5 months after surgery....

[Guest guest]

I am writing on behalf of my husband. He is not much into seeking info

via internet, though I am a search junkie, so I'll appreciate your

input for his sake.

Five months ago my husband had a disectomies for 2 ruptured discs in

his lower back. Despite the surgeons glowing report on the easy and

clean looking surgery, and telling him that he bets if he takes it

relatively " easy " (did not clarify more - rather than say not to

snowboard and mountain bike in the first few months)that he bets 95%

chance he should never have a problem again. He takes it as easy as

possible by having me do the majority of lifting, etc, though he does

work on his feet. Occasionaly he starts to feel some pain when

exerting himself (about a " 2 " on a scale of 1-10) but that is nothing

that a day of rest won't cure. He is an athlete, so his quality of

life has been dramatically altered.

About 4 days ago we were pretty agressive with cleaning or house for

an event (sliding beds, shampooing carpets, etc). He felt that since

he had been doing well and it had been 5 months, all would be good;

after all, how long do you have to wait to do these rather minor

things again?

He started feelng an old, sort of familar stabbing pain in the SI

region on the top of his right buttock. The pain has consistantly

stayed the same now for about 4 days (about a " 4 " on a 1-10). When he

ruptured his discs, the pain was an " 9 " .

Here are my questions:

1. Because we are all petrified that he blew out another disc or will

have perminant pain again, I am either looking for someone out there

to say that yes, even after 5 months, they still have some times where

it can start to feel worse that usual for a while, but it is all part

of the healing process, it does not mean that anything detrimental

happened, and things can get better.

OR

2. Four days sounds like a long time for post surgery healing type

pain and he should get it looked at.

And just another thing...

3. When you all do get back pain, do you find ice or heat is the best?

My husband tends to soak in hot baths. even though it gives him

immediate relief, I wonder if it is the best.

Thanks so much for reading and your suggestions! Jen

[Guest guest]

At 11:41 PM 8/10/2008, you wrote:

>I am writing on behalf of my husband. He is not much into seeking info

>via internet, though I am a search junkie, so I'll appreciate your

>input for his sake.

Welcome Jen, to the forum. We have several spouses who intervene for

their loved ones. I'm the Info junkie in my family, but I also

happen to be the back and pain sufferer. I'm also the go to guy fro

my Wife's issues which are different than mine.

>Five months ago my husband had a disectomies for 2 ruptured discs in

>his lower back. Despite the surgeons glowing report on the easy and

>clean looking surgery, and telling him that he bets if he takes it

>relatively " easy " (did not clarify more - rather than say not to

>snowboard and mountain bike in the first few months)that he bets 95%

>chance he should never have a problem again. He takes it as easy as

>possible by having me do the majority of lifting, etc, though he does

>work on his feet. Occasionaly he starts to feel some pain when

>exerting himself (about a " 2 " on a scale of 1-10) but that is nothing

>that a day of rest won't cure. He is an athlete, so his quality of

>life has been dramatically altered.

If he has an athletes muscle structure then he is probably better off

to start than many of us. I've had 3 back surgeries, 2 for fusion in

my lower back S1 through L5, and also a neck operation and fusion of

2 or 3 levels I honestly don't remember of the cervical structure of

my neck. My Neck surgery was a total failure, my Back somewhat

better, but as good as it gets after 3 surgeries, and all the

hardware and fusion over 26 years. So I can't relate totally to your

husbands condition but I can offer some feedback. After my surgeries

and fusions I was told max lift of 12-15 lbs, held close to the body,

and lift with the knees not the back. I also wear a back brace /

back belt when lifting to help avoid future problems. With fusion

which is they remove the disks, cement the 2 or more levels together

with your own bone or cadaver bone, and add metal plates and screws

to stabilize everything. With fusion you are more likely to cause

damage either above or below the fused level than the ones that were

repaired, because they aren't going anywhere, which puts more strain

on the remaining levels. I am also reminded constantly by my Wife

who loves me very much and is always looking out for me to work

smart, and not at all if it can be avoided. So use things like

handtrucks, those sliders that you put under furniture to slide it

easily, or pay someone to move it, or ask a friend which is hard to

swallow for a guy, especially an athlete. But you got to look at the

long term consequences, you had a very expensive, invasive operation

on your Spine!! Be glad you got some pain relief and are not

paralyzed. So you must take care of your spine from now on. I'm in

chronic pain 24x7, but in general my lower back is not too bad, for

me it's my neck and right shoulder that are at a 6-7 all the time,

even with narcotic pain management 24 x 7. If I overexert by

spending too much time driving or just in a car, standing for

extended periods on cement floors, or shopping mall floors, or

lifting something weighing much more than I should or pushing similar

too heavy of an object, I can get severe pain from my but cheek down

my leg, Sciatica nerve pain. Generally if I lay off it, and put Ice

pack on it, and also get a massage by my wife with a hand held

percussion massager, it will go away in a day or two. In my opinion

4 days sounds like something more, unless he hasn't stopped to let it heal.

>About 4 days ago we were pretty agressive with cleaning or house for

>an event (sliding beds, shampooing carpets, etc). He felt that since

>he had been doing well and it had been 5 months, all would be good;

>after all, how long do you have to wait to do these rather minor

>things again?

5 months sounds like a reasonable amount of time

>Here are my questions:

>

>1. Because we are all petrified that he blew out another disc or will

>have perminant pain again, I am either looking for someone out there

>to say that yes, even after 5 months, they still have some times where

>it can start to feel worse that usual for a while, but it is all part

>of the healing process, it does not mean that anything detrimental

>happened, and things can get better.

I still get times of real bad pain after 8 years!, but mine is a

different case than his.

>OR

>

>2. Four days sounds like a long time for post surgery healing type

>pain and he should get it looked at.

Like I said earlier, if he is laying low and treating it somehow, to

me, 4 days sounds a little long. But I'm not a Doctor, nor do I play one on TV

>And just another thing...

>

>3. When you all do get back pain, do you find ice or heat is the best?

>My husband tends to soak in hot baths. even though it gives him

>immediate relief, I wonder if it is the best.

For ME, I have gotten great relief over these 8 years buy using a

frozen Gel Pack available at CVS or similar drug stores. I wrap them

in a light towel, and place them on the point of origin of the pain.

For me, my shoulder blade, and sometimes my lower back. I have 9

packs that we keep in a little freezer in our office on the second

floor. My Wife and I both use them. She uses them for migraines, and

me for neck and back pain. Cold relieves swelling and inflammation,

and numbs the pain. Hot packs relax tight muscles, this is how I

understand it. You can try both, it comes down to whatever works for

you. I hope this helps some. I'm sure you will here from some other

members who have more recent surgeries and different outcomes. Good

luck to you both, Dave moderator