Re: Questions about healing after surgery

[Guest guest]

Hey Cosmia I just seen your post. I seen you went to Dr. Kolb as

well. How far did you have to travel? Any problems traveling after

surgery? If out of town where did you stay? Did you have pain pump?

a

[Guest guest]

paula,

I had to travel 4 hrs. i didn't have any problems traveling home after

surgery. i slept all the way home right after getting out of recovery.

i stayed at a hotel right down from the docotor's office thenight

before surgery. i didn't use a pain pump.i figured i had enough stuff

sticking out of my chest with the drains.i chose pain pills instead.

>

> Hey Cosmia I just seen your post. I seen you went to Dr. Kolb as

> well. How far did you have to travel? Any problems traveling after

> surgery? If out of town where did you stay? Did you have pain pump?

> a

>

[Guest guest]

Roseanne,

 

I have found that therapeutic massage is very helpful with post-op pain. It

takes many, many months usually to bounce back after a fusion, don't rush your

expectations.

 

Also, I'm curious what your physical therapist has to say about your progress

with being able to stand up straight. No, I have not encountered that problem at

all.

 

The surgery itself would not contribute to one leg being longer, but CAN be a

secondary side effect with muscle spasms.

 

If I were you and if I could afford it. I would invest in one massage a week for

the next month and see how you do. I have really found it to do wonderful things

for  spine musculature that is recovering from fusion.

 

If only you folks could see how a fusion is performed. There's little that's

delicate about it, with the exception on dissection of the nerves and all, but

the process of a fusion is very traumatic to the tissues. It takes months to

recover from this procedure. Give yourself 9 months, then be concerned if you

are still too uncomfortable. At 3 months, you should start to feel much better

though.

 

Stick with the PT.

 

---

ellissimo-usa.com> wrote:

From: madamelasagna <roseanne@...>

Subject: Questions about healing after surgery

spinal problems

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009, 3:07 PM

Hi, I'm a new member with some questions. I'm a 62 year old woman. I

had surgery almost 6 weeks ago. It consisted of fusing L3 and L4,

opening up the foramen, and putting a semi-rigid PEEK rod from L1 to

L5. The rod is there to straighten and stableize my spine for two

reasons: I had curvature, and also when I stood up one of my

vertebrae would slide sideways out of alignment and put a lot of

pressure on nerves.

I had been in a lot of pain for a long time, and for the last year I

was walking with a cane. I walked bent over because I couldn't stand

up straight due to the nerve compression.

So here are my questions:

Does anyone have experience with the PEEK rod used in the same manner

as mine? Has it helped?

I still can't stand up straight. My doc says to be patient, that my

back muscles are atrophied from walking bent over for so long. Also

they've been cut and take a long time to heal. Has anyone had a

similar experience? I'm getting worried that I'll never stand up

straight again. I do exercises that the physical therapist gave me,

but I don't see any progress.

My right leg seems considerably longer than my left. It used to be a

little bit longer, but I think the surgery has made it worse. I

don't know if the legs are actually uneven or if this is due to

muscular contraction. Has anyone had this experience? If so, what

can be done about it?

Before my back got really bad, I used to have a lot of pain in my

hips. X-rays showed some arthritis, but according to my doc, not

enough to hurt so much. When my back got really bad and I started on

morphine, the hip pain went away. Now it's back, especially when I

sleep, even though I'm on double the dose of morphine that I used to

take. My entire pelvic area hurts, even my inner thighs. I think it

may be muscle pain due to the realignment of my spine, but I'm not

sure. Maybe I need therapeutic massage? Has anyone had this

problem?

Thanks for your help.

Roseanne

[Guest guest]

The therapist shoule know where she can work and where she needs to go easy.

Some scar massage would be helpful in reducing the forming scar

tissue...breaking it up. The surrounding muscles are fine to massage at this

time. The only thing you need to be aware of is the sutures in the deeper layers

of your back are still functioning. Less at this point than earlier in your

recovery, but they are still holding things together as you heal. Nothng too

vigorous in the area of your incision, just scar massage.

