Yes, I'm still on a few morphine a day, anywhere from 20mg to 80mg, depending on how busy I am. If it never gets better than this, I will be thrilled
From what other fusion patients have posted, their pain levels have usually disappeared anywhere from six months to a year post-op. It is a far cry from 360mg/day.
So if I behave myself and don't spend time in my garden, etc. then I am basically pain free. (And I am very careful about bending, twisting etc. while doing my favourite things
) I don't think it can be much more strenuous than physio for building my core strength. I've started exercises in the pool and it really feels good, again as long as I don't over do it.
Thanks for asking, and the nice words. It feels awesome to finally go out and have a shot at real life and not be totally looped on pain meds or pain
If anyone has any more stories about their recovery from fusion or cervical ADR, I'd love to hear them, especially if they have experience with Nuvasive.