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Implications of Long Term Drug Regime
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Jul 2 6:34pm | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
So how much time has elapsed since the surgery and what have the surgeons told you as to how much more time it will take for the numbness to resolve? The surgery does indeed sound major so I’d like to know how long it took to resume normal activities? From your writing, it seems that the operation was a success and the residual numbness is kept well in check for the time being with the Pregabalin. You mention cages - certainly, I’m no surgeon but to me that implies fusion of some of the vertebrae and that in turn implies a decrease in the range of motion. If you don’t mind me asking - are you able to bend over to tie shoelaces or look after a garden pulling weeds etc.?
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I don't mind sharing my experience, hopefully it will be helpful as so many others were helpful to me on this site. It was a major surgery requiring a recovery of 6 months. For me it was uneventful and rather easy ( I was fortunate to have a really good surgeon-makes all the difference in the world) and less taxing than I thought. In my case only limited fusion was needed. I have a very good range of motion and can easily reach my feet and do bending chores. Nerve damage expresses itself in numbness and its repair is rather slow. The PreGabalin is not a panacea but it does work fairly well for me and is preferable over narcotics for long term use. The pain (which was so very debilitating) is virtually gone and the initial numbness is significantly reduced so the operation was quite a success. Unfortunately, sometimes even though the nerve is no longer "pinched" thus less or no pain, numbness caused by damage will reoccur. I have gotten used to no pain so now I am kind of a baby in dealing with the numbness . Such is being human, I guess. Wish you well.