[Long] Almost three months post-surgery - how it all went

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Right, it's nearly three months since my surgery (L4 - S1

decompression, fusion and bone graft) so I thought I'd share my

experiences with you all, so some of you might be able to relate, in

part, and some might have some idea of what could be likely.

I realise every surgery and recovery is different, but I was

interested to read people's accounts, so thought it might be

interesting to some. Although this might take some time to read!

So, I went in on Thursday 8th May, had the op on the Friday morning

(I was first and was two hours late!). Can't remember much about

Friday after the op, except for recovery, which most people don't

remember. I wish I didn't. It's the worst pain I can ever remember

(that includes car crashes, motorbike accidents, broken thumb,

dislocated finger). The only time the pain was close to that was in

the first stages of my condition (before my gp would accept it was

anything more than a muscle problem) and before I was prescribed

Fentanyl. I was screaming in pain from the surgery itself. They

gave me morphine, but hit the limit prescribed so had to get

permission for more. I think because I was on Fentanyl before, which

is 80 times stronger than morphine, it took more than normal to get

my pain down.

They said they were going to try to get more morphine or sedate me, I

told them to sedate me, but not sure what happened after that as I

can't remember anything until a few hours later.

I had four drains, a catheter, a pca and a canular in me for a couple

of days. Taking the drains out was quite painful, but the rest were

ok. I really missed the pca when they took it away and had to have

extra morhpine.

They had me walking from the day after surgery and the physios said

that I could be back on my motorbike within six weeks, which I

thought was far too quick.

Things were very difficult and slow to start with. The pain from the

surgery was keeping me awake. I was in a shared ward (NHS over here,

nothing like nice private rooms) with five others. It was a spinal

ward, so everyone had similar surgery (apart from the guy who had a

fractured vertebra who they were just going to send home).

One bloke had two discs removed and was on his way home a few days

later and they 'phoned him while he was still travelling home to say

he had an infected wound and needed to go straight back. He went in,

they opened him up to clean him and and decided to take another disc

out while they were at it! He wasn't happy.

But, I saw how well he was doing and that spurred me on. Looking

back, I was glad I was on a shared ward because we actually had a

laugh and that kept us all going. If I was in a room on my own I

probably would have gone stir crazy.

Mornings were the worst time. At 8:00, they would come round and

make sure you get out of bed so they could change it. They'd bring a

bowl of hot water round for you to wash yourself with and breakfast

would arrive. Usually this was all going on at the same time. Oh,

and they did the drugs round as well.

Sitting in the chair next to the bed was very painful for the first

few days, which meant mornings were really, really bad. The only

position I was even half comfortable in was on my left side.

So, by 10:00, we were all shattered again and it was snooze time for

most of us. That was pretty much it then for the day. Visiting

started at 14:00, but because my girlfriend was working, she wouldn't

get there til later.

It's difficult lying in bed trying to think of things to say for

hours. We'd watch a bit of tv, I'd tell her about my day (that took

all of five minutes) and we'd just generally chat.

Night times were noisy! They did their best to keep quiet, but even

opening doors and walking around was bad enough, not to mention the

fact that it was far too light for what I was used to at night.

I had a boucing temperature, sometimes up to 40 degrees, so they kept

me in until Saturday 17th! My temperature was still bouncing then,

but not quite so high. I think they just wanted as many people out

as possible as they were so short staffed there was one nurse for 18

beds to do everything from drugs, changes beds, etc. He coped really

well, but I think they wanted to ease the burden.

They gave me a soft corset and told me to wear it for six weeks all

the time, unless I was lying down. This really helped my posture and

my girfriend said that I now walk taller and look much more 'normal'

than I used to.

So, the journey home was quite painful. It's amazing how much you

feel the bumps in the road.

I still couldn't walk very far or stand for more than a few minutes,

so I mainly stayed in bed or on the sofa. I tried to move as much as

possible, like they told me, but it was very difficult. My

girlfriend was fantastic, I really couldn't have managed without her.

I was still on Sevredol (morphine), paracetemol and gabapentin, which

made me prety sleepy anyway.

