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L5 S1 surgery recovery: what to expect re: what I can do for myself?
I asked a question about this, but don't see where I put it. Sorry for the repeat. Mayo suggested a L5S1 with both post and anterior entry. I have osteopenia, not full blown thankfully, Am wondering what to expect in so far as how to do things for yourself and when. Wash hair, go to a salon, sit in a soft chair, take a trip to Disney with grandkids or even overseas? I assume bathroom etc will be a learning curve but am planning to put a bidet on our toilet.
I did ask the Mayo doctor what he would say to his mother or family member and he declined to answer that directly. Simply said he never t ells his patients what to do about surgery. Not sure what that means as to if he really recommends it. It is an option for me since I have tried all the conservative things over the last 6-8 yrs and now the left leg and hip are acting up more often. Slight foot drop and weakness etc. Am waiting to talk to a local surgeon to avoid the flight to Rochester and see what he says about it all. If he agrees that will be good. If he disagrees that will be confusing.
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@doslovesdogs21
This is my second openion
@profevl how was you PT session, how far out from surgery are you at this point?
How are you feeling now and what are you able to do?
@southernbelle13
I'm now 3 weeks and 3 days post ALIF plus Pedicle Screws.
PT was a waste of time last week because it was probably 1 week too early - I was in significant discomfort (slight pain, more to do with trying to feel out what I can and can't do). The biggest issue was the 25min car-trip to the PT (spine - specialist), because I cannot sit for that long yet. I have my next PT session on 21st Aug, and I'm already in a much better state for that.
I am now walking approximately 1km every day up and down a hill, easily accommodating stairs, exercising the upper body with elasto-bands and avoiding most BLT movements. I managed to sit at our dining table for a family meal yesterday for the first time, rather than eating on my own from the side of my bed. So this is another big step forward.
I also took my car for a short drive yesterday, so am comfortable that my reaction times and flexibility behind the wheel are mostly unimpeded.
I discontinued all meds around 1.5 weeks ago, and my headaches stopped 4 days ago (annoying waking up daily with a severe headache, but not any more).
My left leg gave me a scare last week with a constant burning sensation in the calf for 3 days, but that's just settling nerves. Absolutely fine now. In fact, my left leg is fully functional again with no residual issues (my left leg was my biggest issue pre-surgery, as I was not able to control it perfectly. Now I can).
I put a new dressing on my stomach incision after a few days without it because the friction-rubbing of my shirt on the wound was painful. I'll remove this dresing on the weekend and give it another try. The front and rear wounds are fully closed, so there's no risk of infection.
So all-in, I'm in an excellent state of recovery so far and am poisitive that the surgery was absolutely necessary and is starting to give me my life back.
ALIF-plus-sctrews-images-DrEVL26 (ALIF-plus-sctrews-images-DrEVL26.pdf)