Surgery finally over!
 

Hi All Supporters

I have returned from Loveland Colorado surgery with Dr K Pettine the staff was the best much better than expected.

I now have coflex at two levels and its too soon to see how its going to work still lots of back pain from the eight hour ride home etc.

I did have a ride to the ER two days after surgery due to too many pain pills Oxycodone 5 mg every four hours, Oxycontin 20mg three times a day, Diazepam 10mg three times a day, I got bloated with no bowel movements, dizzy and felt like vomiting, my left arm was killing me ,My wife called 911 and there was ten people in our room with in seconds , off we went.As I arrived in the ER I started to puke my brains out oh I felt so much better, apparently, I took way too many pills and could of died in my sleep. No more Oxycontin just Oxycodone as needed to control pain and Diazepam for muscle spazms.

I am glad to be here posting and will keep you up on the progress.

They also gave me the tool to take out my staples that will be a trick?

Gil

Well Gil,

Good and bad. I agree how easy it is to overdo the pain meds but am glad it's also under control.

You know to take it slow. And did I read right - you're taking out your own staples? Why?

Anyway, congrats - keep us posted

Dale

congrats on being on the "other side"
 

Gil,
Great news! Except that too many pain pills part tho so glad you got STAT treatment at ER and things were resolved.


I've removed my own staples as well tho didn't realize they were giving people that option w/o being seen first and checking the site. Hmmm I did it because I was an RN back then and had the equip. (not my spine surgery either).

Please keep us updated and thanks for posting!

Congrats on getting the surgery done. Glad you emergency went OK and they figured you out and fixed you.
TAking out staples in your back, are they nuts? I guess if you have someone you really , really trust.
i would go to my primary doctor and let him do the deed, no one in my house would be able to do it , they hide from my scars!
judy

Hi Gil,

Hope the implants help.

Gil... great news. Please post updates... I'm anxious to hear of your success!

All the best,

Mark

Thanks All
It seems I hit a bump in the road it will be three weeks on the 20th. Since Fri. I became crooked hips are level and my torso leans to the left increasing pain in my right butt, leg this is very very pain full, tried some heat, no, tried some ice yes it helps,taking Diazepam and Oxycodone seems to help some.

Call the Doctor office today and typical, left a message now waiting for a call back.

I hope nothing has moved out of sorts?

Gil:eek:

wonder if
 

An injection of Toradol 60mg IM would straighten you up (if you're in muscle spasms). Of course waiting for the doctor to call back is recommended tho you might inquire if this would be recomemended even if you're advised to have films to verify position of things. Good luck Gil. Perhaps whatever it is will just ease off on it's own tho I imagine this has you a bit worried. Hope it's just a small bump in the road to a continuing progressive recovery.

Leaning to the left, huh? Have you considered TV commercials until this subsides;)

Not medically qualified but it does sound like your muscles are in spasm and grabbing on your left side. Also agree, heat has never helped in that area for me, only ice. Pain meds are good, muscle relaxers (Torodol per Maria) are better along with anti-inflams if ice helps.

Hope your doctor calls back soon. Even orally, Torodol can help quickly.

Good luck, Dale

what is coflex?
 

I am so behind on what is what.
Is this an adr?

Hi Cheryl

Check it out Paradigm Spine - the movement in spine care click on products

Gil

thanks
 

Gil,
Like Cheryl I'm behind on this stuff too so thanks for this info. Hope you're feeling better ASAP;)

I took a look
 

It's for lumbar...anything is better than solid fusion in my book.

Coflex Surgery Update
 

Hello All

I have been gone for a while but have been checking post daily.
Here is the coflex surgery outcome.


My surgery was to have decompression, Coflex – F implants and Staxx xd spacers at L4-L5 and L5-S1.


The actual surgery is bilateral hemi laminotomies, medial facetomies and foraminotomies with redo microdiscectomy on the left at L5-S1; decompression of the spinal cord and nerve roots at L4-L5 and L5-S1 followed by insertion of interlaminar Coflex implant with riveting into the sacrum L4; poster lateral bilateral fusion utilizing locally harvested morcellized bone??
As you can see not exactly what I had been explained on my first visit? No staxx Xd implants?