The time seems to have just flown past really quickly now. I seemed

to have made progress in steps, rather than gradually. All of a

sudden, I'd realise that the pain wasn't quite as severe and that I

could walk a bit more, etc. I sat outside when the weather was nice

(not a lot to start with) and generally took it very easy. The

medication kept me sleepy so I couldn't do much.

My right leg was the worst, with complete numbness down the front to

the foot and pain in the back of the leg. My wound pain was still

quite bad as well.

All of a sudden, after about eight weeks, one day, I woke up and

realised that my leg wasn't numb anymore! I was so relieved. I

thought it would be like that forever. Not that I minded, if I had

just a numb leg for the rest of my life, that's a small price to pay

for getting better.

My right leg wouldn't really do what I told it until about eight to

nine weeks post-op. I tried to move it straight and it went in a

kind of semi-circle. It's still not perfect yet, but it's not as

bad. The slower I move it, the more accurate it is. I can't walk

too fast without it going completely crazy and I can't run yet.

After about six weeks post-op, I was getting fed up with the bus and

paying £3 return to go one mile to the shops, so I thought I'd try

the car. Which wasn't too bad. As long as I made sure I entered and

exited correctly (bottom down, swing legs in, with the help of the

hands), that was reasonable. I have a fairly high car (Renault Vel

Satis) so I'm quite lucky that it's easier than some to get in and

out of.

The clutch probably put most strain on me, so I only went short

distances as my legs and back got tired quickly. Because of the way

the body was obviously trying to protect itself, I'm using muscles

now that were in spasm before or just not being used because of my

compensating gait. So, I'm having to strengthen certain parts now.

I had to go the long way round certain roads to avoid all the speed

bumps, as they were bad! Fortunately, I have good suspension, so

normal roads aren't too bad and the pain doesn't shoot up like in the

first few weeks.

I went back to see a specialist nurse for a routine check six weeks

post-op. She was very pleased with my progress and showed me my x-

rays that were taken a couple of days after surgery. I've posted

them in the group, under 'Fusion x-rays'.

I looked at the list of things performed in surgery and there was

quite a lot to it. I saw that I had a bone graft and asked where it

was taken from and was told it was from the top of my left pelvis.

You can't see where the bone was placed in the x-rays as it hasn't

grown enough yet.

I was initially told that the bone graft could take up to 18 months

to settle down and be pain free. But, I haven't had any pain from it

at all. Maybe when I stop the sevredol there might be some, but

there's no indication of soreness yet, so that's great news.

She told me that the positioning of the screws and rods is perfect

and I had *the* best surgeon. That is something everyone in the know

has told me. If anyone wants to know, he's Mr Mehdian and works at

Nottingham Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham Nuffield.

She said I didn't need the soft corset anymore, but when I told her

what job I have (Software Engineer) she told me to keep it on for

work until I see the consultant again.

Despite my initial reservations about the physiotherapist's optimism

about riding my motorbike, I sat on it after about eight weeks post-

op. Getting on wasn't too bad, so I've actually been for a very

short ride on it now! It's much more bumpy than a car and my problem

would be if I twisted wrong or had to move it a slow speed, as it's

very heavy (it's an 1100). But, that really boosted my morale as

we're getting such lovely weather here at the moment, I might not

miss all of the summer.

I was told to take it easy for approx three months and not rush back

to work, especially as I sit down all day. I did managed to persuade

my company to let me work from home from about nine weeks post-op.

(I wouldn't have started so soon, but they weren't paying me, so I

needed the money.) It is still a struggle to sit still for prolonged

periods, so I make sure I have decent breaks. It makes the working

day quite long to fit a full day in, but at least it's giving me

something to do.

My sleep pattern is completely gone. Some nights are ok, but some

nights (like two days ago), I woke up at 01:00 and then didn't get

back to sleep at all. Started work at 08:30 and stayed awake all day

until I went to bed that night. Now that was a good night's sleep!

But now, I can't sleep again! It's mad! The meds make me sleepy,

but when it's time to actually fall asleep, I can't!

So, that's my first few months after surgery. All is going well,

going back to see Mr Mehdian mid-August, but I'm feeling much better

in these past two weeks or so than the rest of the time. Things just

seem to be fitting back into place for a normal life.

If you want to ask me anything about my experiences, etc, feel free

to drop me a line.

Gareth.