So I'm going to be 8 weeks post op on Thursday this week! :) I'm so sorry I havent blogged in awhile! So much has happened:
At 5 and a half weeks I kicked the vicodin cold turkey. Worse. experience. Ever! I was nauseous, vomiting...you name it, I couldn't eat without getting "rid" of it somehow. Finally after a week of living off ginger ale and peppermint tea I started to feel better. Once I was off the meds, everything changed. I was concentrating better and had more motivation to get out of bed. Not only that, I was able to start gaining weight again...
Side note, I lost a ton of weight. 12 pounds to be exact. Funny thing is, after all that weight, I could not fit most of my jeans. The reason why is that after surgery, your hip alignment and pelvis width can change. Since I was fused down to l2, my pelvis was no longer leaning inward, so I finally have hips!( I knew they would come in one day lol) So beware, although you may loose weight you may not be able to fit your skinny jeans!!
At 6 weeks, most of my back pain was gone. The main complaints I have are:
1. I still can't sit for very long, after 30 minutes I have to move around. My muscles need more time to get strong again to withstand sitting for a long time.
2. My shoulders have very little strength, to the point that I need to have them supported by leaning or lying down to get some relief. It feels like something is pulling from my neck, which then makes my neck hurt.
3.headaches! Most likely from my neck pain, but boy does my head hurt. I read this is common for higher fusions.
4.( I know, this list is getting long) my lower infused portion of my back aches. There is a lot of new stress on this part of my back. My surgeon said its normal until my back builds muscle to support itself.
5. My voice is come and go. Since I has a tube down my throat, my voice literally goes away if im talking. Not long talking, I'm saying after 5- 10 minutes my throat hurts and I sound like a boy going through puberty. My doctor says if this doesn't go away, ill have to see an Ear Nose Throat specialist :/
6. I'm cleared to drive, but I "can't". My arms are too weak to turn my wheel and I just don't feel comfy being on the road just yet.
So those are my main complaints. I have come a long way though. I managed to make dinner and make the bed....way more than I have done in the last two months. :)
