Prodisc Surgery With Dr. Goldstein

[Eddie G]

It's almost 2 weeks post-op. Dr. Goldstein said my operation was a success from his standpoint. My stomach pain is alot better (4.5/10) and I can lay on my side in bed now. I have to sleep with a pillow on my belly because my cats tend to walk or sometimes even JUMP on my belly. (OWeeeeeOW OW OW) I have a soft brace that I bought that also helps with the cats and any coughing/laughing I may experience.

My physical therapist comes 3X a week. He doesn't do much with me now except stretching me and walking with me, and I am walking ALOT. Today we must have walked a mile in the park. I do alot of walking by myself and use the walker for safety. The weather has been really nice lately so the walks are a pleasure. I also plan on going for some light massage therapy this week.

My back pain is an 8/10 and also with some leg pain which feels different from my previous leg pain. My only relief (besides the pills) is walking/stretching. I walked around the mall for 3 hours yesterday with Sweety. I need to do some walking every day. Walking really helps my pain (while I'm walking) I hope this back pain goes away soon. It's bad.

I was hoping that I was one of those miracle cures who had no pain after a few days......NOT

I heard of one guy who had sex 3 days after surgery and wound up with retrograde ejaculation which went away (I'm certainly not that guy) It may be a few months for me since it took longer for my bowels to even start working properly in the hospital. I guess I'm just a slow healer. The swelling of my belly is going down a little bit more each day.

I have an aide who comes every day to help me. She usually goes shopping, does laundry, and helps me with whatever I need for 4 hours a day. Anything I need to do myself is set up for me to do without bending. For example, the cat food is now on a table instead of on the floor.

I was up a few times last night. The pain makes me lose alot of sleep. I take morphine & wait.
My Pain Manager is switching me to Roxicodone as he thinks the effects are less "loopy" than morphine. I will try it today.

[dshobbies]

I'm sorry you haven't experienced the quick relief from pain you were hoping for. There is a huge amount of swelling going on back there with everything on fire. It sounds like you're in good hands and if walking helps and you can do it, then by all means walk. You might want to walk more often but for less time because you also don't want to overdo.

This somewhat rocky start doesn't mean you won't find the pain relief you're seeking. It just means it's a rocky start. Keep up the good work and you'll get there.

Good luck, Dale

[Eddie G]

It's 20 days out and I'm still in the same amount of pain (8/10) that I was in before surgery. I'm still walking alot and stretching. I don't mind waiting too much since I waited for 3 years already. I'm glad most of the stomache pain is gone. So thats a step forward. I see Dr. Goldstein Wednesday and I have alot of questions for him.
What did my disc look like when it was removed?
How much distraction was involved?
Is the scar tissue that was left from my previous discectomy going to be a problem in the future? I hope the ADR broke apart the scar tissue and it will be a non-factor in the future.

[chasswen]

hello eddie
have new films been taken yet i surely would like to make sure things are where they belong. or possbily maybe your facets.
my prays are heading your way for things to turn arround for you.
chuck

[Eddie G]

I did get facet joint injections last year that gave me no relief and a negative diagnosis. I'm just going to keep giving it time, but my mind remains open to all possibilities.

I can't wait to see my CAT scan (whenever Dr. Goldstein orders it)

I just had a nice long walk followed by a nice long massage and now I feel relaxed enough to chill out & watch the NFL.

My Northface winter jackets were delivered today so I plan on doing ALOT of walking this winter.

I better get some long underwear too...

