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Input on Sacroiliac Joint Pain & Fusion?
Hi. I am a 62 yo male. I fractured my L5/S1 which resulted in Spondylolisthesis in 1998. Had lumbar fusion. Suffered in severe pain until 2008 at which time I had exploratory surgery. Ends up I didn't fuse at all due to have a severe case of Osteoporosis. Since then I have had 11 lumbar fusions (PLIF, ALIF, XLIF) from T12 to S1. In addition, in late 2018, My cervical spine went & I had anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) from C4 to C7. Now it seems that my my SI joints are shot as they are bearing the weight of my upper body that my spine was supposed to do. I have had 4 SI joint ESI's & RF ablation with no relief. It seems as if I am heading for bilateral SI Joint fusion. My question is, what is the post-op & recovery like? I am very limited in my pain med usage due to prior opioid usage. How long before the other side can be done? They won't do both at the same time. Anyone ever have a hip replaced at the same time? Thanks in advance for your responses & I stand with you all as Pain Warriors! 🙂
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@jmweissler hi I had my SIJ fusion 6 weeks ago and it has been hard, be very patient and when they tell you do your normal life be careful still. I overdo and now I have pain on my leg.
I’m three months post left SI joint fusion. It is hard and you need to listen to your body! If you feel pain, stop what you are doing. Because my L5/S1 fusion in May of 2025 has caused too much pressure on my SI joints, they both needed fusions. I have the right side fused in April!
Best of luck!