Nairek L5-S1 ALIF Fusion January 2009

[Nairek]

PART 1

Tuesday, January 20th, surgery day. I had maybe 1 ½ hours of sleep between being nervous and my dog Peanut howling and falling over in her crate. As an elderly dog, she has been suffering from dementia and gets confused very easily. I decided to sleep on the couch to comfort her so we could all get some sleep.

The alarm clock went off at 3:00 a.m. and both my husband and I woke up to take care of our girls (a Beagle and a Treeing Walker Coonhound). After they were fed and walked, I left a note for my friend on what I needed her to do to look after the girls for me. I already had my bag packed from the night before since we had to catch the first train out of Poughkeepsie at 4:15 a.m. to make it to Lenox Hill Hospital by 6:00 a.m.

As we got closer to NYC, the reality of the surgery began to finally hit me. I tried so hard to keep the water works from flowing but the truth was I was scared. My husband kept telling me that everything would be fine and that this is what we have waited years for. And even though I could have appealed my insurance company’s decision, I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer and moved forward with the fusion. He reassured me that I was not making the wrong decision. I’ll post about that in another thread.

We took the #6 Lexington Avenue Local and arrived at Lenox Hill Hospital by 6:08 a.m. and went up to the 10th floor and waited only 10 minutes before I was taken in to pre-op. Dr. Bitan’s staff must have had me pre-registered already which was awesome. In pre-op you have the usual change into a gown & give them a few “samples” for various tests and so they could type my blood in case I needed a transfusion. The nurses kept telling me to relax and all I kept thinking was how can I do that knowing I’m about to be sliced, diced, and julienned?

I first met with Dr. Rizzo the anesthesiologist. He explained to me exactly what he would be doing in the OR. That there wouldn’t be any surprises. He explained that he would be “hooking me up” to a machine that will monitor my nerves so that they can avoid the prospect of nerve damage during the surgery.

Dr. Hannon peeked in as well. This time he had a full beard going on which he didn’t have when we met with him on December 18th. When we met with him back then, both my husband and I were extremely impressed with how he explained what his part of the surgery would entail. He was very thorough and answered every question that we had. He is also a very funny person who really seems to enjoy what he does. When he popped in that morning, he was all smiles which was a huge comfort to me. At least he was in a good mood before the surgery.

Dr. Bitan then arrived and said that we needed to talk about a few things before the surgery began. Basically, he stated that since I couldn’t get approved for the ADR surgery, we didn’t have the opportunity to discuss the changes that had to be made with the fusion which he apologized for. He informed us that he would need to make two incisions in my back so that he could insert two screws to stabilize the hardware. I looked at him and said “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. That really sucks. But if this is what you need to do for the best outcome, I trust your decision and let’s do it”.

Dr. Bitan also mentioned that he had a medical student who was interested in watching the surgery in the OR and he wanted my permission. My husband said “as long as it’s lookie and no touchie, we are comfortable with that”. Dr. Bitan confirmed the student was only to view the surgery, nothing else. So with that being said, we were OK with it. I joked with him why on earth would this student want to watch something so gross and he said I don’t know I tried talking him out of it as well.

I then joked with Dr. Bitan and asked him if he could do a tummy tuck while he was down there. He looked at me and said “Oh, you wouldn’t want me to do that. I’m not good at those. Ask Dr. Hannon”. So I did, he laughed. Hey, you can’t blame a gal for trying right?!

After all of the new consent forms were signed, it was time to go off to the OR. As they were rolling me down the hall, I kissed my husband goodbye and held back the tears. As they rolled me further down the hall in the wheelchair, there were several times that I thought of jumping out of that chair and running away from the OR. It reminded me of my wedding day in a way (Not that I wanted to run from the altar). The reality of what was coming hadn’t hit me until I entered the OR.

I was wheeled in at 7:40 a.m., 10 minutes later than when my surgery was scheduled to start. I remember Dr. Rizzo said something about giving me relaxing medication and then the lights went out.

I don’t remember going into the recovery room. They let my husband in to see me for two minutes and he noticed that I was wheeled in to recovery at 2:45 p.m. The entire time of my surgery, no one came out to tell my husband what was going on. As Dr. Bitan was leaving the OR, he was dialing my husband’s cell number to let him know that everything went well and that there weren’t any complications. By this time, my sister and brother in law arrived to keep my husband company which was great since he was all by himself. We were initially told that the surgery would be about 4 hours long. I was in surgery for close to 7 hours.

I slept most of the time in recovery and was in a lot of pain during that time. I was finally brought up to my room at 7:00 p.m. and just kind of lay there semi-conscious. After 30 minutes, I asked the nurse if my family was still waiting for me on the tenth floor. Sure enough, no one bothered to tell them that I was moved to my room. Thankfully I had an hour with them before visiting hours were over. The incision on my stomach had a “medicine ball” attached to it which infused pain medication just under the skin of the incision which helped a great deal with the pain. The two incisions on my back though were extremely painful which was made worse by the fact that I was laying on my back.

The first two nights, the hospital couldn’t control my pain. It was so bad that I was moaning and almost in tears for the first two days and nights. And while the surgery went well, this was the beginning of some very scary events which we were not prepared for.

I don’t recall if it was the first or second night I was there, but there were issues where my blood pressure and potassium levels were too low. This was complicated by the fact that my blood oxygen levels were not normal and I was suffering from a rapid heart rate. I was kept on oxygen for 3 ½ days and my heart rate remained tachycardic and at one point was beating over 150 bpm.

I had been on a dextrose based IV drip which was then changed to a potassium based drip. When that wasn’t enough to bring up my potassium level, I had 3 infusions of potassium back to back to bring my levels up. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. The potassium burned through the IV line. I felt like my hand was on fire. The nurse told my family that there wasn’t anything that they can do to ease the pain and that I had to have the infusions. And while all of this was going on, they had to cut me back on the pain meds because now my blood pressure was dropping. I recall that at one point it was 94/53. I finally broke down that night as my husband was leaving. I kept apologizing to him and telling him I was scared and that I didn’t mean to scare him. He felt like he was abandoning me for leaving but he needed to go home to take care of our pets who are basically our children. It was such an emotional rollercoaster which neither of us could control.

The second night, things got even more insane. I was receiving morphine injections in my shoulders to help deal with the pain when my blood pressure allowed them to do so. The injections only helped me for 20-30 minutes at a time. The doctor had ordered an EKG since my heart rate was so erratic. I remember a doctor had come in and asked what the results of the EKG were and I told him I didn’t know since the tech just walked out without saying anything to me or my family.

I had finally fallen asleep again when another patient stated flipping out and went on a rampage at 3:00 a.m. The RN’s & NA’s had been very loud at night. This particular night it sounded like they were having a party outside of my room. Maybe this is what set this patient off. I couldn’t see what was happening since I had the curtains drawn closed in my room. This guy was yelling “call my wife” and “call the police. I know what you were doing in the empty room down the hall”. I was in such pain but I feared hitting the call bell for help because I knew the staff had their hands full with this patient. I also feared for my safety and I didn’t want to bring attention to me in case this guy was running through the ward.

