TLIF Surgery - Post-op Day 4

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Early Tuesday morning update... I slept much better in the new recliner. Woot woot! Ron is returning to work today and I have lots of friends and family on standby if I need them. We got everything situated where I could reach it I think, and the hubby hooked me up with lots of ready made salads and protein packs, so I should be good. The pain isn't horrible right now. I haven't taken a pain pill since 10pm last night but that's about to change. Once I woke up and started moving around I can feel the pain creeping back in. I plan to spend the day watching TV and movies, flipping through magazines, doing my little walks, and getting plenty of rest. Diezel will join me at some point I'm sure. 🐶😀😴 Happy Tuesday!







Diezel decided if I was going to sleep in "his" chair, he would join me.  He's such a mess!!









Nausea from the pain meds started causing some issues today.  I can deal with pain so much better than nausea!  And throwing up is the absolute worst.  I can tell you first hand that throwing up with an incision in your back is not a pleasant experience!






FedEX delivered the flowers today.  Of course they had to sit in the box on the porch until my hubby got home since I can't bend or lift.  So sweet.  And the card cracked me up.
Talked to the nurse at my Doc's office today. Post-op is scheduled for the 9th.  I'll get the staples out then. I told her about the pain I was having in my right hip and leg, some of which feels like a muscle spasm.  I already have a prescription for Robaxin, a muscle relaxer, so she told me take it as needed and hopefully it would take care of the hip pain.  Also talked with her about showering and my bandage.  She told me to wait at least one more day before showering and to try to take at least a couple of showers before my post-op visit because the showering would soften the scabs making it easier for the staples to be removed (which makes me squirm just thinking about it).  For the bandage she said it was ok to let the incision air dry but it might be more comfortable to keep it covered most of the time (and especially at night), and that if I left the house for any reason to 100% have the incision covered.

TLIF surgery - Post-op Day 3

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

So sleeping was interesting.  I tried to get situated on the bed and pain was intense...actually brought tears to my eyes!! Ended up back on the couch with every pillow imaginable propping me up.  Our couch has a recliner on each end but I couldn't use the recliner because I'm not able to push it back in. Still having the new pain in my right hip and leg that I'm hoping was caused by how I had to sleep in the hospital.  Certainly don't want to have traded in one problem for another.

Nurse Diezel keeing a watchful eye.

This pup is something else!!!

This is what happens when you can't get up and answer the door...LOL.  Yep, that delivery had to wait for Ron to get back.

Ron went out and about today to see if he could find my meds again.  Thankfully he was able to.  And, being the awesome hubby that he is, he also bought a new recliner so I can hopefully get some sleep!  He went to like 6 different furniture stores and ended up with one from Badcock.  It's an oversized recliner that is motorized so there is plenty of room for my boy to be up there with me, and I don't have to put the foot prop down.  Woot Woot!! The hubby came home a little grumpy...but I'll let it slide this time...LOL.  He's been so great, I know he's ready to go back to work so he can rest.  Now hopefully the next few days will be more comfortable for me so I can get some rest and heal.

Diezel absolutely loves the new recliner!!  He fits perfect right beside me and everytime I get up he takes it for his own.  

TLIF Surgery - Post-op Day 2

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Sunday morning selfie.  Should be going home today.  Slept ok...lots of hip pain though...probably from thie bed.  And I'm so hot.  But still doing good.

My roommate, a 90 year old woman who fell and broke ribs and had surgery, stays cold all the time so the room is hot.  I finally told the nurse they needed to throw some more blankets on her because I was burning up.  

Discharged from the hospital around 10am.  Given a prescription for Percocet.  Not sure why they don't give you prescriptions BEFORE the surgery.  We went to 3 different pharmacies to get the prescription filled and still didn't get it. Two of them didn't have it and one didn't take our insurance.  Finally just gave up and came home to take pain meds I already have.  

So good to be home!

Sure did miss this boy while I was in the hospital!!

TLIF Surgery - Post-op Day 1

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Good morning! Here's my Saturday morning update... I actually got some sleep last night. Not a whole lot, but more than I have been lately. I'm sure the anesthesia and pain meds helped with that. I got up again to use the potty - this time with less assistance than before so that's good. And even better I was able to pee!!! Yeah, I know, TMI. 😂 I am excited though because if I wasn't able too they were going to have to put the catheter back in. 😲 Bowel sounds are good this morning too so it seems like everything is finally waking up. Woot! At some point this morning I'll be walking more. In the meantime I will continue to rest and puff on this crazy thing to clear my lungs. I continue to be positive about this and am very thankful for all of you and your positive thoughts. (posted at 6:58am Saturday morning) 



I had a few visitors again today.  My friend, Diana, came by and spent some time.  She's had several health issues, including breaking her back.  Then my baby girl and her hubby came by.  It was so good to see them.  

