for Lakeside

Lady! Great to hear from you! I can promise to send you some lovely weather---we had 70 & sunny yesterday & so far today...so get those shorts & tank tops out!

Re my recovery: I'm about 16 weeks out now & the fusion is doing well (saw neurodoc on Wed & he checked it visually & felt around it & said "Seems nice & solid") My main concern is the return of my sciatica & leg numbness, which had been gone until about 3 weeks ago. He seemed a little concerned too, so he ordered me an MRI for Monday. Said it could be scar tissue on a nerve, or some new fusion bone growing into some area that may be affecting the L4/5 nerve roots, etc. Or just muscles trying to find new places to be, etc. So the MRI, with contrast, should help distinguish between any scar tissue or other stuff...he said not to worry, as fusion recovery is all over the map, symptom-wise and to concentrate on the good news that I sm fusing & just go easy, rest, walk, etc...no PT yet or any deep massage, as he doesn't want anything to "move" in there yet.

It's not as bad as the sciatica or leg numbness/pain as b4 my fusion, so that's good. He said this stuff can "come & go" for up to a year or more port-fusion...and then it can "just disappear" on its' own"...he agreed that the back is a mysterious thing & it's very hard to pin-point exactly where things originate, etc...Did say it could be the disc below the fusion, now hurting b/c of the lack of mobility above. but said when I'm ready, some core exercsies and PT could help that. (It's DDD at L5/S1, we knew that, but I wasn't a candidate for an artificial disk & he didn't want to do a 2-level b/c of the greatly limted mobility you're left with) So I'll just let him be the doc & figure this out!

So he has me back on diluadid (morphine-type meds) 4'xs a day again + valuim for the back muscle spasms that go all the way up to my shoulder blades sometimes + now that I'm 4 months out, he said some Avdil can help w/ the achy-ness in the operative site & also reduce the muscle pain.

So over-all it was a good report...the MRI will reveal anything to be concerned about, but he said "Maybe not---pain doesn't always show up on MRI's" and ain't THAT the truth!

My fusion surgery was Jan 11, so he said "Oh, 4 months is NOTHING on the recovery time-line" too,which made me feel better. Said it can take up to 18 months for things to "settle in & become comfy" w/ the new arrangement back there. "Fusions are big deals" he said. Also said that just when you start to feel better & get an increase in activity levels, that's the dangerous time. "Continue to rest more, do less, and see if that helps too".

Time! Patience! Hard to adhere to!

So how are you doing? I think we had similar situations. Hope you are holding steady, not getting worse & hangning in there! It's a much longer time-line than I first thought---the 6-9 months they tell you is just the BEGINNING...!

Have a lovely weather day---I promise if not today, you WILL get some good stuff soon! :) Great to hear from you! sorry I haven't been around lately--lots of pain, but should find out more on Monday what's the cause. Thanks for asking!

~~Lakeside

Hi Lady, again!

In spite of the recuring sciatica stuff, I HAVE been beach-walking, as walking does feel good & helps make the fusion strong. It's just that doc was concerned about the sciatica & leg/foot numbness starting again now, after almost 4 months w/o it.  He said tomorrow's MRI might show the cause, but maybe not--he admitted that, as usual, our backs can be total mysteries---as we so well know!  Stuff can show up that looks bad but causes no pain or vice versa...but he just wants to see if it's scar tissue, or perhaps an over-growth of the new fusion bone infringing on a nerve, or whatever...

I will let HIM figure it out, as he's the doc!  I just take my pain meds, walk the beach and tell myself "Que sera, sera" b/c what else can you do?  Does no good to worry ahead, or even after....just take the cards you're dealt & try to make a good hand!

And yes, 18 months is the "magic" timeframe (he said) Whatever you have by then, that's about it, good or bad.  I am still just 4.5 months out, so there's a lot of time for things to either improve, get worse or stay the same....meanwhile, it's a waiting game & I'm trying to distract myself w/ the lovely flowers, birdsongs & upcoming SUMMER thrills of longer daylight, sunny weather, the thrill of wearing shorts/tank tops/going barefoot, etc.....we really do have so much to be thankful for, truly.  And if my darn worn-out back wants to be good/bad/in-between, well....I'll treat what I can & try to ignore the rest, so long as I continue to fuse.

As my G.Ma used to say "Life is what you make it."  So I will try to do that, bad back or no!

