Your experience recovering from back surgery

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am seeing the neurosurgeon next week. It is not certain that it will be surgery, and not certain what type of surgery it would be if we go that route. You are not a doctor. if you are a doctor you are certainly not my doctor. Etc, etc, etc…

I am seeking your experiences recovering from spinal surgery. Vertebral fusion, laminectomy, or discectomy seem mostly likely if I go under the knife.

How much help did your need in the home from family during recovery? What sort of assistance? I am concerned about basic things like getting in and out of bed safely and to/from bathroom. I am not sure that my only family in the area (elderly relative) can physically help. I am not a small guy.

2

Good luck next week. Be sure to write down all your questions ahead of time - it’s easy to get flustered, or forget all of your concerns. Can you bring a friend with you? Four ears are better than two. :slight_smile:
Whatever the dr recommends ask about options, recovery time, will you need antibiotics after the procedure, does he/she believe in prescribing pain pills (mine didn’t believe in them except for a dire emergency), will you need physical therapy, and any questions about insurance coverage (very important!)
I had a laminectomy a few years ago, at a point where I could barely walk. Except for falling off the table in the recovery room :slight_smile: it was a quick and easy procedure - I was home as soon as the anesthesia wore off.
Once home I did have to depend on my husband to daily change the bandage on my back, since I developed a small infection. There was a walker available to help me out of bed if needed, but was fine holding on to the walls to get to the bathroom the first few days.
My doctor was a strong believer in “if you don’t use it, you lose it”, and I started physical therapy a few days later (drove myself there and back, cushioned by many pillows). Stock up on bath wipes, since showering was not recommended until the incision healed.
That’s about all I remember - again, best of luck.

3

Hopefully the OP won’t mind experience from non-back surgeries…

I have just completed one of two open hernia surgeries and am on day 4 of the first recovery. Due to [boring list] complications, these are unusually invasive and I am unable to bend or move like the normal versions of this, and have learned a few tips I’ll pass on.

Buy a few of these [grabber tongs], and salt them around the house – in your normal resting places (computer, couch, bedroom). If you’re like me, you may not realize how often you bend or stoop to get stuff, dropped objects, water bottle cap, tv remotes, placing stuff in wastebasket, pulling the kleenex box closer, the list is endless. Being able to reach a few feet and snag lightweight objects is a godsend if your torso movement is limited.

Secondly, I’ve learned the value of a cane this week. I never realized that they are not only to rest some weight on, they transmit a surprising amount of balance information through your arm/hands. I’ve become quite adept with mine now, and it has allowed me more movement than I could have accomplished on just my feet. This sounds weird, but I think it’s more like an animal’s tail, in that it helps immensely with fine-tuning my balance.

Thirdly, with my wife’s help, we set up several tray tables with phone chargers taped to the sides. Everywhere I normally “nest” has a charger that’s reachable without any contortions on my part (never falls to the floor). In addition, each has a few water bottles and a kleenex box.

Fourthly, we agreed to overrule some typical household rules, particularly with toilet seats. This sounds mundane, but the default is now up (set for the male [me] to pee). For the near future, I cannot easily stoop to raise them and the distaff side of the household (I’m outnumbered there) has agreed to this change. It’s surprising how often the little things can interfere with your day.

Finally, for raising and lowering myself from a seated position: We discovered quickly that a single-seat chair with arms is far superior to a couch. If I can use both arms to raise myself it is much easier than trying to contort to push with just one. My “stations” where I spend my days are now a little more convenient for both me, and my wife/daughter to help out.

I don’t know if all of this is applicable, but hopefully my experiences can help out a little. Sorry no specific advice on your particular surgery. Wishing you a speedy recovery though!

4

I’m already well into the can-barely-walk. Have been for nearly 4 years. Have walker, can shuffle and shamble along, but absolutely cannot stand more than a minute unsupported.

When I was living overseas the doctors did believe in pain meds. Back in the States they seem very gun shy. That is the difference the opioid epidemic has had. I am now nearly 2.5 years into nothing stronger than an ibuprofen. Torture every day.

Now that I have insurance I can try again to actually do something about this.