Thankfully, after an hour, things settled down again and going forward, nights were much quieter there. I had called for more pain meds but was told I had to hang on and since they couldn’t get the right dosage to help me, they would have to call a pain management doctor to help me. I told them “YES! Please call the pain management doctor”. I was so annoyed that they didn’t do this sooner since I had my own doctor for this!

[Nairek]

PART 2

The morning of day three, Dr. Hoppenfeld came to see me. He commented on my noisy neighbor and when I told him what happened the night before, he was shocked. So he ordered me a regimen of pain meds to help control my pain as well as a sleeping pill so I could try and get some sleep at night. The same day they started with the colace and laxatives to help me along in “that” department. The gas pain was excruciating! My intestines were still pretty sleepy and I was beginning to suffer from distended bowels. If I was able to double over from the pain, I would have. It was that bad.

I believe it was the night of day four that I was taken down to radiology to have x-rays taken of my back. It was pretty painful to try & get on the table and to roll over onto my sides but the tech was a really strong man who helped me. I asked the tech if I could see the x-rays when he was done and he was kind enough to let me take a peek. It looked like there were six screws and two plates in my back. It was weird to look at the x-rays and think wow, that’s what I have inside of me now!

By day five I was cleared by physical therapy to go home. I was able to walk on my own with little assistance since day three and I was able to walk up and down two stairs. However, I was told that I couldn’t go home until I produced a “meaningful” bowel movement for them. I was like you have got to be kidding me right? I had been on a liquid diet for five days, so I didn’t think anything would ever happen!

That evening, things began happening and I was in a much better mood. Baby steps I guess but it was something to be happy about. The morning of the sixth day, I was told by Dr. Bitan’s PA that if I could handle solid food for breakfast and lunch, then I could go home that day. I was so excited, that I called my husband as soon as the PA left at 6:30 a.m. to let him know.

Breakfast came and I was so happy to finally be able to eat solid food! I still didn’t have a huge appetite but did manage to eat a little bit and felt so much better. I went for a twenty minute walk after breakfast and was so tired and short of breath afterwards that I had to lay down for a while. Dr. Bitan’s PA came back to visit and we chatted for a little bit. I told him that breakfast seemed to go very well and he told me that he will more than likely discharge me after 2:00 p.m.

My husband arrived shortly after 11:30 a.m. and I told him the awesome news. When lunch arrived, I was shocked at how much was on my tray and how good it looked. I was even more shocked by how it tasted. I expected hospital food to be horrible but it was surprisingly tasty. Even my husband was like, wow, that’s a lot of food!

After lunch, my husband was helping me to get dressed when there was a knock on the door. It was Dr. Bitan and his PA coming for a visit. (Dr. Bitan visited with me every day except for the weekend. I expected a colleague of his to check in with me, not him. I was impressed by this.) He said he was glad to catch me before I left and that he was sorry for keeping me over the weekend but he didn’t feel comfortable sending me home on Friday like he had planned. I told him I understood with all of the crazy things I had happening to me. It was better to err on the side of caution. There was a lot of happiness in that room and I was glad that there was a noticeable difference in my pain. That’s another post though since I think I may have put most of you to sleep by now.

And now the new chapter of my life begins……….

[Justin]

Karin,

Thanks for your posts. They remind me of the emotional roller coaster my surgery was -- the good, the bad, and the unknown. I've heard great things about Dr. Bitan, and it seems that he is a class act surgeon.

I'm so glad that you're on your way to recovery. Remember to take things slow and keep us updated on your progress.

[treefrog]

Thanks so much for sharing everything, I think it is very helpful to prospective patients to know all the things that can happen. I am scared of the post-op pain, I have read so many stories of people whose pain wasn't controlled post-op. Oh well, at least it eventually ends up being controlled for most everyone (I don't want to say everyone, since you can never know for sure).

I am surprised at all the little details that you remember. When I am scared like that, I can't remember anything.

I hope that recovery goes well. Take care of yourself.

[Gil Denis]

Hi Karin
Thank you for sharing that, I am looking forward to being on the other side of getting better

Thanks

Gil

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by treefrog

Thanks so much for sharing everything, I think it is very helpful to prospective patients to know all the things that can happen. I am scared of the post-op pain, I have read so many stories of people whose pain wasn't controlled post-op. Oh well, at least it eventually ends up being controlled for most everyone (I don't want to say everyone, since you can never know for sure).

I am surprised at all the little details that you remember. When I am scared like that, I can't remember anything.

I hope that recovery goes well. Take care of yourself.

I'm surprised too as to how much I remember after the surgery. I think part of the reason why I remember so much is because I was stressed out & wanted to know exactly what was going on.

I was VERY afraid of the post-op pain as well. I don't think mine would have been so bad if I didn't have the complications that I had. As each day passed, the pain became more manageable.

I kept telling myself that my quality of life was severely affected by my back injury & that I had to do something about it. I finally decided to have the surgery as I was tired of being in more & more pain on a daily basis.

The way I looked at it, sure I would be in pain after the surgery. But, as time passed the pain would be lessened if not completely eliminated from my life. To me, it was worth that time of extreme discomfort for a chance to be free from the pain that I had from this injury.

I'm the type of person who likes to prove people wrong when they don't think I can do something. I used this strategy when it came to being scared of this surgery. I turned that fear into strength to fight for what I wanted. I'll admit that it wasn't an easy fight, but it was something that I felt that I had to do.

Gil, I wish you all the best on fighting to get to the other side. Once you are there, you will most certainly feel better! Please keep us updated!

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

WOW Karin:

I am so happy for you that your surgery is done and you are going to be on the other side. The recovery will seem like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs but, you are one tough lady and will get through it in style.

It sounds like you had an excellent surgeon and good care from him. The rest of the hospital sounds a little nuts but, par for course at some places.

You hang in there and let your family and friends take care of you and nurse you back to health.

Keep posting as well so we can be apprised over your continued progress.

Terry Newton

[Nairek]

So I went for my 2 week post-op follow up last Thursday. I had to ask a friend of mine to go down to NYC with me since family members had to work. There is nothing I hate more than to bother people to accompany me to my appointments.

Anyway, so we took the train down to NYC & then took a cab to the doctor’s office. My friend was uncomfortable taking the subway & I really didn’t feel like getting hit in the back or stomach for that matter. I still have a bit of trouble getting in & out of a car so it was a very interesting ride to & from Grand Central.

I thought that I would have to go for x-rays when I got to the office but was surprised when they handed me the pain scale paperwork & said “no x-rays”. I filled out the pain questionnaire for my pain management doctor & was able to say that the surgery reduced my pain by 75% but now I have a “new” pain since the surgery which is quite painful.