The first words my surgeon said on his visit the day after surgery was “Your Back is Awful” is this admission of failed back surgery? Or your back is so bad this procedure will not help. Insurance approved the surgery and paid in full, Is this a money driven surgery, and procedure approved for profit?


I am eight weeks out and feeling stiff, sore, seem to be going downhill? Cannot sit very long, Standing is pain full, Get crooked and P.T. is working on this with lots of confusion. My left leg behind the knee is feeling weak, also numb left heel that comes and goes with rest.
No longer on pain meds some acetaminophen with little help.


Trying to get back on my feet, three short walks every day, some core work, some stretching.


On the positive side I can do toe raises on the left side, drop foot on right side is better, early morning stiffness (arthritis) is much better. There is some improvement I was hoping for more at this time?


My X-Rays review:

Dr. Pettine did look at your x-rays and

the implants look in great placement. Why you are "going downhill" I don't
know. It does seem odd. We can try a short course of steroids to see if
that decreases the inflammation enough to provide you relief. If the
steroids give you relief, we can also have you come down for an epidural
steroid injection. Let me know what you would like to try. Hang in there.
I have done all of this prior to surgery and here we go again?
Over all I feel that things should improve over time and only time will tell.

Gil

I am glad your surgery is over. Hopefully time will improve further, hope you are not really going down hill. sometimes it is hard to remember what you felt like weeks before.
I am 3 weeks out of surgery on my thoracic and lumbar spine . I went for epidural injections a few days after leaving the hospital and had steroids in the hospital. They definately helped.
Hope you are OK
judy

re going downhill
 

Hey Gil,
Maybe that's just a whole lotta stuff your body has to readjust to anatomically and some inflammation and spasming is the body's natural response at this time.

I'm hoping that going downhill will take an uphill turn as you've mentioned some improvements that sound good.

It does seem we should all do very well after being opened up, banged on, saws and drills brought in, things moved around and so forth.. actually it would seem the more natural response would be to feel brutalized!

Perhaps the steroid dose pack or something w/steroidal component will help quiet things down back there.

Thank you for posting your update and for telling us what you actually had done. Sounds like a lotta detail work!

Gil,

I'm sitting here, shaking my head, wondering why some doctors are more caring than others. You would think, going into this profession, they are caring, nurturing people who want to make a difference in someone's life. Then again, we've heard enough stories to know this isn't true. "It does seem odd," my _ss.

Hopefully, your surgeon did some good and was not just money hungry as you suspect. And healing can take it's sweet time. Keep up the good work and a positive attitude. My fingers are crossed:)

Dale

The reason doctors treat patients like customers/cash vending machines in the US goes to our decline as a society. Most people really suck, it's just that doctors suck more. There are exceptions. Sadly most of them are ignorant and arrogant.


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jUC4wFJIC9...doctor+pig.bmp
Keep in mind, these are merely their salaries and not their income

Neurosurgery Salaries
Lowest Reported Average Reported Highest Reported
$354000 $541000 $936000

Orthopedic Surgery Salary Information
Lowest Reported Average Reported Highest Reported
$228000 $459000 $1352000

Of all of the people that I used to know
Most never adjusted to the great big world
I see them lurking in book stores
Working for the Public Radio
Carrying their babies around in a sack on their back
Moving careful and slow


It's money that matters
Hear what I say
It's money that matters
In the USA

All of these people are much brighter than I
In any fair system they would flourish and thrive
But they barely survive
They eke out a living and they barely survive

When I was a young boy, maybe thirteen
I took a hard look around me and asked what does it mean?
So I talked to my father, and he didn't know
And I talked to my friend and he didn't know
And I talked to my brother and he didn't know
And I talked to everybody that I knew


It's money that matters
Now you know that it's true
It's money that matters
Whatever you do

Then I talked to a man lived up on the county line
I was washing his car with a friend of mine
He was a little fat guy in a red jumpsuit
I said "You look kind of funny"
He said "I know that I do"

"But I got a great big house on the hill here
And a great big blonde wife inside it
And a great big pool in my backyard and another great big pool
beside it
Sonny it's money that matters, hear what I say
It's money that matters in the USA
It's money that matters
Now you know that it's true
It's money that matters whatever you do"

HI

Thanks for your motivation, recovery is taking baby steps and be happy for the little things in life.

