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Lumbar Spinal Fusion, Post-Op Day 6. Should I have these symptoms?
Spine Health | Last Active: Jun 5 5:49am | Replies (32)Comment receiving replies
@denman55 - Yes...an impatient patient. Not very many folks are actually patient patients.
It is difficult to sit inside and look at the world outside knowing you can't (for now) be out there doing what you want to do. But there's really nothing for it, I'm afraid. Set your recovery expectations correctly. Think about new hobbies you might engage. Maintain a journal so you can better track your actual improvements. You could discover this forced change to your lifestyle can actually be refreshing.
Being self-aware is half the battle. Your words above suggest you're very self-aware and willing to digest new input and adjust your perspectives as needed. You'll get through this...but just not for awhile.
Replies to "@denman55 - Yes...an impatient patient. Not very many folks are actually patient patients. It is difficult..."
The PTSD issue is real and largely ignored by clinicians. The biologic changes your body must undergo for healing are profound. These mechanisms throw off chemicals similar to those with a viral illness- so you feel lousy with no energy and few of your usual resiliance mechanisms available. All this contributes to VERY unsettling emotions. Add pain and the mix is so very uncomfortable. All I can suggest is to grab on to the smallest of progress. For me, my first day without crying (for no reason) was a triumph! Getting up from a chair or the toilet with a smaller ring of pain around my waist or a pain that disappeared quickly- another triumph. Once, when a hot pack eased the cramping on my thigh - I allowed myself to totally enjoy the moment. The tiny successes deserve celebration. BTW: my husband just had back surgery and the same darned emotions washed over me when I got home. After reading so many of these posts I thought “Yup, PTSD. Let the tears flow. It will pass.”
This will pass for you, too. Not all at once but little by little. I am 10 months out from my fusion and am not back to previous form. But compared with a year ago, I am an Olympian. It’s hard but it’s worth it for so many of us!
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The funny thing is that I am a nurse....so I should know all about this stuff, and yesterday thought of journaling because I want to keep track of my level of discomfort day to day, emotions, etc.
There's just a lot of "healing" that needs to take place, all over the place ....
Once I fix my mood and outlook I'm sure I'll feel better . . . and be more accepting of this
recovery period. Maybe I'll just try and focus on One-Day-At-A-Time. . . and think about Today.