I met with my pain management doctor & we decided that I could come off of the Oxycontin (which now I wish I didn’t) & to stay on the Percocet. I explained that the “new” pain that I felt was now in the lower left part of my back & that it felt like something was almost pulling/tearing. He prescribed a Lidocaine patch to apply to the area.

I then met with a rep from Biomet who showed me how to use a bone growth stimulator. As I understand it, I will wear it 24/7 for at least 12 weeks. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have an adhesive allergy (laughing).

I then met with the man himself, Dr. Bitan. Now when I was in the hospital, I know that I asked a few times if I had staples closing the incisions in my back. I was told on a few different occasions that I did have staples. Imagine my surprise when Dr. Bitan said no that wasn’t the case. All this time I thought I did & thought that was the reason why I had this “new” pain in my back & I was wrong. I swear he must think I’m a loon! I know that I feel like a fool. (Needless to say, when I went back out into the waiting room, my friend was like gee that was quick & I had to tell her that there weren’t any staples. I’m still getting a razzing about it from her & several other friends).

So I said to him, if I don’t have staples tugging at the incision site, then what is this horrible pain that I now have? He told me that the muscles are inflamed in my back & more than likely the pain is being caused from that. So I asked him a few other questions which I received short responses to & more or less was on my way. He is a man of very few words which I’m not use to. Sometimes it is a bit uncomfortable but I know that he’s the best around with spinal surgery so I try to put that aside.

Before I left the office, I got a letter to carry with me so if I set off metal detectors I can prove that I have metal in me. We’ll see if I do in a few weeks when I go to Florida. I also have a card for the bone growth stimulator but I have a feeling that I won’t be able to carry it on the plane with me.

So it was back to Grand Central to catch the train home. My friend teased me that I was a pro at hailing cabs & teased about the no staples thing again when I remembered that I totally forgot to ask the doctor about something. I have steri-strips covering the 2 incisions in my back as well as the incision in my abdomen. I also have 2 lines of suture sticking out about 1 ½ inches from either side of the incision in my abdomen. I have no idea if those are suppose to just disintegrate & fall out, or if I need to have them removed. Does anyone have any experience with this? I joke that if I pull on them hard enough I may just open it up like a dog food bag & have everything fall out. I shouldn’t joke about that though since it still hurts.

OK, that’s enough. I’m supposed to be studying for the notary public exam & not posting on the board. I’ll try to update more often.

[Cindylou]

Nairek,

Thank-you for your update. I know I am stating the obvious, but did you write down your questions for Dr. Bitan before your appt? I think it is so important to do that, as we can get easily flustered trying to remember everything "in the moment" of the appointment. Especially if he is a man of few words, that can throw one off their game. That said, I have learned this by my own trial and error as well! I have even had one of my very close girlfriend's come into the room with me during the appt, and she took notes and asked other questions I hadn't even thought of. Very helpful. Those friend's are few and far between, I know. I am sorry I don't know the answer to your question, but someone here surely does, and will chime in soon. I do think what the doctor said is plausible about your muscles reacting, causing this new pain. The body faces so many new traumas during a surgery to "fix the problem," that is it any wonder we come out of the anesthesia with a host of new complaints? The body also wants to heal itself, so hang on during this recovery period of ups and downs. And if you discover it is too soon to come off the Oxycontin, you should contact your pain management doc with your concerns. You certainly will delay your healing if you are miserably in pain. We're pulling for you Nairek!

[cls]

Hi Karin,

I know that you have a TENS unit and I am thinking that you might want to dig that out again and give it a try. Yesterday I received an Interferential Unit in preparation for my MIS TLIF so I decided to give it a try so that I would know what it would feel like after surgery. In addition to my L5-S1 DDD I also tore two shoulder muscles. My shoulder pain rivals my back pain so I thought I would try the unit on my shoulder. WOW, I can't believe that it really reduced the pain. My understanding is that the unit is stronger than a TENS unit so if your pain persists maybe you can inquire about this product. The rep said that there are a lot of competitors out there so you should be able to find a source if you are interested. I plan on using it on my shoulder until the surgery since I can't get to an orthopedic surgeon until after my fusion. It would be so great if my shoulder healed without having to go to yet another surgeon!!!!

Hang in there Karin and take it easy!
Christine

[dshobbies]

I too think a TENS unit is great but was told it's a no go with ADR surgery. Don't know about fusion but I'd check with Doc before using it.

[Justin]

Nairek,

Thanks for the update. It was a funny read about the staples. It sounds like you are doing exceptionally well. Good luck on your notary public exam.

Remember to take things slow and don't cut back on the pain meds too soon.

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I agree with Justin about the pain medication. Many people want to; "Suck it up" and be brave about pain or, they are so afraid of getting addicted that they want off of them as soon as possible. This is the least of what you should be focusing on in recovery. Strong pain interferes with the healing process. There is plenty of time to get off of them in the future. Now it is important to allow them to block the pain messages to the brain so that your body can heal. This also helps to keep you in a spiritual place of taking care of yourself. I am so happy that you are working towards a successful recovery.

That was funny about the staples. As far as those little pieces sticking out, I cut mine off with a pair of scissors. They were the dissolvable ones from inside but, left little tabs sticking out. They would catch on shirts and pull, so it was easier to just cut them off. Use sharp scissors so you don't pull them and hurt yourself in the process.

Hang in there and post when you can. If you have any problems, or weird things happen, post it so we can help normalize what you are going through.

Terry Newton

[Nairek]

The TENS unit I have is currently out of commission. I have a feeling that there is a "back up" battery in there which is shot so I have to send it in for service. I wouldn't use it unless I clear it with my doctor first. With my luck the TENS unit & bone stimulator will fight it out

I was happy to get off of the Oxycontin since I had the Percocet to fall back on. However, the way the Percocet has been prescribed is that I take 2 every 4 hours up to 8 pills per day. Somehow I think I would have been better off with the Oxy since I only took 1 pill every 8 hours. The Oxy was for long term relief & the Percs were for breakthrough pain.

The "new" pain in my lower back can be down right Hellacious! It's below one of the incisions & the best way that I can describe it is that it feels like a tearing/burning feeling which is quite painful. It is made worse by some movements & shivering. The Lidocaine patches take a slight edge off but not enough. The Percocet helps a little bit but again, it still hurts enough to be bothersome. I tried gently massaging the area with no luck. So it's a bit depressing as I'm hoping that this isn't permanent. This is as bad if not worse than the pain that I had before surgery.

Terry, thanks for the info on the "whiskers" as I call them. I was beginning to think that maybe they forgot they were there. Do you recall how long you had abdominal pain? I still feel like I did 100 sit ups out of the blue.

I had a list of questions to ask at my appointment but for whatever reason, I don't recall the question about the "whiskers" being on there. For some reason I get flustered & forget to ask things when I'm in his office.

Thank you everyone for your support. I really appreciate it!

