Hobbes Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 23 hours ago, Iceheart said: Fun body fact! The bladder and bowels are controlled by nerves that come off the base of the spinal cord, right where my shit’s getting squashed. Without anti-inflammatories, I feel like I have to pee ALL THE TIME. But I don’t have to pee. It’s great. Also, the marks in red are where they’re popping the tops off my vertebrae on Friday. I think this is kinda what happens to my did from time to time due to his MS. How long are you going to be in the hospital for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 No idea when surgery is on Friday! They’ll let me know around Wednesday or so. I should only be in the hospital overnight, fingers crossed. So I went in for my Coronavirus test, got through that with no incident, but then got carsick and puked all over the car. It was delightful, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 I know when surgery is on Friday! Arrival time is 7:15am, surgery is at 9:15am. They have me scheduled for two hours on the table, and then I get to hunker down in my hospital bed and get pain meds pumped directly into my veins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 15 hours before the cut… I don’t feel nervous, but I sure have the shits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. Spam Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Sending you good juju that it's successful and you get the results you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Surgery went well! I mean, no one has told me any specifics but my mom got the rundown from my surgeon while I was in recovery. Recovery is… eh. I have a headache and can’t hold food down, so they’re keeping me another night. But I’m not tied to the bed with anti-blood-clot leg cuffs now, and I’m cleared to move independently so I can toilet myself… thankfully, peeing was an ordeal last night. Pain is progressively getting better, though, and the symptoms that got me the surgery in the first place have improved, so yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 So my mom just called me! She was my patient chaperone, so she got the run down of how it went and all I got was “it went great! You did great!” Apparently I have some stenosis in the thoracic region which is uncommon there, so he had to re-adjust the disc to fix that. The disc in the lumbar region had calcified around my spinal cord, so he had to work extra hard to get that one out. I would not have suspected it was that bad! Even as much pain as I was in. My mom is pissed at all the doctors and therapists in the beginning that told me it was just nothing now. I’m just grateful that I found one that caught it before (hopefully) any permanent damage happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Skywalker Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 I'm glad it's finally over with! Are you keeping food down now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 Yes! As long as I eat it slowly. That reminds me, I should order breakfast… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. Spam Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 It's going to be a long road to wellness but this a good start. And kinda an indictment of how bad the US medical community really is. You get shiny bright spots and then people who just don't want to look further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 I’m hoooome! My one cat is so mad at me for leaving her and coming back with a walker and unable to hold her on my boobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. Spam Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Poor kitties. They just don't understand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 She is SO MAD at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.CAllen Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 23 hours ago, Iceheart said: I’m hoooome! My one cat is so mad at me for leaving her and coming back with a walker and unable to hold her on my boobs. I can't seem to be able to 'like' this post. I get the following error message after I try : But, please, rest assured — I like it v. much! Glad you're home! Glad you're well! May things only get better and better for you from now on! [edit : whoops! it worked now! I like it! It 'like'd!] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 This entire process was severely undersold to me. I was told: This would be an outpatient procedure if I wasn’t having two at once. I ‘d only have to stay one night in the hospital. I’d only need to take two weeks off from work. Beyond that it’s a six week recovery time, but it’s more six weeks of taking it easy. The reality? Two nights in the hospital. They want me to take the full TWELVE WEEK recovery time off work. I am making no money while recovering, so I negotiated two weeks of WFH starting Tuesday, and then going back to the office under full Bend, Lift and Twist restrictions after that just for a trial run to see if I can handle it so early. I can’t swim until I get re-evaled at my six week post-op… at the end of July. BLT restrictions remain in place for the entire TWELVE WEEK recovery period, twice as long as originally planned. I can’t even start to incorporate exercise into my life again until the end of August. That’s my whole summer. Damnit. Anyway, tomorrow is two weeks since surgery and I’m doing as well as can expected. Probably better than most since I went into this with two years of strength training under my belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 That stinks. No bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for 12 weeks? During peak tomato season? Preposterous! Seriously, that does really stink. Hopefully you recover faster than they are projecting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 Good think I actually hate BLTs, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerina Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Regional differences are fun. I'm like - no swimming sucks, but summer is a great time to have to stay inside and not do anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 Okay, THIS summer may have been a lucky one for being grounded… it’s been basically 5 days of cold and rainy (like, sweatshirt cold) with 3 days of intense heat and humidity over and over since the beginning of June… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 6 week post op was today, and I’m doing very well! I don’t need any more imaging, I can start PT (thank GOD, dieting is not working and I keep getting bigger), and as long as I don’t spend more than an hour in the water and it’s not hot water I can submerge my incisions (there is one tiny scab left, ugh). So I went to the beach right after my appointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 One more update! I had my 12 week post op yesterday, and I'm being sent on my merry way with the surgeon declaring it a job well done. Thing is, I still have nerve pain, numbness, and weakness in my legs. I asked about getting injections for that, and he says that's a good next step, but I'm not allowed to try until December or so. But I get to take as much Ibuprofen 800 as I want in the meantime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceheart Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 8/31/2021 at 4:16 PM, Iceheart said: Thing is, I still have nerve pain, numbness, and weakness in my legs. I asked about getting injections for that, and he says that's a good next step, but I'm not allowed to try until December or so. But I get to take as much Ibuprofen 800 as I want in the meantime... I have an appointment regarding this at the end of the month. So, injections may be starting up again soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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