hi wend
just got a phonecall from gp as you know im already on oxycodone every three hours but my hospital has phoned my gp and told them i need to be on oxycontin as well never had this before just want to know have you been on it?
hi wend
yes you have helped gonna look in to everything,
four weeks today till my op nervous and glad at the same time.
i really hope that they give you answers on what's happening with you and you don't have to wait to long, did you have to wear brace after fusion or have they stop doing that now whilst i was in hospital the other week the lady across from me had one level fusion and she left with no brace, but i was wondering is that because she only had 1 level done that was something i forgot to ask my surgeon.
take care wend clare xxxx
As far as I was told braces are only used with anterior fusions that use bone grafts to fuse the vertebrae as the spine has to then be immobilised whilst the grafts take. I was offered an instrumental fusion using titanium rods bolted onto screws accessed through the back. The instruments hold the spine in place from day one so no need for any bracing.
thanks cascare im having instrumental fusion so that's answered my question thanks but as far as im aware they are taking bone from my hip to fused so im a bit confused?
Hi Clare
Sorry to disagree with Cascara but I had an anterior fusion without using my own bone whilst the girl in the bed next to me had the same op but using her bone and neither of us had a brace. Some surgeons swear by them and others think that the metalwork alone is enough. Personally I wish they would all get together and do what's best for us - the patient! Sometimes I feel like we are treated like guinea pigs and the results are then hit and miss and whilst I know that without experimenting there will be no progress I don't understand why each hospital seems to act independently when they are not in competition but there to do the best for all patients. Sorry rant over 🙂
Also I have tried the drug you mentioned, I would ask why it's being added, perhaps it's to ensure good pain relief coverage for after the op and to iron out any reactions a few weeks before, just guessing though.
Love Wend xxxxx
thanks wend
i know im having anterior fusion it was funny because surgeon said each screw cost 2000 quid and im having eight put in hubby says he's gonna cut me in half and weigh me in lol.
as for meds im in horrendous pain and i know surgeon has said he wants me physically able to cope with after pain so i suppose it makes sense the only thing is im a bit confused because im already on oxycodone 20mls every 3 hours i know oxycontin is slow release but not sure how much of the liquid one i can take inbetween, need to speak to gp again she really confused me, im also on 400 mg pregablin and diazapam and still in pain but have to admit in the morning when im howling in pain the liquid oxycodode does it's job.
wend what meds are you on now if you don't mind me asking?
i was also thinking iv'e got scare from the two discectomies now im gonna have two more from fusion thinking of having tattoo done around them in future lol,
i feel said thinking that my first op i had was 25th feb 2013 then two weeks later second op i was sat here thinking that if first op was a success then i would be doing cartwheels by now, but nevermind these things happen.
love clare xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Clare
The medications I take are Oramorph 20mls every four hours, Tramadol 8 a day, Paracetamol 8 a day, Gabapententin 6 a day, mirtazepine one at night.
These are not my only drugs but the ones for my back pain and my antidepressant which I have needed only since my fusion failed. I have tried slow release morphine but it causes my asthma to flare up. I changed to pregabalin last year to see if I would get a better response but was so drowsy I would literally fall asleep mid conversation 🙂
Also about six months ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which I feel my lack of exercise is the cause of, as before I used to run for an hour five to six times a week.
Don't worry too much about the scars, it will be bigger than after the discectomies, but my consultant went along the same line. I did have a tattoo before my surgery and bless him he did his best to line it back up again as it was right where he needed to cut.
Off to watch Britains Got Talent now with hubby, so that's my evening planned:D
Wend xxx
hi wend
can't sleep tonight due to pain, iv'e just taken my oxycodone hopefully i will get some sleep soon,
im gonna take that oxycontin slow release at 6 in the morning it's 60mg but it's not gonna work right away so im sure my doc said to still take my liquid form but won,t i overdose? unless she meant less mls not gonna chance it anyway ive got tramadol left not even sure whether you can take those with this slow release one:confused:
i hope you and hubby enjoyed bgt i didn't watch it tonight.
gonna go and try to get some sleep clare xxx
hi wend
just seeing if your ok how's your pain at the moment?
im literally falling asleep all day can't keep my eyes open but need to hate feeling this tired if i could i would stay in bed all day.
take care clare xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Clare,
Pain is bad today but not letting it bother me as the sun is shining. It's amazing how a blue sky can lift your mood even if you can only see it through the window. Also my husband has just put the finishing touches to my new kitchen finally :). I used some of my medical retirement money to get the kitchen done as the old one was well past it's expiry date. So now if feeling fed up I can look at my new kitchen and it always makes me feel better. Have to say though I think hubby wishes he still had the old one as I go mad at him and the kids if they leave a mess in there, I can't help it I just want it kept looking fab.
