surgery scheduled

[Guest guest]

Hi June,

I wish you much good luck!

Who did your revision?

Bonnie

[ ] Surgery Scheduled

I am so sorry to read about Lorrie's complications. She'll be in good hands at NY Presbyterian Hospital.

I'm scheduled for surgery on Dec. 12th at NYU Med Ctr Dr. Errico will be revising my revision. I do have one broken rod and he thinks the second one is also broken. He'll be doing:

Anterior T10-L3 fusion to shore up my spine with bone wedges and

Posterior Revision instrumentation T10-S1 replacing the rods.

Instead of going in thru my belly he'll operate thru my left side and then open the scars on my back for the second part. They expect it to be another 8-10 hour surgery. I will be donating 2 pints of my own blood at NYU Med Ctr starting 11/21.

All of this is much sooner than I expected. I really thought that the broken rod and unhealed top of the fusion could be corrected eventullay--not now!

I hope you're right in saying that the second surgery is easier than the first! I already started taking more Vitamins and increasing my red meat consumption and dieting! Dr. Errico has mentioned my rapid weight gain a few times and I iunderstand now the consequesnces. I am aslo going back to the pool to gain some flexibility and maybe whatever else excercise can help with in such a short time! I really don't want to do anything cuz I am hurting more than ever. My pain level has defintily increased and I am now taking Percocet when I need it.

Cymbalta- My Rheumatologist switched me to Cymbalta suggesting that many Fibromyalgia patients where having success with pain management. I did try it for about a week and found that my pain levels almost tripled. So I went back on Effexor XR 37.5mg, which I have been taking since my first spinal fusion in 2002. I find that the Effexor XR keeps my anxiety level down and I sleep well. Now, due to the fusion problems I've had to add the Percocet.

June Sommer -NJ

[Guest guest]

June,

I hadn't had a minute to say..WOW! That is a quick schedule...two

weeks at this time of year is not a small thing. Hopefully you will be

at home resting by the christmas tree in no time.

I hope you can find a way to comfortably do a little work in the pool.

I don't have to tell you how much strength it take just to stand up

after surgery! I know you can never plan on these things...but I did

loose weight during/after surgery...it will jump start you a little

and when you are allowed to slowly add activity you can worry about

your weight then. The trick is not gaining during that perios where

they don't let you do much! Well this time you already know that.

I put your dates on the calender and will be looking toward hearing

good news...third time is a charm! Cam

[Guest guest]

I have schedule my revision surgery with Dr LaGrone for August 4th.

After all my research and the comments of this site I know it is the

right thing to do. Doing nothering and just getting worse from this

point is not something I am willing to do. But I am very nerves about

what the future will hold. thanks to this site I have an idea. Is that

any advise anyone can give me as far as getting prepared?

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

, Cam's e mail really summed it up. I tried to get in shape as much as I could by swimming and doing light weights before surgery. I know it helped. I will be there in August for a checkup, so if ok with you, I would like to come see you in the hospital. Just let me know. I also purchased a digital frame and it helped me to get through some hard days by looking at pics of my family. The "silky" pjs are a must. I still wear them. Let me know if you want to talk via phone. Melinda Malone Bright <brightsquared@...> wrote: I have schedule my revision surgery with Dr LaGrone for August 4th. After all my research and the comments of this site I know it is the right thing to do. Doing nothering and just getting worse from this point is not something I am willing to do. But I am very nerves about what the future will hold. thanks to this site I have an idea. Is that any advise anyone can give me as far as getting prepared? Thanks,

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[Guest guest]

Arlene,

Wow....it must have been crazy having such long delays between your

pre-op evaluations and surgery. I know once I made the decision to

go ahead with surgery, I wanted it done yesterday!

I will get your surgery date on the calendar...so now its REAL! I

know has a list of folks who are willing to be a support

person for you going through the long recovery. It really is helpful

to have someone to talk to who has been through it.

I know you probably have gone back and tried to pull out information

from the site for your use in actually preparing for surgery...but

in case you havent focused on that too much, now is the time.

There will be lots that you can do between now and October that can

help set you up for a good recovery. Its natural that before surgery

a patient is mainly focused on just getting to the surgery....but I

think most of us have found that the period after surgery requires

as much planning in advance as you can handle. The way you have your

home life and surrounding arranged will likely impact how you feel

during those long, long days at home mending. And of course, more

than anything, I think it helps to know that this surgery will

challenge you in ways you never expected. We are all here for

you...so please feel free to put your questions out there.

Take Care and Congratulations!

Cam