Got scheduled today
 

Well went to the Doc's today and I am scheduled for October 2 at 7:00am. Scared to death! Ready to get rid of the pain and drugs though, I appreciate all the posts here it really helped. My doc is going with the Charite disc. Again thank you all. I will keep you posted on any changes and post surgery.

Dale

Hey Dale, pls tell us more when you can -- what state are you in? How did you find your doctor? And many more questions....

:)

I'm sorry I guess I left out all the details. I live in Winnemucca Nevada.
A small town about 3 hours east of Reno, Nv. It is up in the north central part of the state. My doc is from Reno his name is Dr. James Olsen. He was the doctor for the US Ski team. A friend of mine had a discectomy and knew how bad my back was so he recommended him.

A little back ground on my back: I really started to have problems when our son started to gain weight. He was disabled and couldn't move by himself so we had to lift him into the tub, wheel chair ect. I had torn the L5-S1 disc about 4 years ago but couldn't get it fixed because I needed to be able to lift our son. Kyle, our son, passed away Feb 29, 2008. I recently realized that he isn't coming back so now it's time to get it done.

I am so sorry about Kyle's passing. It must have been really tough for everyone -- and they're you were throughout giving your child devoted support -- with a bad back! You're amazing, Dale!
:angel:

I hope we can help give you the support you may need in the days ahead. What are your next steps?

Thank you but far from amazing, just being a dad. My wife was/is the hero through all of this. Next steps...pray. I have a lot of help getting things done around the house and ready for winter. I think I am about ready. I am scheduled off from Oct 1 through Nov 15. I have been training an officer to take over for me while I am out but I have organized myself enough that I can do most of my work from home. Thank you for your support. Will post again after surgery!

Good luck to you sir.

Walked today
 

Well surgery went better than expected! Took my first walk today 24 hrs after surgery. I am very sore but when I woke up in the recovery room my pain and numbness was gone, feels wierd to lay on my back. Will update more as the time goes bye:clap:

Congrats!
 

Dale,

Welcome to the other side! When you can, please tell us what specific procedure and ADR you had. Thanks!

Post surgical update (Sleeping problems)
 

Morning all, I am six days post op and I think I am doing ok. Having a real hard time sleeping at night, staying semi comfortable. I am taking 2 Roxicet 5/325 every 4 hours and have a 50 mg fentenol patch on. The three hour ride home was a killer. While leaving the hospital my nurse put my wheel chair in the crack of the elevator and the floor and instead of pulling me out of it slowly he lifted the front up about 3 inches and pushed. When the back wheels caught the crack the front hit the floor, it was so painful. He kept offering to get me a morphine shot and I kept telling him to leave me alone!! On the drive home someone lost a sheet of drywall on the road and my wife had to hit the brakes and swerve to avoid hitting all of it, I didn't realize the G forces involved.

Made it home on Tuesday night and just trying to get adjusted. I think the trip home set me back a few days in recovery.

Any tips on sleeping problems?

The surgeons went in anterior with a "bikini cut" just below my belly button. Removed and cleaned up L5-S1 disc. Placed Charite disc and reset my insides. (not a technical term) Incision is approximately 6 inches long. This is the first time the surgeon used the bikini cut for this procedure. He was very pleased with the outcome of the surgery and so far I am too. I have a post op appointment in two weeks, another drive to Reno!

Post-op drives
 

Yeah, those 3 hr. post-op drives are a killer :). Sleep problems can be tough to face after this surgery. I would be up every 3-4 hrs with leg pain, so I'd go to the treadmill and do 10-15 mins at a slow pace and then go back to sleep. If you are having significant trouble, ask your doctor about short term use of Ambien, Ambien CR, or Lunesta. The addiction potential is very low, but using them longer than a few weeks can result in tolerance, decreasing their effectiveness.

Lack of sleep can worsen pain and slow recovery, so consider the meds to be part of recovery. Just be careful, and ask your doctor or pharmacist about interactions with your other meds.

Good luck (and good choice on the hardware, too IMHO :D)