I'm still here!:)

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. :)

Scar so far...

My scar so far

2 weeks 5 days and counting...

It has been 2 weeks since I have been home from the hospital. It feels like longer. All the days seem to blend in...

My biggest challenge is to get comfortable. Sitting, laying, and standing...nothing seems to feel "right". Sleeping is the worst. I can't sleep on my back. It feels like I'm lying on a bunch of cords. The only side I can sleep on is my right side, where my curve use to be. Sleeping on my left feels weird and hurts after a few minutes. We rented a recliner from rent a center, which I highly recommend if you don't have one. It at least allows me a place to sit to watch tv, even if I can only sit in it for a hour or so before I have to get up to walk around.

My other challenge is staying positive. It's so hard not to do the things I did before. My fiance has to help me with most everything. Getting dress, showering, you name it. Not saying I'm unable to do these things by myself completely, its mainly when I'm in pain/stiff I have to ask him for help. I am trying my best to believe that I will get better, but its still so hard. I so badly want freedom again and just to feel normal. I'm tired of always feeling sore and being in pain. It can get very frustrating for me. My fiance is doing an amazing job with keeping me going, as well as, it really helps when I have my friends visit me. My best advice is have one friend visit you a day or schedule an outing or something to do. Even if it is a walk around the neighborhood. It helps me to get my mind of my situation and pass the time.

Talking about outings: I have been able to go out to eat 3 times since coming home! :) I have to bring a ton of pillows with me, but I have been able to sit in a car for short distances. I even was able to eat valentines day dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant. So I guess going threw this  hasn't been all bad. :)

Tomorrow I have my second Physical Therapy appointment. I started on Monday and I am scheduled to go 3 times per week. Aqua therapy is so far my favorite. It feels good up have some pressure off my back!

On the "Other side"

Well I am on the "other side", sorry for the delay in posting. So much has happened but I will do my best to detail what went down with my surgery..

My fiance and I arrived at Hershey Medical Center on Thursday,Feb 2nd at 6:15 am to check in for my surgery. I remember very little once I was wheeled away back to OR. One second I was talking to the Anesthesiologist, the next second I was waking up in ICU with a tube down my throat.

Apparently, I had a lot of swelling due to the fluids and being on my face for almost 8 hours. Because of that, the doctors could not take the breathing tube out from my throat. I began to have trouble breathing, so they had to put me on a machine to assist me with breathing. I spent the entire night in ICU that night, sadly, my fiance was not allowed to stay the night there.

I spent most of Friday in ICU until I was finally able to get in my own private room. Thankfully, my fiance was able to stay with me from that point on. I spent a total of 6 days in the hospital. A lot of it was a blur so I thought it would be easier just to highlight certain points:

• Catheter
• I had a catheter until about 3 days post op. It didnt hurt and actually was quite convienient. They make you drink a LOT of fluids while you are there so I couldnt imagine how uncomfortable it would be to get up every time I had to go. Actually, I CAN imagine, because when they took it out Sunday morning it sucked getting up every hour to go. And warning, your bladder is extremely week after they take the catherter out...so when you have to go..do NOT wait, you will NOT be able to hold it like you use to. It took about 4-5 days for me to get my bladder strength back.
• PCA pump
• I was given morphine through a pumping device for my first 3 days. All I had to do was press a button every 6 min to get a dose of pain meds. 
The idea of this is great however the sooner you switch to oral meds the sooner you are able to go home. Personal care I can't stress enough for you to bring your own shower wipes with you to the hospital. The nurses can be unreliable when it comes to sponge baths, so make sure you bring your own so you can stay fresh. Thankfully I did remember to pack some and trust me, feeling clean and fresh is important to feeling good.

Surgery Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the day. I am to report to the hospital tomorrow morning at 6:15 am; with surgery beginning at 8:30 am. I am still listening to my meditation cd, however, I am having trouble staying asleep. I just want to get it over with at this point. The "good news" if you have ever had any surgery before, is that once you fall asleep from the anesthesia, the next thing you will remember is waking up. It is like a blink of an eye.