I am in a hurry to get going in life but it will be a while!

I picked up my meds for four days to see if this relives my symptoms, if it does they would like to do injections

Has anyone used Dexamethasone 4 mg?

Gil

Gil, i think i have only used dexamethasone for endocrinology testing. But who knows i have received steroids by IV in the hospital and i don't know which was used it could have been dex. It is a powerful anti inflammatory and i hope it helps you as much as steroids have helped me. As i said before i also went for injections with my recent surgery a few days after getting home from the hospital. My right leg would barely function the day i got to the surgery center, it had gone down hill from the surgery day. the steroids totally relieved any symptoms in that leg. Now i may go in 2 weeks to try to get the left leg in good shape.
Although i had NO back pain for the first 10 days or so, it then started! So i guess i could say i went down hill too.
Here's steroids help you as much as they did for me.
judy

Sleeping
 

Hello

I am on the steroids and have seen some small improvement . But still have nerve issues in both legs, LBP is much better

Now sleeping is not happening I was up until two with nerve twitching and leg jerking I took muscle relax pill and fell asleep around four a.m. Up at 6 a.m. to get our son ready for school and he still managed to miss the Bus, on the way to driving him i ran out of Gas! The wife is not happy. I kept her up all night and getting gas for me etc.

I am hoping P.T. Today will help.

Gil

Mama said there'd be days like this...

I hear you about not sleeping. Some days, especially now that I've given up my anti-inflam - I don't know what to do with my legs at night.

Running out of gas, something Julius used to do often has trained me to fill up with 1/2 tank. Yesterday I was down to about 1/8 and it cost me over $75!:eek: Another reason to fill up sooner (I know, it all costs the same anyway)

Can't say pt did anything to help me sleep though? Good luck

Dale

Coflex Implants?
 

Update

I am now 12 weeks out and still dealing with left leg nerve issues.

LBP all day every day, We are trying to figure out what is going in, inflammation? arthiritis ? swelling? It starting to worry me

Things were better a few weeks after surgery, now I wonder what is in my future?

Gil

Gil,

Considering your nerve pain has increased, it doesn't seem like it's a result of swelling, which was probably worse right after surgery. I'm thinking perhaps the build up of scar tissue might have something to do with it. Just a thought. What does Dr. say?

If you're not already taking it, you might try Neurontin or Lyrica though enough has been said about the side effects. If already taking it, you might increase the dosage.

I also find laying flat increases my discomfort. You might try elevating your knees and feet in bed - several pillows are available at the relax the back store. Of course that means sleeping on your back which some people find difficult -.

I wonder if an MRI would show what's touching your nerves?

Dale

12 weeks out
 

Hey Gil,
sorry to hear you're still having a significant amount of pain it sounds like tho you're not that far out of surgery still. I too wonder about scar tissue. As Dale suggested am wondering if you've had a recent MRI and/or if you did have one if that would show anything of signficance.
Please continue to keep us posted. take care ~ Maria

Gil
I am sorry to hear about your pain. I looked up the implants you got last time before i posted and forgot what they are.
Anyway any chance you can get some ESI nerve blocks? Is your right leg OK now? I think you mentioned left leg and back.
I had fusion of L3 and L4 with some other stuff at higher levels on Aug 8th. On the after a few days i had some ESI's because my right leg was unbearable with the nerve symptoms and i almost could not walk. It helped my leg, actually cured me . I still had problems with my back and left leg, they are slowly getting better though . Some setbacks and some things are really hard to do, but toward improvement.
I hope the same for you.
judy

Scar Tissue? How do you get rid of that?

