Posterior Lumbar Fusion - Slow Recovery - Is It Just Me?? Posted: 09-07-05 11:08am
Hi all
really hoping someone can help! I had
posterior lumbar fusion in march this year
with instrumentation (l5/s1) (the disk had
totally disintegrated and the vertebrae
were moving against each other), and at
the same time I had dynesys fitted around
l4/l5 as that disk had bulged for a long
time and had then started to herniate.
The surgeon also did a bone graft from my
pelvis.
I asked the surgeon how long I should be
off work for and he said around 4 months
worst case scenario. Well, it's now 7
months and i'm nowhere near well enough to
get back to work as I can only sit for 30
mins max, after which I get terrible back
pain and also numbness/tingling in my left
foot (which goes an attractive shade of
purple). My gp was amazed that the
surgeon said 3-4 months as she said she
would think more like 6-12 months.
Although my mobility has improved and the
sciatica pain right down my leg has now
decreased (hurrah!), the back pain itself
is no better than before the operation.
Has anyone else had these procedures done
with similar problems or did everyone else
feel better much quicker - in which case I
wonder if there's some problem??
