I am looking for a little reassurance that I am still moving ahead in the right direction? I have more pain now than before I had the adr surgery. Although I do feel like a am making a small amount of progess each week. I have just purchsed a treadmill, I am hoping this can help me monitor my progress. Right now I can walk at 1.5mph and can walk for 15- 20 minutes twice a day. I feel I should be able to walk for a longer time , but after 15 mins my back is so tight I can't keep going. Am I in the right ballpark here is that what most people are able to do at 4 weeks? I still cannot lay down on my side in bed at night for the whole night. I only seem to be able to manage a couple of hours then I have to sit up again with all the pillows behind me because the pain in by butt cheek is so intense. I haven't started driving yet I don't feel ready, I have a manual not automatic car I don't think I could deal with the clutch. Please can someone just reassure me I am doing the right thing, resting all day with a couple of walks in between. I feel like there is such a long road ahead of me yet,I don't want to rush my healing but I also don't want to not be pushing myself more if I should be.
Hope I am making sense, thanks for listening!!

sharon
try to ease your mind abit everyones recover is different. for most 12 weeks is a larger turning point. at 6 weeks my back was good but my legs were still not working well. now at 6 months i still have nerve issues in my feet. but mind you it is getting better slowly. recovery from adr can take 2 yrs. and please remember to listen to your body and pace yourself its a rollercoaster ride. regardless of what the doctors tell you.
you may find my recovery process worth reading.
http://adrsupport.org/eve/forums/a/t...1/m/5451061102
take things one day at a time.
chuck

Sharon:

I agree with Chuck. Recovery is a roller coaster ride and it is very individualized. It is determinate by a number of factors, i.e.; What was your physical condition prior to surgery, Age, Compression level and period of time of your symptomology prior to surgery, etc.

I would say that the key is to listen to your body and not compare yourself to others in these posts. It's so easy to think that something is amiss if you are not at the level someone else is at your time in recovery.

I am 13 weeks out and still have distraction pain in the feet but, overall, believe I am improving though still am on the rollercoaster ride. Some days are still painful and some days are pain free.

Take care of yourself Sharon and, above all else, listen to your body!

Terry Newton

Terry and Chuck, Thanks for your replys. Every week I seem to have a couple of days where everything just gets the best of me and I feel so overwhelmed. I am not a person who has ever suffered with depression but lately I do I have one or two days where I have uncontrollable tears and am so scared to look to the future as I am so nervous this could be it right now, no more progress. My pain is the same kind of pain I had before I went in for surgery, it is no different at all just worse. I am going up to New York March 1st to see Dr Bitan. I hope he can help eleviate these worries I have, and tell me everything is healing fine.
Thanks again for your replys it's so nice to know there are people out there who care and understand.
Take Care

Hi Sharon:

Like I said; rollercoaster ride. We got 25" of snow this past weekend. That makes 97" so far this season. I was walking down the steps of one of my business's properties and they had not shoveled the snow. I hit slush on the bottom step and almost went flying which totally wrenched my lower spine. I've been in major pain the past two days. I know I did not damage anything as I am almost 14 weeks out of surgery. It still hurts like hell with a spine that is still healing from major surgery. Recovery is sometimes 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.

Hang in there and remember that God gives us no more than we can handle. Also our pain may help others some day as we learn so we can teach.

Terry Newton

Hi Terry,
I can't belive you slipped. You were so lucky you didn't really go crashing down. You must be in tremendous pain though from wrenching your back like that. I hope it settles down soon for you.
Thank you for e-mailing me. I'm really glad I had ADR surgery. I was not in a good place before my surgery I never knew what pain level I would be in when I woke up in the morning. I felt if I didn't do something I would never have control of my life, my back would always have the control. You are so right it is like a roller coaster ride. Today I feel so much better and much more positive. My back even feels a little bit better today.
I hope you'll be feeling better soon Terry, I will be thinking of you! No more walking on the snow!!!!!
Take Care

After I had my surgeries in France, I went to Aix en Provence for a week with my sister in law, girlfriend and her husband. I wanted to have a 'party' after 2 months in a facility recovering from my 2 surgeries (5 prodiscs). The second day there, I was walking through a square and almost got hit in the head with an 'errant' soccer ball! I just froze, thinking what that could do to me 4 weeks after getting the 3 new discs in my neck! It taught me not to go out without my neck brace (I was also in a body brace for the lumbar disc replacements (2))
Two days later, I was walking around by myself and fell down a couple of stairs (could not see them due to the #$%& neck brace!). I badly twisted my knee and landed right on my stomach (wearing all braces). I could not get up. The wonderful French people gave me some ice for my knee, called the gendarmes, who called the paramedics. I eventually ended up in the ER in Aix. They exrayed my knee...nothing broken. They also felt that I had not done any damage to the surgicized areas. But, I spent the last 4 days of my 'party' in bed with ice on my knee. While my friends were out exploring, site seeing and going out to dinner. I ate a lot of omelets in my room by myself! On the plane coming home, I caught an intestinal bug. (My digestive track wasn't happy with me to begin with, not after being disembowled in the surgery and falling on it 8 weeks after surgery). I cold not eat, had diarrhea and that made me toss the rest of my meds...could not take them on an empty stomach. So, I went 'cold turkey' off of meds, except for an occasional muscle relaxant or pain pill at night. I had pain at the top of the thoracic, going down the arms, numbness, pain etc, after the cervical surgery. It is pretty good now, but my body does not like working on the computer...no part of it!
The story is funny now, but it was not at the time of the Great Fall in Aix en Provence.

@Sharon

I'm six weeks out I think I got rid of that horrible pain around 3 weeks. It doesn't sound like your too far off. I bet in 2 weeks you'll be sleeping easier.

If your spine feels inflamed then use ice and if your feeling muscle pain then use a moist heat pad. It's saved me from a lot of agony.

http://tinyurl.com/2x3k87

that one is big enough to wrap around your thigh or cover your back. It's got adjustable heat and a timer.

I can't get out of the apt. without using it for 30 min beforehand. not as good a massage therapist, but good enough until I can schedule my next appt.

Also don't forget you should be stretching. If your right hip is tight, that sounds like an imbalance in muscle structure. like maybe you've been compensating your gait because of the diseased disc. I'm having the same issue and I can tell you it will let up, but it takes a lot of effort on your part to stretch it out.

Moist heat to penetrate the muscle then stretching.

http://www.fairlawnnews.com/2002/Oct...nnis-part2.htm

I do all these stretches and then some, but only do these if you don't feel sharp pain. Make sure to relax into the stretch and don't just tug on your muscles.

16 weeks and constant 7/10 pain in my back.

No horrible 10/10 episodes* though. That's promising.



* episode = lying on the floor in agony for an hour while my cats lick my face