L4/5 L5/S1 Mavericks

[trkdoc714]

Thanks to Jake222 and his wife's advice, I'm pretty much back to normal. Their advice was to eat Pringles Lite with Olean oil. It helped with the regularity issue the very next morning.

The pain levels are below what I experienced before surgery and I'm sleeping through the night. I am going a little stir crazy though.

One of the worst problems I have is the muscle tightness but my wife massages my lumbar area (staying away from the central area) and it helps calm them down. While she massages, I get faint leg and abdominal sensations in the same areas that there was pain prior to surgery. I'm guessing she's working the right muscles and releasing the tension on the nerves.

Other than that, I don't limp anymore. I'm consciously taking shorter, softer steps as a precaution but there's no shuffling of the feet. I do have minor aches in my legs until after the massages. Once I get active again, the aches return after a few hours.

Fuzzy's right to a point, take a companion (a family member) with you if you travel to a different area. The travel ordeal was the biggest setback I had throughout this experience.

Bob

[Justin]

Bob,

It sounds like you are making great progress! Slow and steady wins the race. Thanks for the update.

[Kathy]

Bob,
It sounds like you are doing really good! I'm a bit jealous of your recovery, you are less post-op than I am, and are doing better than I am. Maybe I should have went to Stenum with you! Goes to show those horror stories were just that... stories. I am glad that you did what you felt was best, stuck to your guns and are doing wonderfully. Oh, I'm jealous of the massages too, hubby will do like 30 seconds and is done. I need to start going to my masseuse again. I was seeing her 3 times a week prior to surgery; but haven't been in awhile.

I am totally stir crazy too, gets old quick. My kids are loving all the walks. Maybe I should have got Netflix prior to surgery. I've been playing alot of solitare and sudoku on the computer, though my brain does not function near as well as it used to. I'm ready to be done with all of these 'mind altering drugs', gives me a fog.

Happy Recovery, Take it easy,
Kathy

[trkdoc714]

Thanks Justin and Kathy. I had a little of a setback Tuesday though. My wife, son and I all came down with a fast moving virus around noon. It hit us that quickly. I had a dry throat and runny nose at noon and by 2 I had a fever, congested sinuses and very sore throat.

I hadn't posted anything about this until as I was concerned it would be transformed into one of those diabolical plots by the Stenum (you know, some sort of delayed bug they implanted during surgery).

As far as pain levels go, normally I'm at a 2 or 3 at worst but it went up this morning after a coughing session (end of the virus). I think I pulled some muscles as I was standing up when it hit. I overreacted and rushed for something to grab onto like I used to before surgery. I'm sure you all know the scenario. I took 5 mg Percocet around 11 AM and the effects have lasted 8 hours (so far).

Thanks again for your kind thoughts!

Bob

[Kathy]

Bob,
You are hilarious, I love reading your posts, make me laugh out loud everytime (husband thinks I'm a little kuko). I can not believe that you are not taking any pain meds, or just 5 mg. I am still taking either 40 mg of Percocet a day or 60 mg of Vicodin a day. That is amazing that you are doing so good.

I was sick last weekend and it didn't matter what I took, I hurt bad. I guess the healing of the surgery coupled with an illness, is just too much for the body to take. I layed and moaned in my chair for 4 days. I was taking a muscle relaxer every 4 hours, taking max pain meds and still felt like dying. I fortunately have a friend who had some medication for severe nausea and stomach upset (she has Crohns disease and suffers constantly from this). I took the medication and didn't even need pain medication for hours, my stomach had been upset and it was making my back hurt. I think my constipation has been making me hurt as well. The other day, I got out of the car to pick my daughter up from school, by the time I made it to her classroom, I was in a near run to the restroom. I spent 30 minutes in the classroom restroom (the bell had rang, my daughter is opening the door asking loudly "mommy are you pooping", the teacher is asking if I am ok, daughter keeps opening the door (so the everyone left in the room could see me and the door had no lock, since it is a kids bathroom), extremely embarassing ). I finally got to where I felt I could leave the restroom and make it home, then spent another 10-20 minutes in the restroom and finally felt better. Amazing how one little thing can affect the rest of the body so much.

Well, now that I have hijacked your thread with my crappy story, I'm gonna get. God Bless!

[treefrog]

Heh, Kathy you are pretty funny yourself. Well, I know your story wasn't meant to be funny, and I can well imagine the pain and discomfort you felt. Constipation is the bane of back pain sufferers. I know exactly how you feel about the pain that the constipation elicits.

I lost 2 lbs in the past couple of days, and I am pretty sure it is because I started taking more Benefiber each day than I had been.

Anyway, Bob. I am glad that you are doing good, and your recovery is going well. How much are you walking? If you could give more details on your every day life, I'd appreciate it. I just want to know what I am in for, after my surgery.

Hope your recovery continues to go smoothly.

[trkdoc714]

Cathy,

Well I can't do much walking on my street as it's too hilly. Walking to the addition entrance truly is uphill both ways. I've been walking around the perimeter of my yard several times a day (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile).

I'm doing the low, low impact execises I was shown at Stenum (great hospital by the way) and my wife will massage my lower back if needed.

I won't climb the stairs of the house to put Sean to bed which is one of my favorite events. I can't pick him up (nothing over 5 lbs) either, that's been the worst of the whole operation.

Friday will be 6 weeks post-op. I'll start tackling the golf course cart paths behind the house. My energy level is at an all time low since I've gotten back. I was walking about 2-3 miles a day before I injured my back. That was 3 years ago so I'm going to pace myself to get there at 6 months post-op.

Cathy, this recovery is the perfect doctor's excuse if you were looking for that elusive "stay home, watch TV and drink beer" note for work. You'll want to take it easy. Do exactly what the doctor orders and don't over do it. Allow yourself the time and patience to let your body heal. I feel like I've been given a great opportunity to have a new back and I'm not doing anything to jeopordize this gift. Regardless of who you choose for your surgeon or which disc you settle on, I wish you only the speediest, easiest, most pain free and successful recovery.

Godspeed,

Bob