My surgeon said he will be fusing T3-L2, but that could change depending on what happens during the surgery. He expects that he will have 50-60% correction of my 60 degree curve. I am hoping he is able to get more than that, but ill be happy with that.

Side note, I have been showering with  a generic Hibiclens which kills and continues to kill bacteria off of my skin for several hours.  I want to reduce the chances of getting an infection or  MRSA, so I read this is the soap to use. The more you use it, the better it works because it binds to your skin and builds up over time. I recommend using this 4-5 days before surgery (with your doctors approval). My doctor did not give this to me, however, when I asked about it I was told that "it couldn't hurt". My thought, do whatever you can to prevent anything going wrong.


Tonight for dinner I am having soup. Some people say to eat a really good meal before surgery. I have actually read blogs from other people saying to order a steak and eat well. However, that is not a good idea. If you are having this surgery, eat light 1-2 days before and stay away from high fiber foods. Your digestive system will be asleep, so fiber and heavy foods will move a LOT slower which will cause a LOT of discomfort after surgery (which I heard can be just as bad than the back pain)  Once I am home after surgery, ill eat my steak to celebrate. (or better yet, sushi, lots of sushi!) :)

First Blog Post

So I am a week away from spinal fusion surgery for my scoliosis and I have decided to start a blog to document my experience. 

Prior to my surgery, I was on a mission to research everything I could possibly do to help prepare for surgery. Such as the following:

Hot yoga once a week

30 minute jogs on treadmill 2-3 times per week ( I really should have done more than this...)

Chlorella supplements: http://www.naturalnews.com/021797.html

-I took 2-3 grams per day since mid October

Krill Oil- I took 500 mg almost every day up to 2.5 weeks before surgery. Its an anti inflammatory, helps improve immune system, and helps with blood clotting issues. (Which is why I stopped a few weeks before surgery- you don't want to take Krill before surgery to prevent excessive bleeding)

Shark Cartilidge- supposedly a great calcium supplement plus its great for joint/muscle pain (at least I felt like it helped)  Stop taking this supplement at least 3 weeks before surgery- it constricts your blood vessels which is not a good thing when you are going through surgery.

Dr. Weil Multi-Vitamin http://www.vitacost.com/Dr-Weil-Daily-Multivitamin-for-Optimum-Health

-Daily

Unfortunately, I am off vitamins and all my supplements ( I had to stop 2 weeks before surgery) so I am hoping that my immune system keeps me from getting sick so there is no delay with my surgery.

I also bought:

Body Pillow

Memory foam pillows 

Jumbo large bed pillows ( the more pillows the better!)

several pajama sets (  no skinny jeans for me for awhile!)

camisoles

tank tops

loose fitting sweat shirts

face wipes (for the hospital)

no-water bathing wipes (just in case)

The hospital is providing me with any daily living aids I will need. Check with your hospital to see what they will provide before buying anything!

There is a bunch of little things I will be packing along to the hospital. A lot of similar blogs to mine have suggested this website: http://www.scoliosislinks.com/PreparingforSurgery.htm

One of the things that was recommended to me was an imagery/hypnosis cd to help prepare mentally for the surgery. I recently purchased Belleruth Naperstak's audio cd1. I have been listening to it twice a day (first thing in the morning and then at night) it has helped me so much! I have been getting good sleep and I am less nervous about the surgery.


My fiance has been awesome through out this whole situation- if you have a significant other, have them read other blogs about people who have been through this surgery. I feel this has helped him fully prepare for my surgery. Thankfully, his employer is allowing him to work from home so he can be with me the first couple of weeks. Plus, I am preparing some meals for him so its less for him to worry about. Anything I can do to make this easier on him, makes it easier on me.

Next on my list: going to see my massage therapist on Friday and the night before my surgery. Not sure if that will help...but it sure will feel good! :)