5

I encountered this as well. Apparently the pain meds prescribed post-surgery are prized by drug users. As a result, we could not get my prescription until leaving the surgery to go home. This means the patient has to wait in a parking lot in a hot car while someone stands in line at Walgreens to get the prescription filled. Our request to fill it a day early (to avoid this) was denied. No exceptions allowed.

Also, when I asked for the advance prescription, citing worries over the post-surgery pain, the doc asked several detailed questions about my preferred prescription narcotics (this puzzled me as I couldn’t answer any of them). My wife explained later he was trying to find my level of expertise in these drugs to see if I was a user.

6

All the best with your upcoming surgery.

7

Hi Iggy, here’s wishing you well!

I’ve had two spinal surgeries.

First I had a microdiskectomy and foramenotomy in my lower back at L5S1 after a disk hernia with massive pulp extrusion. Before surgery I had a great deal of leg and foot pain on both sides and some paralysis of my right foot and lower leg, and 7 months of PT. The surgery gave me immediate improvement in the pain – I mean, I woke up feeling improvement. However I never got improvement in the paralysis. I still had some of the pain, and did several months of gabapentin therapy and PT. I’d say I lost 90% of the pain overall. I still have pain and paralysis and numbness and tingling every day, but not every second, and it’s good enough to live happily with.

Then I had an anterior cervical fusion of C5-6-7 with a fixation plate, fusing the bottom half of my neck into one single bone. I’d had pretty severe pain and some hand and arm disability. This surgery greatly improved the pain and I think slowed the progression of the disability but didn’t reverse it. Again I still have pain and disability daily but can live with it fairly well, though writing with a pen is semi useless, and my left hand is so bad I can’t dial a phone or hold a drinking glass, and people ask me why my hands are shaking.

About the recovery and needed help, here’s what I learned.

Moving around to use the bathroom or get into and out of bed was OK, though I did require training during PT to learn new ways of moving and to repattern my brain to use the new ways even when I’m thinking about something else. Thus, I never execute a sit-up type move, I get up with either a push-up move or more often by leaning sideways into an upright position. I’m fairly overweight and yet moving around was immediately easier after both surgeries, not harder.

I was not allowed to lift much at all. I think I had a 0 lb limit for a while after one of the surgeries, and a 10 lb limit for months afterwards. If I had known about that there would have been things I picked up on the garage floor before surgery, for instance, rather than having to step over them for seemingly endless frustrating weeks.

I had driving limitations, which was tactically difficult to work around.

The family had a beach vacation planned for, as it turned out, much earlier in the lower back recovery process than we would have if I’d been able to anticipate things further in advance. But after one of my post surgery exams the surgeon blessed the venture, and I went, and even had a nice (though very cautious) time on the beach. I was still taking a lot of oxycodone and not driving, but it was OK.

Anything in particular you’re not getting answered?

8

It is hard to predict what your outcome will be from other peoples’ experiences. A lot has to do with the severity of your age and condition pre-surgery, how well your body reacts to the surgery, and how well you comply with the recovery plan.

For example, my 55 yr-old wife had essentially the same surgery as Napier:

The day after her surgery (she stayed overnight), we took a slow walk around the block. Her recovery was pretty rapid, tho now, a couple of years later, she still gets some arm numbness, and has limited ranges of neck motion.

My 30-yr-old SIL had a lower lumbar fusion about 3 months ago. He was extremely limited at the time, but has now been cleared for unlimited walking, and to swing a golf club.

Neither my wife nor SIL required much assistance in basic self care, but were very limited in lifting and such. Pretty quickly after his surgery, my SIL was able to do quite a bit (w/ a 10# weight limitation) , but was to stoop - bending at the knees, rather than bend at the waist.

You say you are not small. My SIL is 6’3", but fit. If you are overweight, I suspect that will make recovery somewhat more challenging and prolonged. And if you smoke, you should definitely stop. (Not a doctor, but I read medical reports including spinal fusions all the time.)

