@maddiemae I am a spine surgery patient and my fusion was cervical. Recovering from spinal fusion takes a lot of patience and care, and no doubt you are working at that right now. Because you bear most of your body weight at the site of your surgery, that makes recovery a bit more challenging.

Here is another discussion where you can meet other members who also had a fusion at L5S1.

Spine Health - Recent L5-S1 fusion
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/recent-l5-s1-fusion/
Are you seeing improvement yet since your surgery? When will you follow up with your surgeon?

Are you maintaining a diary? I found my diary to provide a useful set of recovery milestones which, as I slowly improved, provided great positive feedback that I actually WAS improving. The passage of time was surprisingly indistinct during recovery and my diary gave me a good time anchor: How did I feel a week ago? Two weeks ago? I commonly felt frustration with my recovery trajectory but nearly always felt better using the reference of my diary to "see" that I really was getting better. I've been following a general three-part recovery timetable: (1) Three months until I start to feel better (that was true). (2) Six months to be able to medically gauge the overall success of the surgery. (I meet with the neurosurgeon in a few weeks for that assessment). (3) 12 months to full recovery...hopefully sooner...Best wishes.

I had T3-5 fusion 3 months ago today. While technically I have improved since post-surgery when I could barely move out of bed, I cannot see a full recovery in my future and there has been no advice on how recovery to normal is to realistically proceed. As @upstatephil describes, recovery is not marked by trends you can see/feel moving forward, rather it is nebulous and often feels like you are going backwards - very inconsistent. I hope that there is such a thing as full recovery.

Wow. It's way too early post-surgery to reach the conclusion you "cannot see a full recovery in your future"! Having a positive outlook and mentally picturing positive outcomes is an important aspect of your recovery journey. Banish negative thoughts and think "I will recover". I was told: (1) three months to start feeling better, (2) six months to feel more like myself, and (3) 12 months for full recovery. You're still pretty early on that general time-line. You can do this!

Unfortunately my surgeon is very passive and unresponsive. I feel I am just being left to my own devices on recovery - once the surgery is over the surgeon could care less how I recover. I appreciate the exhortation to have a positive outlook, I will try, but I cannot settle for 80% or less than a full recovery. I am very determined to get into a better physical state than before this surgery which put me into a situation that I feel very uncomfortable and anxious about now.

I truly do understand your anxiety and frustration. I have it, too. All of this has caused me to stay in bed and sleep way more than I should. I'm an avid reader but my pain level and frustration have prevented me from reading for about 3 months. I really want to get back to it because if I'm not sleeping I'm staring at the walls. I want to go outside to walk but I'm upstairs and maneuvering the stairs is tricky and my husband is not always available to help me. I'm using a walker and sometimes a cane depending on how badly my leg hurts. It's a huge challenge for me to have a happy attitude right now but I hope I can reach that place soon. This recovery is so long and so hard and it's just awful that you have a surgeon who doesn't care about you and your recovery. The surgeon's involvement is key to recovery, I think.
How long ago was you're surgery? Don't get me wrong. I'm hoping for a 100% recovery, too.
I hope things improve for you soon.
Best.

I feel for your situation, and I hope for your full recovery as well. I have never been through this kind of ordeal and agree that surgeon involvement would be helpful in recovery as I feel I am without a tether. I guess there is no harm in being positive notwithstanding the challenges and lack of clear path to recovery. I just know that the one thing that will make me positive for real is the elimination of the ongoing pain, mobility limitations and sensation of a lump of cement in my spine.

I agree that improvement is difficult to measure - it seems so incremental and maybe it is. My biggest concern is that every time I move I'm afraid I've broken something. Just did it a minute ago and I imagined feeling metal moving. And I'm with you on the chronic pain thing. It's hard and I don't think anybody would disagree with that.

Hi Maddiemae, I had a revision from prior fusion to L4-5 (removal of hardware) and a fusion of L5-S1, it will be 3 months October 24th. I was given a back brace in the hospital, which is a huge help for me. I was told to wear it whenever I wasn’t lying down for the first 6 weeks, then when standing/walking the 2nd six weeks. I’m to start PT the end of October, but only walking until then.
I did the journal as well, it was so helpful. The pain seems like it never gets easier, but when I read my journal I could see, oh yeah, I’m not having that now! This feels better, etc.
I am still in pain, and it does tend to take over my thoughts if I’m not careful! Try to walk, just short trips as many times as you’re able every day. Don’t be afraid to use your walker. If you can’t get down the stairs, walk in circles around the room! I was walking in circles on my patio for a couple weeks, until my endurance improved. I’m still resting when needed. But feeling better. Sending you the best in your recovery.

Thank you for your reply and I'm glad to hear of your steady improvement.

The diary is a good idea. I started mine a few days ago and it does help. The biggest improvement I've seen is a lessening of incision site pain. You remember, of course, how painful getting in and out of bed was.

I do wonder why I wasn't given a back brace after surgery. That certainly would have given me more confidence as I started moving around. You've probably read about my concern of pulling something out of place.

Congratulations on you 3 month mark on the 24th. That's a milestone.

Wishes for continued improvement.