Tomorrow at 5:00 AM I must present myself at the hospital for preparation for spinal fusion surgery that will begin at 7:15 and end, hopefully, at 9:15. After that, my surgeon tells me I can look forward to three days of pain that will cause me to hate him; after the first three days, he says the pain will rapidly taper off. For at least the first three days, he has promised me a pump that will dispense–something? I think he said morphine but I’m not positive. Anyway, I’m fairly sure that sitting in front of a computer will not rank high; he intends to start therapy as quickly as possible. So, wish me well if you will and I will, I hope, be back ASAP.
Ow. I don’t know much about spinal fusion, but I’m sorry that’s what you’re in for. Excelsior, LouisB!
Good luck! throws confetti, keeps fingers crossed Hope you get absolutely spoiled rotten until you feel much better. 
Best of luck to you, and may the drugs they deliver be the good ones!
No fun! Having been through my own painful surgeries, I empathize with you.
May whatever gods there be, be with you during your surgery. Sending healing thoughts your way.
Sorry to hear about your surgery. My SIL had this surgery in early July. Fusion, rods, cadaver bone, etc. According to her, it’s everything your doctor said, and less. Keep your eye on the prize and take the pain meds. It’s important to follow instructions regarding sitting. She said her husband has been helpful by telling her when she’s sitting, turning, or laying “wrong”. Just keep thinking about the end result and how great you’ll be feeling and how your life will improve. Best of luck to you!!!
Good thoughts headed your way for a quick recovery!
GT
Good luck, Man. Take it light.
Hey- hang in there!
I’ve had it done twice, ten years apart. They are MUCH better at it now!!!
My only problem this time was that the super-morphine they gave me didn’t work, and they had to give me the real morphine instead. After a bit of intensely focused bitching!
But it is true, you will start feeling better within a week. Do the walking that you are supposed to, take the pain meds like they say, and you’ll be cool.
What level are you having fused?
-K
Oh - one more thought - stay away from airplanes for at least six months. Hurts like a sonofabitch. Don’t know why.
Warmest thoughts for rapid healing LouisB! Hope the pain isn’t too much and the meds are everything you hope they will be.
My husband has had 3 spinal surgeries over 2 years. He’s got a mess of metal in his neck, and a Frankenscar running down his back. Each time, it took a week for him to feel mostly human again. Third time was the charm - he’s doing much better.
Hope yours was easy and effective. Looking forward to your return!!
Good luck. May your recovery be smooth.
If you’re reading this a week later, it will do you no good. But be sure to press the button on the pump as often as you need. It’s set so that you can’t give yourself too much. And it’s rated as so much available per hour, so you can’t save it up to use later.
How about an update? Did all go well?
Seconded.
Don’t know how I missed this thread a week and a half ago, but I’d sure like an update if possible! Warm post-op thoughts are headed LousB’s way!
Hope you’re recovering well.
Just to update this thread, the surgery went well, with no complications. In fact, the surgeon said it was almost a text book surgery, which was a good thing to hear. As far as the rest of it goes, the first two or three days were at least as painful as he had promised and maybe even a little bit worse. I did have the pump he promised but it didn’t contain morphine; I think he said it had Dilaudid (Sp?) but I may well have misunderstood him. Whatever it was, it was effective but finding a comfortable position on that hospital bed beat me. They drove me out of bed the first day and made me walk the hallway, using a walker. That was repeated again the first day and three times daily for the next two days. I was sent home on the third day with a prescription for hydrocodone; I guess it helped but not a hell of a lot. I also took a walker home, along with a hard plastic fixture that fits my back and my chest; it looks more like a piece of body armor than anything else. I’m supposed to wear it whenever I go walking outside, which I am doing as often as I can—we’ve had a bit of rain here, lately. At any rate, the pain becomes less and less noticeable as time goes by; I was even able to put my own socks on two days ago although tying my shoes is still difficult. My Darling Marcie availed herself of the Family Leave Act and has been very supportive and helpful although she is stingy with the pain pills. Anyway, things seem to be going according to plan and I expect a full recovery, barring accidents.
Thanks for all the good thoughts that came my way.
Glad to hear you are recovering.
Your experience with surgery echos some of my own (although I did not have spinal surgery.)
Sending more healing thoughts your way!
Yeah, it’s likely that what you had in the hospital was Dilaudid, which is my fave IV pain reliever because it works fast. The hydrocodone they sent you home with is oral Dilaudid. Oddly enough for me, even though IV Dilaudid works beautifully for me, oral does very little. My best option for oral pain relief post-op is Oxycodone, which is Percoset.
Glad to hear the recovery is going well!