C YA

[Eddie G]

Well it's been 23 days and my pain level is the same. I am still walking alot.
I saw Dr. Goldstein yesterday for my first follow-up and he took an X-Ray of my disc and everything is exactly where it's supposed to be. I'm 10mm taller. When I asked him about my 8/10 pain he said that since I was in pain for three years it's not going to go away in three weeks so I am still very optimistic.
The Worker's Comp nurse at work denied the continuation of my home health care attendant so I need to find another way to get my shopping done, clean my bathroom and lift my garbage to the curb. I'm not sure what they expect me to do about these things. Sure I can pay out of pocket, but this whole ordeal is their fault and they should take care of me to make sure I don't hurt myself lifting bags & such. Oh silly me! I just forgot that I'm just a number and not really a person to them. These are the same people that offered me a surgeon who never did a disc replacement before! The home attendant denial is just not worth the fight so my home will now be a pig sty. Oink FREAKIN Oink!
They approved my outpatient physical therapy at Kessler. Thank you Jesus! Dr. Goldstein put electric stim on the prescription. Surprise Surprise! I get to keep using my electric stim (which will help me take less drugs) The Oxycontin is bad enough, but when I add Morphine or Roxicodone to the Oxy, I have awful nightmares and I'm up all night either in pain, or frightened because the dreams seem so damn real. I can't wait to get off these narcotics. (Don't you guys have medical marijuana in California? Does that work for anyone?) I sure don't want to get off drugs the way Ray Charles did, but being narcotic free is my next goal, along with relieving my pain in the process.

I do pay out of pocket for my massage therapy because it just feels good. It's worth every penny.

Anyway, I will be getting my new films out to GlobalPatientServices soon to be put up on the web for your perusal. My old films & reports can be found at:
http://www.globalpatientservices.com
UserName: EGrimes
Password:12345

If you click on the MRI's they become HUGE and you can see everything. Don't let that scary dark L4-L5 disc deter you. There's now a nice shiny Prodisc in there. I'll have the films up soon. My Prodisc looks so kool!

[mmglobal]

Yow Ed... posting your profile online?

I see that you enabled the guest login so nobody can change any data, but you must know that all your personal data is there for the world to see....

Are you sure?

Mark

[Maria]

Hey Eddie,
That's awful about WC not paying for someone to help out a bit, not like it's a big dent in their pocket. Really how is it expected that recovery can take place when one has to run the garbage out to the curb.. that's one thing that just can't be put off! I hope a neighbor will pitch in and assist you w/this~

Re the sig like Mark mentioned, perhaps less would be better. At least that would be my pref. Someone I know of once had some trouble with someone lurking and gathering her info to use against her ~ it was rather scary.. really was an eye opener for me.

Hope your pain will lessen with ongoing days and one day you'll notice that you're feeling pretty good again~

[Eddie G]

What should I have to worry about? Should I remove my address/telephone #?
I don't mind having people seeing me inside out. I don't need any more problems though either. I'll change a few things I guess.

Thanks!

Anyone know where I can find a Cobalt Chrome Alloy Wedding Ring?

[Poncho]

Hi Eddie,

I am not sure which is hurting you the most - LBP or nerve pain? Has either subsided?

I would say that the LBP began going away within a week or two (in my case). You have to measure your progress week by week after this kind of surgery or it will seem like you are not progressing at all. It makes a big difference when comparing this way.

Now, as for the identity thing - I had NOTHING to hide in my profile either because I too was a work - comp patient. But trust me, it is best to leave most of your identity off of public forums. If you decide to switch employers, or whatever, - anything you say can be used against you - for what ever reason. Not to mention issues of identity theft & etc.

I am all for the exchange of knowledge and experiences - but I also believe in patient advocacy, protection and privacy.

I was down for about 3 years myself, this will take a bit of time. As Sir Alastiar says....Slow and steady wins the race

Take care,
Poncho

[Eddie G]

There are times when I feel like my LBP goes down to a 7 but that's usually when I'm laying down. I have CONSTANT leg pain while before it was intermittent. The pops and clicks I hear don't hurt me as they do other patients. (Some people have said when their back pops they feel awful pain)

Week to week....I am more flexible now which is good. Seeing my films made me feel REAL good, just knowing everything was in place and having Dr. Goldstein's reassurance is a blessing. The mind over matter thing is real and I keep positive. Week to week I guess I am making some progress since I am moving around better and I ditched the walker for my kool cane so at least I'm stylish walking the streets of Bayonne.

So how 'bout that Cobalt Chrome Alloy Wedding ring? I still have until May to find the ring and to learn the booty dance.

