Upcoming Surgery

[Optimist]

Hi All,

My surgery is coming up with Dr. Arlet here in Philadelphia and wanted to get some input on a few things.

1. How did you tell your employer of your surgery? How did they react?

2. How long did it take for you to go back to your previous job?

3. How long did it take until you felt comfortable enough to not be on pain medication?

4. How long before you were able to shower and do basic things around your home?

5. Any advice for post surgery life?

[titaniumed]

I was a business owner, and sold my business when I went in. I did have employees have their own surgeries, these things are unavoidable....If you get fired as a result of your surgeries, you don't want t work for those people anyway.... You move on.....It seems we have to get used to all sorts of changes in our lives. If you need surgery, you need surgery. Explaining scoliosis and scoliosis surgery can be a task and its also something we have to get used to. Many times, you will hear the words "You have to do what?" in disbelief.....Yes, I have to do it. It really doesn't matter what others might think as its our own major challenge we have to absorb in our minds.

I was told my recovery was going to take a year. I figured 2 years, and it took 2 years. If you can work out of the house, that's a great way to go. I took 18 months off from going into the office on a daily basis.....I wouldn't want to be pressured to have to return to work after a full A/P. Our recoveries are our time to recover and we only get one chance at it. Our recoveries also have the mental aspects....mainly the will, drive, and total commitment to follow through. There is no divorce from scoliosis.

I quit cold turkey at 6 weeks mainly due to lower GI and constipation problems. It wasn't about spine pain, or surgical pain, it was all about lower GI pain in my recovery. I also wanted my mind back. I used a lot of hot water soaks in a deep and wide bathtub. 106F degree hot water works well for bone and nerve pain. Hot salty water also works well for dental pain. I took 60 minute hot soaks, 5 times per day for 3 months after my surgeries.

I showered in the hospital on the 8th day. Boy, did that feel good. I drained all the hospitals hot water on that one (smiley face) I had no problems showering, and my arm and shoulder were broken and not working. I had one arm, at least I didn't have to change a tire without arms. If you look through my threads, you will find video proof that this is possible. The thread is titled, no arms, no problem. Remember that you will figure all this stuff out.

Post surgery life is about getting through our long recoveries.....managing all these strange pains and feelings. There is always something new it seems, I try not to get excited about it. Its the "alarming" pains, nerve pains that are extreme that we have to get past. A day by day thing, prepared for, but not expecting. Almost like firemen who have their fire trucks in the firehouse, hoping they don't have to do battle again. Lets pray for the people of Northern California who have their own recoveries and loss to deal with. The situation has been grim down there with massive fire storms that engulf homes in 30 seconds.

When is your date?

Ed

[KathyInIowa]

Hi All,

My surgery is coming up with Dr. Arlet here in Philadelphia and wanted to get some input on a few things.

1. How did you tell your employer of your surgery? How did they react?

2. How long did it take for you to go back to your previous job?

3. How long did it take until you felt comfortable enough to not be on pain medication?

4. How long before you were able to shower and do basic things around your home?

5. Any advice for post surgery life?

Hi, Optimist.

I, like Ed, was a self employed business owner so I just adjusted my staff to cover my duties. 4 months after my surgery we sold our business so that took a lot of pressure of me. Having said that, I had a lot of trouble sitting after my surgery so if I'd had a full-time desk job, it would have been hard for me to go back to work before 4 months or so. But, it wasn't my back that was the trouble, it was my left hip which I had A LOT of trouble with my left hip before my surgery. So, I don't think my sitting problem was really the norm after this surgery - you might be way better off than I was in regards to sitting.

I started weaning off my meds at 4 weeks, and at my 6 week check up I was completely off them. I still had pain, and sometimes it would be fairly high level pain, but I hated the way the narcotics made me feel. I had terrible, chronic insomnia, I was sweating, I was emotional, they were messing with my mind - I really just couldn't take it anymore. So, that was my motivation to get off drugs. Most of my pain was muscular (left hip and lower back at the spot where my rib hump was) so I was controlling that with movement and heat/ice. But, I had a short fusion (T11 - S1) so I wasn't dealing with my WHOLE back.

I was able to shower alone after about 2 weeks. I don't really have a memory of the first 2 weeks after surgery, the drugs created a sort of "amnesia" in me. But, once I was "with it" I could take a short shower. I did have to have help turning the water on and off (I recovered at my son's apartment as my surgery was not in my own town) and he lived in a older apartment complex. The knobs were low by the tub and they were hard to turn. I wasn't able to squat enough to even turn on the water, my legs were super sore. But, if I had been at my own house where the water handles were up higher, I would have been fine. So, you might want to think about the mechanics of your shower.

I was pretty self sufficient around 3 or 4 weeks. I didn't like being up for long periods, so I was eating small meals that were easy to fix. I was super tired (the chronic insomnia didn't help with that) so I was doing my walking at a little eating and then laying around. In the beginning, taking a shower felt like I had just run a marathon..... The narcotics took away my appetite so I was eating only healthy food - I figured if I wasn't eating much, I better make it good for my body!

I felt pretty good at my 6-week checkup and then I got to go home. Which I was super excited to go home! Once home, it was all about eating right, going on short walks and getting rest.

I don't know your situation, but I was 55 years old at the time of my surgery, in pretty good shape going into surgery and I had a short fusion (in the scoliosis world anyway - seems long to me!).

Good luck with your surgery. Keep us updated!

Kathy

[Optimist]

Update

Hi all,

Quick update. Surgery was on 11/17 and was t4-l1 instead of l2. Not sure why of the last minute change. My post op is set for this upcoming Tuesday. I'm up, mobile and already working from home again. My question is I have been having some slight "discharge" or small red spots show up on my under shirts after a night of sleep. This has been happening for the last two nights. The pain has not gotten worse , in fact I'm completely off my pain meds as of two days ago. I've just been taking 500mg Tylenol as needed.

Does this discharge of blood seem normal this far out? They used staples and glue if that helps.


Thanks!

[titaniumed]

Congratulations!

I would make sure to have a professional look at your scars....Infection's can and do happen. Report anything and everything to your surgeon. E-mail is best through a nurse or assistant through your scoliosis surgeons office.

Did you have the staples removed yet? I think this happens at around 2 weeks post.....

Remember, no BLT's and do walks often throughout the day to distribute blood and nutrients into healing zones. Not a marathon that disturbs and inflames, think of it as simply "stirring" your martini. (smiley face) Lets not shake the martini, or at least now anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaken,_not_stirred

Since we cant shake things in our recoveries, and we cant bungy jump, here is a fix for those that crave excitement. This was shot in Greece. A little something to divert the mind.....enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koW2Clc0xEA

Hang in there....

Ed

[Kara1992]

I agree with Ed on the infection. You might want to email ur surgeon

[Optimist]

Thanks guys. I had a home nurse come out yesterday and she said nothing to be concerned about. I see the surgeon on Tuesday where he will remove the staples so about 2.5 weeks post op. I'll keep you all updated on progress and what the correction was. So far the recovery has been good. I often need to remind myself I underwent this surgery and need to take it easy.

[Optimist]

Update from my 12/05 post op.
They advised the curve was fixed to 50 degrees so a 15 degree improvement but assured with the new hardware and with the removal of the old Harrington road that my curvature will not increase as I age. I am back to work now and feel great.

My question would be, have any of you guys experienced popping and cracking after your fusions ? This random popping typically occurs when I'm driving or even just sitting down or walking. It seems to come randomly and doesn't cause me any pain it just feels and sounds different.

[Kara1992]

The only time I heard my back pop was 4 days after surgery.