Anybody hear from Screaming Eagle?

Yes, I too have been praying for a good result from SE's surgery. If anyone has any info please post!

Thanks,
JoAnn

yes I soke to him yesterday at 10:57 am , he didn't say it was today but he said he was alone right now , which concerned me .Again eagle your in our prayers .

   Hello All! Thanks for your concern. There was a mix up in paper work, and my surgery is now scheduled for the 5th this Friday. The surgery center sent me paperwork that said the 1st, then much later I get paperwork from my surgeon that says the 5th.

I hope this clears things up a bit. I will have my wife post here, as soon as she knows something for you all.

Right now, I'm scared to death, and am full of worry. It is a serious operation to me. Lets just hope the outcome will be a good one. Again, thanks for checking.

    SE

You'll do just fine Michael. Don't forget that if you get too scared or nervous, ask for a little something as soon as you meet with your anesthesiologist. That way you can say all kinds of silly things for Debra to tease you about later. It is a major surgery though and you are going to hurt afterwards so don't freak out. Every day will get better.

I put some music I enjoy on my mp3 player for in the hospital. It was hard concentrating on the tv so I would just put in my earbuds and push the button on the morphine pump. My husband enjoys listening to books on cd. He loads those into windows media player then puts them on his mp3 player. He's never had any issues with copy right protection on these.

How long does the doc expect you to stay in the hospital? I was there for 4 days with mine.

I will be thinking about you... I agree ask the anesthesiologist for a little something extra before you go in. My anesthesiologist called the night before so I was able to talk to him about pain control. I am not going to lie, you will have pain after surgery, so don't forget to hit the button. By talking to him before he was able to have everything lined up before I even went in. His words were " Ill have something a little extra in my pocket for you" He did a great job. If they want to send you home the next day (like me) I suggest you stay an exra day. I wish I had. Please make sure that your wife lets us know how you are.
Good luck to you!!!!

Will be saying prayers for you on Friday...I've had 3 cervical fusions and have learned that it's never a time to be 'brave'...as others have said...ask for something when you get to the hospital to help you relax..and when you are discharged..take your medicine exactly at the time they say to stay 'ahead' of the pain..

That was my biggest learning moment..thinking I was feeling better so skipping a dose of pain meds here or there then having it hit and not be able to get it under control for many hours..

Rest, rest, and more rest!...Plenty of movies/tv shows to keep you occupied and mind off of your recovery..

Big Hugs (( ))

SE,
Didn't mean to confuse you. Sorry about that. Minimally invasive just has to do with how the surgery is performed. I'm guessing your doc would do this unless there's a reason not to. The other option is more cutting (a larger incision, more muscle cut, longer healing time, etc.). You probably could find out by calling your surgeon's office and just asking the receptionist to check your surgery orders or your chart. I know I wanted to know. But maybe you don't, so that's ok, too.

It is exhausting thinking and preparing for it. So I hope you can get some rest over the next couple of days. I was just trying to help you relax a bit about the fact that some of your family weren't able to come.

Take care,

PaLady

SE,
There are a variety of devices that can be used, usually according to the needs of the patient and the surgeon's preference/specialty. Most of us do have screws and plates, and I know my surgeon used a newer protein substance rather than bone that was supposed to fuse faster than bone (they usually take a graft from your own bone, or use cadaver bone - if they take a graft from a site it's likely around your hip and sometimes that site becomes more painful than the surgery site, so I think more and more surgeons are using cadaver bone or other substance).

Going in through the front means an "anterior" approach (anterior being the front side of the body, posterior being the back side). I'm not as knowledgeable about anterior approaches but I still think they can be done in a minimally invasive manner. That just means less cutting - using a smaller opening, etc. Mostly all depends on the skill of the surgeon.

Since you trust your surgeon maybe it's best to not know any more at this point for you. But after the fact you should ask just for your own knowledge.

I think I should stop now as I don't want to add to your stress. If you're curious simplest thing would be to call your doctor. But don't worry about pain management - they're usually pretty good with that these days. I had a morphine pump after surgery and kept forgetting to push it, but never really remember a lot of pain in the hospital. After a couple of days they started me back on oral meds, and my neurosurgeon has been great about prescribing ongoing pain meds (way beyond the call of duty). They'll probably give you some muscle relaxants, too. They're not going to let you be in pain unnecessarily - not nearly as tough as getting long term PM for most of us!

Good luck!

PaLady

Flowery, Nasalady, Jag, Hydrangea, and Mikel, and my little snowbunny, Thank you for your support, and well wishes. I did not want to leave you out of the conversation here.

I promise, the wife will post something here as soon as we know how the surgery went. Tomorrow I go to pre/op class to get any paperwork, and or blood work done.

Now, back to bed I go! :)

SE

Michael, were you able to stop smoking or at least cut back? Since I was a smoker, I did cut back alot before my surgery and until I started fusing, my doctor ordered a spine fusion stimulator for me to wear. If I remember right, I wore it for about three months. These are normally ordered for smokers, diabetics and overweight patients. Just wondering?

My only problem with the morphine pump was that I kept falling asleep and then not pushing the button. I only used it one night and the next day asked for meds orally on a scheduled basis. The morphine also made me sick to my stomach so if you feel nauseous ask for something for this before it gets too bad.

Do keep your BM in control like PaLady said. I didn't have one for 4 days until the nurses finally asked me then everyone was freaking out. Ended up having a enema which was no fun when you have to have your brace on to go to the bathroom and can't move very fast. Not a pretty picture.

I too had went home with very little support but got along just fine.

   Jag, Thanks for ythe reminder about the stimulator, I forgot all about it. I did cut back greatly in the smokes, for a while, and have quite completely, and hope to do so forever after the surgery.

The buddy of mine that just had his fusion done, smoked up to his surgery, and is now still smoking. It's OK, Snowbunny!...but you do sound like my DR! :) My wife has been on me about it for a long time, and it is the hardest thing to do. It is easier to come off the meds, than the smokes.

I have been eating Metamucil by the ton, and drinking more than my fair share of water as well. Maybe this will help me too.

   SE

   Ok, just got back from the Hospital, and did all the paperwork and the blood work in advance. The nurse said they have scheduled a fusion of the L4-L5-S1. So I'm a guessing that means two disk will come out, and be fused in those places.

They also did an EKG 12 point lead, and she said that my heart rate was very slow, a 59, not sure what that means, or does that even sound right to you all. She also told me to never shave off all my hair before a surgery again. Said that if I nicked myself, that can be an entry point for infection.

I'm almost there now. Also the buddy that came to work from being off for 7 to 8 weeks, went home early today, and said he may have come back to work too early. Hydrangea, please take it easy if your reading this, and take care of yourself. Recovery should not be taken lightly on a fusion.

   SE