9

I am about 5 weeks past a laminectomy (removal of the disc between L1 and T12) made necessary by a big staph infection in the disc. Later they showed me my x-ray, and a demo model of the titanium frame that was installed to permanently keep those two bones in position while new bone filled in around it. I went through a few weeks of PT and OT to get back to getting out of bed and walking. I’m getting stronger. My back still hurts, but I’m down to 2 or 3 pain pills a day.

After back surgery, you get the BLT rules; thou shalt not bend, lift (more than 10 lbs,) or twist. After 4 weeks, the limit was 30 pounds, but I haven’t tried that much yet. They gave me a toilet aid device so I could wipe my butt without bending or twisting. Most reacher/grabbers are too flimsy to bother with, but I got one called a Trash Gator that will pick up anything from a candy wrapper to a blanket. I learned to put on and fasten my velcro shoes with it.

10

I had a bit of a disc snipped away, which was jutting into my sciatica. I’d had mild-moderate pain for years, but when it all came to a head I was bedridden for weeks before the surgery. Standing upright for more than about 90 seconds at a time resulted in pain intense enough to make me scream.

I was also a rather big guy back then (one of the reasons I ended up needing the procedure). The incision on my back took a while to heal because they had to cut through a lot to get at my spine. The first night in the hospital it took two nurses to help me back into bed, and I was constantly hobbling to to the bathroom to try to pee and avoid getting cathetered again. I was not able to avoid it. :frowning:

Once I got out of the hospital I spent two weeks on the couch (no way I was getting all the way up into a bed) in an opioid haze. I needed a walker for a few days but never needed help with the basic stuff like going to the bathroom. If I’d been less fat, my recovery time would have been significantly shorter.

But dude. The actual sciatica pain? Gone. Not diminished. Not fading over time. Completely gone. I was driving that walker up and down the hospital hallways as soon as they let me out of my bed the first time. It was glorious. Glorious.

11

For the OP: Question #1: What part of the back?

I’ve had four spinal surgeries and numerous steroid injections and RF ablations. Two microdiskectomies, one two-level lumbar fusion, and one cervical disk replacement.

It sounds like you’re contemplating lumbar surgery. Others have mentioned the no BLT rules. For getting in and out of bed, you’ll need to learn how to do this safely. I still sit on the edge of the bed, lay down sideways, straighten my legs and roll, all without twisting my hips or low back. Getting up is the reverse, and pushing off against the nightstand. Practice this before surgery day.

If you live alone, be abundantly sure your care team knows this so they can either decide on having you do some recovery at a rehab facility or arrange in-home caretakers. It was two weeks before I was cleared to drive after my lumbar fusion.

Plan ahead and have easy food available. You won’t be in a mood to chop stuff and stand at the stove. Rearrange the fridge for easy grab-and-go without having to bend and rummage around. If you normally drink milk, bottled tea, etc, buy single-serve or quart size bottles so you’re not wrestling with gallons. I mostly ate TV dinners for the first week or so.

Walk, walk, WALK! Gentle walks around the neighborhood will be a key part of your daily agenda. After my fusion, day one’s walk was a challenge to get to the end of the driveway, so don’t plan on five mile hikes at the start. Once I was able to drive, it was a treat to be able to go to the nearby shopping mall and walk around there where there was at least stuff to look at.

Keep hydrated, both for general health and to help avoid constipation. Opioid constipation is a real thing, so keep an eye (ew!) on bowel habits if you need opioids for more than a day or two.

This video gives an idea of what I’m talking about for getting in and out of bed. Do it better than the demo guy. He lets his body twist more than you will want post-op.

12

Very useful feedback from all!

I’m heavy. Fat. Porky. Way overweight. 5’10" and 320lb. Losing weight would almost certainly help but exercise is hard in my condition. And the only relative within a day’s drive is my elderly mother. No way she could help me up from bed much less if I fell after surgery. (And I’ve already had several falls).

I have two areas of concern. Neuroforaminal stenosis at L4 and L5. And something really unpleasant and painful going on at T12. I am going for an upright, weight bearing, MRI on Sunday with neurosurgeon appointment on Tuesday.

