Anybody had spine surgery? What type and why?

@ldpdrrx Hello, I had ALIF surgery at L5-S1 back in November, so almost 6 months post-op. I never had Sciatica issues, either before or after the surgery, so unfortunately I can't help you with that. But the post-op recovery went better for my spine than I expected.

The first 6 weeks they tell you no Bending, Lifting, or Twisting (BLT). This is the toughest part, to not twist or bend is so unnatural, you have to really pay attention to every movement. The lifting isn't as difficult, just do not lift anything more than a pound or so for the first few weeks.

I had lower right back pain that ended up spreading around my right flank/oblique area. My surgeon found the disc at L5-S1 had collapsed on the right side, so he performed the ALIF surgery. Even though my back is doing well, surprisingly little pain in the area of the surgery, I still have pain in my right flank/oblique muscles that my doctors are trying to figure out.

The ALIF surgery seems to have been successful for my spine, and the one thing I would recommend anyone considering this surgery to do is to have your physical therapy plan in place. When you will start it, and what type of rehab you will need should already be decided on before the surgery. Unfortunately, my surgeon did not do this for me, even after I asked him about starting physical therapy when we were still discussing the surgery to be done.

@marcd2k How soon can you get out of bed by yourself, use the toilet and put your socks on?

@jmc50 Getting in and out of bed was not a problem once they show you what is called the Log Roll. There should be someone at the hospital that goes over this with you before you are discharged. Also, there are YouTube videos for this, just search up log roll to get in and out of bed. Depending how high your mattress is, you might need a small stool next to your bed to get the angle right getting in and out of bed.

Using the toilet is a little different. I have a walker (ask at the hospital if they can get one or how to get one for your home) that I used at the toilet. I slid the sides (where the hand holds are) of the walker around the sides of the toilet. This lets you lower yourself, and helps when standing up, by holding the sides of the walker. You can control how fast you sit and stand this way, using your arms for balance.

Socks are a different story. I could not put my socks on for the first week or so, so my wife helped me with that. What I ended up doing was getting dressed in the bathroom. I sat on the top of the toilet to bring my knees up one at a time towards my chest. Then you reach out (it will feel weird, and I was sure to be very careful doing this) with a sock in your hands to get them over the toes first. Then it is easier to reach one hand down the side of your leg and pull the sock over your foot. This is a tough one to describe, I hope you understand what I mean.

Another thing I have that helped, both in and out of the bathroom, is what people call a grabber. It's one of those things designed to reach items on a high shelf, or in my case, pick things up off of the floor (towels and clothes after your shower). There are different types, but basically they are a handle with a mechanism you squeeze at one end, and the device opens and closes on the other end. So, no bending needed when picking things up off of the floor.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions, or if you need to clarify anything I wrote here.

@mawmaws I had my surgery at Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem where I live..I got an MRI this May and need to consult with the referring orthopedist to determinecwhat comes next. My main problem now is lumbar spine kyphosis.

@marcd2k OMG this was so helpful! Thank you. I do have a grabber for dropping things and I got a raised toilet seat from Amazon. I am blessed to have a wonder husband/ helper.