Obvi I’m pink and he’s gray.
His first message was just ‘trade’. So I’m not cutting off any prior messages from him. Also, I already know what trade is (though I was gonna make a joke about gay trade, but figured this guy wouldn’t get it). In my bio, it states I have a guy.
Sorry the picture quality isn’t great, I had to sneak a picture of it.
Surgeon exclaimed I’m doing amazing! My bones are very strong and he claimed the procedure went perfectly. He said at 4 weeks I can shower without dressings.
Hello all,
I got my L5S1 fusion surgery on April 29. I’m at home now and doing extremely well. However I have had two episodes of the skin on my face and arms feeling like hot sunburns or like radiation. The skin turns red and splotchy and it pulses. I’ve had two episodes of this now. It could be an allergy but I’ve been using the same medications and I didn’t try any new products on my face. My legs do get a bit of the heat but not as much. But yes, it is technically all my limbs and my face that get it. The face is the worst! But it goes away on its own within an hour.
I’d expect some flushing or inflammation near my incision sites but they look fine. No fever either.
Anyone else experience this?
I posted a few days ago about agonizing pain upon anesthesia awakening. I had my surgery on April 30 and was supposed to go home the evening of May 1. I stayed until about noon May 3. I advocated for myself to have a bowel movement before I left and for my pain to be controlled.
Nurses I had were amazing and the hospitalist was very understanding!
I was given 3 failed lactulose doses, 1 failed warm prune juice with butter, and 1 failed suppository. I kept asking for magnesium citrate because I know it works for me. They didn’t give it until early May 3. I recommend taking stool softener a couple days BEFORE surgery to get ready for it. I did that but I have a long history of difficulty with constipation despite having good fiber in my diet. Magnesium citrate works well for me. If you have to take that, I highly recommend wearing Depends because of the difficulty wiping even with a bidet. I tossed several diapers which was nice because it meant no laundry. Magnesium citrate is very powerful though so be warned lol
For my pain situation, I was given dilaudid at first through my IV and then switched to physical pills of roxicodone 10mg to wean me off dilaudid. I made the request to take Percocet 10mg so that I’m closer to Percocet 5mg (which is what my surgeon prescribed me). I didn’t want a big jump in analgesics when I left. I got that switch and it worked well for me. Now I’m taking Percocet 10mg at home and will taper down to 5mg.
I am as independent as one can get. I can walk by myself (with my brace), do stairs in both directions, get in and out of bed, use the bathroom, and shower (with a shower seat for safety). My mother was astonished at how fast I progressed. I went from screaming in pain to climbing stairs in just a couple days. I live alone and feel comfortable being here. Changing dressings on the back is the only area that’s tricky, but I’m flexible so I manage. My partner will also come help me every couple days.
Now I have a couple factors in my favor:
-I exercised as much as I could before my surgery. I focused on exercises to help me stand from sitting, push myself up from surfaces, and core strength
-I am 30 years old and my surgery was only 1 level (L5S1)
-I had a supportive partner and mother to cheer me on.
-I had a great team at an amazing hospital
-My surgeon teamed up with another surgeon who are truly world class level
-I have a high tolerance for pain and have experienced surgery before
-my mother French braided my hair so I wouldn’t worry about it tangling. Not everyone can do that because of hair length or surgery spot, but if you have long hair and can do a braid, it’ll help your hair A LOT
I wanted to be transparent about what cards were in my deck because not everyone can be fortunate in all those ways. And everyone is different anyways.
The meds I take now are:
Percocet 10mg every 4 hours
Vitamin D3 25mcg daily
Cyclobenzaprine 5mg 3x daily
Gabapentin 300mg 3x daily
Oyster shell calcium 500mg daily
Stool softener 1 pill daily
I am happy to answer any questions and I am thankful for those who provided support on my original post! Best of luck to everyone!
I woke up in literal agony from the surgery and I had to beg to stay longer because there was no way I would survive at home. I can’t do anything myself other than sleep. It’s a challenge for me to sit down in a chair, stand up, walk, etc.
I don’t know if others had this happen, but I was not prepared. I had an L5-S1 fusion on April 30. It apparently went perfectly, according to the surgeon’s phone call to my mother. He said he loves when cases are this easy. No complications. He has a spectacular reputation and everyone who knows him tells me I’m lucky to have him. I’m only saying all that to say that I’m not being operated on by someone bad who caused me a problem or anything.
I woke up from anesthesia in AGONY. I was wailing in pain and begging for help. The sweet nurse tried to provide me what she could and she told me that I don’t have to apologize for sobbing. The poo person next to me in the recovery bay had to hear me sob and I told the nurse to apologize to them, but they felt bad for me and said I didn’t need to apologize. I begged to be put to sleep if the nurse couldn’t reduce the pain, so she agreed and gave me Versed. I then was able to sleep and wake up with more tolerable pain. I didn’t expect to be pain free and I’ve had surgery before, but this was genuine agony. Never in my adult or teenage life have I sobbed from pain before except for this.
Now, I’m waking up every two hours nearly on the dot needing pain medicine. I’m supposed to go home today with Percocet, but Dilaudid is what’s keeping me a little sane. I don’t want to leave the hospital until my pain can be properly controlled.
Did this extreme waking pain happen to any of you? What about the every two hours waking needing the IV pain relief? Did the erector spinea block help or not?
UPDATE: My night nurse is going to inform the attending of my pain problem once they get there though I know I won’t see the attending until about 10-12. I was given a higher dose of roxicodone than my dose of dilaudid to see if the higher dose of an approved med will work.
Let me be clear, I’m not snarking. I’m just sharing this update for people.