?) I sure don't want to get off drugs the way Ray Charles did, but being narcotic free is my next goal, along with relieving my pain in the process.

I do pay out of pocket for my massage therapy because it just feels good. It's worth every penny.

Anyway, I will be getting my new films out to GlobalPatientServices soon to be put up on the web for your perusal. My old films & reports can be found at:
http://www.globalpatientservices.com
UserName: EGrimes
Password:12345

If you click on the MRI's they become HUGE and you can see everything. Don't let that scary dark L4-L5 disc deter you. There's now a nice shiny Prodisc in there. I'll have the films up soon. My Prodisc looks so kool!