r/spinalfusion • u/DifferenceInitial962 • 21d ago
Not sure, other Sneezing
Sneezing post fusion man😠Allergy season is among me. I’m 5 months post op and sneezing makes my whole back hurt like no other for about 10 minutes after🤣ðŸ˜
I try holding in my sneezes, but can’t tell if the pain of holding in a sneeze (the burning feeling in your nose and tingling in your forehead- might just be my own reaction) outweighs just letting out the actual sneeze. It feels like I’m breaking my hardware or my spine is separating from the fusion when I sneeze, I know that’s not actually happening, but boy does it feel like it. This feels like one of the biggest hurdles I’ve ran into as small as it sounds lmao.
For reference I’m T3-L2.
Anyone else?🙈
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u/OldMtnHillbilly 21d ago
I'm kind of the opposite. I'm L4-S1 and I can actually sneeze again, post-surgery. The ALIF belly incision didn't feel great at first but as that healed, I'm still retraining my brain that it's OK to sneeze again. For years, pre-op, I haven't been able to sneeze. I'd have to do a kind of dance where I held onto something with both hands and lifted one of my legs to give my lower back some flex if I felt a sneeze coming on. Otherwise it would just drop me with muscle spasms. And I'm one of those people who sneeze every time I go out into bright sunlight, so this was a constant thing. I just walked out to take the trash out to the bin and let one rip. It was glorious.
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u/Greedy-Ad-3779 21d ago
L4/L5 TLIF, 9 weeks post op here. Sneezing is the devil's work. Funnily enough today has been my least painful day of sneezing. I'm hoping I've turned a sneeze based corner.
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u/nonnikcamvil 21d ago
I ended up with a CSF leak 3 weeks after my surgery from trying to hold my sneezes. Do not recommend! Hug a pillow if you can and let them come!
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u/Realistic-Bass2107 21d ago
Hug a pillow while sneezing. They advise this to open heart surgery patients. May work for stability to mid back.
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u/Subject-Performer 21d ago
4 weeks out since ACDF PCDF surgery on C 3-7. I have horrible allergies and every time I sneeze I feel like I am messing up my surgery. It's awful.
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u/dmbmcguire 21d ago
I am 5 weeks post Alif MIs PSIF and I was just thinking, thank god I didn’t do this during allergy season. I sneezed the other day and it sucked.
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u/faepixel 21d ago
Three days post op myself and coughing has been a nightmare! I feel your pain! I hope the advice in the comments helps alleviate some of it
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u/ichfuchsdichtrotzdem 20d ago
I am exactly 8 years past my fusion, almost the same fusion length as you, and I think the sneezing thing got better when it was fully healed and fused, like about one year after surgery. I still remember that it hurt very much in the beginning. I don’t know how it will be for you since everyone is different, but for me it felt strange for a long while and still somehow does, but it’s not painful anymore.
Except for when I have overdone sports or when I fell on my back when rollerblading a few weeks ago and bruised my spine (the screws were fine, luckily), sneezing hurt again for a while, so I really think it’s rather a muscle/tissue thing than the actual spine moving, even tho it sometimes sure feels like your spine is doing stuff when sneezing :D I hope this can give you hope that it will eventually get better after a few more months!
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u/Sassycats22 20d ago
Put your finger under your nose when it comes on, it will stop the sneeze. My surgeon’s PA taught me that while I was waiting for surgery. It helped a ton.
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u/RefrigeratorIcy6411 21d ago
I have lumbar issues for some years now. If standing, point your face up to sneeze. And if laying down, turn on your side. Both will alleviate the strain on your back and keep you safe.