Nairek L5-S1 ALIF Fusion January 2009

[dshobbies]

Hey Karin,

I'd like to address another issue. You already went back to work? You are still experiencing incision pain and your muscles are obviously telling you they're not completely ready. I realize financial issues are important but your health is the absolute priority. Please be kind to yourself and listen to your body. End of lecture!

wishing you well, Dale

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by dshobbies

Hey Karin,

I'd like to address another issue. You already went back to work? You are still experiencing incision pain and your muscles are obviously telling you they're not completely ready. I realize financial issues are important but your health is the absolute priority. Please be kind to yourself and listen to your body. End of lecture!

wishing you well, Dale

Dale,

Thank you for the lecture . My husband is constantly lecturing me & informing me that I'm down right stubborn!

I work 2 jobs. One as a paralegal & the other as a data entry clerk. Both are sedentary jobs. My OS told me 6 weeks ago that I could go back to work when I wanted to. I held off for another 4 weeks because I felt that I wasn't ready.

I just have to remember to get up & walk around every 45-60 minutes to stretch things out. It's making sure that the boss that I have at the 1 job doesn't give me grief for doing it. She is such an unhappy person

[Nairek]

I went down to NYC today to see Dr. Bitan for my 12 week post op visit. It was so nice to walk into the office & have the staff greet us with smiles & treat us like they knew us for years.

I had another set of x-rays taken & then went back downstairs & was promptly seen by Dr. Bitan. This was nice because there were a few times we waited for over an hour to see him. The office was about empty today.

So I hawked over his shoulder to look at the x-rays with him. I told him that it just looks downright freaky to me & his response was "no, it is beautiful". I laughed & told him I don't think I could ever get use to seeing & knowing that I have that hardware in my body.

The good news is that the fusion & the hardware looks good. I am free from the bone growth stimulator that I had been wearing 24/7 for the past 10 weeks. I can now begin exercising on my own to strengthen up my muscles. I have had so many rounds of physical therapy for my back that I can basically do it at home.

I told Dr. Bitan that I still have that stabbing/tearing feeling in the lower left side of my back. The bad news is that he feels that this is being caused by a muscle getting caught on the head of one of the screws. He said that this could go away in about a year & that if it's a huge problem, it may have to come out. He didn't seem too concerned by it & I honestly don't want to go under the knife again any time soon. I should have teased him & asked why he didn't counter-sink them but didn't think about it until we got home.

Basically, I am free & clear from having to go back to see him unless I have problems. I told him about our plans to move to Florida & he said I have his number if I start to have problems. Just call him & we'll figure something out. Which is nice since I told him I didn't want anyone other than him touching my back.

So I guess we'll just have to wait & see what life throws at me. I pray that this stabbing pain goes away. Cuz once that's gone, I will be a much happier camper!

Karin

[Nairek]

By the way, I forgot to mention that I went for a cardiac workup due to all the crazy heart stuff I had going on after my fusion surgery.

Survey says that the ticker is fine. Blood work is within normal range. I still have high cholesterol but managed to lower it quite a bit. My heart valves are fine. The only thing that was a tad odd was the results of the 24 hr. heart monitor. My heart rate was as low as 45 bpm (during sleep) & as high as 156 bpm (prolly when I was on the phone with my mom). My average heart rate was 82 bpm so the cardiologist says nothing to worry about.

His reasoning for the tachycardia in the hospital was that it was more than likely caused by pain & anxiety. Well no kidding sherlock!

It's nice to get some good news!

Karin