Thursday, 15 November 2012

Day 6 - PLIF Recovery

Six days post surgery, and I'm heaps more mobile. Still in pain, but its manageable. I haven't had to have morphine again which is great.
 
I'm walking (very gingerly and cautious) about 200m, three times a day, after each meal. I have been able to shower, shave, brush my teeth. All with some difficulty, and very slowly so as to avoid upsetting the surgery. Restrictions include no bending, twisting, lifting (over 2kg). No physical activity, short of walking. This is to be reviewed at the 6 week mark, just before Christmas, and again at the 12 week point. With my bub due in 18 weeks, I'm really conscious of this timeline.

There's still phenomenal pain from the surgery (you can't exactly escape that) but even despite that I can tell the pain in my back is so much better. There's a little numbness in my right leg, but the excruciating pain  I had in both legs is gone. The neurosurgeon explained that the numbness is likely to be a combination of residual nerve damage, inflammation/swelling from the surgery, and some trauma from the surgery. It should calm down again.

The staff at Royal North Shore Private has been great, very helpful for pain management, very encouraging for the recovery, very supportive - even passing on movie tips for wasting time while stuck in bed!!

4 comments:

  1. Good to hear you are having a successful start to your recovery.

    And not a bad view of the bridge. I bet you can see the Opera House if you get in the right position.

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  2. Thanks Dave

    Cheers for your support on this and other forums.

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  3. Hi
    I hope you are doing well now.


    I had l5 s1 surgery 3 days ago. Now my legs are very tired with much difficulty im able to get up from bed.
    I would like to hear some tips for the the recover.
    Appreciate your time.

    Regards
    Kishore

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  4. I try to walk and as I stand with my walker, I raise one leg at a time. I get up slowly of course and just try to stay positive. I focus more on the pain that has disappeared then on the pain from the surgery.

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