Microdiscectomy and bone fusion

Hi Aelledge & welcome to the chronic pain forum. What you are experiencing is normal for a fusion patient. Six months out from surgery it really sounds like you are doing well. A lumbar fusion can take anywhere from one year to 18 months to completely heal so you still have a way to go. Shame on the dr for thinking you didn't need PT, that is vital to recovery. Probably something to consider is getting into a pool & just start out walking only in the water. You cannot hurt yourself in the water. If your ins will pay for water therapy awesome, if not, then if a friend has a pool, the YMCA or even some hotels will allow someone to use their pool for little of nothing.

I am sorry to tell you this but the possibility of being 100% normal again may not be realistic. If it happens, that is wonderful but most people do not go back to the ole 100% normal after a fusion. That does not mean they cannot have a meaningful life you just have to learns how to work with the new you. The main thing is to get in tune with your body & listen to it. When you are doing things it does not like your body has a way of letting you know it doesn't like it, so listen to it. In the meantime keep up with your home exercises they are important.

Keep checking as others will pop on & give their two cents worth. Take care.

You will have to learn patience now that you have had this surgery. Usually people come through here before surgery & one thing we really stress when any type of spine surgery is recommended is do your homework, get 2nd opinions & above all find a board certified fellowship trained neurosurgeon to do any spine surgery. Think about it, they have the very best hands because they do delicate brain surgery.

I agree with what the drs said, if you had messed anything up you would have known right away that you were having some major issues. Walking is usually at first what all spine surgical patients are told to do. You are best to keep the treadmill flat & not on an incline if that is how you want to walk. I would check into a YMCA though & see if they have heated pools & if its cheap enough to join. I can only stress how helpful aqua therapy can be.

What is your dr saying about this, has he offered to try you on some of the nerve pain meds like Lyrica, Cymbalta, Amitriptiline or Gabapentin? If he has not recommended any of these perhaps you need to bring it up to him or discuss it with his nurse.

Good luck.

I'm completely shocked your doc did not Rx PT for you. Wow,....

My SIL had a micro done and she said while she had good and bad times, it took her a good 8 months before she was certain of the results. She said she questioned whether it was the right thing to do (it was that bumpy at first).

But now she's quite pleased. Her doc did have her do PT straight away however. Not sure if that will make a difference for you.

It's also important to get a great PT because the wrong one can complicate things.










M.

Hi everyone! A little frustrated today and looking for some encouragement. Took my daughter to a birthday party yesterday and we
were there for 3 hours. I didn't do a whole lot, but woke up this morning stiff and sore in lower back/hip area. Sciatic is acting up a little more, too. Feel like my days are never consistent. Lol. Thoughts? Advice? Encouragement? Thanks! :)

Straydog- thank you for the advice. Yea, it definitely seems to waiver a lot. It feels good after I do my PT bc everything is loose and all but no one can walk around doing PT all day! Lol. I will look into a nerve pain med. Any thoughts on the stiffness and soreness I am experiencing too? I didn't think I did anything to cause it to be so stiff etc.? I appeciate it!

Yes, I have exercises I do at home. I finished PT over a month ago and have stuff I've been doing at home. If it is spasms , it doesn't feel anything like a spasm. Is it common for discomfort to move around because now it's achy/stiff and sore on the opposite side of where rupture and fusion was? This is all so confusing! Ha.

Oh goodness, I'm still having all sorts of various pains and I'm 1.8 years post-op. Yes, emphatically, the pains are very different than they were pre-op, and sure, they're in different areas.

Some of it is muscular, I have no doubt, but some of it is not.

Always check with your doc, your surgeon, your pain doc, your neuro,.... cover your bases.

But healing can certainly take quite a while and as disconcerting as it may be, it's not uncommon for various pains to feel like they're bouncing around all over your body! Welcome to the troops! :)











M.

Hi everyone. Do you ache/hurt more on rainy/overcast days?

Hi Susie,
Thanks. I thought the weather could possibly affect what I feel like in my body but I wasn't sure. Do you know why you can ache more and your sciatic ache more on those type of days? It's kinda weird. Lol. I'm slowly progressing I think. Ha. Not too sure. Hoping in the next month I will notice a big difference. Thanks!

Oh ok. Thanks :)

I agree it would be so much easier if our recoveries went in a straight upward line toward healing, but they just don't. And it's not always possible to know what caused that line to dip down toward the pain again. It could have been the weather, sleeping in a different position, doing too much or too little, even not eating as well, etc. That's been my experience the past 8 months.

We all need to learn to be more patient with our bodies. That's hard!