Nairek L5-S1 ALIF Fusion January 2009

[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.

[chasswen]

sounds like you are doing great please pace yourself as to give yor body time to heal.
chuck

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I would encourage you to talk to the doctor about getting on Lyrica. Lyrica will help with the nerve pain or distraction pain as it sounds like that is what is going on for you. The other pain sounds like from the surgery itself. They cut through muscle and bone which takes a long time to heal from. Have you tried ice or heat to see which one may work for you?

The Lyrica was a God send for about a year after my surgery. I was on up to 400 mg per day and it helped significantly with the nerve pain.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

[dshobbies]

Ditto on the Lyrica. Start slowly, increase slowly until you get the relief you seek. I was on it 2 years post op and though it would still help a lot, I chose to deal with the pain because of the side effects. But what a difference this drug makes, as does Neurontin.

Good luck, finding the right combo of meds can take awhile.

Dale

[Nairek]

Thank you everyone again for your support & suggestions. It's wonderful to be part of such a supportive community of people who know what I am going though.

I was on Lyrica until 2 weeks before my surgery. I was only taking 1 25mg pill at night before bed to help me sleep. When I asked the Nurse Practitioner at my OS's office about getting a prescription for it, she said that they wouldn't do it as they nor my pain management doctor had prescribed it to me. The prescription that I had was through my previous OS.

When I went for my 2 week post-op visit, I had told both the Pain Mgmt. doc & my OS about the burning in my feet but neither seemed too concerned about it. It's not a horrible burning pain. It's more like an annoyance at this point. I have follow up appointments with both doctors in 3 1/2 weeks. If I can't wait that long, I'll call my Pain Mgmt. doc & see what we can do. The side affects of the Lyrica did bother me a bit so I'm hesitant about going on it again.

Justin, thank you for your input on the back pain. It set my mind at ease that this is a common thing & that I shouldn't freak out over it so much. I was told that I may never be 100% pain free which I am willing to accept. It's just that the new pain is so intense, that I started second guessing my decision to have the surgery. Now I can concentrate on all the weird heart issues that I had in the hospital. I went to see my PCP last week & she more or less said it was nothing to worry about. I think the look on my face made her feel obligated to run blood work though. My husband still thinks I should see a cardiologist just to be sure. Probably because he says my lips turn blue when I'm in a lot of pain. Guess I can't hide it from him anymore.....lol

On that note, the "pesky husband alert" is reminding me that it's past midnight & that I need to take care of myself