Nairek L5-S1 ALIF Fusion January 2009

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Hi Karin,

I know that you have a TENS unit and I am thinking that you might want to dig that out again and give it a try. Yesterday I received an Interferential Unit in preparation for my MIS TLIF so I decided to give it a try so that I would know what it would feel like after surgery. In addition to my L5-S1 DDD I also tore two shoulder muscles. My shoulder pain rivals my back pain so I thought I would try the unit on my shoulder. WOW, I can't believe that it really reduced the pain. My understanding is that the unit is stronger than a TENS unit so if your pain persists maybe you can inquire about this product. The rep said that there are a lot of competitors out there so you should be able to find a source if you are interested. I plan on using it on my shoulder until the surgery since I can't get to an orthopedic surgeon until after my fusion. It would be so great if my shoulder healed without having to go to yet another surgeon!!!!

Hang in there Karin and take it easy!
Christine

[dshobbies]

I too think a TENS unit is great but was told it's a no go with ADR surgery. Don't know about fusion but I'd check with Doc before using it.

[Justin]

Nairek,

Thanks for the update. It was a funny read about the staples. It sounds like you are doing exceptionally well. Good luck on your notary public exam.

Remember to take things slow and don't cut back on the pain meds too soon.

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I agree with Justin about the pain medication. Many people want to; "Suck it up" and be brave about pain or, they are so afraid of getting addicted that they want off of them as soon as possible. This is the least of what you should be focusing on in recovery. Strong pain interferes with the healing process. There is plenty of time to get off of them in the future. Now it is important to allow them to block the pain messages to the brain so that your body can heal. This also helps to keep you in a spiritual place of taking care of yourself. I am so happy that you are working towards a successful recovery.

That was funny about the staples. As far as those little pieces sticking out, I cut mine off with a pair of scissors. They were the dissolvable ones from inside but, left little tabs sticking out. They would catch on shirts and pull, so it was easier to just cut them off. Use sharp scissors so you don't pull them and hurt yourself in the process.

Hang in there and post when you can. If you have any problems, or weird things happen, post it so we can help normalize what you are going through.

Terry Newton

[Nairek]

The TENS unit I have is currently out of commission. I have a feeling that there is a "back up" battery in there which is shot so I have to send it in for service. I wouldn't use it unless I clear it with my doctor first. With my luck the TENS unit & bone stimulator will fight it out

I was happy to get off of the Oxycontin since I had the Percocet to fall back on. However, the way the Percocet has been prescribed is that I take 2 every 4 hours up to 8 pills per day. Somehow I think I would have been better off with the Oxy since I only took 1 pill every 8 hours. The Oxy was for long term relief & the Percs were for breakthrough pain.

The "new" pain in my lower back can be down right Hellacious! It's below one of the incisions & the best way that I can describe it is that it feels like a tearing/burning feeling which is quite painful. It is made worse by some movements & shivering. The Lidocaine patches take a slight edge off but not enough. The Percocet helps a little bit but again, it still hurts enough to be bothersome. I tried gently massaging the area with no luck. So it's a bit depressing as I'm hoping that this isn't permanent. This is as bad if not worse than the pain that I had before surgery.

Terry, thanks for the info on the "whiskers" as I call them. I was beginning to think that maybe they forgot they were there. Do you recall how long you had abdominal pain? I still feel like I did 100 sit ups out of the blue.

I had a list of questions to ask at my appointment but for whatever reason, I don't recall the question about the "whiskers" being on there. For some reason I get flustered & forget to ask things when I'm in his office.

Thank you everyone for your support. I really appreciate it!

[Nairek]

Before I had my surgery, I was suffering a great deal with right leg/foot pain/numbness. When I initially woke up in the recovery room, I was still suffering from pins & needles sensations in my right foot. However, when I woke up a few hours later, it was gone! After 7 years it was finally gone!

The pain that I had in my lower back also feels like it is gone. Since I can’t bend or twist, I can’t say that it is 100% gone as those motions tended to set me off. But I can say that there is a noticeable difference in my back since the surgery.

Unfortunately, I do have a “new” pain in my lower back which is quite troublesome. It is located below one of the incisions in my back & can be extremely painful at times. The best way to describe it is that it feels like a pulling, tearing, burning sensation. The pain feels just as bad if not worse than the back pain I had before my surgery. I mentioned this to my OS & he stated that the muscles are very inflamed in that area & that it’s possible that this is causing my pain. I was prescribed a Lidocaine patch for the pain but it really doesn’t do much for me. Sadly the oral pain meds don’t help much either.

I still have pain in my abdomen from that incision as well. It’s not debilitating or as bad as the pain in my back, but it’s still uncomfortable. I feel like I did a marathon of sit-ups.

The pins & needles appear to be gone from my right foot but it has been replaced by an odd warm feeling which is made worse by walking. I mentioned this to an ortho resident in the hospital as well as my OS & neither could give me an explanation as to what it is. I assume it’s from the nerves being all funky for years. Again, I am hoping that this is something that will go away as time passes.

I find that a lot of times during the night, when I try to turn over, my legs just decide that they want to stretch out on their own & I can’t stop it from happening. I know that stretching isn’t recommended so soon after surgery but what happens if you can’t stop it from happening? I can feel the stretch in my abdomen & my lower back & I hope that it’s not hindering my recovery. It’s really freaky. I’m hoping that if I try to walk more that maybe it will stop happening so much.