Heh, I'll be happy slow dancing without pain. Dr. Goldstein DID promise that.

[Poncho]

Yes, you see - Progress!!!

Re: Titanium - as the DeBeers commercial says....A diamond is forever

And for those of us that have been in this fight - hopefully titanium is forever too. - along with polyethylene.

Okay, I have been up waaayyy too late working on a school project. Can we say eeeeewwwww!?!?! Economics with all of the lovely math to go with it.

T-minus 3 weeks and counting then done with this class!!!

Take care,
Poncho

[chasswen]

eddie
where have you been? we all hope thing are well with you.
are things easing up abit for you yet?
chuck

[Eddie G]

Well I've started outpatient physical therapy this week. I have ALOT more flexibility and hopefully the pain will be subsiding more & more. I still have alot of pain but I feel better when I'm walking and after PT. One of the therapists stretched me out so much, he was practically giving me a chiropractic adjustment. I was wary at first but I felt so much better afterwards that I'm looking forward to the next session.
One thing I don't have anymore is the fall-on-the-ground pain that would totally disable me. I need more time and more exercise.

I will keep my positive attitude and I will get better.

[mmglobal]

great news ed!!!!

[chasswen]

good deal eddie
chuck

[Eddie G]

I've been going to P.T. 3x a week and it has really made me more flexible & mobile. I still have 7/10 soreness in my back and still some pain down my right leg. Despite my slow recovery, I still feel optimistic I will heal from my injury. I feel I made the right decision by going with ADR over fusion. (I can be fused in the future if need be)

One personal goal is to be back to work at my desk job by late February
Happy Holidays everyone!!!

[mmglobal]

Eddie, it's great to hear that you are improving. I'm sorry that you are still at a pain level of 7.

Last week, I took Anastasia to see Dr. Zeegers. She's 2 months post-op from a single level ProDisc and is still in significant pain. (Zeegers did not do her surgery.) He took 3 hours, going through all of her films in excruciating detail. He reviewed all of her history and her litany of surgeries. He did a complete exam. Here is what he said.

1. I can't see anything that was missed.

2. The decision making process was sound... he would have recommended the same treatments in the same situation.

3. The placement of her prosthesis, incision, etc... all looks excellent.

4. Unfortunately, he has patients like her too... some people are not better at this stage.

5. 95% of these people will improve and consider themselves successes!

I have a favor to ask (for another spine patient) and I'll be calling you later... talk to you soon.

Mark

[Eddie G]

Physical therapy has been kickin my butt, They have me on machines with 30 lbs.(1 tod) 30 times on my legs/hips. They started me on eliptical but the motion of climbing steps/bicycle riding was too much for me and I could only do 90 seconds. I'm sore and have leg pain tonight. Pain still 7/10 and holding.... I like walking and real bike riding better.

Happy New Year Spineys!!!

[Eddie G]

If anyones interested in seeing my shiny new Prodisc, it can be seen at:

www.globalpatientservices.com

User: egrimes
Password: 12345

Click on the films and they get HUGE!

[Blairsara]

I would definitely take your address off your profile since you've given out your username and password on global patient services.. two words.. IDENTITY THEFT!

[Eddie G]

Originally Posted by Blairsara

I would definitely take your address off your profile since you've given out your username and password on global patient services.. two words.. IDENTITY THEFT!

Yeah I did thanx, but anyone stealing my identity would OWE money! There's so many companies gathering data on us that it seems we are ALL being tracked. Did you know that new cars have a "black box" in them that will tell the police if you were speeding or not using your brakes after a fender bender? Even your benign printer may have some transmitter in it to let the government know if youre printing money? There's some company (in Cali?) that tracks billions of people for "marketing purposes" and they got hacked. One hundred thousand people were at risk for identity theft. A woman told her story of a letter she received from this company, telling her she is at risk. She never even heard of this company before but she had to cancel her credit cards and stuff anyway. What a bunch of manure!!!
Then there's the companies that track the employees with GPS so they can tell how long they took a break.
Rental car companies are using GPS to add charges to customers.
Street cameras track our movements.
Cell phones track our precise position.
Big Brother IS watching!

