Posted , 5 users are following.
I have had 4 level fusion and two level laminectomy due to a benign tumor. I am 5.mths post.surgery and find it hard to sit for long.of time.or.walk distances etc. As my spin is fused now.from t10 to l4 I and preying that one day I will be pain free. I.hd.no choice with the surgery due to chordia equina. I am keen to hear of anyone else
0 likes, 12 replies
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dawniesback Terry_the_Tumor
Posted
Hello! I had fusion from L2 to S1 2 years ago. I also had no choice due to Cauda Equina. I had expected the recovery to go more quickly. I was not able to sit very long at all for almost a year. Walking has always been a challenge to me painwise. It was almost a year for that, too. I don't know why it took so long as I followed doctor's orders to a tee. I am soooooo much better today. Glad I had it done.
Terry_the_Tumor dawniesback
Posted
dawniesback Terry_the_Tumor
Posted
I know what you mean about "the old me" but just think about how bright your future looks now that you had your back fixed! I sometimes felt for months at a time that I would never be able to enjoy yoga or gardening or bicycling again. Have faith in your body. It is healing even though you don't realize it. You really do have better times to look forward to!
Terry_the_Tumor dawniesback
Posted
dawniesback Terry_the_Tumor
Posted
Oh I didn't realize that your tumor was still there! Ugh! I am in US. I just started back to yogo about 3 months ago. Had a private lesson to discuss limitations (and there are several) and I am looking at my practice as a new student would. Starting from where I am, not where I was before. You may heal faster than I did as I was on steroids right after my surgery which is not a good thing. I hope you do! But I am so stubborn I had a hard time not doing what I wanted!
sheila_86127 Terry_the_Tumor
Posted
Good morning,
I too had a Spinal Fusion. I had mine due to failed laminectomy surgeries. I also have quite a few problems with my back though. It also didn't help that I had a surgeon totally botch one of my surgeries and leave me with permanent nerve damage. Thank goodness I have a wonderful neurosurgeon who did his best to repair the damage. My fusion was a year and a half ago and I still have some problems standing and sitting for long periods of time. Water therapy is wonderful!!! There's no impact on your joints and you get the full benefits of the therapy. If you haven't tried it I would suggest you ask your surgeon. It helped me so much. I'm sure that I have so many problems still because of the botched surgery. I have a friend who had a fusion and after healing and physical therapy they are doing well. I also had a lot of pain from where they removed a piece of bone from my hip area to use for the fusion. I was told by my surgeon that it could take up to a year for that to heal. I'm not sure if you had that but I know that was very painful. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better very soon.
linda1718 sheila_86127
Posted
Hi Sheila,
Like you and Dawn I'm still suffering after 2 fusions and 1 that was stopped while I was actually on the table. The last fusion was November last year, this was done to fix what the other surgeon had done and to extend the fusion also what the first surgeon should have done!
The reason for this reply is to ask you about the water therapy you mentioned in your post. Is this swimming or something else?
Cheers
Linda
CHICO_MARX Terry_the_Tumor
Posted
I had a 4-level standard TLIF (L3 through S1) in 2014...previous laminectomy of L4/L5...recently a 1-level LLIF (lateral) fusion of L2/L3 for bilateral foraminal stenosis.
The TLIF (rails and screws) was 10 days in the hospital, 6 months in a brace, 4 months of rehab and a year of severe activity restrictions...THE BONES HAVE TO FUSE!!! It wasn't fun...it takes time to heal.
In contrast, the LLIF (lateral...through your side) was one hospital overnight, no brace, no rehab, instant relief. AMAZING technology. Search YouTube for "globus lateral" to see a cute animation. It's basically an expandable spacer...like a jack lifting up a car. The LLIF is like a Magic Bullet op...zero original pain from the minute you wake up. Had to deal with a few weeks of diminishing nerve pain in my legs because they have to retract the nerve roots to insert the device. No big deal.
The pics show the original TLIF and then the LLIF on top of it.
linda1718 CHICO_MARX
Posted
WOW! 😱
CHICO_MARX linda1718
Posted
Yeah... The LLIF is the best kept secret in spine surgery. My other option was for the doc to remove all my L3-S1 hardware and re-fuse me L2 through S1. That would have been a whole new cycle of hospital, brace, rehab, restrictions. After the LLIF, it's like it never happened.
PS: Stenosis is like having severe sciatica down both legs at the same time. Not a fun exercise...
Watch the animation!!!! So very cool!!!
Oh... Here's the lateral view of the LLIF. You can see how the posterior face of the device is cranked open wider (15mm) than the anterior side (5mm) so the proper spinal curve is maintained. They actually use a surgical version of a mechanic's Allen wrench to expand (crank open) the device. I'm a Sicilian from Brooklyn so after the op, I had to give my neuro his official "Wiseguy" Mafia nickname. He's now Tommy "The Wrench" Ellis!!!
linda1718 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Again, WOW! I couldn't even tell you what was put inside me with both fusions! I know the latest one was a lot of metal....... When I asked about going through scanners at airports I was told to just show them my back! I wish I had of gotten the LLIF but I suppose things are done differently in USA and UK, especially on the NHS!
CHICO_MARX linda1718
Posted
I'm the TSA's worst nightmare!!! All of that in my back plus a metal hip and knee... Almost five pounds so far with another 2 1/2 pound knee to go in a year or two. I'm getting a Terminator statue and just putting big green check-mark stickers on it...