Anyone had a lumbar fusion?

[turbo36]

I had a post operation conference with the doctor yesterday. He cleared me to fix fence if I go down with my knees instead of bending. Going down isn't going to be as much of a problem as standing back up.

I washed and waxed one of my cars yesterday, it was amazing! What I used to take for granted is now a struggle. I’m really sore, but I feel better than I have in the last six months.

 

[WM75Guy]

Doctor told me after my laminectomy on 01/27/23 that I was free to lift as I pleased after 2 weeks, I couldn't damage the work he did to the spine. However, physical activity could cause scar tissue where the muscles were healing to tear and bleed, causing hematomas that could press on the nerves in the back. He said that activity would be self-limiting. Unloaded 3 bales of alfalfa at 95# each last night from the truck and stacked them in the barn. Today I found out the definition of self-limiting.

 

[BravoXray]

My doc says for now to limit lifting to 15-20 lbs, so that's what I'm doing. Been walking more now, almost a half mile a day now, after which the lower back is complaining. I got the treadmill that's been setting in the basement for 15-20 years fired up and operating again. So now on the crappy weather days I can do my walking that way.
I've also been doing some work in the shop almost every day too, either working on something on the Nova, searching the many boxes of parts for a part, or some other task that needs attending to in the shop. Usually a couple of hours is enough, depending on just what I was doing, of my fingers get too cold to feel them.

 

[goeduck]

Looking forward to the day that you will be kicking back, pain free and driving that Nova!

 

[Jims1025R]

'Been there, had that, L4, 5 & 6 are pinned together. Those, and metal in both legs, and shoulder. The result of being ejected through an airplane windshield. Doc said I'd never notice the fusion of my spine, and he was right. Some nerve fussing as a result of the broken L5, and a bit of spinal cord rehab, but I'm good now. I can bend however I like (and still touch my toes no problem). I can lift whatever I like as high as I want, and a 5 mile walk is not a problem. I have nothing but the greatest respect for the surgeons, as anything else would have been way worse! Think positively, and enjoy being able to walk - It could be different, I was close!

 

[stuckmotor]

It's been made clear to me that I should go up and down and lift with my legs to avoid bending and another herniated disk etc. This brings to mind the YouTube videos of mechanics who I take to be in Pakistan. The ones I refer to do a large portion of their work while squatting so low they're nearly seated on the ground. I'd like to see a study comparing their back problems to those of western mechanics.

 

[stuckmotor]

For a while now, I've been annoyed by the questions on surveys following medical appointments. They seem to be overly concerned with how long I had to wait at various locations in the building. Are my care providers really concerned that I not have to wait or do they want to get me out of the building as fast as possible and improve the bottom line? I used to have to wait for up to three hours to have a leisurely visit with my kindly country doctor. He was worth the wait and I wish I had him back.

 

[stuckmotor]

I'm the dubious owner of a BONE GROWTH STIMULATOR which I understand does it's stimulating with magnetism and which one of the many voices on the phone at my surgeon's practice said was recommended. With all the talk about the supposed carcinogenic affects of electromagnetic radiation I hesitate to use it. Have any of you other surgery patients used such a device?

 

[BravoXray]

I'm the dubious owner of a BONE GROWTH STIMULATOR which I understand does it's stimulating with magnetism and which one of the many voices on the phone at my surgeon's practice said was recommended. With all the talk about the supposed carcinogenic affects of electromagnetic radiation I hesitate to use it. Have any of you other surgery patients used such a device?

I have one, and have been using it for over a month. I did some investigation on the web about the DJO Spinalogic stimulator and had a discussion with my surgeon about it. He says that all the evidence he has seen shows that it accelerates the fusion process. I'm not sure what Medicare and the insurance pay for them, but I'll bet it's $2000-$4000, for about $50-$100 worth of parts and materials. And, it is programmed to only operate for 270 sessions. I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to hook up a loop antenna to my oscilloscope and see just what kind of EMF it's putting out.
Given that a common 9 volt battery that has a nominal rating of .5AH lasts for 30 - 30 minute sessions, it can't be putting out much power. That's 900 minutes or 15 hours, so it can only be putting out about 33mw. That's not much.
So yeah, I'm pretty dubious of it's benefits too.
When I figure out what kind of EMF it's putting out, I'll post it here.

 

[stuckmotor]

BravoXray,
Thank you. When my doctor told me I could take the collar off and fix fence, I got so excited I forgot to ask him about the stimulator.