when did you have you first post operation checkup appointment after spine surgery?

and how many checkups did you have after this? Did you have spinal fusion surgery?

I know, im starting physio on Thursday so hopefully that should help! What type of surgery did you have? Did you not have any follow up appointments? I think 16 weeks after major spine surgery with no checkups is a little careless! What sort of problems do you have? I have, I requested for my medical records to be sent to me 2 months ago and I have not yet received them, my GP has also requested and even spoke to my surgeon but they have still not received them either. Everybody says the hospital I went to is one of the best but from my experience I'm not one bit impressed! Thank you 😊

That's brilliant but take it easy, I think swimming is really good but again because you can't feel it you have to be really careful, I had l4/5 fussion, I woke with chronic pain off the scale which at the time I just thought was normal and would ease with time, I had burning in my upper back which I was told was because it was baring the load so never questioned that either, 7 years on I couldn't take anymore and after a scan and a lot of confussion I was told I had a thoracic arachnoid cyst t2-6 which is compressing my spinal cord, (can't operate it will paralyse me)this causes muscle spasms in my back and neck, I also have c2-6 degeneration, bone spurs and bulging discs. I have numbness down left leg and pins and needles all over my body all the time.

I also have all my medical records, you should have them by now so ring them.

I had no follow up appointment and I went private, he sent me home and that was it.

I've heard swimming is good for the back, I'll definitely try it. I was the exact same, waling up after surgery I couldn't even breathe only I was in extreme pain, it was 50x worse than actually breaking my back lol! It's so hard to know with doctors, you just tend to believe and accept whatever they say as being right because they're 'professionals' but a lot of the time they just give an easy answer to get you out I think. Oh that's sounds awful! What is going to happen with the cyst, will it be there for good or will it leave after time? I truly hope you get better soon as that sounds very hard to cope with. I'm going to ring again tomorrow because it's a bit of a joke they still haven't forwarded them lol! You would think when you go private and pay big money that you would get proper care. It's ridiculous

Ye I understand that pain, I felt like I was being crushed under a bus.

The cyst is cebrospinal fluid filled sack, they said I was born with it, I know I wasn't and after years of research I found that fussions can cause these(extremely rare so don't be alarmed). They can't drain it or remove it because it's on my spinal cord so until it effects my arms,legs, bowl and bladder there leaving well alone, I have yearly scans to keep an eye on it growing but it's seems to have stayed static so far, thank god. It causes intense burning pain in my upper back and it cause the rhomboid and trapezius muscle to spasm which at the moment has lasted 5 months straight, I was struggling with walking but went back to see my chiro last week and already it's making a difference. 😊

Oh and the water is approx 8 times the resistance so just walking up and down the pool a few times to begin wth and see how you go😊

It's terrible haha. Oh that sounds really bad! I'll admit you sort of frightened me when you said that fusion can cause these haha😂 Well even though it causes you a lot of hassle as long at least it hasn't affected your spinal cord! I'm sure it won't either, it may even be able to go away by itself, will it? Yeah I will do that for sure, have u tried yoga or Pilates? I've heard they're good for flexibility and muscle pain after spinal surgery 😊

The hospital would not allow me in the hydrtherapy pool until about three weeks after my last dose of chemo.  It was at that time I was just able to stand but still could not walk, even in the parallel bars it was a struggle.

Within a week of starting in the pool I was walking up and down the bars quite easily and my balance started to return.  The difference was amazing.

Didn't do anything for the pain but I stronly suggest anyone who is learning to walk again should be doing pool work.

And the water temp was devine.

That's fantastic, you seem to have a really good positive attitude 😊

I never meant to scare you and it is extremely rare on the spine 😊

Ah it's awful to hear your suffering with pain as well, that's a big opp youve had, Have you tried heat/ice packs, you can get the soft jelly like ones from the cheaper supermarkets (don't think I can name it) I find the ice works better for me 😢

😊

You're only having your second checkup two years later?

I would say my surgeon probably won't even bother seeing me again after my checkup as he clearly isn't too bothered, although he doesn't want to take my metal back out of my spine in a year / year and a half but I'll not be going back to him to give him more money with how badly he has followed up this surgery.

That's relieving I suppose but is it not possible that complications could form later on down the line? I fractured my spine but it's more my hip and side that's giving me the most trouble since.

Thanks and you too

That could be down to how your walking, you could be baring your weight on one side, just a thought 😊

I just spent six months in Thailand with my wife and son, had 10 doses of acupuncture in 10 weeks, did me the world of good.

I slipped on the tile floor one day and landed heavily on my right hip, gave me a lot of grief when walking.  Told the acupunturist and he fixed in two sessions, have not felt so much as a twinge ever since.

Heat works for my back, hot showers are immediate relief, but it only helps for a while. A heat pad would help for sure, as does the balm I buy in Thailand, works well.  I put it on my back every morning before I start my walking and leg exercises.

I'm a great believer in alternative meds but I do believe it has to be done by the right people, iv had acupuncture so many times but it's short lived, so off to Thailand it is then 😂now that would be nice 😊

Acupuncture is only good for certain things, any good practitioner will attain to that.

In my case I have three diferent times that come to mind where it fixed a major problem long term, once with my lower back and twice with a bad shoulder.

I could not believe how effective it was and how long it lasted.

But it's not for everyone.

That's good to know and Ye your right, I find chiropractic treatment works best for me but again it's not for everyone 😊