Finally Home!

[Nairek]

Thank you everyone for your warm wishes. I really means a lot to me!

Well, I'm finally home after spending 6 days in the hospital. It was a bit more than I expected & I had some pretty scary moments.

I found out the morning of my surgery that it was going to be a bit more complicated that originally thought. Dr, Bitan & I were not able to discuss fully before the surgery how things would change with the fusion surgery. He apologized & said that he felt that for the best possible outcome for me that he would have to also do a posterior approach with the anterior so he could put 2 screws through the back to make sure that the instrumentation was as solid as could be. I told him I wasn't happy about the prospect of 2 additional incisions but if this is what he felt was best, then lets do it.

The surgery was probably about 6 1/2 hours long. I was in an IMMENSE amount of pain which they had trouble controlling.

We had some scary moments with my blood pressure & potassium levels being extremely low along with a tachycardic heart. At 1 point I was up to 150 bpm. I was unaware of any possible heart condition, so now I have to follow up with my PCD to see what's going on.

I'll be setting up a thread in surgical outcomes shortly. I'm kinda pooped at the moment & I should really get off my duff & walk for 20 minutes.

I'll pop on when I can. Thank you everyone again for all of your help!

[Cindylou]

Wow, congratulations Nairek! That was a long surgery for fusion. I think mine was maybe 4 hours ish, and they went in from both front and back as well, for stabilization. I'm glad you are at least home. You have your recovery in front of you, and I will be praying for you. Please feel free to PM me or just ask me any questions. We are here for you as you adjust in your rehabilitation process. God bless!

Cindylou

[dshobbies]

Welcome to the other side! I know my surgery was more than I bargained for but each day should get a little better. Expect a little bump in the road occasionally - it usually means nothing. Please take is slow, emphasis on slow.

Wishing you the absolute best, Dale

[Kathy]

I am so happy that everything turned out good. I'm sure that was scary for you and your family when the heart issues happened. I can't imagine having surgery and the extra stress of that. Hopefully everything will be fine and it is will just be a fluke. Take it easy and listen to the others who have been through surgery, they know what they are talking about (you'll be telling my non-obedient butt the same thing in a couple of months when I have my surgery ) Praying for you to heal quickly and have a non-eventful recovery. God Bless, Kathy

[SandyW]

Yeaa Karin great news. What's a few more scars, aren't they supposed to be sexy? How about adding a butterfly tattoo! lol

God bless you and be patient. You're going to be one of the lucky ones who will be well on her way to painless days before Spring gets here!

[phylly]

I am so glad that you came through the surgery okay. That was a really long surgery and hopitalization! My biggest fear is being in out of control pain after so I really feel your pain. I hope that your recovery is as smooth as can be expected. I have only heard great things of Dr. Bitan so I am sure he did what was best or you. I will be thinking of you and wishing you an easy recovery.
Phylly

[ImpOssibleOne]

Congratulations! That was a long haul in the hospital but all's well that ends well. Welcome home and here's wishing you a speedy recovery.

Adrienne

[treefrog]

Congratulations on getting through surgery. I will be wishing you the best for recovery, and hope it is relatively quick and easy. Get that walking in.

I look forward to hearing more about your surgery and recovery.

[Justin]

Karin,

This is great news! Keep us posted on your progress, as we do care.

[Nairek]

Hello everyone!

Thank you again for all of your support. It’s great to have such a wonderful support system of people who know what I am going through.

I have been taking it slow so that I don’t chance messing things up. I do sit quite a bit as I was told not to lie in bed all day. Sitting does tend to be uncomfortable but it’s not the same uncomfortable as it was before the surgery. I’m chalking that up as a positive response.

My husband also mentioned that I am doing much better with the fusion surgery than I was after I had the IDET surgery. That was 4 ½ years ago & I really don’t recall too much about the recovery from that.

