Re: How long for lumbar fusion pain?

Dear Matt,

Everyone heals at a different rate, feels it all differently, so it's hard
to nail any exact timeline down to anybody healing, but 3 months out is
still way too soon. It's easy to get frustrated. Some lucky bastards jump
out of bed and start dancing, but they're definitely the exception to the
rule.
You probably know by now docs are sometimes (some might even say often) way
off on things like how long and how bad it hurts. What you have been through
is no little thing. Somebody's been tinkering around the main transmission
lines for sensations to the brain. They immobilized a joint that used to be
flexible, a joint that one could argue you use when doing everything. People
without back issues might not get that, but I'm sure you understand. You
have to relearn how you sit, stand, walk, bend, stretch, get on the john,
get off the john, you name it.
It's going to be a while. You are probably looking at another six months
before you can even judge how successful it was. Maybe even longer. Right
now it should be pretty much still a matter of pain control. Give them hell
if it's not enough, cause it'll get worse, once you get moving again. Beware
the vicious cycle where the pain is too bad to move, so you don't, which
only makes it more painful and harder to move. That's the path of no return.
Or at least a harder one than need be.
It's real easy to get depressed about lack of progress or things moving
slower than you want. Don't get upset if they suggest a medication for that
as well. It'll sneak up on you. Just be sure to tell the doctor everything
you're feeling and make them listen and react.
Also don't be alarmed if one of these days you move around, maybe a little
awkwardly, and feel something like a spring letting go or a little
electrical zap in the area of the surgery. it's just a stitch letting loose
and they usually triple up on those, but first time it happened, it scared
the crap out of me. It's no big deal, but weird feeling.

Hang in there--og










"Matt" <matchorno@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1141058740.650604.174230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I had a fusion done at L4-L5 three months ago. I still have a lot of
pain. Although the pain is better than right after the surgery, the
pain is definitely worse than it was before the surgery. I have been
very careful not to overdo it, and have faithfully worn my brace
consistently. It especially hurts when I lay down...whether it be on
my side or on my back. I never had that happen before the surgery.

So I'm starting to get a little worried about my progress. I got an
x-ray at 6 weeks and doc said x-ray looked fine and it just needed some
more time. I'm getting another x-ray today (3 month x-ray) and am
going to surgeon in two days. I will talk about things then. But I'm
just curious to what you guys thought about this. I know people heal
at different rates. But what should one normally expect at 3 months
post-op? I don't feel like I've made any progress the last couple of
weeks.



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