Anyhoo..........

It's been 2 1/2 months since my Prodisc implant. I'm still sore. It's a constant soreness that does not get worse than a 7/10 which is good because before surgery I had pain that would drop me to the ground (10/10). I don't have that anymore. I have some leg pain that comes & goes and it seems to be improving.
At physical threapy I do an assortment of back strengthing exercises. I had to cut back from 50lb. weights to 30lb. weights as it was too much for me. I started eliptical machine training but was only able to do 30 seconds at first. I add 30-40 seconds each week. I'm now up to 3 minutes. My treatment calls for 10 minutes. My goal is 30 minutes.The big guy there picks me up like a ragdoll. He presses on my spine while I push up causing mass popping. He stretches me in ways I havent stretched in years! All in all it's a good experience and it gets me out of the house.
I'm still out of work. I will not go back until I can drive painless for 30 minutes. My desk job will be there waiting for me so I'm in no rush. I'm progressing at my own rate. Not fast, not slow, my pace. My goal for returning to work is March as I'm sure I'll be driving & sitting for more than 30 min. by then.
C-YA

[Eddie G]

Gave my job notice I'll be back to work on March 26. I hope I can handle the daily commute. I need to take at least 60mg of Oxycontin just to get out of bed so I'll need to wake up earlier to get ready. I'll be happy once I get back to my job because my mind will be occupied and I'll be doing alot of walking.
My pain is still between 6-8 but it's just general lower back soreness. My leg pain is ALOT better. It's been 4.5 months and STILL no 10/10 laying-on-the-ground-screaming pain. So far so good with that.

I increased my weights to 50lbs and my time on the elliptical has increased to 8 minutes.

Sex still hurts and I still can't sit for too long but I'm slowly improving.

[mmglobal]

Eddie... thanks for the update. It's great news that you are still improving and that you'll be headed back to work. Can you ramp up slowly at work, or do you have to start full-time?

Mark

[Eddie G]

They brought me back to work full time. I have a desk job so it's tolerable. However I was out of work yesterday due to my back pain. I spent most of the day in bed. It was thundering & lightning the night before so when the barometer moves, my back aches. I’m not doing very well but I’m glad that I can at least make it to work. I only missed two days in the month that I've been back. The hardest part about my job is driving there. I still drive with an exercise ball on my back which helps. I can still only sit for 20 minutes at a time which is exactly how long my commute to work is. If there is traffic, I usually pull over to stretch out my back.
I have my own heating pad and a couch to take my breaks at my office. My pain was 9/10 yesterday.
My last visit with the surgeon (Dr. Goldstein) was April 16. He said I may have permanent injury which I really wasn’t too happy about. He said to give it a year before I start getting bummed out. I don’t have to see him again until October. Hopefully I'll feel better by then. I finished (graduated) physical therapy on Tuesday which is good because the combination of getting up at 5:30 in the morning, working all day, then exercising at 5pm was just too much for me. Physical Therapy gave me a list of exercises for me to do at home.
Today's back pain: 7/10
Today's leg pain: 4/10

[dshobbies]

PT was going great until we started pumping it up. As soon as I felt some pain in my back, it hasn't stopped and I just stopped pt because even walking now causes back pain. It's very reminiscent and I think I blew out L2/3. I'm going to call Laurrysen to schedule a ct scan to see exactly what's going on, but I'm not very happy right now... moral, be careful with pt.

Dale

[Eddie G]

Well, unfortunately my hideous back pain is still there. My entire life seems to be revolved around my @&#%$ back. I had to turn down sex, DJ gigs, sex, a car trip to North Carolina, doing home improvements, sex, ect. (I do however mow the lawn with a self propelled mower, it's good exercise) My leg pain is still there because I forgot to bring my Neurontin to Sweety's house and after 2 days of not taking the nerve blocker, my leg pain came roaring back. I really thought it had subsided but I guess I'm part of that darn 10%.
My work doctor is referring me to a pain specialist in hopes of testing the L5-S1. My previous discogram showed a tear in the annulus. I really hope they just do a velocity test but if I have to get another discogram, so be it. Anything is better than living in pain like this. I'm not doing ANYTHING until after my September nuptuals.
My bike riding days are temporarily over because someone came into my garage and stole my bike!
I was home and the perp is lucky I didn't catch him because I would have beat him with my cane like a WW1 vet!