Sending you some lousy weather, but better by mid-week!  Keep those tender plants inside yet---frost here tonight! Sorry!

Hope you are holding out OK, pain-wise! Always a pleasure to touch base with you, Lady dear!

thanks again for thinking of me & asking how I'm doing!  Still kicking! (Ouch!) tight hamstrings, haha!

~~~Lakeside

Thanks, Lady, I will! Hope it's what they say "unremarkable".....! Which is not to say things don't hurt, but just that there;s nothing serious that's causing it. As I said, he mentioned scar tissue, bone over-growth, tempermental nerves, etc....all stuff that could settle down on their own, or at least not need anything aggressive/invasive to remedy. Our main concern is the integrity of the fusion, so it'll be interesting to "see" how that's doing, b/c there was nice bone growth showing in March, so hopefully there will be more to see after today's MRI w/ contrast.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY here today! Sending it along to you by Wed! Going out for a walk, while I still can, haha! I'm a little bit aprehensive over the MRI itself, tho they assured me I won't feel any discomfort in the hardware site, maybe just a little "tingling"...will take my dilaudid/valuim b4 (my daughter is driving me to & from) just so I'm nice & relaxed going into that "cigar tube"....they said this one could take a bit longer (about an hour) also b/c of the hardware & all the views he's ordered.

I'll sleep well when I return home, I'm sure!

Doc said he'll read it today & get back to me by Wed...I'll post w/ the results. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts & for your good wishes!

~~~Lake

Lakeside,
Haven't heard from you all week. Did you hear about the MRI? Let us know when you get a chance.

Nice sunshine today and great weather coming!!

PaLady

Hey Lady! Yes, I'm usually outside at noon, taking one of my 3 daily walks, but the weather today is LOUSY...sorry, you'll be getting it!

I just posted to a query from Cary about fusion sugery & posture. You can read that for the details, but short version: MRI came back just perfect! Report read: "spine in normal anatomical allignment" and no nerves are impinged & there's nothing being compressed. Oh, the usual endplate errosions & 2 bulging discs elsewhere (but not bumping into anything--yet---) so when I spoke to my NS, he said all the "new" pain, including the foot/leg/sciatica again is due to the straightening-out of the whole spine & everything now trying to get used to being in allignment. Sort of like tooth braces! Whew! What a relief! No more surgery, at least for now....MRI report was funny: said "At this point in time, all allignment and attenuation is within normal range" At this point in time.....well, how about 5 years from now?! LOL Can't worry about that---just have been totally cramping and spasm-ing in whole back, sides and even my abs as my body tries to get used to the "new & improved" me--MRI also showed more new bone, but NS said no PT yet, as w/ my 2 priors & everything in there so fragile yet, he's being really conservative.

So how are YOU?! Sorry to be away so long, but I;ve just been miserable---but now I know why, it's "healing pain" and hopefully will get less & less as my body adjusts to it. I had spondy for over 8 years...imagine how all those muscles compensated for that fwd slip---and now I'm OK, but it's less than 5 months yet....long way to go! Hope you are a bit better---maybe you have a similar situation? NS said the pain can last for up to a year or more. So don't get too discouraged!

Great to hear from you!

~~LAke

Thanks Gramps for the sweet thoughts! Yes, I hope this "healing pain" stuff moves along quickly! I see my NS next week & he may suggest some mysofacsial release & deep tissue massage (he wants no PT yet until the fusion's solid) & I think that would greatly help the tightness & spasms etc as I know it did after my 2nd surgery. But to know I'm now in proper allingment is soooo exciting! Helps me to better endure the "new" pain of standing taller & stronger! (I gained a l/2 inch of height...I'm now 5' 10' + an extra 1/2 "!! Big deal, huh! But I thought that was neat!

Lady, so sorry to hear you're still hurtin'! And this weather won't help you, sorry for that too! You got our hot stuff, & now you're gonna get this cold/damp/rainy stuff....have plenty of ice packs on hand...I ran out last weekend & resorted to sitting on 2# of frozen peas! LOL!

~Lakeside

Lakeside,

So I just get my A/C put in the window this morning and it's going to be 90 degrees today but back in the 60's later this week??

Maybe it will level out by say, uh, September? LOL

PaLady

Lakeside,
Haven't seen you on since all the bad weather started to hit up your way. Are you ok? I hope you aren't in the path of any of the horrible flooding!

Drop a note when you get a chance.

PaLady