I am 3 months out from having anterior/posterior fusion at L5/S1. I was forced to have fusion since my husband's healthplan refused to cover ADR & I felt that I didn't have the time to wait for appealing their decision. I was waking up with pins & needles going down both of my legs when I was laying flat on my back & was just spiraling downward with my condition.
I spent 6 days in the hospital but I believe that was due to my bowels taking forever to wake up & having tachycardia. I'm not exactly the "picture" of fitness so I'm sure that had something to do with it as well.
The first 2 days after surgery were pretty craptastic until they could get my pain under control. Then when the bowels started waking up & distending, that wasn't much fun either. I can't stress enough the importance of taking "softener" & eating as much fiber as possible. It makes "passing" a lot less painful.
A month after surgery I took a 2 1/2 flight to Florida. I was still in some pain but was able to manage it with the pain meds.
Two months after surgery, I took another 2 1/2 hour flight to Florida & went house hunting for a few days. There was a lot of getting in & out of the car & I expected to be bedridden. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't happen. I wasn't taking as many pain meds either.
Two & 1/2 months after surgery, I went back to work to both of my jobs. I work an 8 hour day & both are mostly sedentary jobs. The 1st week I was a bit sore but it got a little easier as each week passed.
I noticed that when it's cold & damp I tend to be more uncomfortable & in pain. I am for the most part free from taking pain meds. I am dealing with a stabbing pain in the lower back since the surgery that my OS feels is from the muscle catching on the pedicle screw. He's hoping that it eases up in a few months. The only other option is for him to go back in & take it out. At this point, I'm not ready to go back under the knife & there's no way I can put my husband thru that Hell again.
On a lighter note, I see that you went to the CIA. If I tried really hard, I can throw a rock & hit the CIA from where I currently live
Be well & keep us informed!
Karin