How many weeks are most people with lumbar fusion had to take pain medicine?
2 months - 0.0% - 0 votes
3 months - 0.0% - 0 votes
4+ months - 100.0% - 2 votes
Lg4291
New Member
Joined : Apr 2016
Posts : 4
Posted 4/23/2016 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I am new and have a few issues concerning chronic pain. I had an anterior posterior L3,L4 double fusion about 3 months ago. Intially the pain was unbearable but has gotten better. However, I am still in pain and am on Oxicodone 5 (down from 10) . I recently saw my neurologist and everything looked fine on the X-ray . I told him I still had significant pain. He prescribed more Oxicodone and said if the pain continued he would refer me to a pain management center. On the prescription he gave me I noticed it said take every 8 hours...ugh I can only go 4 hours. I have been through several other surgeries, but this is different kind of pain and more intense. I wish my Doctor had been more upfront about how long to expect surgical pain. I hate taking pain meds and don't want to rely on them but right now I have no choice. Has anyone else had fusion surgery and had to finally go to a pain center? If so, what should I expect?
straydog
Forum Moderator
Joined : Feb 2003
Posts : 19850
Posted 4/24/2016 7:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hi again LG, sorry to read what you are dealing with. First off, yes you really should done more research & asked lots & lots of questions of the surgeon before having your surgery. Back surgery is one of the hardest& longest ones to recover from. The complete healing time takes between 18 to 24 months. At that time you will really know how successful your surgery has been & what type of residuals you may have.
There is a chance that you will always pain. The key is to get the pain to a more tolerable level either with or without some form of pain medication.The drs can fix the mechanical problem with your back but there is no guarantee you will be pain free. In all honesty, to expect to be pain free after a fusion is not being realistic. Its a major surgery that comes with many potential risks.
You are still very early out from your surgery & have a long ways to go. Probably not what you wanted to hear but its true. Although your incision looks healed & fine, please understand that you are not healed on the inside. Your fusion is not solid & that can take up to a year or more to become completely solid. At this point you need to concern yourself with protecting your back so the fusion does become solid with any problems. Avoid lifting & bending. Limit your sitting time because that puts so much stress on your back.
You asked what pain mgt can do. First off, your surgeon is ready to cut off the pain pills. Actually, I am surprised that he gave them to you this long. Did you have a neurosurgeon or orthopedic do your surgery. The war on drugs that started several years ago, most think its illegal drugs, wrong, its a direct hit on drs rxing opioids to their patients. It is a very strict environment these days. PCP's will no longer rx pain meds, surgeons & other specialists too on a long term basis. This is where pain mgt drs enter the picture. Their specialty is treating pain. A good one can be worth their weight in gold.
What led you to needing surgery? Did you have nerve involvement like a pinched nerve? At this point I would suggest that your lower the bar on your expectations at this point & allow your body to heal. You have under gone a very traumatic surgery. Listen to your body it will tell you when you are over doing. Over doing seems to be the one thing many people do & then they pay dearly for it.
Take care.
Lg4291
New Member
Joined : Apr 2016
Posts : 4
Posted 4/24/2016 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your honest response. I am 64 and have been active all my life. I love to play golf and actually live on a golf course. Due to chronic arthritis that reeked havic on my lower back, during the past 5 years I have had two bulging discs treated with decompression. My arthritic facet joints were treated with three years of epidural injections. Last year my GP ordered an MRI which showed bone spurs on L4 disc. I went to my neurologist and he removed them. He then discovered during a physical exam and MRI the reason my arm was hurting was a bad cervical disc which was removed 6 weeks after my bone spur surgery. As soon as I could return to golf it was wonderful and pain free for about 4 months then I was on a golf trip and tried to open a stuck lower drawer and felt this sharp pain. Well to make a long story shorter, another MRI and at that point due to the severity of the pain, degenerative disc disease and spondolosis my neurologist suggested I have this major surgery. I did a great deal of research and asked several questions and was made well aware of the recovery process and that there was no guarantee I would be pain free but I would be in significantly less pain after the fusion.
I am someone who can tolerate pain and have for several years, however although the surgical pain is better it is still debilitating without at least a small dose of pain meds. I am undergoing physical therapy and they actually refer to me as a "frequent flyer" due to my years of visits. My physical therapist said he thought the pain management center would continue to give me meds until the pain became manageable. I guess this is why I was asking about what to expect. Every recovery is different and my neurologist knows how much I hate to take pain pills, and my tolerance of pain. I guess this is why he prescribed up till now. I am just wondering whether it is realistic to expect this type of pain to continue for another month or so.
straydog
Forum Moderator
Joined : Feb 2003
Posts : 19850
Posted 4/24/2016 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
Lg, if the pain you are having disappears in another month or so consider yourself to be one of the luckiest people alive. I have to wonder since you mentioned spurs if one of those spurs wasn't compromising a nerve. Are you having a lot of spasms & on a good muscle relaxer? Has the dr ever talked about trying you on a short burst of steroids? This is commonly used to get some of the inflammation down. Right now everything in your back is really angry at the all of the work that was done inside during surgery. NSAIDS are completely out as they can compromise the fusion process.
Somewhere between the 6-9 month mark you should hopefully begin to start telling a difference. A double lumbar fusion is really a crap shoot on what the outcome will be. Its a very long road with a lot of trauma from the surgery is all I can tell you.
I do hope your physical therapist is not one of these that gets real aggressive, that is something you don't need. Remember the fusion is still in the healing process inside. If it feels like its too much its probably too soon to be doing PT.
Pain mgt drs will rx pain medication if they feel its necessary. Something you need to know is we are required to sign a Contract. Basically the important part of this is you agree not to obtain pain medication from other drs, some drs will do a pill count at every appt or at random, you must take the medications as prescribed, if a patient shows to be short on a pill count the dr kicks them to the curb, same with trying to call in for an early refill of pain meds. We also have to do UA's to make sure we are not taking something we shouldn't be. Do not be offended by any of this or take it personal, these are the guidelines PM drs have to go by to help keep the DEA out of their hair.
Hopefully in time you can get back to your golf game. My 11 yr old grandson is a golfer. He has been playing several years. I spend a lot of my time especially in the summer chauffeuring him to tournaments, golf camp, or lessons. He absolutely loves it.
Take care & keep us posted.