[Nairek]

Before I had my surgery, I was suffering a great deal with right leg/foot pain/numbness. When I initially woke up in the recovery room, I was still suffering from pins & needles sensations in my right foot. However, when I woke up a few hours later, it was gone! After 7 years it was finally gone!

The pain that I had in my lower back also feels like it is gone. Since I can’t bend or twist, I can’t say that it is 100% gone as those motions tended to set me off. But I can say that there is a noticeable difference in my back since the surgery.

Unfortunately, I do have a “new” pain in my lower back which is quite troublesome. It is located below one of the incisions in my back & can be extremely painful at times. The best way to describe it is that it feels like a pulling, tearing, burning sensation. The pain feels just as bad if not worse than the back pain I had before my surgery. I mentioned this to my OS & he stated that the muscles are very inflamed in that area & that it’s possible that this is causing my pain. I was prescribed a Lidocaine patch for the pain but it really doesn’t do much for me. Sadly the oral pain meds don’t help much either.

I still have pain in my abdomen from that incision as well. It’s not debilitating or as bad as the pain in my back, but it’s still uncomfortable. I feel like I did a marathon of sit-ups.

The pins & needles appear to be gone from my right foot but it has been replaced by an odd warm feeling which is made worse by walking. I mentioned this to an ortho resident in the hospital as well as my OS & neither could give me an explanation as to what it is. I assume it’s from the nerves being all funky for years. Again, I am hoping that this is something that will go away as time passes.

I find that a lot of times during the night, when I try to turn over, my legs just decide that they want to stretch out on their own & I can’t stop it from happening. I know that stretching isn’t recommended so soon after surgery but what happens if you can’t stop it from happening? I can feel the stretch in my abdomen & my lower back & I hope that it’s not hindering my recovery. It’s really freaky. I’m hoping that if I try to walk more that maybe it will stop happening so much.

I’m still a little slow with the walking. I usually start out pretty well but slow down quite a bit after about 10 minutes. I have managed to make it out of the house & to a few stores for very short excursions. I’m usually wiped out after those & fall asleep for a few hours so I can re-energize.

A week after I got home from the hospital I was able to take a shower on my own which was really nice. I’m able to get dressed with the help of my trusty “grabber do-hicky” except for putting on socks. I still need help with that.

The other day I spent a little over an hour in the kitchen preparing dinner which I wasn’t able to do before surgery. I did have to pop some pain meds afterwards but it was a huge step for me.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading.

[Justin]

Wow, cooking in the kitchen for an hour--it sounds like you are doing incredibly well!

About the pain in the back, this sounds normal to me and should pass with time. Concerning the "burning" sensation this is also a frequent complaint of patients post-op that does take time to move past. Actually when I had my surgery in Austria, there was a patient that had a 3-level with Dr. B and she had a burning sensation in both her feet for quite awhile (we talked frequently post-op and still do to this day). About the spontaneous stretching of your legs--I wouldn't worry about it...it sounds very benign and it's a way for your body to "deal" with what just happened to your spine.

Funny you mention the sock issue. I remember those days clearly--it was like I was a kid all over again.

Well, keep us posted and keep an eye on your pain levels. I wish you the very best.

[chasswen]

sounds like you are doing great please pace yourself as to give yor body time to heal.
chuck

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I would encourage you to talk to the doctor about getting on Lyrica. Lyrica will help with the nerve pain or distraction pain as it sounds like that is what is going on for you. The other pain sounds like from the surgery itself. They cut through muscle and bone which takes a long time to heal from. Have you tried ice or heat to see which one may work for you?

The Lyrica was a God send for about a year after my surgery. I was on up to 400 mg per day and it helped significantly with the nerve pain.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

[dshobbies]

Ditto on the Lyrica. Start slowly, increase slowly until you get the relief you seek. I was on it 2 years post op and though it would still help a lot, I chose to deal with the pain because of the side effects. But what a difference this drug makes, as does Neurontin.

Good luck, finding the right combo of meds can take awhile.

Dale

[Nairek]

Thank you everyone again for your support & suggestions. It's wonderful to be part of such a supportive community of people who know what I am going though.

I was on Lyrica until 2 weeks before my surgery. I was only taking 1 25mg pill at night before bed to help me sleep. When I asked the Nurse Practitioner at my OS's office about getting a prescription for it, she said that they wouldn't do it as they nor my pain management doctor had prescribed it to me. The prescription that I had was through my previous OS.

When I went for my 2 week post-op visit, I had told both the Pain Mgmt. doc & my OS about the burning in my feet but neither seemed too concerned about it. It's not a horrible burning pain. It's more like an annoyance at this point. I have follow up appointments with both doctors in 3 1/2 weeks. If I can't wait that long, I'll call my Pain Mgmt. doc & see what we can do. The side affects of the Lyrica did bother me a bit so I'm hesitant about going on it again.

Justin, thank you for your input on the back pain. It set my mind at ease that this is a common thing & that I shouldn't freak out over it so much. I was told that I may never be 100% pain free which I am willing to accept. It's just that the new pain is so intense, that I started second guessing my decision to have the surgery. Now I can concentrate on all the weird heart issues that I had in the hospital. I went to see my PCP last week & she more or less said it was nothing to worry about. I think the look on my face made her feel obligated to run blood work though. My husband still thinks I should see a cardiologist just to be sure. Probably because he says my lips turn blue when I'm in a lot of pain. Guess I can't hide it from him anymore.....lol

On that note, the "pesky husband alert" is reminding me that it's past midnight & that I need to take care of myself

[SASSY178]

Nairek-
I am post op two weeks from a lami/discectomy and have many of your same issues so I' m thinking that they must be pretty "normal" as the body recovers from such trauma. Aren't those steri-strips such a pain when they catch on to something!!! The doctor told me they would fall off but I finally had my husband cut them down a little at a time and eventually peel them off. It is hard to tell pain from incisions and pain that was there beforehand. I also have that issue. I still hurt from the incision in my back but I also have other back pain at times. In addition, leg pain that was there before surgery comes and goes as well. I think that we are still early in the healing process and just have to give it time. Wishing you luck in your recovery!

Sarah

[Nairek]

I had my 6 week post op visit a week & a half ago. Sorry for the delay in the update. I've just got a lot going on along with an increase in discomfort when I sit for too long. I basically have good news/bad news.

The good news is that I had x-rays taken & they show that the cage is right where it should be. It would have been nice if I was able to see the x-rays that were taken but I guess for whatever reason, the doc just doesn't do that. I know, I should ask but I didn't. I just take the word of the doc.

