L3-L5 lumbar fusion (TLIF)/laminectomies (20+ months post surgery) - still recovering from setback!
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- These last few months have been very challenging. I initially aggravated things at the gym in early November before my last video. I tried to stay active but things got worse again in December and I was unable to wear my regular shoes again (crocs are lifesavers!). Lots of numbness, tingling, burning, and pain in both legs/feet.
Then in January my back became painful and very stiff, preventing me from doing some of my regular activities. It all culminated in a ER visit in early January - a back CT was normal but I was placed on a short course of steroids to calm things down and also restarted on Neurontin (gabapentin). My surgeon ordered an MRI which I did in mid-January and it showed a good fusion with no areas of concern.
Thankfully, I have been improving the last few weeks. I am wearing normal shoes to work again and am slowly building up my walking (I was doing 11-12K steps/day by last October, then down to 4-5K recently when things were bad - now I am around 7-8K and working back up). My leg/feet symptoms are better but not back to baseline. My back also seems less stiff and painful. Hopefully this will continue!
Crocs are the best way of measuring the condition of people with back problems. Wear it at the store, and you're cooking on something/feeling something not the best. Wear them at the doctor/chiropractor and he instantly takes you seriously.
I had L3,4,5 fusion last month. I can tell that it will be months for the recovery to be complete. Great thing is that the terrible nerve pain is gone. I have a new life.
You are doing great already!
I had a Multi-Level MIS TLIF of L4/L5 and L5/S1 on February 16th 2023 and on day 10. I am blown away with the difference of how I feel in such a positive way. The entire process from arriving to being home was just over a day and a half with only two true painful moments in these days of being home. Both occasions were from the surgical healing itself and managing the meds.
The stability in my back has been mind blowing vs how I was prior. I do understand the left foot burn from the calf to the underside of the toe and gets better each day with walking but other than that, everything has been very manageable. It’s almost scary of how well it’s going so far. I’ve been walking since day one post surgery and taking my time with it all getting in 2500-5000 steps a day.
I don’t believe I am overdoing it as moving around seems to be what my body wants to do and feels the best doing that being very cautious with the no BLT rule! I do feel sitting or laying too long does make things tight so I get up and move a bit.
Question for you is did you have the minimally invasive TLIF or the standard TLIF? I had Minimally Invasive which was two small incisions on each side of my erectors and opened with insertions that minimized the muscle and ligament damage prompting a much faster healing process and less scar tissue damage. It could be scar tissue getting in the way?
I am sure there will be more bad days but confident I will be able to manage it however I am very excited and looking forward to a quality of life I haven’t had in Years! I am not sure if this is normal or not and don’t wish to come across the wrong way as I really hope things get right with your nerves.
Thanks for sharing your journey!
Hi Steve - it sounds like things are going very well post-surgery and you are doing all the right things to help your recovery. I had the standard TLIF - we do think scar tissue could be involved and/or I aggravated the nerves somehow. I am doing better with time and hope to resume my normal activities. I’ll have an update soon…but keep doing what you are doing! I wish you continued success and health!
@@bds1367 I made a few videos on my page of my experience thus far. Thanks to you guys I felt motivated to share my process.
@@StvRob76 thanks Steve - I will check it out!
@@bds1367 appreciate that.
Thank you for sharing. I had my double lumbar fusion 3 weeks ago. This is helpful. Yeah. Sound like just the wrong kind of stress happened from the hanging. I do hope your feet get better with the re healing of the nerves.
Thanks for sharing I've been following ur recovery since i got those L3-L5 fusion too, now almost 2 months since surgery and i got some setback while experienced some fever and typhoid. I feel numbness that come and go away with my left leg (the leg that i had symptoms before surgery, but before surgery the symptoms was with pain), and pain when i stretching my back in my right butt (new symptoms since surgery), i hope we can manage this and get well together 💪🏽
Sounds like our situations are very similar. You are still actively recovering my friend! I wish you the best and look forward to hearing about your progress. I think your symptoms can get better over the next several months.
I'm so grateful for your insights and explanations of the process. Thank You! I had an L3-5 laminectomy and fusion back on Sept. 1. So it's been about 5 months.
I still have quite a bit of leg and buttock pain..with a constant ice cold feeling in the legs and numbness in both feet. I plod through it each day though. PT is starting to help as is walking, when I feel up for it. Before the surgery I couldn't really walk at all, so I can't complain! I have learned to maneuver my body in all sorts of new ways in order to accomodate my new anatomy :)
my surgeon..well actually his PA has told me to give it a little more time and if things don't improve then I would have another MRI. My recent CT looked ok.
So...I guess this is the way things will play out over time...ups and downs...with the hope of a slow but continual improvement.
My surgeon told me at the outset that, judging from his patient data on surgeries like this, he was able to pretty much promise that 90% of the time he could reduce the pain by 50%.
I said, "I'll take it!!
Bill
Your story sounds so familiar. I also had great difficulty walking before the surgery and I knew it was my only option. Five months post surgery might feel like a long time in some ways, but I can tell you that when it comes to nerve issues, it can take a lot longer to reach maximum healing. I really hope that your symptoms improve with time. Walking really helps your body adjust to the new anatomy.
