Monday, February 6, 2012
6 months = all good
I have reached the 6 month post-op milestone and am still doing great. No major problems to report. I still have some minor leg sweating from time to time, but it is less than it was. I can sit for as long as I want without pain, but after a long day of sitting all day, I sometimes notice some slight decrease sensitivity/numbness in the outside part of the soles of my feet, but it is very very minor and goes away after laying down for a little while. Not an issue at all, just something I noticed. I have not tried any jogging as it is winter here and I figure it best to wait until all the ice is gone, but I feel like I could if needed. Although, I have switched to using an elliptical for my cardio as I figure it would save on the repeated impacts the disc would have to endure. I don't need to go back for xrays again for another 6 months and then just once per year after that. Here are the 6 month xrays:
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Glad to see you're doing well, Tim! When do you think you'll give some more stringent sports/workouts a try? I'm thinking around 8 months to a year post op.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not sure. I've actually managed to get back into decent shape with my low impact routine and I'm not sure that switching back to the high impact routine will be worth it to me. I think maybe I'll try some jogging this spring, but I plan on doing more biking and elliptical for the majority of my cardio. At this point, I think I'm still going to be hesitant to try things that could put me back in the operating room like skiing, tubing, weight lifting, etc. Not sure if/when I'll be willing to try those. Right now, it is still not worth the risk of having to go through another surgery if something were to go wrong. Those things are fun, but not fun enough to risk a rear fusion and another 6-8 months of recovery and future adjacent disc degeneration.
DeleteI hear ya... I'm beginning to think the same thing. I've always wanted to get into biking, but I'm now afraid of a fall - unless you mean stationary. I'll have to leave skiing for the heavy "pow" days to cushion a fall! :)
ReplyDeleteTim and Brett,
ReplyDeleteThanks to both of you for Blogging your experiences. i really appreciate it. I'm in the midst of trying to decide beterrn fusion or ADR with Dr. Boeree. I need more confirmation that I am actually a candidate yet, but it's a tough decision going across the ocean for surgery if I am eligable. I'm glad you are both doing much better. I agree with Tim, I would stick with the elliptical until at least the year mark. Matter of fact, I don't think I would run on the hard road surface much at all. Too much jarring of the spine. Please keep us updated every now and then, when you can. Thanks!
Hello Tim, my name Raquel.I hope you are well.
ReplyDeleteMi English is not very good, sorry.
I am a girl of 30 who have disc degeneration at L5-S1 herniated disc.
Teaching job. I've always been a very active person, but since I have a herniated disc I can not do anything except swim and walk around. When I go shopping, dancing, etc. really hurts the lower back and I have to put a lot of heat and take daily medication for pain. I feel very sad for three years.
Since I can not go on like this, I have decided that the next day, April 11, 2012 in Barcelona, I will operate the clinic for a lumbar disc Chiron replacement surgery using a M6-L artificial SpinalKinetics disc.
I'm a little nervous. I read your blog and all your post-operative evolution.
Your comets that have a bit of pain today.
I wonder how are you today, how it evolves and if you have your back pain. What physical activities you can do?
Thank you very much.
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
DeleteI am sorry to hear you have had such bad back problems. I have heard good things about Dr. Clavel in Spain.
I am still doing very well. I have almost no back pain at this point and rarely have to use any sort of pain medication (maybe once a month) and when I do, it is usually just a couple of ibuprofen.
I feel like I can do most things but I do stay away from very heavy lifting or extreme bending just to be safe. I can sit as long as I like without pain. I have not found any activities that cause me significant pain, but I am generally careful about my back these days. I am very glad I got the surgery and have not regretted it. I feel much better since I had the operation.
Best of luck to you, hope everything goes well and the surgery provides you will some relief!
-Tim
Hi Tim!
DeleteThanks for answering.
I'm glad you're recovering. Take ibuprofen once a month is not so bad, right? ... I take very strong medication.
We have explained how long the disk material?
Dr. Clavel told me that lasts longer than humans.
Today I am very encouraged that today an orthopedist told me that Germany was in an operation like ours because a patient tube to operate a second time because the disc material is degraded, and when they were in the operating room were not could do nothing because the spinal cord titaneo played ...
I am very nervous about this ...
Raquel
Thank you for sharing this post about disc replacement surgery, Houston TX. Good job.
ReplyDelete