I seem to be doing fairly well since the surgery. The doc seemed happy with my progress. So much so that he didn't prescribe physical therapy & said that I can go back to work whenever I want. Here's the problem though. The new pain that I have in my back since the surgery hasn't let up. As a matter of fact, it's more intense now. On top of that, when I sit or walk for too long, I get a burning feeling in my right foot & pain in my lower left buttock area. Now when I told my doc this, he dismissed it as something that will go away. It's probably still being caused by the muscles in my back being cut. I'm also still dealing with pain/discomfort in my abdomen if something touches it. I hope that goes away really soon. (It actually bothered me to wear jeans the other day. )

So I went from his office to my pain management doctor's office. I lucked out that I was able to see him that day. It saved me & my husband $60 in train fare

I explained to my PM doc that the Lidocaine patches he prescribed do nothing for the "new" pain. When I showed him again where the pain was, he tells me he's positive it's coming from my SI Joint. Sacroiliitis strikes again. The pain feels like I am being stabbed or like it's a nasty burn. It's gotten so bad that it hurts to sneeze, lift up my left arm, & believe it or not, even a chill will set it off. So it's back to NYC this Wednesday & we're going to try an SI Joint injection on the left side. I am praying that this works. Otherwise I swear I am going to have a nervous breakdown!

I then tell my PM doc about the weird burning feeling that I am getting in my right foot. Now before I had the fusion, that same foot was numb & tingly & all sorts of whacked out. After the surgery I was just dealing with the warm sensations. When I was in the hospital, they couldn't explain why I was having that reaction. My PM doc took a good look at both of my legs & feet & was really quiet. So I asked him if maybe he thought it was the nerves just trying to re-adjust. Dead silence. I'm thinking great, he doesn't know what it is either. So after another half a minute of silence, he says to me don't shave your legs for a few weeks. I just looked at him like dude, you have got to be freaking kidding me right? So I asked him why. He thinks that I may be suffering from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. He said that it happens after surgery & he's not sure if this is something that I have or not but the hairy leg thing or lack there of is a symptom of it.

So right now I'm just kind of at a loss. I'm stressed out. Between the surgery, having to put a beloved pet to sleep, the after affects of this surgery, disability checks not coming in, & the possibility of having to move because "The Evil Empire" (aka my husband's job) is sending his job over to India, I'm afraid that I'm going to have that nervous breakdown that I spoke of before.

I know that I just need to chill out but that's easier said then done. I'm going to shut up now. I just needed to vent. Thank you in advance for understanding.

[Cindylou]

Nairek, I'm sorry that you are still suffering. I do believe it is still very early days for you yet, since surgery. That said, I know that is easier said than done. "Waiting" seems to be something we spiney's do alot of. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet as well. And, are you saying you might have to relocate to India?? You do have a ton on your plate. Are you on an anti-depressant? I would highly recommend it if you aren't, or increase your dose (per doctor's instructions) if you are, temporarily. Hang in there. We are here for you.

Cindylou

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

WOW Karin. A lot on your plate right now. I hope that the symptoms disappear after awhile more of healing. Did they recommend Lyrica for the nerve pain? That sure was helpful too me in my first year of recovery. I hope things start looking up for you. It may be a good idea to discuss upping the dosage of the anti-depressant for awhile. make sure you discuss this with your Primary Care Physician so it does not cross react to other medications you may be on.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

[phylly]

Karin,
I wholeheartedly agree with Cindylou and Terry. Cocktails of drugs are very helpful during the recovery especially with the symptoms you are having. Being in less pain can help you heal faster and different drugs can effect the different symptoms you are having. Feeling like you are going to have a nervous breakdown is not good. We know that you are venting but you must be stressed by all you are going through and 6 weeks is not that long after having surgery. BTW I think that your doctor should show you your x-rays. That was the first thing my doctor did at the 2 week visit. He wanted me to see the bone, the pins, and screws etc and how they were placed. While your nerves are healing lyrica or nuerontin can help. An antidepressant may help with the stress and your pain meds should help with the pain. I am not sure what you are on right now? Maybe you can call your Drs. instead of a long train ride into the city. Sitting still for long periods of time is not that great, walking would be more helpful but if you are having pain from walking too then maybe shorter walks will do. I was prescribed a muscle relaxer before surgery to help with muscle spasms and I have used it after the surgery when i feel tightness in my muscles. I also think when you feel really stressed you should try to relax and maybe visualize something peaceful and relaxing. Take deep breaths and try to think of things you love to do that are fun. Try to stay in that peaceful pain free place. I know this is harder said than done but it may help. I know when I am stressed all my muscles tighten up and make everything worse than it really is. Is there someone you can talk to? Any family member who can be your confidant. I know that your husband must also be stressed thinking his job is going overseas. What a bummer. We are all here for you too so vent away. I am sending good thoughts your way.
Phylly

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Cindylou

Nairek, I'm sorry that you are still suffering. I do believe it is still very early days for you yet, since surgery. That said, I know that is easier said than done. "Waiting" seems to be something we spiney's do alot of. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet as well. And, are you saying you might have to relocate to India?? You do have a ton on your plate. Are you on an anti-depressant? I would highly recommend it if you aren't, or increase your dose (per doctor's instructions) if you are, temporarily. Hang in there. We are here for you.

Cindylou

Hi Cindylou,

How are you feeling since your SI Joint fusion? Hopefully better. I know that it's still the early days since the surgery. I'm a NY'er & we're not known for being very patient when it comes to waiting Even my OS told me that it will take time. I work 2 jobs & I just want to make sure that I don't lose them. Well the 1 job is very understanding, the other 1 is understanding but my supervisor is a real witch. Besides, daytime tv is just garbage & I can actually feel braincells dying when I watch it.

Thank you for your condolences on the loss of my dog. I had Peanut for close to 10 years. She was a rescue who turned out to be a sick little girl. I've been told by many people that I gave her the best life possible & that not many people would have taken care of her or kept her like I did. I was blessed that my vet gave her a sedative that enabled her to pass away while she was sleeping. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do but I know it was the best thing to do as her quality of life was suffering. It's been tough on all of us, including her siblings.

My husband's job will eventually move to India or China or somewhere else over that way but without him. If we move, it will be to Florida. We were there a few weeks ago & of course fell in love with the climate & palm trees all over again. This happens every time we go down there. We have to get in touch with a Realtor down there & fly back down there to look at houses. Then we have to hope that we can sell ours. The market tanked up here so it's a stressful situation for us both.

I'm not currently on anti-depressants. I was on them years ago & hated the way they made me feel. I gained a lot of weight when I was on them as well. I've been doing fairly well without being on them. I just tell myself that eventually things will get better. Probably not the best thing for me but it's worked so far.

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Terry Allen Blackburn

WOW Karin. A lot on your plate right now. I hope that the symptoms disappear after awhile more of healing. Did they recommend Lyrica for the nerve pain? That sure was helpful too me in my first year of recovery. I hope things start looking up for you. It may be a good idea to discuss upping the dosage of the anti-depressant for awhile. make sure you discuss this with your Primary Care Physician so it does not cross react to other medications you may be on.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

Terry,

Indeed, I have a lot going on. Of course my life is always full of some kind of drama. Kinda sad that it almost seems normal to me.

