Thanks for all the good wishes! They sprung me from the hospital today; was supposed to come home Thursday afternoon but I couldn’t keep anything down.
Forgot how much the walker is my friend 
Also forgot how much the back spasms suck!
TwinCity, hope to hear from you soon! Hope all is well.
Checking in here!! Got sent home early, everything was going well. Touch wood, the horrible nerve pain seems to be limited (dare I say gone??). Now to just get over the surgical site owies…and away we go. thanks for all you support everyone!!
My walker went “lame” so I had to take the hospital walker back. We’ll get that all straightened out tomorrow…but so far the walker has been my friend too!
Checking in here!! Got sent home early, everything was going well. Touch wood, the horrible nerve pain seems to be limited (dare I say gone??). Now to just get over the surgical site owies…and away we go. thanks for all you support everyone!!
My walker went “lame” so I had to take the hospital walker back. We’ll get that all straightened out tomorrow…but so far the walker has been my friend too!
Good wishes to both of you! Hope recovery continues to go well!
TC, so glad to hear you’re doing well!
so glad to hear y’all are ok. I had T9, T10, and T11 Laminectomy on April 15th and got home the 19th. Ugh…yes. Surgery sucks. I have a 5" incision and I am hoping to be riding in 3 to 6 months. I was operated on my a neurosurgeon - he had operated on hubby’s back 20 years ago. Top notch guy in Houston. I can lift up my right leg now and I was practically dragging/hopping with it. I can lift it up 15" or so off the ground. No more electrical shocks but my feet/legs are still very numb. I had severe spinal stenosis that came on like gang busters in mid October.
Hope y’all continue to improve and we are all riding by the end of summer.
Day 4 post-op - like you all warned me, not pretty. But sitting no longer hurts (nerve hurt that is) and I actually have a timer beside me so I don’t overdue it. But truly thanking the pharmaceutical industry today. Oh boy…between the nerves doing the happy dance that they are free and the oh-so-lovely-hamburger contused soft tissue mess over the surgical site…it can amount to some pretty robust expletives.
Onward! Hope all is going well with everyone else…
TwinCity, did they give you a morphine drip in the hospital? I did have that and it helped. I am sitting here tired just from sitting! LOL got to get up and move around carefully. This brace digs in under my breasts and it is less than pleasant
No, just injectable…but have all oral meds now. I’ve figured out when to take breakthrough meds so that helps with pain management.
I just have a corset to wear, you must have a clamshell? Welcome to the healing journey
I is a yellow corset but it was digging when I was sitting. I repositioned it. I had to tighten it up today - I was actually mixing cake for weddings this weekend. I can’t pick up anything heavy but a half gallon of milk was the heaviest thing I picked up. A friend was here to help me. OMG we got a late start because I took the muscle relaxer and the pain med and good grief, I could have never been a drug addict. I went on a trip on the Good Ship Lollypop awhile ago. I HATE that feeling. I was so woozy I had to sit and stay for 2 hours til it passed. LOL such a sissy. Once it passed I was better.
Hope you both are doing well today and that we continue to improve.
Ok, am I ever glad to see this thread. Looking for advice, here!
I have had back troubles for 10 years, starting with a bulging disc at 19, that herniated at 25, that is bulging now again. L5-S1.
I have done PT, Chiro, Injections. It’s been god awful again since last August. I had brain/laminectomy/crainiotomy surgery in February, and was hopeful that it would improve my lower back due to increased CSF flow, but no go.
I can’t bend over, I can’t put my own shoes on, I can’t comfortably sneeze!!! And now that I am cleared to ride again (at a walk) from my head surgery, my back is preventing me from riding comfortably… at a WALK. Can’t imagine what trotting would be like.
This is interfering with my daily life, and I want a fusion. I am TIRED of babying this for the last decade! I am thin, fit, with good core strength. I know how to lift, what exercises to do, and they don’t do sh!t!
I had a repeat MRI performed Tuesday that states I have bone marrow changes, progressively declining/very limited disc space (as compared to 2007 study), and a cocentric bulge to the disc that was previously herniated.
I am stuck in the neuro/ortho debate. I don’t know who to call. My family doctor is kinda useless.
Any advice? I am thinking I would like to get it done this year, myself and my mare are already out of shape with no plans to show; she will actually be bred. My deductible is met from the brain surgery, bonus there. I am in a wedding the end of September, have a trade show I should/need to be at in August. My job is desk-like and I can work from home.
ETA: I CANNOT tolerate any pain meds other than Tylenol-3 - for previous issues they have tried Tramadol, Percoset, Vicodin, Fentenyl - all make me visciously ill within 10 minutes. So drug therapy for me is out.
Personal Champ- I would consult with both, neuro and ortho. See if there’s a doc you feel more comfortable with. I consulted with 2 orthos then a neuro. The neuro, one of the top docs at Barrows, referred me back to an ortho. I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule like some do. Check 'em both out!
Thanks, sign of Grace.
I am waiting for a call back from an ortho’s office, hopefully it won’t be a 3 month wait. The neuro that did my chiari surgery in February doesn’t really do much on lower backs, a shame since I really love him!
Hi there Personal Champ…so sorry you have to go through this too. And glad you are on the mend from your first surgery!
I heard the ortho vs. neuro surgeon debate (neuro preferable), but my family doctor (and others) highly recommended my ortho surgeon who does 3 or 4 back surgeries a week like mine. That was the key confidence builder for me, the fact that he was experienced. I don’t think that helps you much, but I’d definitely want to see both specialties…then go from there.
Personal Champ - I don’t do well on pain meds/anesthetic either. I would check out both type of doctors. I had a neurosurgeon. He has an impressive resume - he is a Colonel in the US army and headed up hospitals during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He got his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering which I thought was kind of a hoot. He is considered one of the top neuro doctors in the US and he successfully operated on hubby’s back 20 years ago. He had to remove a tumor off of hubby’s back a few months later which turned into a complicated 3 hour surgery. So…I had history with this doctor!
I am thrilled with my surgery at this point. I can close my eyes and not fall over backwards. My balance is improving everyday. My walk is improving everyday and I can lift up my right foot instead of dragging it!!! Woot!!
I hope you can get surgery to repair this and get on with living. Living in pain is not fun to say the least.
I am really glad that so many of you have had this and have recovered. Well, not GLAD that you HAD to have it, but you know what I mean!
I am trying to get in with the ortho to start… He opreated on a friend of mine who is the head nurse at a local large hospital - quite the reccommendation! And my best friend works in Radiology at the same facility, and also recommends him. He specializes in spines.
I will keep checking in on this thread, and update when I finally get a visit - hopefully soon, as I am TIRED of dealing with this!
Whew! Staples out today. Thank God, much more comfortable now!
PC, I agree with the others who recommend seeing an ortho & a neuro. I’ve been operated on by one ortho & 2 neurosurgeons now. Since you really liked your neuro, can you ask him for a recommendation?
There is an ortho in my area who says he ‘specializes in spines’ - what he actually does is a lot of epidural injections, and no spinal surgery at all. Be careful who you ultimately use as your surgeon; ask how many fusions they do per week /month. It is very important to use someone who does a LOT of fusions. Best of luck to you!
I can’t wait to get these dang staples out. The muscle right next to the staples is not a happy camper.
I have a neuro recommendation but my dr. wants me to start with an ortho. Waiting for a scheduling call from their office. Meanwhile, yesterday while driving to the pet store, my back seized up and I had to pull over. The cause? Having both feet off the ground to simultaneously operate clutch and gas. Gah.
Appointment with ortho surgeon 3/22. Fortunately, not too long to wait.
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