I got up and walked again around 4pm.  Walking made the pain come back a little more but still tolerable with the pain meds.  Saw the doc when I was walking and he told me he didn't expect to see me walking as much as I was.  He came to the room to see me shortly after.  Told me that for a younger person my back was really bad, but he fixed it so all should be good.  He said I could go home tonight, or could wait until morning if I wanted to. Ummm.....I don't think so.  While I'm pleased that the doc is happy with my process I think one more night in the hospital won't hurt me.  So many things can go wrong while I'm still trying to figure things out.
8pm did some more walking - this time with no walker - woot woot!!  I did have a nurse with me but was able to walk with just a little assistance.  To bed I go now!

TLIF - Surgery Day

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Managed to get about 3 hours of sleep last night...which is more than I expected. Up way to early today, but it takes time to do that wonderful cleaning procedure required beforehand. I definitely feel clean right now! 😂 About time to wake my boys up and get this show on the road. Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts. ❤️
January 27 at 3:36am



Stand-by....  
Getting prepped for surgery....















Waiting for surgery to start with my sweetie by my side...



Shortly after this picture was taken they gave some of the good stuff and I started to zone out. They were great at keeping me informed of what was going to be happening.  I was the first surgery of the day so I at least my waiting was just normal waiting.  They told me that they would give me something right before that would pretty much knock me out right there in the pre-op room and then I would be taken to the OR where they would flip me over on my stomach on the special table for this surgery and woudn't remember anything until I was woke up in recovery.  That was almost what happened....  They came in and said it was time to say nite-nite to the hubby and pushed something into my IV.  It hit quick!  Almost as soon as I gave him a kiss I felt like I was fading out.  It was really more like I was just kind of watching myself.  I remember them moving me down the hall and passing people and then into the OR.  I remember seeing lots of stuff and people in the OR, and trying to see the bed I was going to be moved too but I couldn't locate it.  They were doing the usual stuff like checking my blood pressure and moving things around.  The guy giving the meds was talking to me - I was probably asked what was I having done 100 times.  While he was talking to me he leaned over and said "See you in recovery".  And...that...was...it.  I don't remember anything else until I woke up in recovery with some other guy staring at me.
They took me to surgery somewhere around 7am.  Not sure exactly what time it started but I assume it wasn't long after they took me.  My husband posted on Facebook at 11:50am that the surgery was over and I was in recovery.
When I woke up in recovery I wasn't really in a lot of pain at first.  I was obviously extremely drowsy and still concerned that I was going to end up getting sick.  I wasn't feeling nauseous yet and was hoping they had given me the right cocktail.  About an hour after waking up I started to feel the pain so they gave me Diladid, which did the job.









Finally made it to my room about 3pm.  All the essentials for comfort - pain pump, pan, and tv. One of my friends posted that my look was the look of the GOOD stuff.  Diladid was for sure making me high...LOL.
My husband decided to go take care of some things (like our pup) and right as he was about to leave I felt the first wave of nausea.  I was so sure I wasn't going to get sick at that point.  I told him to hand me the pan...he could tell by the look on my face I needed it right then!  He greeted me with the trash can...which I promptly deposited every fluid in my stomach in.  Nurses brought me Zofran...didn't help...nurses brought me Phenergan...success! 
Finally brought some dinner around 5pm and it was pretty dang good!



Had a great visit with the oldest baby girl:



She stayed for a while visiting, which was great because it kept my mind off of the pain that was creeping in.  She was still there when I took my first steps too.  :)  Before they mentioned me trying to walk they told me they could take the catheter out.  As much as I wanted it out there was no way I was agreeing to that until after I knew I could get out of the bed and walk at least to use the bathroom!  So shortly after 7pm they came in to get me up for the first time.  I'm not gonna lie - it wasn't easy.  That log roll to get off the bed is difficult and my brain was telling me things might hurt even though they weren't.  So many instructions...log roll off of bed, keep spine neutral, push with your legs and assist with arms...yikes.  But I did it!!!