I have to go for an SI Joint injection on Wednesday. Hopefully it helps with some of the issues I'm having. When I go back for an office visit with my PM doc, I'll ask him about the Lyrica. I was taking 25mg once per day before bed up until 2 weeks before the surgery. I wasn't able to function on it if I took it during the day hence why I'm a tad hesitant to go back on it again.

We'll see what happens. I'm just taking it 1 day at a time for now.

Karin

[treefrog]

If Lyrica didn't work for you, have you tried neurontin? They are similar drugs. I take neurontin and I don't have any side effects, but I know some people do have weird side effects from different drugs. You might give that a try.

Six weeks is very early, but I can understand wanting to start feeling better now. I hope that things get better for you very soon. Take it slow, and try to focus all your energy on healing.

That sure is a lot of stress you've got going on. If your husbands job moves, but you are not thinking of moving with the job, does that mean there is a job in Florida for him? What about for you? You also must be worried about the follow-up care that you might need, though hopefully that won't be an issue. I hope everything works out, in the most stress-free way possible.

[dshobbies]

Karin,

Tried posting this yesterday but ((&%^#$*. When you have so much to deal with you simply can't think straight. Your pain is controlling your thoughts and though you don't like the way they make you feel, perhaps an anti-depressant will get you to a better place. No one likes taking drugs, and more drugs and yet more still but sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and give in, undoubtedly feeling better and chastising ourselves for waiting so long.

Pain attacks our existence and we have to fight back anyway we can. I wish you better days,

Dale

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I didn't tolerate the Lyrica very well the first time I was on it. I hated it and barely lasted a week on it. The second time around I think my body was already used to it. I stayed on it for well over a year and got up to 400Mg per day. It worked fabulously for the nerve pain and targeted the nerves that were damaged rather than acting globally like Neurontin does. It doesn't help, with me being a drug expert, and also very sensitive to side effects. So I am one who always experiences side effects and have to work through them. It always gets down to whether the benefits of taking the drug outweigh the side effects.

Hang in there Karin. We're all rooting for you.

Terry Newton

[Nairek]

Hi everyone. Just stopping by to let you know I'm still hanging in there. Things have been super busy lately & when they aren't, I'm just plain anti-social.

I'm still dealing with the "new" pain on the left side of my lower back which appeared after surgery. My PM doc was convinced that it was my SI Joint so he suggested that I have another SI Joint injection. I made the mistake of telling the anesthesiologist that I have undiagnosed sleep apnea & she decided that she wasn't going to give me much sedation. I have to tell you, I don't think this chic gave me ANY sedation cuz I was awake & almost screaming thru the whole thing. And the outcome: it took the edge off for 1 1/2 days & then it was back to the same old pain.

We flew down to Florida 5 days later & I have to say that I didn't feel too horrible while we were down there. We went down to look at houses & were in & out of the car quite a bit for the few days that we were down there. I took less pain meds down there than I did at home. The worst pain that I had was the occasional throbbing/stabbing sensation but it was different than the pain I usually feel. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get out of bed & walk the next day & not be in an incredible amount of pain.

I went back to work last week. I work 2 P/T jobs. I started with working 1 for the 1st 3 days & then the 2nd one on Thurs & Fri. I'm not in horrible pain. I just feel very sore. On Friday evening, after working for 8 hours, my right leg did hurt when I was walking so I took some pain meds. I fell asleep on the couch on my left side & woke up on Saturday morning with the pain now in the left leg. It hurt enough that I had trouble walking. So again I took some pain meds, went back to sleep (in bed) & woke up a few hours later in no pain so I went to work for 3 1/2 hours. Talk about weird!

Also, my PM doc seems to think that I may have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I have had issues since the surgery where 1 foot feels much warmer than the other & it gets worse the more I walk/sit. The warm foot isn't painful, it just feels like I've been standing on my feet all day when I haven't. I have noticed that I feel a little tingly in that foot. Hopefully it goes away.

I am still dealing with discomfort near my abdominal incision. I can't bump against anything without wincing. Sometimes even jeans are bothersome. It's just sore when you touch around it. Pretty annoying.

Anyway, it's really late. I'll try to stop by more often. I promise! I have my 12 week post-op visit this week. Hopefully I can get some answers.

[Cindylou]

Good morning Nairek,

When you had the SI joint injection you mentioned it "took the edge off" for 1 1/2 days. The most important part of that is diagnostic. If it only took the edge off you should consider another one. I know they are painful, but it is so critical to get the right diagnostic pain generator. I didn't have any sedation with mine at all, because I had driven myself there. Perhaps the doc didn't get it just right in that perfect location. That happens. When I had my injection I got almost 100% relief, but it only lasted about 5-6 hours. No matter. The critical component there is that I got so much relief. I will have my 5 week post-op appt. with the surgeon who performed my right SI Joint Fusion this week. I am doing extremely well. I had no idea the SI Joints could be such incredible pain generators. My doctor says the same thing. That is all he does ....performing SI joint fusions. Very specialized. I just hope you get the answers and relief you so richly deserve. Having said all that, I would be remiss if I also did not point out that you are still in such early days since your L5-S1 fusion. I had that surgery as well, also performed anteriorly and posteriorly, and it is a very invasive surgery. I hope you continue to heal well from that and your pain diminishes in the process.

My best to you,

Cindylou

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Karin:

The medication for the injections can be much more than diagnostic though it may take time to get the relief that may come with them. I had SI joint injections every three months for the first year after my ADR surgery. It usually took a couple of weeks before I got the full effects of the injections and I got significant relief from them. I did not get any for almost a complete year and then started having some SI joint pain again near Christmas time. I then got two SI joint injections a couple of weeks before Christmas and it took longer to get the full effects this time. It took three weeks to get the full effects but I have not had any issues since. The injections usually will contain a steroid which can be quite beneficial in providing some relief to the aggravated area. Please let us know if it does start working for you in a week or so. It is going to take some time to heal from this very major surgery you had.

Hang in there.

Terry Newton

[dshobbies]

Hey Karin,

I'd like to address another issue. You already went back to work? You are still experiencing incision pain and your muscles are obviously telling you they're not completely ready. I realize financial issues are important but your health is the absolute priority. Please be kind to yourself and listen to your body. End of lecture!

wishing you well, Dale

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by dshobbies

Hey Karin,

I'd like to address another issue. You already went back to work? You are still experiencing incision pain and your muscles are obviously telling you they're not completely ready. I realize financial issues are important but your health is the absolute priority. Please be kind to yourself and listen to your body. End of lecture!

wishing you well, Dale

Dale,

Thank you for the lecture . My husband is constantly lecturing me & informing me that I'm down right stubborn!

I work 2 jobs. One as a paralegal & the other as a data entry clerk. Both are sedentary jobs. My OS told me 6 weeks ago that I could go back to work when I wanted to. I held off for another 4 weeks because I felt that I wasn't ready.