 

---

From: madamelasagna <roseanne@...>

Subject: Re: Questions about healing after surgery

spinal problems

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009, 10:11 PM

,

Thanks for the advice about massage. I was wondering about it but

thought it might be too soon to start. It's good to hear that it is

not too soon. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

It's also good to hear that my pain is not unusual 6 weeks after

surgery. I guess I'm just impatient!

Thanks,

Roseanne

>

> From: madamelasagna <roseanne@.. .>

> Subject: Questions about healing after

surgery

> spinedisorderssuppo rtgroup@gro ups.com

> Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009, 3:07 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Hi, I'm a new member with some questions. I'm a 62 year old woman.

I

> had surgery almost 6 weeks ago. It consisted of fusing L3 and L4,

> opening up the foramen, and putting a semi-rigid PEEK rod from L1

to

> L5. The rod is there to straighten and stableize my spine for two

> reasons: I had curvature, and also when I stood up one of my

> vertebrae would slide sideways out of alignment and put a lot of

> pressure on nerves.

>

> I had been in a lot of pain for a long time, and for the last year

I

> was walking with a cane. I walked bent over because I couldn't

stand

> up straight due to the nerve compression.

>

> So here are my questions:

>

> Does anyone have experience with the PEEK rod used in the same

manner

> as mine? Has it helped?

>

> I still can't stand up straight. My doc says to be patient, that my

> back muscles are atrophied from walking bent over for so long. Also

> they've been cut and take a long time to heal. Has anyone had a

> similar experience? I'm getting worried that I'll never stand up

> straight again. I do exercises that the physical therapist gave me,

> but I don't see any progress.

>

> My right leg seems considerably longer than my left. It used to be

a

> little bit longer, but I think the surgery has made it worse. I

> don't know if the legs are actually uneven or if this is due to

> muscular contraction. Has anyone had this experience? If so, what

> can be done about it?

>

> Before my back got really bad, I used to have a lot of pain in my

> hips. X-rays showed some arthritis, but according to my doc, not

> enough to hurt so much. When my back got really bad and I started

on

> morphine, the hip pain went away. Now it's back, especially when I

> sleep, even though I'm on double the dose of morphine that I used

to

> take. My entire pelvic area hurts, even my inner thighs. I think it

> may be muscle pain due to the realignment of my spine, but I'm not

> sure. Maybe I need therapeutic massage? Has anyone had this

> problem?

>

> Thanks for your help.

>

> Roseanne

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You could try Yan Hu Suo. It is a Chinese herb that as 48% the

effectiveness of opium, but without the addictive effects. Of course,

Acupuncture is excellent for pain as well.

Questions about healing after surgery

spinal problems

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009, 3:07 PM

Hi, I'm a new member with some questions. I'm a 62 year old woman. I

had surgery almost 6 weeks ago. It consisted of fusing L3 and L4,

opening up the foramen, and putting a semi-rigid PEEK rod from L1 to

L5. The rod is there to straighten and stableize my spine for two

reasons: I had curvature, and also when I stood up one of my

vertebrae would slide sideways out of alignment and put a lot of

pressure on nerves.

I had been in a lot of pain for a long time, and for the last year I

was walking with a cane. I walked bent over because I couldn't stand

up straight due to the nerve compression.

So here are my questions:

Does anyone have experience with the PEEK rod used in the same manner

as mine? Has it helped?

I still can't stand up straight. My doc says to be patient, that my

back muscles are atrophied from walking bent over for so long. Also

they've been cut and take a long time to heal. Has anyone had a

similar experience? I'm getting worried that I'll never stand up

straight again. I do exercises that the physical therapist gave me,

but I don't see any progress.

My right leg seems considerably longer than my left. It used to be a

little bit longer, but I think the surgery has made it worse. I

don't know if the legs are actually uneven or if this is due to

muscular contraction. Has anyone had this experience? If so, what

can be done about it?

Before my back got really bad, I used to have a lot of pain in my

hips. X-rays showed some arthritis, but according to my doc, not

enough to hurt so much. When my back got really bad and I started on

morphine, the hip pain went away. Now it's back, especially when I

sleep, even though I'm on double the dose of morphine that I used to

take. My entire pelvic area hurts, even my inner thighs. I think it

may be muscle pain due to the realignment of my spine, but I'm not

sure. Maybe I need therapeutic massage? Has anyone had this

problem?

Thanks for your help.

Roseanne