I’m still a little slow with the walking. I usually start out pretty well but slow down quite a bit after about 10 minutes. I have managed to make it out of the house & to a few stores for very short excursions. I’m usually wiped out after those & fall asleep for a few hours so I can re-energize.

A week after I got home from the hospital I was able to take a shower on my own which was really nice. I’m able to get dressed with the help of my trusty “grabber do-hicky” except for putting on socks. I still need help with that.

The other day I spent a little over an hour in the kitchen preparing dinner which I wasn’t able to do before surgery. I did have to pop some pain meds afterwards but it was a huge step for me.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading.

[Justin]

Wow, cooking in the kitchen for an hour--it sounds like you are doing incredibly well!

About the pain in the back, this sounds normal to me and should pass with time. Concerning the "burning" sensation this is also a frequent complaint of patients post-op that does take time to move past. Actually when I had my surgery in Austria, there was a patient that had a 3-level with Dr. B and she had a burning sensation in both her feet for quite awhile (we talked frequently post-op and still do to this day). About the spontaneous stretching of your legs--I wouldn't worry about it...it sounds very benign and it's a way for your body to "deal" with what just happened to your spine.

Funny you mention the sock issue. I remember those days clearly--it was like I was a kid all over again.

Well, keep us posted and keep an eye on your pain levels. I wish you the very best.

[Jakea222]

I am also torn with the same possible surgery. The pain I have is horrible even I don't know how I do what I do and stay 110% cooking like I do witht he long days. I actaully scared myself out of surgery after discussing my option with a friend and former colleague that told me a doc actully quit practicing medicine and opted NOT to have the surgery due to the results how mixed they can be....so when my last doc that consulted with me and my wife told us that he was no longer going to take my insurance - it was an easy way out for me. Reading your very real descriptive story also makes me want to live with this pain. I have focused my mind off my pain when i work - it is when I can't focus that mkaes me almost scream with pain. I admire all of you for going through this "grey" non black and white surgery. So many people with so many different results.

[Kathy]

Karin, Thanks for the SI joint education. I had somehow envisioned that they were like facet joints, all down the spine. Now I know where they are.

That is nice that you are moving to Florida, it is beautiful there. I did notice that alot of people there are not from there. It is a huge melting pot, which I really liked. I did talk to a ton of people that were really nice and interesting. Since you are used to the honking, it won't faze you, like it did me. By the end of the trip, we would just be driving down the road and start honking for no reason. It was a good laugh, although it hurt my belly at the time! I am a very patient driver, I may cuss about something; but don't get mad and honk or road rage.

I remember getting our last house ready for sale and all the work. I hope you have some help getting all the loose ends tied up. We packed up and filled an entire large storage building with 'extras' that our Realtor wanted out. This made the closets very empty, which made them look bigger. Took out extra furniture, emptied cabinets, etc. Did all the touch up painting, re-caulking, fixing the things we had put off for a rainy day and more. We worked for a week and a half, day and night (hubby just night and weekend when he was off work). The crazy thing is that the house was only 4 years old, we had done a bunch of improvements, had kept up all the maintenance and I was crazy OCD clean at the time; so it would seem that there wouldn't be much to do- wrong! I had worked in real estate prior to selling our house and knew that although doing all this stuff wasn't required; but that it would lead to a quicker sale and that it is a fact that the faster a home sells for, the more money you get. We put our house on the market on a Wednesday, it snowed on Friday and Saturday and didn't clear up until Tuesday (which in Texas means no one gets out, so it didn't show). It didn't show until the following Thursday night, and then on Saturday we had 3 showings scheduled and we had a full price offer that night. We had it sold in 11 days for the full asking price, which was good because we had already got into contract on another house. I'm sure if you have a great kitchen (which is a huge factor in selling a home) and have done extras, that you will have a fast sell too. That elbow grease will pay off and you will have it sold and be in your new home soon! Good Luck.

Please do take it easy and have help. I hope you have people helping you pack, or better yet, maybe your hubby has one of those great jobs that has a 'moving package' where they pay for the move, hire movers (who pack and move it for you) and help sell your home (and make up the difference if you don't get fair market value). When I was in real estate, we loved it when we had the 'big wigs' with these packages, as it made it so easy on us. If your like us and you don't have such a thing, have help and lots of beer 'to pay' your helpers!

Take it easy and don't overdo it, Kathy

[Nairek]

Kathy,

No worries on getting help on packing. My husband gives me such grief if he feels I am doing something that I shouldn't! I am becoming a bit more active but I know that I have to do it in moderation. I keep telling myself that I have gone thru too much & come too far to screw this up. I REALLY don't want to go thru that surgery again.

Karin

[Cindylou]

Karin,

Like you, we are getting ready to put our house on the market too. Unlike you, we aren't buying another until we have this one sold. We own that cabin up north too, and I do not want the financial headache of 3 mortgages, until this one sells! The market, of course, is soft here too, but I'm hoping the extras we have done will make ours shine. I'm in the middle of picking granite and backsplash for the kitchen (my realtor says my current backsplash is too busy, altho everyone who comes over loves it), and getting some decorative concrete work done outside, below our deck. The house is old and has alot of charm which I also hope will give it punch. On the other hand, I also don't want to give it away. My neighbor across the street is my best friend, and she is pretty upset with me that we are going this route. It just seems it's time to downsize. With it being just the two of us now (and pets! of course) we don't need a 5 bedroom 4 bath house. So, we'll see. We're trying to time it so the crabapple trees out front and out back are all in bloom when we hammer that sign into the yard.
Good luck with your move too, and remember not to overdo.

My best,

Cindylou