I just have to remember to get up & walk around every 45-60 minutes to stretch things out. It's making sure that the boss that I have at the 1 job doesn't give me grief for doing it. She is such an unhappy person

[Nairek]

I went down to NYC today to see Dr. Bitan for my 12 week post op visit. It was so nice to walk into the office & have the staff greet us with smiles & treat us like they knew us for years.

I had another set of x-rays taken & then went back downstairs & was promptly seen by Dr. Bitan. This was nice because there were a few times we waited for over an hour to see him. The office was about empty today.

So I hawked over his shoulder to look at the x-rays with him. I told him that it just looks downright freaky to me & his response was "no, it is beautiful". I laughed & told him I don't think I could ever get use to seeing & knowing that I have that hardware in my body.

The good news is that the fusion & the hardware looks good. I am free from the bone growth stimulator that I had been wearing 24/7 for the past 10 weeks. I can now begin exercising on my own to strengthen up my muscles. I have had so many rounds of physical therapy for my back that I can basically do it at home.

I told Dr. Bitan that I still have that stabbing/tearing feeling in the lower left side of my back. The bad news is that he feels that this is being caused by a muscle getting caught on the head of one of the screws. He said that this could go away in about a year & that if it's a huge problem, it may have to come out. He didn't seem too concerned by it & I honestly don't want to go under the knife again any time soon. I should have teased him & asked why he didn't counter-sink them but didn't think about it until we got home.

Basically, I am free & clear from having to go back to see him unless I have problems. I told him about our plans to move to Florida & he said I have his number if I start to have problems. Just call him & we'll figure something out. Which is nice since I told him I didn't want anyone other than him touching my back.

So I guess we'll just have to wait & see what life throws at me. I pray that this stabbing pain goes away. Cuz once that's gone, I will be a much happier camper!

Karin

[Nairek]

By the way, I forgot to mention that I went for a cardiac workup due to all the crazy heart stuff I had going on after my fusion surgery.

Survey says that the ticker is fine. Blood work is within normal range. I still have high cholesterol but managed to lower it quite a bit. My heart valves are fine. The only thing that was a tad odd was the results of the 24 hr. heart monitor. My heart rate was as low as 45 bpm (during sleep) & as high as 156 bpm (prolly when I was on the phone with my mom). My average heart rate was 82 bpm so the cardiologist says nothing to worry about.

His reasoning for the tachycardia in the hospital was that it was more than likely caused by pain & anxiety. Well no kidding sherlock!

It's nice to get some good news!

Karin

[Kathy]

Karin, Sounds like things are improving for you. Sucks you are having SI joint issues. Just wondering, where the heck are the SI joints? I have read alot about them; but no idea where they are.

Where in Florida are you looking to move to? I had my surgery in Aventura, right next to North Miami Beach. It is beautiful there. People honk too much though, light barely turns green and 3 horns go off. They honk just driving down the road, you do that in Dallas and you will end up shot They were also very rude, not near as friendly as people in Texas (aside from the crazy people that will shoot you for honking at them )

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Kathy Earhart

Karin, Sounds like things are improving for you. Sucks you are having SI joint issues. Just wondering, where the heck are the SI joints? I have read alot about them; but no idea where they are.

Where in Florida are you looking to move to? I had my surgery in Aventura, right next to North Miami Beach. It is beautiful there. People honk too much though, light barely turns green and 3 horns go off. They honk just driving down the road, you do that in Dallas and you will end up shot They were also very rude, not near as friendly as people in Texas (aside from the crazy people that will shoot you for honking at them )

Hi Kathy,

Yeah, it does suck to have SI Joint issues. Especially when the doc presses over the joints & I about scream from the pain. Nice picture huh? The SI Joints are located basically at the end of the lower back & the beginning of the buttocks. Here is a link that I found that shows a picture where they are at: Google Image Result for http://www.vancouveryoga.com/assets/graphics/p_sacroiliac_anatomy.jpg

If it doesn't work, go to Google, type in SI Joint & then click on images in the upper left hand corner of the page. It will pull up pictures for you.

I have had 1 injection into each SI Joint. Each injection offered maybe a 20-30% decrease in my pain so basically we aren't going further with additional injections at this time.

We are buying a house in SW Florida about an hour north of Naples. We should be closing in a little over a week. Now the fun starts with trying to get our house in NY ready to put on the market. The real estate market here in NY is less than favorable. We sunk a lot of money into this house & it hurts to have to sell it. But we just can't afford to take a chance with layoffs looming in the future. I would do anything to take my kitchen with me but if I did that, there is no way this house will sell.....lol!

As for the honking Floridians, keep in mind that a lot of them are transplants from NY & NJ. Patience isn't one of our virtues. I spent 6 days in the hospital in NYC. Believe me when I tell you that I know what you mean about the honking! I'm shocked that Texans will shoot when honked at. I'll keep that in mind if I ever visit Texas again!!!

[Jakea222]

I am also torn with the same possible surgery. The pain I have is horrible even I don't know how I do what I do and stay 110% cooking like I do witht he long days. I actaully scared myself out of surgery after discussing my option with a friend and former colleague that told me a doc actully quit practicing medicine and opted NOT to have the surgery due to the results how mixed they can be....so when my last doc that consulted with me and my wife told us that he was no longer going to take my insurance - it was an easy way out for me. Reading your very real descriptive story also makes me want to live with this pain. I have focused my mind off my pain when i work - it is when I can't focus that mkaes me almost scream with pain. I admire all of you for going through this "grey" non black and white surgery. So many people with so many different results.

[Kathy]

Karin, Thanks for the SI joint education. I had somehow envisioned that they were like facet joints, all down the spine. Now I know where they are.

That is nice that you are moving to Florida, it is beautiful there. I did notice that alot of people there are not from there. It is a huge melting pot, which I really liked. I did talk to a ton of people that were really nice and interesting. Since you are used to the honking, it won't faze you, like it did me. By the end of the trip, we would just be driving down the road and start honking for no reason. It was a good laugh, although it hurt my belly at the time! I am a very patient driver, I may cuss about something; but don't get mad and honk or road rage.

I remember getting our last house ready for sale and all the work. I hope you have some help getting all the loose ends tied up. We packed up and filled an entire large storage building with 'extras' that our Realtor wanted out. This made the closets very empty, which made them look bigger. Took out extra furniture, emptied cabinets, etc. Did all the touch up painting, re-caulking, fixing the things we had put off for a rainy day and more. We worked for a week and a half, day and night (hubby just night and weekend when he was off work). The crazy thing is that the house was only 4 years old, we had done a bunch of improvements, had kept up all the maintenance and I was crazy OCD clean at the time; so it would seem that there wouldn't be much to do- wrong! I had worked in real estate prior to selling our house and knew that although doing all this stuff wasn't required; but that it would lead to a quicker sale and that it is a fact that the faster a home sells for, the more money you get. We put our house on the market on a Wednesday, it snowed on Friday and Saturday and didn't clear up until Tuesday (which in Texas means no one gets out, so it didn't show). It didn't show until the following Thursday night, and then on Saturday we had 3 showings scheduled and we had a full price offer that night. We had it sold in 11 days for the full asking price, which was good because we had already got into contract on another house. I'm sure if you have a great kitchen (which is a huge factor in selling a home) and have done extras, that you will have a fast sell too. That elbow grease will pay off and you will have it sold and be in your new home soon! Good Luck.