I was hoping to cut back on some of the pain meds by now but have come to the conclusion that it’s just too early yet. I try to take 15-20 minute walks 3 to 4 times per day. Since we have been hit with another snow/ice storm in NY, I have to just pace around our very small house until the ice melts.

I myself was a little shocked at the length of time that I was in surgery. I was told to expect it to be about 4 hours long which is what I told my husband. When it went longer than that & no one had come out to tell him how the surgery was progressing, he was really nervous. Luckily, my sister & brother in law arrived not long after my surgery started to keep him company.

I think the hospital had a hard time controlling my pain due to the tachycardia, low potassium, & low blood pressure. When I was semi-lucid, I can recall the nurse saying that they couldn’t give me more pain meds until my blood pressure went up some. I remember getting 3 infusions of potassium one after the other which was extremely painful before they gave me pain meds one night. That stuff burned so bad that I thought my hand was on fire!

OK, I’m going to call it a night. I’ll pop on here when I can. In the meantime, keep your chin up. Please know that there are others here who know how you feel & what you are going through. We will get through this together one day at a time.

[phylly]

Karin,
I hope that you continue to make progress each day. i look forward to reading your posts.
Phylly

[ans]

K: You've struggled for a long time in all kinds of ways. I'm glad that you're on the mend and take it slow. Netflix?

My best - Allan

[dshobbies]

Karin,

I'm glad you're doing so well. Your walks sound right on point and don't worry about your pain meds. They're there to help you and keep you comfortable. Take them as long as necessary. We all need help, some more than others, some only occasionally. Personally, I see no value in suffering

My thoughts are with you, Dale

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Karin:

I'm glad the surgery is done for you and you are heading for the other side. I agree with taking the pain medication. It is supposed to block the pain messages to the brain and help you heal. It's hard to heal when your body is wracked with pain. You do yourself more harm than good in this kind of state. Rest up, eat chicken soup, watch good soap operas, call me in the morning.

It sounds like you are heading down the path of recovery. Now comes the difficult time of trying to get back to normalcy. Sorry I had not written writ after your surgery. I was getting ready for my wife's hysterectomy that was done yesterday. I get to take her home today so I am going to be her nurse for the next 4-6 weeks. She better behave or I will make her laugh.

Hang in there Karin.

Terry Newton

[marion]

Well done Nairek you have been through so much and are doing well keep us posted on your recovery best wishes Marion

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Terry Allen Blackburn

Karin:

It sounds like you are heading down the path of recovery. Now comes the difficult time of trying to get back to normalcy. Sorry I had not written writ after your surgery. I was getting ready for my wife's hysterectomy that was done yesterday. I get to take her home today so I am going to be her nurse for the next 4-6 weeks. She better behave or I will make her laugh.

Terry Newton

Terry,
I totally understand why you haven't had the opportunity to write me sooner. Hysterectomy surgery isn't an easy thing to go through from what I have been told. I know that my abdomen still hurts quite a bit from when they had to move everything over to access the disc so I can sympathize somewhat with what your wife is going through.

As for making her laugh, you are as bad as my husband. The second to last day I was in the hospital, he came to visit & "housekeeping" had just made my bed. My husband went to the anti-bacterial foam dispenser that they had on the wall & hit it just the right way & it shot all over the nice clean sheets. All i could do was laugh & hold my stomach & my back & he's running around looking for a pillow for me to hold on my stomach.

Laughter hurts but I tell you it is the BEST medicine!

Terry, please send well wishes to your wife from me. I hope that she feels better very soon.

I hope to get my surgery thread posted soon. I started typing what I had written in my "surgery diary" & I'm up to 4 pages so far. If anyone wants to get bored to sleep, I suggest you read it.

[Nairek]

I finally got my surgery blog posted for those who are interested in reading it & for those who need help falling asleep

[Eastex]

I started reading your surgery blog. I decided to stop, because it started getting me nervous about my upcoming surgery this Friday. I will read it when I am recovering and then I can relate a little more! Anyway, I hope your recovery is going good.

