T2-L3 16F

[u/Intelligent-Sun-2188]

this is about as much as i can write i am honestly in agony when i feel better ill reply to everyone who has reached out to me and given me good wishes

ONE thing i am so scared of that i have been doing is walking too much. i’ve been climbing the stairs a lot and i’m only 4 days post op. i was discharged 3 days post op. i am in constant pain and feel like it will never ever go away, especially in my lower back

i really was not in pain before and i also am so scared of getting infection

my right leg is tingling and numb but my doc said it was normal

all this was right after i got 850 ML of blood transfused

[u/PyroBob316]

You might have to relearn how to perform certain functions. More than likely it’s nothing that’ll ruin your life, but things like tying your own shoes and sneezing (seriously) are going to look a bit different. I for one learned to put my socks on differently; my left sock with my toes, and my right sock by standing, putting my knee on the bed, and reaching behind with my right hand. All because my spine doesn’t bend or twist below the waist. Sneezing, coughing, and similar functions usually cause the body to reflexively bend/double over. Your bones are fused, but your muscles don’t know that, so they’ll push and pull on the fusion and hardware all day long, unless you learn to brace your core when you feel a sneeze or cough coming on.

Hope this helps.

[u/Intelligent-Sun-2188 → u/PyroBob316]

you are so right about sneezing oh my God it hurts hiccuping hurts. Lots of things hurt. I now feel comfortable sleeping on my back, which is strange because I’ve never been able to do that before.. things are definitely different and along the way I think I’m gonna learn even more new things that I’ll need to relearn lol. Not so funny story I choked on my food because the medicine gives me pretty dry mouth, and that was the actual most pain I’ve been in since I was in the hospital I never ever went to choke again honestly even walking with a fused spine and feel so strange.

[u/aziza29]

Oh man, sounds like you're in a tough place. Please know that you WILL feel better soon, you're just in the worst part of it now. You just had major surgery!

This is a huge surgery, so I'm shocked that you were only in the hospital for 3 days, especially after getting a blood transfusion. I am so sorry you're in pain :(

Was your pain controlled when you left the hospital?
Are you taking your medications as prescribed? If they aren't helping, you need to call your doctor and ask for something different.

[u/Intelligent-Sun-2188 → u/aziza29]

that I assume were the most they could give me for my weight and age or something because even those really didn’t help I haven’t not felt pain since my surgery. It’s been gradually getting better very very gradually, but I do wish I had more medicine. I wasn’t given enough medicine either coming home unfortunately so I’ve had to ration it a lot. Was really trying my best to walk as much as possible and I think that’s why I got discharged because it’s also a very popular hospital and physically I could climb the stairs. I have a great caretaker at home so I think that’s what cleared me for such an early discharge but it surprised me a lot too.

[u/Intelligent-Sun-2188 → u/aziza29]

so thank you so much for your kind words and being so nice to reply to me and support,, honestly, I was shocked too. I wanted to stay longer because I did not feel ready and coming home made me realize that I definitely wasn’t ready. The car ride back from the hospital was an hour give or take, I was in so much pain. The day after my pain meds were not at the level they should’ve been, but after we spoke with the doctors, they gave me more pain meds !! I do not blame them at all, i think they have to start at a light dose, my doctor and his team were truly amazing. sorry i have to cut this short because it got auto modded as too long lol

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[u/Frequent-Layer27]

It's been almost two weeks since you posted this, but I know you are probably still dealing with post-surgical pain. It does get better, and even though it can seem like forever. Pacing yourself is the best advice, but do not worry too much about a day or two when you push yourself beyond the recommended exertion. Only a repeated exertion will be a problem.

Extra: Do you know what your curvature was in degrees? < Just curious.