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What are people's experiences with spinal fusion surgery?

Spine Health | Last Active: Feb 15 7:50am | Replies (174)

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@jenniferhunter

@ga29 Are your doctors doing anything to improve your bone quality? That would be a factor in future spine surgery. Bone quality determines how well screws will hold if they need to place hardware. You might ask questions if there is a reason you are not absorbing enough nutrients. Are you on any prescription medicine that can affect this? Do you have enough calcium in your diet? Have they checked your blood calcium levels? My mom had a problem with her parathyroid glands that pulled calcium out of her bones and elevated blood calcium levels. That made her bones brittle and she fell and fractured her pelvis a week after the surgery that removed the bad parathyroid. It is worth asking why your bones are soft and what remedies could help. If you can make things better, you'll be in a better position if you do need another surgery.

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Replies to "@ga29 Are your doctors doing anything to improve your bone quality? That would be a factor..."

No, nothing so far. I eat and drink loads of calcium, hasn’t helped. My calcium levels are high I think, bloodwork shows it at almost 10? My PCP never mentions it, tells me to take Vitamin D3, and calcium tablets. I take meds for hypothyroidism, Synthroid and another that’s like a booster. My stomach hurts when taking most supplements, so I’m not real good about taking. I read your story on here re: your fear of surgery, amazing! I’m glad you were helped! I’m seeing my primary doctor in a few weeks, first time since my surgery. I will bring up my bones issue!