How did you prepare mentally and physically?

Look forward to the surgery as a new beginning! Trust that you are in good hands with your doctor and his hospital and support staff. It’s amazing how kind nurses and techs are! Be prepared to be a dependent for some time after the event (ask your doctor for an estimate). You need to have a caretaker(s) lined up or considered a rehab facility. Meal delivery is helpful. Have a raised toilet seat installed! Print off a pain med chart. You will not be able to remember when you took the last dose. So important to stay on top of this for the first few weeks. Start weaning when it feels right. Start PT as soon as your doctor allows. Move the parts that don’t hurt. Pump your feet often. No BLT! Try to keep spirits up. It’s very common to get depressed during recovery…it’s a long road. Get your primary doc involved so you can get the meds you need quickly. Ask if you will be given a brace ( you will come to love it). Order an incline, wedge pillow for your bed and a pillow designed to elevate your legs ( ask doc). Fairlife protein drinks are delicious and easy to digest. You may not feel like eating but meds can be tough on your stomach and your body needs protein to rebuild. Ask friends to call regularly. Have reasonable expectations.
I wish you all the strength you need to pass through this phase. The surgery is the easy part.

@karenoharmon
Do you have a good support system to help you prepare your home prior to surgery for post surgery recon? Do you have support system planned for after surgery? Counseling can help you prepare and knowing as much as possible of the procedure you are having, what the preparation is and what recovery will be will help. Ask your doctors a lot of questions share your concerns. Make sure you get all the answers you need to prepare. Recovery can be 6 months to a year. I had L3-L5 decompressed and fused and the first month was the worst, first 3 months pain reduced/function improved, but 6 month to a year to really know how successful the surgery was. Physical therapy once cleared will be important to reduce formation of scar tissue and strengthen/stretch surrounding muscles, etc. I pray you have a good outcome.

Here is what AI says about your procedures:

T10 to Pelvis Instrumented Fusion L5-S1

This procedure involves the surgical fusion of the lumbar spine from the T10 vertebra down to the L5-S1 level. Instrumented fusion typically uses rods and screws to stabilize the spine, promoting bone healing and preventing movement between the vertebrae. This is often indicated for conditions like severe degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, or spinal deformities.
Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF)

The TLIF is a minimally invasive technique used to fuse the lumbar vertebrae. It involves removing the intervertebral disc and replacing it with a bone graft or implant to promote fusion. The "transforaminal" approach means that the surgery is performed through the foramen, which is the opening where the nerve roots exit the spinal column. This method can help relieve nerve compression and stabilize the spine.
Multilevel Ponte Osteotomy

A Ponte osteotomy is a surgical technique used to correct spinal deformities, particularly in cases of kyphosis or scoliosis. It involves removing a wedge of bone from the vertebrae to allow for realignment. When performed at multiple levels, it can significantly improve spinal alignment and reduce deformity.
Tethering to T9 with Possible Cement Augmentation

Tethering refers to the use of a flexible device to stabilize the spine while allowing for some movement. This can be particularly useful in pediatric patients or in cases where growth is still occurring. Cement augmentation may be used to provide additional support to the vertebrae, especially in cases of osteoporosis or when the bone quality is poor.

Make sure you have a walker handy. Lots of wet wipes and disposable underwear. Shoes with good traction.
I just had lumber spinal surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. Been at my daughters ever since. Didn't expect it to be this tough.

@karenoharmon
Hello! I remember being in your shoes, with surgery four weeks out. I journaled my Dec 11, 2024 surgery on this site. I copy pasted a section of it and although it only has a couple things to do prior to surgery, I hope something that I listed to have after surgery will help you.
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1-23-25 update for T11 to L4 spinal fusion - #2

OK, so just a quick list of things that are helping me during healing:

Actually first…… there are a couple things you can do before surgery. The more squats that you can do the better! This really, really helped me out. It doesn’t matter if you’re only a week away from surgery, hang onto the kitchen counter or anything else and throughout the day, just drop down and do a few squats. Those are really going to help you as you recover, because you need that strength in your legs and your butt to stand when getting out of bed and off the toilet and up from a chair. I can’t emphasize this enough. The other thing would be anything that can build your core. Sit ups, planks, I hate doing these, but I made myself do them before the surgery and I know it helped me.

OK now for recovery items……

Long handled grabbers - these are amazing and Costco has the two packs, or you can find them on Amazon, etc. I have three of them in different places around the house. It’s crazy how many things you will drop and you have to keep your back straight so there is a kneeling squat position that you can do or you can use your grabbers.

Heating pad - you must have one of these! I have a large flexible one that covers my whole surgery area on my spine and also my lower back.

