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Chronic Pain
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Posted 10/14/2014 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
Checking in...it will be 8 weeks on Thursday. Although i have more mobility in my neck,i am battling these muscle spasms and what i think is nerve pain. Before the surgery it was my left arm. I am experiencing it in my right arm more then before. I have been doing pt 3x a week and i have been making progress with flexibility, i am so exhausted after and need a "recovery" day on of pt days. I see the surgeon Wednesday and although my mind wants to get out of this house and go back to work ,my body is screaming NO ! im afraid he will say go back to work with restrictions. I cant do anything for more then 2 hours until i have to lay in my recliner. Which is another issue, i cant lay in my bed for more then an hour ,so im back sleeping in the recliner. I find myself getting very frustrated and emotion lately. I can cry about anything. What do i do !? Im at my wits end with this pain. I do have a high pain tolerance but i think being in pain this long is really getting to me. Should i ask the dr to test my nerve? Or is this all normal ,and i should put my big girl panties on and keep moving. Is this ever going to get better ? Ugg... thanks for listening to me rant.
Posted 10/14/2014 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
Hi scared you know eight weeks is not that long of time for having a multi-level fusion like that! That is allot of surgery to have had done. If your pain is not being controlled then I think you should talk with your doctor or surgeon about it. This type of surgery takes a good while to recover from, so be patient with yourself! It will get better, but it will take time, I know that you want it to be better sooner, but the healing process takes its own time, and you just can not rush it.

You know I slept in a recliner for years and years, ( I have some bad thoracic disks that they just will not fix) and I cannot lay flat, thus sleeping in the recliner. That is until I got an adjustable bed, actually two extra long twin adjustable bed that fit perfectly into a king sleigh bed frame. I find it the perfect solution to the recliner. I like because it has a wireless remote that I can just press a button and adjust the bed a little to make it a bit more comfortable throughout the night. Each bed has its own remote, so that might be something that you might want to look into??? Just a thought.

We are all hear for you!

White Beard
Posted 10/14/2014 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hi scared, I found this forum when I was 8 weeks out. It seems like forever, I know. That said, to me it seems a tad early to be going to PT. I could barely make it to BM at 8 weeks, so you're doing better than I was by a wide margin. Dont know how old you are but I am 38 and thought I'd heal a bit faster. Nope.

I cannot say it is this way with everyone, but PT destroyed me. Each treatment ended worse than the last. It actually helped me to spiral way down toward thoughts of suicide, which up until then had never even been a germ of a thought. So yeah, PT can get you pretty low. Be careful and talk to people, come talk to the folks here. How thankful I am for their simple comforts in a sleepless night.

I wouldn't worry about your docs. Mine were absolutely insane and said that I could return at 8 weeks (maybe sooner, I'd have to go look at my chronicle of woe) but it was with restrictions AND the company's insurance would not let them allow me into the building until at least 12 weeks (again, memory+drugs=unsure). The docs know that this surgery is 100% no joke and that the pain must be controlled and that if you rush it you are going to make things worse.

My biggest mistake was worrying about what my docs would do. They know that they just removed your head from your body, that gives you tons of street cred LOL.

Godspeed, it'll get better.
TRW
Posted 10/14/2014 9:47 AM (GMT 0)
Just thought I'd tell you I'm only 29 and my adjustable bed is the best purchase i gave ever made. No way i could have survived my many surgeries so well and you can get one for two. Some are really not that much more money than a new matress.

I haven't close to what you just had done and am just a week post op. But I wish u the best. Listen to your body, be honest with your docs and eventually, the end will be in sight. Maybe a therapist isn't a horrible idea. Pain, being limited, and even the meds alive can increase depression and a professional will understand that.
Your doing great hang in there!

Post Edited (AngMichelle) : 10/14/2014 3:50:48 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/14/2014 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
How long have you been in PT? Has your dr done x-rays yet? Do you have a workman's comp person pushing you back to your job as a CNA? We have some here who could offer advice about that. I just looked back at your 7/22 post that explained about your injury. You may need to post on that again to bump it up if you want that advice.

You will get better, but it's going to take much longer. And as you know stress does not help you. Wish I could tell you some way to fix that.

At 6 weeks post op I had an x-ray that showed everything still in place, and again at 3 months. I don't think the dr saw any fusion until later, not sure about that. At 3 months he let me go to PT with a stern warning that the PT not hurt me! TallerNow is still not allowed to go to PT.

Are you using the bone stimulator? Are you on any meds for muscle spasms?
Two hours of activity is actually pretty good before your neck has to rest. I certainly understand that. It was twenty minutes for me for a very long time. Ice and that recliner will be your very good friends for a long time.

Please come here and rant any time. We do care.

Post Edited (Abilene) : 10/14/2014 3:07:05 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/14/2014 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
I've been in pt for 3 weeks. I have had 2 sets of xrays and everything is in place,no start of a fusion yet. It feels good to do the stretching exercises at pt. I hear alot of cracking when doinh it. Im on valuim 10mg 3x a day .workmen comp isnt pushing me ...yet. ..i had a migraine last night that just wouldn't go away. I tried to do ice and drank 3 water bottles ,it was one that i have not ever had before. Everything i rested my head on felt like a rock. I was up all night and morning , i finally fell asleep at 1030 am and slept for 3 hours straight. They do a tens machine at pt and i have a bone stimulator i do every night for 30 min.

White beard, i am going to talk to the dr tomorrow and tell him i need pain management. Im not on a scheduled routine and feel like im just taking pills at random times.
Posted 10/14/2014 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
scared I think that is a Great idea! If you get your pain under control it will make your healing process allot easier for you! Also if your pain is under control your going to get more of your much needed sleep, and that is also important for your body to heal and regenerate its self! Just be honest with your doctor, and tell him/her how the pain is affecting you! There is no excuse for you to have endure pain like that, with the type of surgery that you have had done!

This might sound a bit "trite" but "Hang in there!" You have all of us here, supporting YOU!

White Beard
Posted 10/14/2014 9:14 PM (GMT 0)
I just watched Dr OZ. They talked about eating ginger to stop migranes-raw ginger, just a slice of it, or ginger candy.   They also talked about soaking in Epsom Salts baths for muscle pain. I've considered that but think I might try just soaking a towel in it, then putting that on my neck and shoulders.

Pain Management could be very helpful to you. Hope your dr agrees with that. Sleeping well helps in so many ways.

I had lots of popping in my neck early on. PT said it was the joints above and below my fusion. It finally stopped.

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