I have to say I know how you feel about being sleepy the whole time as my meds always zonk me out. Even today I was talking to my son on Skype, he's at uni, and I started to nod off whilst talking. Luckily my family find it funny, but I think some people would think I was being rude.
How are you doing today? Only 24 days to go until the big day now!
Take care,
Love Wend xxx
hi wend
sorry to hear about your pain being bad,
as for me i don't usually get personnel but im feeling very low at the moment due to hubby's attitude one minute he's saying he's worried about me then the next he's watching me doing the washing and tidying up, and also he said he's sick of this and that im bringing him down and sick of me moaning all ive done is try and get through this with a smile on my face, im not the woman i use to be but it's not my fault i wish more than anyone to be as healthy as i was, ive put up with back pain since i was 22 more chronically last 3 year and more disabling since november ive had two discectomies within two weeks of one and other since feb and now im worse then i ever was so if anyone should be miserable then it's me but im not just feel like i have no support from him at the moment all he's going on about is money because my sick pay has ran out well yes im worried about money too and to top it all of i smoke and surgeon said im ok for the the moment but need to give up after op so it will fuse better my husband doesn't smoke so he will never understand i need to at the moment because im nervous.
sorry just needed to get this off my chest
love clare xxxxxxxxxxx
hi
ignore last post just feeling sorry for myself x
Hi Clare,
I have only just read your two posts as my daughter is home from uni and has been on my iPad all day aarrgh kids!! Anyway please don't feel bad for sounding off I do it too sometimes. Mostly my hubby and kids are great with dealing with my problems but we don't always get it right. The people who wind me up most are my brothers and my hubby's family as they treat me like I am making up how bad I am and are always saying stupid things like 'when I had a bad back I just had to get on with it I couldn't afford to be off work'. The fact that they managed to even get out of bed shows how little they understand how bad I can be. I mean do they think I would choose for my hubby to help me on and off the loo and pull my knickers up and down - I suppose they could think I was being kinky lol :p. this is how I have to deal with their crap now by laughing and also by not talking to them on my bad days. I have lost friends who I thought would be there for me through everything and yet my best friend said she couldn't cope with my disability, it made her depressed. Good job she isn't me then as she would never cope if just looking at me makes her depressed. Anyway I hope this goes to show we all have a right to shout sometimes if for no other reason than because IT GOD DAMN HURTS ALL THE TIME! ;). That feels better, hope I didn't scare you now. But please don't worry about hubby, my GP made me see its not just me going through this so is Steve and he is struggling too and I had to make allowances for him loosing it too.
As for the dreaded ciggies, I gave up five days before my fusion as my consultant to.d me he would not operate unless I had given up as there was no chance of fusing if it still smoked. I have tried so many times before to stop but funny this time I did it without any help and am still stopped over two years later. I had smoked for twenty years! You will do it when you are ready.
Anyway chin up, keep smiling,
Take care,
Wend xxxxxxxx
hi wend
thanks we are ok now i think it just get's to us all,
just wanted to ask with you having a fusion what do they think is causing your sciatica now and is it in the same place as before or do you think another nerve is involed ha you probably already said all this again short term memory loss with meds lol speaking of which the oxycontin im taking now is 60mg twice a day and i can still have 5ml of oxycodone liquid every 3 hours i think i preferred having the 20mls of liquid instead of this oxycontin gonna give a few more days then if i still don't like it ill speak to gp as i am so so tired all the time shutting my eyes constantly.
hope you had a nice day yesterday and pain wasn't too bad for you love clare xxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Clare,
Yippie the sun is shining again:)
To answer your question I never got rid of the sciatica on the left and for the last six months or so it affects both legs. I never had any improvement in either my back or leg pain, unfortunately it is worse and has left me more disabled. Please remember though other people have had successful fusions and I like to think I am unique hehe 🙂
Hope you have a good day and enjoy the sunshine.
Love Wend xxxxx
hi wend if they remove the two discs then what causes the sciatica would it be that you still suffer from inflammation as the disc are not pressing on the nerves,
have they gave you any explanation?
it's so unfair that your still suffering.
i have a friend who has got scar tissue lying in her sciatic nerve and there's nothing they can do for her she's in agony i feel so sorry for her,
well three weeks today feeling a bit nervy .
anyway wend have you been enjoying the sunshine or in pain like myself:( where do you live?
the only thing that's different today is that iv'e not been feeling as tired.
also wend you have probably explained this to me but theses meds mashing my memory
love clare xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx