Finally back at my computer. Not sure how to navigate the website.
I see you found the definition of clay shovelers fracture. Sort of an interesting thing. Must of happened to me somewhere along the line. It was probably from an traumatic injury.
As for the ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is in the NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs) catagory of medications. They work by reducing inflamation. At least in this area of the country, the standard of care for lumbar fusion (probably any spinal fusion) is to not be on NSAID's in the time frame just prior to surgery and for a long period of time after surgery. The process of how NSAID's inhibit inflamation (subsequently reducing pain) is understood well enough to implicate them in interferring with the formation of bone at the fusion site which requires the inflamatory process to lay down bone. Several animal model studies have shown this and at least one study that involved ketoralac (don't quote me on this stuff because I am no rocket scientist). Basicly, it was dose dependent. I was having trouble after my 3rd lumber surgery (2nd fusion). It just didn't feel right. I was having considerable leg pain, thighs aching terribly bad, etc. Well, at 3 months I was going through my paperwork from the University of Washington where I was considering having my surgery. There paperwork clearly stated to not take any ibprophen before or after surgery because it could interfere with bone formation in the fusion site ie. non-union/pseudoarthritis. Well, I had been taking massive amounts of ibuprofen prior to surgery and following my sugery, my neurosurgeon reorderred it after my surgery and discharged me with it. At 3 months after my surgery, I informed the PA I was taking Ibuprofen and she freaked out and wanted to know who said I could take Ibuprofen. When I told her that "her" surgeon ordered it after surgery, she clammed up so tight you could have heard a pin drop in the room. I was pissed off. I expressed deep concern and they assured me all would be well. Well, it wasn't well. At 6 months my surgeon told me I was fussed and discharged me. Over one year later I am still in a lot of pain and they do a bone scan and CT and I have no bone growth at all at the fusion site. I do have movement of the cage and errosion of the bone within the disk space. I do my research and get opinions and everone gives me a different opinion. One says wait and watch and the other says you risk breaking the rods and your pain is being likely caused from the movement at the site. I decide to have the non-union fixed. I fused at about 6 months after the 4th surgery. This time no Ibuprofen. They used BMP in all my fusion surgeries.
I have had a total of 4 back surgeries. My first surgery was a diskectomy where they had to remove a 1cm x 1cm x 6 cm sized piece of disk from L5-S1. It was removed in several small pieces. Second surgery was about 3 years later (fusion L4-5), third surgery (fusion) was about 15 years later and the fourth (fusion L4-5) was about 14 months after that. My neck is shot and the levels above my lumbar fusions are shot as well. I have what I call mechanical pain in my neck and lower and mid back. I get severe headaches beyond anything I ever immagined possible with stabbing pain at the base of my skull, top of my head and behind my eyes. I get really weird burning pain in my neck/shoulders down my back and back of my legs. When my neck gets hurting bad, my hands feel sort of swollen and numb, I have a little bit of radiculopathy in my left arm. I have nerve damage in my right leg that caused a muscle imbalance and pulls on my knee cap funny. So now that hurts when I use it. My feet hurt to varying degreeds throughout the day... I get miserable. I have tried a few medications but got turned off of them and they don't work that great anyway. I probably will need to go back on something. Get depressed, etc. Got hospitalized.....been there and done that, got the t-shirt. But, getting hospitalized was a good thing and it openned my eyes.
I really talk a lot. I hope your back stabilizes itself and you start to feel better. Thank you for listeing to me yap. Peace, Terry
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theBadCormorant
Found this on Wiki Link interesting mechanism for the injury that coined the name
Ringo: sounds truly awful, I didn't quite get your comment " One fusion was a re-do (stay away from ibuprofen)."
And best of luck. |