Large gel ice packs - you must also have these! I have two that I sit back on my couch recliner and alternate between those and the heating pad. Make sure they are the gels, they are very soft and form your back and it doesn’t hurt to lay back on them. Also make sure they are big enough to cover across your back. Mine are about 14”x 8”. Every muscle and nerve across your back is affected and will need the cold. I also cover them with a thin blanket because when you first come home from surgery, you will not have much feeling in your back at the skin level and it would be easy to burn your skin with either the heating pad or ice packs because you will not feel it.

A bed rail - this also is a must! It really helps after you do your log roll to push off of the rail to sit straight up. I think mine is about 9 inches wide and I have it up near my shoulder level and it slides into the mattress. My bed is pretty tall so I also have a small step stool that I get onto because you want to be able to sit straight back onto the bed. Scooting and wiggling and everything else hurts.

Long handle shoehorn - this is pretty handy until you get to the point where you can reach down and pull on your shoes. You’re not going to be able to get your own socks on right away either so I definitely have a lot of slip on slippers around here.

Peppermint candy - a friend brought me some candy canes several days after I got home and I wish I would’ve had them from the start. They really helped my stomach when it was upset from all the meds and not eating much. And make sure they are the quality ones with real peppermint oil and not just artificial flavor. Peppermint tea also helped me.

They will tell you no BLT. Bending, lifting or twisting, and this is very important until everything fuses, which I understand is around three months. I have a back brace that I wear when I’m standing. Everything I’ve read says it’s more about reminding you to keep from twisting and bending, along with providing some support.

Stretch yoga type pants - I am a jeans kind of girl but my new best friend is stretch pants! My scar goes almost down to the waist line of pants and is extremely uncomfortable. So stretch pants are amazing.

Sitting - you need to keep your back as straight as possible. You don’t want a deep chair to sit in. My electric couch recliner is perfect and is where I spend most of my sitting time. It is not easy getting up to the sitting position in order to stand, so it will be important to have something comfortable for you to sit in.

Back scratcher - a nice to have

Water, water, water- I am terrible at drinking water, but you need to have a way to make sure that you are drinking a lot of water.

Toilet - when I was researching before my surgery, I did not find much information about the challenges of wiping after a bowel movement. You definitely cannot twist enough to reach your hand around from the back. I bought a tool on Amazon where you can wrap toilet paper around the end and wipe yourself and then you can release the toilet paper or wet wipe into the toilet. I tried it a couple times at the hospital and it was pretty much useless for me. I found that if you squat up off the toilet, you can reach everywhere you need to without hurting your back. That being said, I also put toilet rails around the side of the toilet, and to me they are a must have for wiping and getting up and down off the toilet. It’s actually a one piece item that attaches behind the toilet seat.

Constipation - oh my goodness this is a real thing with pain, meds, and muscle relaxers together. The only laxatives I’ve really found to work are Dulcolax 1200 mg magnesium hydroxide chews. I’ve also had to use the Dulcolax suppositories. There are so many things out there like Colace and Senokot, etc. They all work differently, but these are the only ones that work for me. I believe you should also have a box of enemas on hand in case you need them.

Supplements - 7 days prior to surgery you need to stop taking any NSAIDs, vitamins, vitamin C, most everything. They will give you a list. That being said as soon as you have surgery, even though NSAIDs are still off limits because they inhibit bone fusion, I started taking calcium. I have a pretty good calcium supplement coming next week that I am excited to use. Also, take those multivitamins unless you are eating well rounded meals.

I’m sorry this was so long! I’ve been making notes on sticky pads over the past few weeks and I’m really glad to get this out. When I read back through this message, some of it sounds pretty tough. There have definitely been tough times for me, but I can say with 100% certainty that I would not do a single thing differently. We know back surgery is usually the last resort and that everyone makes their own decision, in their own time, based on their own situation.

I wish the best for all of you and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me!

Sherry

@phoebee thank you so much! I feel like I have good support in place and trying to make sure I have the right expectations and necessary supplies. Did you have a specific incline that you used? I like to approach this with a "knowledge is power" mindset, so any advice is super appreciated. Thank you again!

@dlydailyhope thanks so much for your response! It's hard to even think through the questions.

@yesibeleive hopeful for you to recover quickly!

I was curious if the hospital sends you home with a walker or do you need to carry it with you?

@sherrym25 Thank you! I so appreciate the deep thought you put into this! I have been working on my core for weeks and doing squats so - yay me! I'm really encouraged by your certainty. Thank you again and if you can think of anything else that made the path easier I am all ears!

@karenoharmon
You are very welcome! Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

Also, I need to make a minor correction to something I said in my prior message. I was about one month postop when I said that I thought my spine should fuse at three months. 🤣 It’s actually between the one and two year mark. I am getting an x-ray at the one year mark in three months and my surgeon believes I should be pretty fused by then.
Wishing you the best! Sherry

@karenoharmon
Mine has a tag that says: ZENESSE HEALTH.
I got it on Amazon 3 years ago. I don’t see it there now. Don’t go with the cheapest. I made that mistake and it broke down quickly.