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Eastex

I started reading your surgery blog. I decided to stop, because it started getting me nervous about my upcoming surgery this Friday. I will read it when I am recovering and then I can relate a little more! Anyway, I hope your recovery is going good.

Eastex,

I'm sorry if my blog kinda freaked you out. I have been thinking about your upcoming surgery. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me & I will try to answer them the best that I can for you. I wish I had done that myself before the surgery but between getting ready for the surgery & working 2 jobs, I just wasn't able to do it.

Please remember that a lot of the issues that I had after surgery were because of a possible undiagnosed heart issue. I also tend to get very nervous & stressed out in situations which I can't control which probably also had something to do with all that craziness.

All I can suggest is to try & relax which is easier said than done. You can try some of the following to see if it helps you:

If you play an instrument this may help.

I listened to a lot of music which was a great help while I was in the hospital.

You may want to consider starting a surgery diary where you can express all of your feelings. I found this to be helpful for me as well.

I know that as my surgery day approached, I spoke to my husband a lot more about my fears as well as my dreams for a future being in less pain

If you are working still, take the day before surgery off. I didn't do this & wish I had. Less stress would have made things easier

Keep in mind that you can always PM me or post on the board here. I'm sure that we can try & help you the best that we can to help your transition to the other side an easier one.

[dshobbies]

Some of your immediate post op problems could also have been a reaction to your anesthesia. I know my blood pressure drops to dangerous levels and forewarn my doctor.

I would assume the only way to know for sure is after several surgeries which I hope would never be the case.

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by dshobbies

Some of your immediate post op problems could also have been a reaction to your anesthesia. I know my blood pressure drops to dangerous levels and forewarn my doctor.

I would assume the only way to know for sure is after several surgeries which I hope would never be the case.

I never even thought of those problems as being a reaction to anesthesia. I don't recall having those issues when I had surgery back in 2002, but then again that was so long ago.

I will be calling my primary care physician tomorrow to make an appointment to follow up on this. I tend to get wiped out easily with everything going on lately & figured I would wait a little bit before making an appointment.

The post op problems explain some weird symptoms that I have been dealing with for well over a year that my primary care doctor hasn't been able to figure out. I should probably just look for another doctor....lol

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Latest Update?

I hope the healing is going well. Your last post is on the 5th. I know that doesn't sound like much but, any day, after surgery, is a continuation of the healing process and moving forward.

I hope and pray that you are doing well.

Elizabeth is doing very well. She actually is a much better patient than I am. I always want to get in my car and ride away, right afterward. I remember my first neck surgery. I had the stitches removed 7 days after the surgery and asked him when I could ride my bicycle. He told me not for at least three weeks. The very next day I sailed on Lake Pepin all day, the day after I rode 45 miles on my bicycle, the day after that I drove 11 hours home and went to work two days after I got home. I make a lousy patient.

Hang in there Karin and let us know what's happening for you.

Terry Newton

[Nairek]

Terry,

I'm glad to hear that your wife is doing well after her surgery. She should absolutely take it easy as I understand that her type of surgery isn't an easy one.

I know that I have been slacking on the updates. I had my 1st post-op visit last Thursday & made it out of the house for a little bit on Friday. I've noticed that I get tired very easily since I was taken off of the Oxycontin so I just haven't had the energy to get off my duff & update my surgery blog.

I'm also dealing with the realization that I have to put one of my beloved pets to sleep & I have been having a VERY hard time dealing with it.

I'll do my updates this week as there are some positives & negatives on my road to recovery. It's nothing serious. Just a few bumps. I would do it now but my pesky hubby is telling me it's time to go to bed

Karin

[Nairek]

Surgery blog has been updated.

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Karin:

I am so sorry about having to put one of your pets down. That is such a difficult thing to do as they become such a part of the family. I always cried my heart out when I had to do that as a kid. I don't have pets now for this reason. It's too hard to say good-bye to a loving dog or cat.

I will look for your latest post on the surgery outcome page.

Terry Newton