Please do take it easy and have help. I hope you have people helping you pack, or better yet, maybe your hubby has one of those great jobs that has a 'moving package' where they pay for the move, hire movers (who pack and move it for you) and help sell your home (and make up the difference if you don't get fair market value). When I was in real estate, we loved it when we had the 'big wigs' with these packages, as it made it so easy on us. If your like us and you don't have such a thing, have help and lots of beer 'to pay' your helpers!

Take it easy and don't overdo it, Kathy

[Nairek]

Kathy,

No worries on getting help on packing. My husband gives me such grief if he feels I am doing something that I shouldn't! I am becoming a bit more active but I know that I have to do it in moderation. I keep telling myself that I have gone thru too much & come too far to screw this up. I REALLY don't want to go thru that surgery again.

Karin

[Cindylou]

Karin,

Like you, we are getting ready to put our house on the market too. Unlike you, we aren't buying another until we have this one sold. We own that cabin up north too, and I do not want the financial headache of 3 mortgages, until this one sells! The market, of course, is soft here too, but I'm hoping the extras we have done will make ours shine. I'm in the middle of picking granite and backsplash for the kitchen (my realtor says my current backsplash is too busy, altho everyone who comes over loves it), and getting some decorative concrete work done outside, below our deck. The house is old and has alot of charm which I also hope will give it punch. On the other hand, I also don't want to give it away. My neighbor across the street is my best friend, and she is pretty upset with me that we are going this route. It just seems it's time to downsize. With it being just the two of us now (and pets! of course) we don't need a 5 bedroom 4 bath house. So, we'll see. We're trying to time it so the crabapple trees out front and out back are all in bloom when we hammer that sign into the yard.
Good luck with your move too, and remember not to overdo.

My best,

Cindylou

[Katie]

Originally Posted by Nairek

Hi Kathy,
As for the honking Floridians, keep in mind that a lot of them are transplants from NY & NJ. Patience isn't one of our virtues. I spent 6 days in the hospital in NYC. Believe me when I tell you that I know what you mean about the honking! I'm shocked that Texans will shoot when honked at. I'll keep that in mind if I ever visit Texas again!!!

I'm surprised you heard so much honking while in the NYC hospital! When we were there a few weeks ago, we were surprised how quiet the traffic was around the hospital...almost no honking at all. For our first time in the Big Apple we were amazed after all the stories we had heard about the nasty drivers.

Then we saw the posted signs warning of a $350 fine for honking

Honestly, I found the traffic there to be very easy to get through, and we drove right down to the Lennox Hill site to see Dr. Bitan. The cabbies even let us in when we needed to change lanes! Maybe they thought they needed to give us tourists a lot of room

[Nairek]

Originally Posted by Katie

I'm surprised you heard so much honking while in the NYC hospital! When we were there a few weeks ago, we were surprised how quiet the traffic was around the hospital...almost no honking at all. For our first time in the Big Apple we were amazed after all the stories we had heard about the nasty drivers.

Then we saw the posted signs warning of a $350 fine for honking

Honestly, I found the traffic there to be very easy to get through, and we drove right down to the Lennox Hill site to see Dr. Bitan. The cabbies even let us in when we needed to change lanes! Maybe they thought they needed to give us tourists a lot of room

I'm super sensitive to noise. I did hear honking at times but it wasn't all that horrible. The ambulance sirens in the middle of the night woke me up sometimes but it is a hospital after all

You are brave to drive down in the city! I've done it only a few times to Queens & that was more than enough for me. Of course that was before my car accident & not long after getting my driver's license so I was still brave....LOL!

[Katie]

Without my dear husband, I wouldn't be so brave He is a brilliant navigator, and I try not to backseat drive or freak out too much when there are sirens coming at us from both directions

And if I got too stressed, my dog would crawl up and give me a kiss...love my guys...two legged and four.

[Nairek]

I'm carrying this over from my "Another Year Older" thread. I should have posted it here but wasn't thinking last night.

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! When I woke up that morning to get ready for work, I wanted to just take the day off from both of my jobs & enjoy the day. Sadly I didn't & wish I had.

One of my co-workers asked for help looking up something in the database. I was able to find what she was looking for within 10 seconds. Then my co-worker, for whatever reason, decides to grab me by my shoulders & shake me back & forth in my chair! The only thing I could do is grab my desk & say quite loudly "Don't EVER do that again" as I felt pain radiate from around my fusion.

So the rocket scientist says "OMG I forgot, I'm so sorry". So I tell her maybe I should get up, walk out to my truck & walk around with my cane for the rest of the day so she'll remember.

:::Sigh::: so the rest of my days was kind of shot after that. I wasn't in an incredible amount of pain, but there was more than there usually is. I made it through the rest of the day & went home. When my husband asked me how my day was & I told him what happened, he turned about 3 different shades of white & almost became ill. I had to explain to him that there is driftwood in the sea that has more brain cells than my co-worker.

Later on in the evening, I was walking around in the backyard & had a recurrence of the shooting pain down my right leg for a split second. That was the 1st time since surgery that it has happened. It kind of freaked me out.

So the next day, my co-worker comes up to me & asked me if I was OK. I told her about the shooting pain incident & told her that the new rule was to "Never touch the gimp again"!

Since then, I seem to be doing OK. No lasting effects from the shaking. Just PO'd that it happened.

[Jakea222]

I have not had surgery - I wear a brace - I hurt like a big dog and my co workers (cooks and the chef) all know not to touch me in a way that make me jerk or whatever because it just kills me - I cannot understand why someone would shake someone even in an office setting. I have to say that your "loud" voice --- well lets just say since I am a chef I probably would have had to throw something! Great job on that and I love when I am in a pain level 5 zone and the fact somebody knocks it up - well OW! Is all I can say - maybe we all should wear fluorescent arm bands like the medic alert - as far as the honking cars I am more sensitive to noise but it is due to drugs I think --- as far as NYC driving - give me in and around NYC and the Hudson Valley anyday compared to Atlanta! Horrible place - too many cell phone drivers!

[Nairek]

I don't think she really meant any harm but it just ticked me off that she didn't even think before doing it. I'm not mad at her, just can't believe that she did it.

I heard that the traffic in Atlanta is horrible. The beautiful Hudson Valley has become over run with the Westchester & City folk. It takes me 35-40 minutes just to drive 16 miles to work.

I use to love to drive until I was involved in an MVA. I should post the pictures of what my car looked like afterwards & then you would understand why I now hate to drive.