Calling all Spinal Fusion TW members

Thanks, our moms sound similar.
I wish you all the luck on the recovery and any future surgical procedures.
I understand the pills, during my year of postponing mine, i was up to 20 vicodin a day and a few ativan just to be able to move and function for the day.
The worst part of coming off the pills is in your brain. The brain triggers signals to make the pain come back twice as bad. Which just makes you take another pill and you are back at square one trying to quit.

 

Well I'm going to call it a night and try and get some Sleep. I'll see all you TW members tomorrow. Everyone have a good night whats left of it.

 

The drugs really don't cause it per say. They make the person not care about oral hygiene. A few years of not taking care of your teeth can lead to serious problems down the road.

 

Jay, I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said here and it makes sense. My wife and I own a little country convenient store and see a lot of people on drugs. Some were already on it when we started to know them and some have gotten on it and the way their appearance changes is dramatic and I think it’s a combo of the drug and the not caring about hygiene. I see people strung out looking awful and go to jail for a month or two and look amazing then another month look awful again. It’s a sad situation.

 

Numb left fingers, severe pain down the side of left arm when sitting for 20-30 minutes, and many sleepless nights led to the fusion of C-5, 6, and 7. The surgery went very well as did the recovery. The MRI's (dislike) revealed deteriorated disks and bone spurs growing on my vertebrae both inside and outside my spinal column. My spinal cord had been pinched down and looked to be about half the diameter than healthy cord just beyond the spurs. That MRI picture scared me!
The absolute worst part was the opiates. Nausea, lack of appetite, unable to poop/constipation, feeling constantly whacked out and loopy. I didn't have a choice, though. The pain was just stupid.

 

My neck/shoulders hurt all the time. Sometimes worse days than others. I take ibuprofen when it’s bad but it doesn’t help much. I don’t know how much longer I can put it off. Doctor told me as long as I can. No numbness, yet.

 

Have you had an MRI?

 

Yes, 9 years ago showed 3 bulging disc in my neck, right on top of each other. That’s when the doctor told me to put it off as long as I can. My dad had his first back surgery at 40, I’ll be 45 this year.

 

Stick it out if you can. I believe that surgery can make a world of difference (did for me) but only when absolutely necessary. Do you perform therapy?

 

I tried it for a little while at a physical therapist, no help. My problem is I lift heavy metal at work and mess with old farm equipment. I can’t stop, I try to take it easy and the man pride in me won’t let me.

 

I understand that. It's a tough deal. Find smarter ways to work if you can.

 

This ^^^^^^^^

 

I try, I’ll ask my boss to help me lift things now if he’s around.

 

Please do!

 

Yes! Ask anybody that's around.

The older we get, the greater impact continuing wear and tear has on our bodies.

 

I think what I was trying to imply, is for me the opioids cause severe dry mouth, so I carry a bottle of water with me everywhere I go. There are days, I feel like a drink enough water to fill up a camel. but I think the dry mouth is what can cause gum issues. I'm going to meet a friend for lunch today, and later I'm going to scan my latest Xray and post it here for all to see my newest additions of my titanium hardware. I've got quite a collection going on.

 

Yes, a lot of medications cause dry mouth and it certainly does exacerbate gum and tooth problems. I remember knowing a guy in the '90s who had a back full of fusions (accident) and a mouth full of horrible teeth. I thought he had caused it chewing his meds, he prob. gave up everything positive though and just quit brushing, cleaning.
I know a few people who not even having bad backs had downturns in life from teeth going bad. Self esteem and confidence suffers and down, down you can go.

 

I just had an MRI 2 days ago and lasted about 40 minutes. I got halfway through but had so much pain (didn't want to move for better images) that I had to squeeze the alert ball to pull me out to take a break, before completing the rest of the MRI.

I think it was having to keep my neck so straight that it caused my pain.

 

MRI's suck. I'm a bigger guy (6'7" 230#) so it feels like I'm being stuffed into that tube. Holding still is sometimes next to impossible especially if you're flared and in pain at all.

 

That really sucks. I know it is tough to hold still for that long. I imagine it caused you a bunch of pain.
I very much dislike MRI's. It is strange in that I had three of them with no problems and then one day I was on the gurney being slide into the machine and I was instantly claustrophobic and had to cancel. I had never felt that sensation before. On subsequent MRI's I have traveled to Reno to get into a large aperture machine and take sedation pills. It turned into a bigger deal than it needs to be.