After a very eventfull day I was ready for some rest and to let my body continue to recover.  Here's to a successful surgery and on to a successful recovery - hopefully with minimal pain.

TLIF - Positive thoughts needed

I try not to post too many negative things on any site – there’s way too much of that.   And while this post isn’t necessarily negative, it’s not my usual kind of post.  If you’ve seen my recent social networking posts this week you know that I haven’t been sleeping well.  The reason I haven’t been sleeping is because I can’t stop thinking about my upcoming back surgery.  Yep, I said back surgery. 

I’ve been dealing with some back and hip issues for several years now.  I’m not fond of taking pain pills, and have had to take more than I would like to deal with it.  A few years ago I went to one of the orthopedic doctors here in town and was told I had trigger points.  The treatment was trigger point injections and pain pills. Time passed.  Sometimes things were better, sometimes things were worse.  I went back to the same doctor.  I had x-rays and an MRI, was told they didn’t show anything other than arthritis (even though they had about 10 different diagnoses listed on their notes which I obtained later) and was referred to the Pain Clinic.  I went to the Pain Clinic and made it very clear that I was not interested in treating this problem with pain pills indefinetly and needed to know what the problem was so it could be fixed.  More tests were done.  More injections.  More pain pills. More physical therapy. More time passed of me just dealing with it.

Fast forward…. I decided to make a lifestyle change and get healthy and hopefully take care of this back issue at the same time.  Being overweight had to be the problem, right?  I stopped drinking soda, limited my sugar intake, practiced portion control, and started exercising.  Lots of changes started happening with my body.  I’ve lost over 50 pounds…went down several sizes….dropped my cholesterol down to normal levels…and feel better overall.  BUT, my back continued to get worse.  There was no way I was going back to the doctors I had already been too so I started researching.  

After lots of research I decided to pay a visit to Dr. Rohan Jr at Panama City Spine.  Before my first visit I gave him copies of all of my records and he ordered more x-rays.  During the first visit he walked into the room with an image in his hand and asked me if I knew I had a bulging disk and pinched nerve since I didn’t mention it on my paperwork?  Well, no….no, I didn’t!!!  He showed me an image from the MRI completed by the first doctor I mentioned…the one who said I may have to just deal with it and sent me to the pain clinic.  Dr. Rohan Jr ordered a new MRI and more x-rays in several different positions then we sat down and discussed a treatment plan.  The MRI and x-rays confirmed the bulging disk and pinched nerve (which is much worse now than it was in the previous MRI) - Spondylololisthesis (a spinal disorder where a vertebra slips onto the vertebra below it – in my case it’s L4 and L5), facet degeneration, disk degeneration, and minor scoliosis.  Pretty obvious why I’ve been in so much pain for so long.  I’ve already done pretty much every least restrictive treatment…so my options are pretty limited: continue to take more and more pain pills (which I’m not willing to do) or surgery.  Surgery it is.

Friday morning (01/27/2017) I will be having back surgery at Gulf Coast Medical Center.  The type of surgery is called Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF).  The surgery will provide lumbar decompression & instrumented fusion with bone graft substitute.    You can watch the video attached to get a better idea of how it’s done. Sounds like fun huh?  Spine-health.com - video/tlif  

While I’m fine with my decision to go ahead with the surgery, I can’t help but to be pretty nervous about it – especially about the recovery portion.  There will be quite some time where I will not be able to bend, lift, or twist (so the fusion will work).  And I’m expecting quite a bit of surgical pain.  How can there not be when screws and rods are placed in your bones.  But, I have pretty high pain tolerance so I’m hoping for the best.  Of course that high pain tolerance also makes it hard to treat the pain.  I have educated myself the best I can on the surgery and recovery.  I’ve read many, many articles on it and watched countless videos of previous patients and the surgery itself. We’ve made a few changes at the house to meet my needs after the surgery, and will probably make some more over the next few days.  I’m as ready as I’m going to be.

I have to be at the hospital at 5am.  Maybe I’ll be able to sleep some before then, but it’s guaranteed I’ll sleep some on Friday…LOL.  I’m not sure what time the surgery will be but I assume around 6:30am or 7am.  The doctor said the surgery will take about 3 hours and I will be in the hospital 2-3 days.  I’ll post as I can and keep everyone updated.  You know this won’t keep me off social media.  Any positive thoughts you can send my way will be greatly appreciated.  Ron’s way too since he will have to take care of me.