[Eddie G]

Well I am going back to Dr. Oza for a Medial Branch Block. He is the Dr. who did my Trigger Point Injections and I am glad he is now adressing the nerves. The procedure is next Wednesday and I am hopeful that this is the light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Oza says if the facets are the problem, and he can make me 50% better it would be a success. I would agree.
If the facets are not the problem, he doesn't think there is much he can do since it is probably disc related. ie: L3-L4....L5-S1
Wish me luck!

Mark M: Dr. Oza needed my films so when I get them back I will send them out to you to update my webpage. Thanks!

[nomorepain]

eddie,
i can remember 5yrs, 11mos, and 7gays ago, i was still in a lot of pain, back pain, groin pain, nerve pain from my prodisc surgery, at 5months i watched Mark and another friend play tennis, i thought i would never feel good enough to do the same, as i was also a slow healer, but i realized after my surgery that i had suffered with my back pain for a very long time, and it was going to take a long time to feel good again. look what your body has been through, your guts were shoved up in your belly, your groin sliced open, natural discs removed and the artificial discs installed with nothing more than what looks like some chromed & sterilized auto mechanics tools, like a hammer and chisel, and your vertabrael bones jacked apart to fit the right sized metal discs, it takes time for your tissues, muscles, and nerves to settle down and heal. Don't sweat it too much, enjoy the help your getting for a few hours a day to make your life easier, love those kitties and the time you can spend playing with them, keep a pillow nearby to hug when you feel a cough coming on, along with the soft brace, it's not a 1/2 bad way to go. Sounds to me like you are doing great just 23 short days after major surgery!! do keep up the walking, it was what got me through my early days after surgery, to walk for 3hours through a mall, WOW thats fantastic, and lower your sights a bit to see positive things in taking a few extra steps than earlier that same day, time does heal. i think we tend to expect to much in a little bit of time, take the meds if it makes you feel better, there will be plenty of time to wean yourself off of them at a later time, and listen to what your body is telling you, especially to slow down a bit, just remember we do all heal at a different pace........
here i am about 6years to the day post op with ZERO back leg or butt pain, no groin pain, no meds, no limits, and i still have to pinch myself to see if it's reality or a dream, hopefully you will be saying the same as time goes by!
gary

[Eddie G]

Has anyone heard anything about Somatotropin helping people with back pain? It is a growth hormone. It was prescribed to me by my PM. I also take Testosterone so it may be specific to my case.

Anyone?

[Eddie G]

Had the Medial Branch Block procedure on Wednesday. The procedure went well. I was sedated and did not feel a thing....until I woke up.
I started walking and the pain was just waiting for me. The pain followed me when I sat down. I regret to have to tell Dr. Oza his little plan for me was FOILED! I don't really know where to turn next. I don't want an implanted electric stim in my back but what else is there? I tried EVERYTHING! Very frustrating.
My pain today is 8/10 and I forced myself into work. At least Sweety drives me in so I can have some sort of normalcy in my life. I couldn't sit home all the time. I did have to wake up at 4:30 today to take my pills so I could get out of bed by 5:30. I was up before Grandma called me!!! Actually I was up most of the night. I never even sleep correctly anymore.

POOPY!!!

[mmglobal]

Ed, I'm so sorry that the injection flared you up. Is it new pain or is it your pain... just much worse?

Let's talk this week... let me know the best time and I'll call from Germany... 6 hours ahead of you.

Mark

[Eddie G]

It's not really new pain, except maybe some inflammation from the injections. It's the same 'ol pain that keeps me from sitting down.

I have a meeting 2pm - 3pm EST. I'm free afterwards.