I previously had spinal steroid injections thinking this was facet joint problems. Injections were little help and endocrinologist said the steroids could be the cause of my diabetes. HbA1c was normal before and 12.5 a few months after the injections. Steroid Induced Diabetes Mellitus is a real thing.

Pain at T12 changes dramatically when I am sitting or standing as opposed to laying down (when pain is much less). Seems as if something is moving (Spondylolisthesis) or a disc is bulging when I am in a weight bearing posture.

Another symptoms probably related to all this is a skin sensory numbness along the T12 dermatome. Really weird to have back hurt so much and no pain sensation in this one area of skin. Was helpful with the diabetes since I could inject insulin into this totally numb skin with zero discomfort. One minor positive of all this.

So there are distinct possibilities for laminectomy for the stenosis and/or fusion or discectomy depending on what they find at the T12. Or they might do nothing at all.

If surgery is in the cards it is sounding like I will need some help, just not sure how much and how to best arrange that. Sister lives in another state and is her family’s breadwinner and cannot afford to take time off to help. Mrs Iggy is still in Colombia with immigration paperwork stalled. If surgeon will not perform procedure until recovery plan is in place then may have to wait Mrs Iggy’s arrival. Not sure how to make this all work.

13

If you’ve already had a couple falls without the overlying complications of surgery rehab, absolutely do not let them send you home alone. Consider also if Mrs Iggy would be capable of safely uprighting you unassisted when she is eventually able to rejoin you. At a minimum, she’ll probably need a bit of training on how to get you on your feet without re-injuring your back.

Excellent that you’re getting an upright MRI. I wish those machines were more common as they show real-world conditions in your spine while loaded with body weight, rather than lying flat.

And I completely understand that vicious little circle of need to lose weight… should exercise… back hurts too much to move… I trust your primary doc has checked thyroid and testosterone levels to make sure there’s no metabolic issues sabotaging your efforts. Speaking of sabotaging - if you smoke - quit now.

14

I don’t smoke. At least I have that going for me.

Unfortunately I am too large to fit in the model of upright MRI we have in the Upstate of South Carolina. I am having to go to Atlanta to get this done. Different machine design. Hoping this shows something that can be fixed.

15

I don’t mean this as a direct criticism of the OP regarding his body habitus, but exercise is only one component of losing weight. I’m not sure how much you would need to exercise if you consistently eat too much of the wrong sorts of foods.

Of the hundreds of medical records I review every year - I’m not sure I can remember EVER seeing a doctor advise a client to exercise LESS. And that includes orthopedists treating clearly demonstrable structural problems, as well as fibromyalgia, etc. It is VERY common for overweight patients to complain that it hurts too much to walk, or engage in PT, but their care providers do not agree.

Sorry for the hijack - and I truly wish the OP good results. But I’d be surprised if his care providers declared him helpless to do ANYTHING to reduce his weight.

16

Didn’t know there were multiple types. Up in Charlotte, NC, Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine has a Fonar. It is well, cozy. And warm.

Dinsdale - Yah, quite a hijack there. Nobody ever said he should exercise less or that he was helpless.

18

Fonar unit down in Atlanta. That is the closest in network one I could find.

The one in the Upstate of South Carolina is an Esaote. It has you lay on a bed which must then slide under a non-moveable plate. The whole bed and machine then rotate 90 degrees to an upright position. My soft parts squish just find and I could slide in. My rib cage doesn’t squish so much. It was not going to be viable for an hour and a half. (Both thoracic and lumbar scans ordered).

19

I certainly appreciate that getting moving will be an important part of improving my health. No objection to your input on that front.

I think I need to stick to swimming. It would be easier on my spine. And I have some damage to my autonomic nerves which means I do not sweat over more than half my body. I can very easily overheat to a dangerous level. Being in a pool should limit that.

Add that to my erythromelalgia and I am a bit of a medical wreck. Being out in the heat can trigger a flare that boosts the pain up to 9/10 for a few days. Better to stick to activities that do not promote vasodilation.

Erythromelalgia is sometimes called “Man on Fire Syndrome” for good reason. Patients experience an elevated rate of suicide due to unrelenting pain. For me it is a constant pain in my feet like walking on a burning hot pool deck.