Back Surgery and Neck Surgery
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Mon, 11/02/2009 - 11:25
Please help me.... post surgery pain
I am 20 days out from a 2 level (L4-L5 and L5-S1) PLIF.. the pain is immeasurable. My doctor has changed my pain meds many times trying to get me relief. Has anyone found a med that has helped them or a combo? Thanks Nikki
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I am so sorry to hear of your pain Nikki.
Could you please post what meds you are taking and/or have tried?
Even with that knowledge posted remember we all are so different and what works for one will not always work for someone else.
However I would be happy to suggest ideas once I know what you have tried.
Ms. Humpty Dumpty Took a great fall and all the Drs and surgeons could not put her back together again.
After my fall I started to fall apart. L1-L2-L3-L4 - S1 & S2 gone. ( full herniation )Spinal stenosis, spinal arthritis, degenerative disk, scoliosis.
The spacers in your back are gone/going, spinal nerve damage.
Spinal spurs. Both knee caps & both hips have degenerative bone disease, arthritis and bone spurs.
No surgeries as Drs. don't think it will help and may make things worse.
Age 47 - Here to find & offer support.
Before surgery I was taking Soma and 5/325 percocet
After surgery it was:
ocycodone hcl 15mg 1 tab every four hours, this helped a bit, I was out cold with in 10 minutes of taking it and I hallucinated and having to set my alarm every 4 hours to take it wasnt working well.
now its ocycontin 20 mg 1 tablet twice a day, it not doing anything but putting me to sleep for a long period of time
I don't remember what I was taking. I think the muscle pain was the worst and the Valium helped a lot at first. The Fentenly patches would wear off to quick so he changed me to a pill. Sorry I can't tell you what it was.
The main thing for me was to take them on schedule and stay ahead of it. I kept a notebook with my pill basket and my family helped me.
Try to rest and don't over do things.
Julie
MRI 12/07 L4-5 Herniated w/Nerve Impingment. L5/S1 Posterior Central Protrusions- indents @Thecal Sac. L4/S1 Moderate Facet Anthropy. 6/08 MRI and Flexion Extension Xrays- revealed grade 3 Retrolisthesis L5/S1, Spondy L4
Constant LBP and Bilateral Radiculopathy going on 17 months. PT, MT, Chiro, Traction, Selective Nerve Root Injections........ You name it I probably did it.
*****L4-S1 PLIF 7/28/08******* Considered a perfect success!
Newest problem: Shocking sharp pain in neck, shoulders and elbows, burning painful hands, and constant numbness/tingling in both hands.
MRI C6-7 disc protrusion with right lateral recess narrowing, C5-6 disc protrusion & spondylosis with bilateral neuralformen bony stenosis.
I am currently waiting for my neck surgery to be schedule ACDF C5/C6/C7- Insurance has required conservative treatment (PT and elecromagnetic therapy).
It may take a few days to get the oxy in your system and feel some relief. I found that mepergan fortis (demerol) worked ok post op but it did tend to knock me out. Not sure if it would work for you but it did help me. Good luck.
I am in no way associated with the medical field. Anything that I post comes from personal experience only.
DDD, Facet Arthropathy, DJD,Collapsed Disc, Sleep Apnea
PT, Epidurals, Facet Blocks,Medial Branch Block, Rhizotomy,Discogram,Annular Tare L3/L4 Endoscopic MicroD and PLDD,
Methadone, Percocet, Baclofen, Welbutrin
I don't have any advice to offer you about the pain meds but I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope the Oxy kicks in for you asap!
27 years old, suffering from back pain for 11 years.
Two disc herniations at L4/L5 & L5/S1
Discogram done 10-06-09
Minimally invasive TLIF & laminectomy for L4/L5 done on 11-03-09
Medication: Nucynta, Lyrica, Metanx & Flexeril
ok oxi is now upped to 40 mg twice a day .. i hope this works.. also i guess i need to stop doing so much.. thanks for the advice and well wishes. prayers and healthy thoughts for everyone xoxo nikki
hi Pink, sorry you are so miserable..all I can say is that after much trial & error after all my spinals,the only thing that actually worked for me was a combo of dilaudid + valuim. Take some Zofran w/ it if you are prone to nausea, but my NS had me on 2 mg of dilaudid every 4-6 hrs + 5 mg of Valuim after the fusion & it was a miracle. I stayed @ that amount for about 2 months, then tapered down.
Everything else either didn't work or made me sick. The dilaudid (hydromorphone) is 8 times stronger than morphine but usually doesn't make you sick (the Zofran was precautionary as I get sick from almost everything) It took the pain waaaaay down, allowed me to sleep & rest well (very important) and by 6 months out, I was down to only 1 per day + valuim PRN...
Just my 2 cents after 3 surgeries & many trials b4 discorvering this "cocktail".
~Lakeside
Nov.'06 Lammy/decompression @L4/L5 for invasive benign lumbar cyst/mass
Life goes on....
Dec.'06 Re-op & another lammy for post-surg spinal fluid leak, leaving nerve damage, instability, spondy,sciatica & neuropathy r. leg/foot,epidural nerve root compression & DDD @ L4/L5
Jan. '08 PLIF w/autograft from iliac crest, 2 more lammies, a discetomy w/ cages & pedicle screws w/ instrumentation @ L4/L5. After almost 2 years now, I am fused , per NS & x-rays. Continued chronic lumbar spine pain from hardware issues, constant sciatica & permanent nerve damage in right leg/foot but hey, I can WALK (like a combo of Walter Brennan & Frankenstein, "FrankenBrennan"..) & teach 2nd grade F/T!