I’m sure they will do more scans over time to ensure that things are fusing, although the complete fusion process can take quite a while. You’re definitely right about the ups and downs. I’ve had many of those over the course of my recovery and just when I thought those were ceasing, new ones arise. But the overall trend is still upward! Stick with the process like you are doing. I do think it will get better for you. Please keep me posted!
@@bds1367 I really appreciate your encouragement and support. Thank You!
Thanks for the update. I wondered if you ever had a neurologist measure the activity / damage to the lumbar nerve roots. I had this done before my last surgery (4th decompression surgery) and it revealed which of the nerves had more permanent/chronic damage (=nothing to be done by further surgery) or acute damage (=decompression might help). You describe symptoms that could result from multiple nerve roots, including S1. Since your fusion doesn't include the L5S1 level, perhaps there is irritation occurring at this level? This might affect the S1 or L5 roots. An electromyography (EMG) might clarify this. Good luck!
I did not have the nerve roots assessed but that sounds like a useful tool. Thank you for your input!
Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve watched all of your videos. They have been incredibly helpful!! I am going to my first doctor’s visit tomorrow. I am curious that you had artificial discs in your upper back surgery but chose a fusion for your Lower back. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why not use artificial discs for both??
Thank you Robert!
Your question is not stupid - cervical disc replacement is very common and highly successful. Lumbar disc replacement is much trickier from my understanding. In my case, I had a pars defect and my surgeon couldn’t even place a spacer between L3 and L4. It’s almost bone on bone. So disc replacement wasn’t really an option…
Your videos are very informative. My surgery L4-5 TLIF is scheduled for next month. A few questions: Did you have someone with you 24/7 when you came home? l live alone and not sure if anyone is able to take off work to care for me. What if any furniture/chairs/bed/etc. would be helpful for me to have before I come home? Would like to know what the issue is with the catheters everyone has. Seems to be very personal however, I think I'm more afraid of that than the surgery itself!
Hi Debbie - thank you!
I did have someone there with me for a couple of days when I got home. It’s hard to move, walk, cook, etc. right away. However, with a one level fusion you might recover a bit faster! I don’t know if there’s a way for you to stay an extra day or two in the hospital (I know that hospitals push people out quickly nowadays). Or possibly transfer to some sort of rehab/skilled nursing facility briefly?
As far as furniture is concerned, you’ll need a bed that is easily accessible for you given that you will have limited mobility. So if your bed is really high, for example, you might find it a bit challenging to get in. Also, you’re probably going to need to put something (e.g., long pillow) underneath your knees, as that will help limit soreness and back pain. If you have an adjustable bed that makes it easy!
My guess is that you will find sitting uncomfortable at the beginning. Sitting for long periods of time still aggravates things for me even at this point. Reclining in a nice chair might feel good but getting out of the chair or getting it back upright will be difficult unless it’s automatic. In the beginning, I found it easier to lay in bed when I wasn’t up and about.
Walking is the key! Take it very slow at first but try to slowly build up over time. That will help get your body accustomed to its new anatomy. You will probably be given a walker and a back brace. Use those in the beginning as indicated by your doctor. You might be told to wear the brace for a few months.
Oh and get one or two of those grabber devices - place them strategically around your home. They are great when reaching for things! You definitely do not want to bend over for anything.
Catheters…yes I had a little complication. Let’s just say that they had some difficulty with it during my surgery (thankfully I was unconscious) and this led to some bleeding for a few days afterwards. But in the end it’s really not a major concern and even my complication was not a big deal.
Good luck to you! Please let me know how you are doing when you get a chance. This is a tough surgery to recover from but it is very doable. You will get through it!
Thank you for sharing. Quick question. My wife is approaching 3 months since the surgery but you said you experienced pain on the left leg. My wife also the same thing. She never had pain on the left but after the surgery she had pain on the left. The Surgeon said is because the spine shifted due to the surgery. Did you experience the same? Is getting better but not there yet.
Great question - I primarily had right leg/foot issues before and after the surgery. But I did have a little left-side stuff as well.
Since the surgery my right side improved but it will always have a little numbness (especially my foot).
Sometimes things shift to the left side for me, especially after I’ve aggravated things by being too active. It’s hard to predict and kind of random.
Your wife is still pretty early in the recovery process so a lot more healing can take place. I think the general idea is that during surgery, nerves are pushed around a little bit and the patient can have periods of time where they have new symptoms. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense at all! So I think the fact that she has some left leg pain is not unusual and my guess is that things will get better for her over the next several months.
Wishing you both all the best!
There’s a place in my left hip that I never had pain. I did in my right before surgery. So I know my weight is being distributed all over differently. And the nerves get moved and shifted during surgery. That s what takes the longest, nerve healing. And even then it may not ever be 100%
It just takes time. I hope she progresses well.
Hi there! How did your surgeon explain you still having nerve issues after all these months after surgery?
Basically that things like numbness/tingling that existed before the surgery are the least predictable and take a long time to recover. My nerves were pretty compressed so complete resolution of symptoms was not guaranteed.
But I couldn’t even walk before the surgery so I improved significantly. Even with my recent setback due to overactivity.
@@bds1367 Oh yes, that makes sence then. Maybe if you're up for it you could make a video explaining your background story and what was wrong etc. Thank you for replying! I wish you all the best and a total recovery!