Never again

Liz · #1 (**permalink**) 02-26-2009, 09:48 PM

hi phylly,

that's great news!!! i hope you feel better and stronger each day. maybe don't drive for a few more wks!

i think your early revision success is one of a kind, but it's nonetheless inspiring!!

when you're up to it i hope you'll elaborate on your vessel guard for people since my impression is it's what saved you from a more invasive surgery to remove L4-5 through the psoas muscle, which is how i believe most Prodiscs are currently removed at L4-5.

my understanding from Phylly is the scar tissue stuck to the vessel guard and once it was peeled up the Prodiscs were visible without scar tissue. This is still a VERY risky op b/c of the aorta/major arteries around L4-5. i would encourage anyone facing anterior fusion or ADR to ask their surgeons if they plan to use some sort of a vessel guard in the event that a revision is needed down the road. Perhaps vessel guards will also allow patients to revise their ADRs to other ADRs in the future... i was told this may be possible if the ADR could be removed the way it went in b/c this may avoid removing too much bone.

anyway, deep thoughts, but i'm just so happy for you phylly!!! enjoy your walk!

best,
Liz

phylly · #2 (**permalink**) 02-27-2009, 12:08 AM

Hi Liz,
I think you explained the vessel guard better than I could. The only part I would add is they left same vessel guard in place and put it down again once the removal was completed. The vessel guard allowed the Drs. access through the front and therefore very little bone was removed. I realized that I was very lucky because vascular accidents can happen and when they do they are life threatening. That is why most Drs. chose to go in from the psoas muscle or just fuse over the discs. The Drs. that remove the discs believe that you heal better when they are out rather than fusing over the hardware and putting more in. Liz, when I read the OP report it talked about gently retracting vessels. They also slightly distracted the vertebrae to get in the bone cage and had to scrape/score the endplates so the bone could adhere. It sounded like they worked very slowly and carefully. Let me know if there is anything else I should talk about?

Liz, Keep us up to speed on all your tests and what you might be doing?
Justin, I was glad to see you posting, I miss you. Have you decided what you will be doing? Thinking about revisions are pretty stressful as there are so many different opinions about what to do. You are both such thoughtful people who have researched this a lot. I know you will both make good decisions.

My walk was wonderful but I did get pretty sore after and took a nap. Of course the phone rang and woke me up. So much for being lazy. What a beautiful day today is here in the OC.
Phylly

Maria · #3 (**permalink**) 02-27-2009, 11:12 PM

Hi Phylly,
I just started Forteo the 10th of Feb as my t score is t - 2.6 with a very strong history of osteoporosis (mother/deceased, father, brother).

The first few days injecting myself I had quite a strong backache which may or may not have been associated with the start of the medicine but I had not been having any back pain of late or very minimal.

Then it seemed that this feeling went away after several days and every other day or so I would feel like my joints ached very much, my legs ached/hurt, and I sort of felt like I've been beaten with several bats plus very tired.

So this is day 17 and the prior two days I've been pretty energetic while today I'm back to feeling very tired.

The idea per the Rheumatologist was to build my bone density back up over the next two years and then to start IV Reclast one time a year to maintain the increased bone density.

Even tho we discussed my history of usually 3 ESIs/year since 2001 he did not recommend against getting more but just to continue with a conservative use but not a complete discontinuation.

Mostly I think I feel more tired since starting the injections but we'll see how things progress. I feel very fortunate at this time that I have insurance that covers the cost of the Forteo as it's really expensive!

Kathy · #4 (**permalink**) 02-28-2009, 05:04 AM

Phylly,
Glad to hear you are doing so well. I'm gone for 2 weeks, come back and so many have had surgery. Did the same surgeon that put in your discs remove them?
Praying for a speedy recovery,
Kathy

phylly · #5 (**permalink**) 02-28-2009, 07:11 AM

Maria, thanks for the info on forteo. I will start tomorrow so I will see how I do. I hope I don't get too tired and achy but there are side effects with everything I guess.

Kathy, A different Dr. took out my discs. I am hoping it works out well and so far it's been a bit better each day. Today I was tired and did not walk as much as yesterday but I will try again in the morning. You must be getting close to your surgery. I wish you the best.
Phylly

mmglobal · #6 (**permalink**) 03-04-2009, 10:14 PM

Hey phylly... I hope you are recovering nicely. Any chance you'll be out at the art walk tomorrow?

phylly · #7 (**permalink**) 03-05-2009, 07:55 AM

Mark,
I think the rain makes me hurt more or I am just doing more but today was not as good. I know there will be up and down days. I just don't like the down days and I hope it's not the Forteo. I don't think I am ready for the art walk yet but maybe in April. I'll try two shorter walks tomorrow instead of one long one. Pretty soon I need to get out of the house though. I may try to go to my knitting for a short while at the end of the week, I will see how tomorrow goes.
Phylly