View Single Post
  #5  
Old 11-16-2008, 10:59 AM
Cirobi's Avatar
Cirobi Cirobi is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 415
Default

Hi Lizm,

I'm also a lumbar patient like kimmers so I'm not nearly as familiar with the recovery aspects of a cervical procedure. Your coworker who had the lumbar fusion sounds like they just had one of the recovery periods on the worse end of the scale and there's probably more to it than they let on. Also, keep in mind, fusion takes longer, in general, to heal than ADR and the lumbar region takes a lot more pressure on a daily basis than the cervical area. If you're in tons of pain and not happy taking pain killers regularly to relieve the pain AND your doctors are saying surgery would help you, then I wouldn't throw out the possibility of surgery due to one person's bad experience. My doctors had me on my feet within 24 hrs after surgery. Post-op recovery isn't always easy for everyone because everyone's bodies react differently, but a lot of folks find it worthwhile if there's a chance to get your life back. My own lumbar surgery was a great success and I thank my surgeon every time I have a follow up appointment because I still think it's amazing that I've been able to do a lot of what I couldn't do pre-op

The biggest factor in my opinion is where your quality of life is currently. If you think you can deal with the pain longer and try other conservative measures, go for it. If you're completely at your wits end, give the surgery a serious consideration versus other potential procedures and research research research. The forum here with everyone's post-op threads was a major help to me in figuring out what the range of recovery possibilities were and ask tons of questions. The crew here is awesome when it comes to helping give advice based on their own research and experience as well as helping to calm fears as best they can. Good luck with your decision and we'll be here in support whichever way you go.

~Sara
__________________
*************************
31 yrs old
Lumbar herniation L5/S1

- Did mild PT, some chiropractics and self regulated pain management since initial sports injury in Spring 1997.
- XRay and Bone Scan Jan/Feb 2007
- PT March to May 2007
- MRI Jan 2008
- Disco positive at L5/S1 Feb 2008
- ADR surgery at L5/S1 on June 23rd 2008 - Prodisc
- Recovery - so far so good!

*************************
Reply With Quote