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herron65 05-19-2011 12:51 PM

new to site but have been reading for some time
 
Well where to start

I am 3 weeks and one day out from M6L replacement surgery at L4/5 & L5- S1 by DR Clevel at the Barcelona Spine Center. I have been back to work for 4 days now and every day I feel better. Had some issues with fluid build up at the surgery site but went to a general surgeon here at home and they drained about 200 ccs of a almost clear fluid out and now all is good. Have had some numbness in both my thighs but it is now going away along with the burning feeling in the middle of the numb area. It was a realy strange feeling I guess it is from being stretched out 3/4 of an inch. Both of the discs were no more than a 1/16 of an inch thick.

Now starts the battle with my insurance company's I have duel coverage primary is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and secondary is Aetna wish me luck the total cost for my surgery was around 21,000 euros not including hotel, airfare or transportation. My wife and I found a good Hotel at the plaza de catalunia ( don't think I spelled that right ) that came with a buffet breakfasts for 120.00 euro a night and it was close to everything and a 8 to 9 euro taxi ride to the hospital. I will keep checking in and advise everyone about my progress.

Thanks for listening
Jeff H

Hooch 05-20-2011 01:05 AM

Good luck mate.

Jstuckey 05-20-2011 02:03 AM

Wow back to work so soon. Hope you take it easy! Very encouraging to others though! Hope all keeps going in the right direction for you!

herron65 05-20-2011 12:44 PM

Thank you for the good luck I will need it dealing with insurance company's. And I am family.g it easy at work, I sir at a desk doing estimating and get up and walk around and do stretching exercises about every 15 or 20 min. It has made almost all the thigh pain and numbness go away. But I seem to be still having drainage from the surgery site. It's clear and yellowish no puss or such with a little pinkish tint to it. I think I will have to go see a general surgeon again and see what's going on with that.
Thank you again
Jeff H:wiggle:

Hooch 05-20-2011 10:52 PM

Sounds like a good idea. I had a big arse serous fluid collection or whatever they call it, most of it drained out/reabsorbed by 3 weeks, I was on prophylactic antibiotics as it is an infection risk.

herron65 05-23-2011 11:44 AM

Hooch
They have me on antibiotics also, I go see the surgeon on Wednesday, hope it all clears up soon. Kind of concerns me, do not like the idea of a hole in my stomach that isn't my belly button.

Harrison 05-23-2011 08:44 PM

Herron, can you tell us a bit more about a possible infection? What diagnostics have been performed to determine the microbe(s) causing the problem? What antibiotics are you taking?

You can imagine how serious I take this, given my long journey to diagnose my own HAI which took the better part of a decade of my life. Please see my story on my blog:

Story | WhyAmIStillSick.com

The trailer is on the home page.

Any way, please do share more. If the antibiotics do remove the symptoms (if they are the right ones), there are many other things that you should consider doing to continue to resolve and remove any lingering microbes. They are sticky little bastards.

Some experts I interviewed for my film noted that there is a 62% diagnostic uncertainty when doctors prescribe antibiotics. Part of the reasons behind this relate to the fact the culturing patient swaps is both selective and flawed; they detect only up to 4-6% of all bacterial pathogens. Our healthcare system is having great pains moving away from this 150 year old diagnostic; we all suffer as a result.

'Nuff said. :(

herron65 05-24-2011 11:57 AM

Harrison,

The antibiotics I am on is amoxicilan, 875 mg. Dr Clavel started me on it in Spain because I had a little redness around the surgery site but no heat and no fever. Then about 6 days after the surgery my wound self drained, it was a yellowish clear fluid. We called him asap and he met with us at the Qurion hospital and nothing more was coming out. He said it was possibly the fat layer had an infection but it was nothing to worry about and to keep taking the amoxicilan.

So my wife and I went back to site seeing in Barcelona, and it self drained again so we went back to the hotel and cleaned up with provoiodine and a new dry bandage. Then things were good. Then the flight home. The first 10 hours were not bad I had a row of 4 seats for my wife and my self so I could lay down and stretch out. The second flight that was 5 hours was not as good. The flight was over booked so there was no stretching out. By the time I got home my stomach was starting to swell up. I went to look like an alien head sticking out. That was Friday night. By Tuesday I went to my primary care physician and he looked at it and said " I not touching that " and said to go to the er so they could do a CT scan and see were it was coming from and then I could see a general surgeon.

So the general surgeon looks at the CT scan and data it tracks back to my implants, and proceeded to drain 200 CCS of more of a red and cows yellowish fluid out of it and said it looked like an old hematoba and a seroma and did a oats culture and sent to lab for a full culture. The first one came back with nothing showing and said I could go home and if something showed up in the full culture they would call.

So I went home and all seemed good then the next day it self drained again this time with a pinkish yellowish fluid and then it stoped, it has been two weeks to the day since it self drained bit it still seems to leak a little of the yellow fluid from time to time. I have no fever no redness and no heat at the surgery site. I am going to see the surgeon tomorrow to see if its all ok and see if there is anything I should do. I am still on the amoxicillan just in case there is a little bug hiding out I change the dressing every morning and every night and make sure it is clean and dry.

As for my ADRs they have not made a peep. The tendons and such are still making some adjustments to the new friends in my back but that is getting better every day. I even named them Hans and Frans because they are here to pump you up. Any how I will keep you informed with what surgeon has to say. Thanks again for your site and listening to me blabber on.
Jeff

herron65 05-24-2011 12:23 PM

Please excuse the sometimes odd word in my reply I am trying to use my smart phone and it replaces words on me some times. So I guess the phone is not realy that smart

Harrison 05-24-2011 08:53 PM

Jeff, Hans, Frans and his dumb phone: thx for the update...so glad you are on the mend. So what's your best guess on the "old" hematoma? I am left guessing.

Were you prescribed any dietary changes? Supplements like probiotics?


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