Usually when I hear Scar Tissue, its from some crack smoking surgeon who cant figure out what is wrong and says sorry I cant help you

Gil:eek:

very good question!
 

Gil,
not sure if scar tissue was ever responsible for what was ailing me post 2nd spine surgery but sure was blamed for it~ on S1 nerve root.

How to get rid of it.. good question. I think if it's within the first year of development it's thought that the RACZ or something like that procedure can rid one of it but after one year post surgery thought that not successful.

first it would be good to identify if you even have any scar tissue as you might not. If you do it might be one of those convenient but sort of true reasons that there is some pain that is hard to explain or not easily definable.

Wishing you better explanations than I got and definately better days ahead! Keep us posted!!!

I wonder if scar tissue can't be surgically cut out. Of course you run the risk of more scar tissue but if, and if is the big question here, scar tissue is now somehow involving nerve, why can't it carefully be cut out with the hope as it reforms, it stays away from the nerves???????

Just thining out loud

D

Update
 

Hi All

I just returned from my 6 month check up, Still dealing with Low Back pain, leg nerve stuff, Stabbing pain in the left SI Joint area etc,

Surgeon seemed too busy to see me? Did not want to answer all of my questions, Suggested a CTScan and XRays. "Xrays look good" How about my crooked spine? " you have a crooked spine no big deal"
Did a CT scan Holly ****! My L2-L3 in very very degenerated almost bone on bone
When asked what do we do now? He tried to change the subject. " you are the boss here..." The same **** he speals to all his patients. Then I asked how the stem cell injections are going? He asked his assistant to give me the web site information shook my hand and ran out of the room. What the $#@k.

Oh he was kind enough to give me more steroids with side effects to kill a cow and Celebrex. Well I will try the Celebrex and search for another surgeon I think he hopes that is the road I travel.

Apparently my spine is too much for him to deal with.

I will bring this matter up with my Lawyer and see what they think.

Gil

apparently
 

Your surgeon does not want to tell you what to do anymore since what he did seems to have failed. You may want to consider seeing someone that does revisions and just see what they say tho it could be too early to do something or true that nothing should be done at least for a while.

I'm sorry to hear you're worse. This is my main reason for not wanting to have more spine surgery. I know how I am now and don't want to get to that point where I don't where I'm at again. I'll keep this position for as long as possible at least.

Easy to say what will help a person before it's done tho once all the "stuff" is done and there are still probs or more probs then it seems it's not easy to say what to do anymore.

Gil I just hope you get some good pain relief and hope this stuff straightens itself out w/o more surgical intervention. I guess however it'd not hurt anything just to see if anyone would recommend revision surgery or something else. Recommendations can't hurt as long as they are just that.

Celebrex
 

Maria thanks for the reply

I am now on five days of Celebrex and the stiff and sore lower back is much better but not great.

How long does it take for this drug to work? and How long can you take this drug.

Gil :eek:

re celebrex
 

Gil,
I took Vioxx which is much like Celebrex and it worked right away for me to alleviate pain. The only prob is that it also created chest pressure which turned to chest pain so had to discontinue it esp. when went off the market.

I think because Celebrex is a Cox inhibitor and Nsaid type of drug that it should work for the period of time that you're taking it like however many hours it's supposed to last. I don't think you need a build up to happen in your system to "feel" benefits. May just be that it doesn't help.

Vioxx worked really superbly for my cramps and my DDD but not any of the other type of pain that I had.

good luck~ sometimes it's just trial and error, trial and error ... until something clicks!

Gil
I am sorry to hear of your continued pain . Also your doctor rushing out on you. Good luck finding another surgeon, i certainly would not go back to that guy who didn't have time for you.
I was prescribed celebrex right after my hip was replaced although i never got a refill as my surgeon only wanted me to take it for a few weeks. Not sure about the details on that one.
judy