Zee official post-surgery update on ! (long!)

[Guest guest]

Hey gang,

I am now 16 days post-op (decompression, laminectomy), and I want to let

you all know how I'm doing!

I am virtually off the pain meds and muscle relaxant, and have not had a

problem with headaches until yesterday! I had a really bad one, so bad I

took one of my hospital-issued pain killers, and it didn't go away. I went

to sleep for the night (finally) and now it's down to the usual slight

ache.

I think the headache was because I hadn't slept much, and then I went and

cleaned up the house because company was coming to visit me. And then they

visited me, and that tired me out more. So the moral of the story is, just

because you feel great doesn't mean your body is back to normal! And it's

actually good to know that for me, because I was having bigtime guilt about

being off from work until September and feeling decent nonetheless.

My neck is still limited in terms of range of motion - I probably have

about 50% right now, or maybe less. It doesn't feel as limited as it is,

because I keep compensating with my waist. As for stiffness and pain in my

neck, it comes and goes, although I haven't been using muscle relaxants

over the past few days at all. I reserve that for when it's particularly

stiff and painful.

Some of my old symptoms have shown up briefly since the surgery, but I

don't think they're as frequent as before. Also, so far, I haven't had the

chronic neck and shoulder and arm and hand ache that I'd developed. My mom

tells me to wait and see what happens when I go back to work - she thinks

that could be caused by stress. Even if my old symptoms don't go away,

though, I'd settle for no new ones. ;-)

After the surgery I learned some interesting stuff about my body - for a

while I didn't really want to eat (about 3 days), but then I got

voraciously hungry. I'm an almost-vegetarian -- the only meat I eat is

fish -- although about a week after the surgery, meat was all I could think

about. So I ate some. I think I really needed the protein!! Then, for

about a week, all I wanted to do was eat and eat. Now I've settled back

into a more normal pattern, and am back to no meat.

Also, I get tired really easily now. On 2 occasions I took walks (less

than ten minutes each way) to Dunkin Donuts for coffee... and that not only

was a bit difficult, (you have to do tai chi moves to cross the street when

you can't really turn your head! - I probably looked pretty funny), but I

also felt a little off-kilter balance-wise both times. Plus, by the end of

each walk I was a little shaky (don't say it was the coffee!) -- even

though I rested in the middle, I had to rest for a while on the couch.

Oh, and the bump on my incision is probably nothing. As long as it doesn't

get red or cause pain or give me a fever, I should regard it as part of the

healing process. If it worries me, though, the doctor said I'm welcome to

have it looked at. It doesn't worry me, though, if it doesn't worry them!

The right side of my head is also somewhat numb and yet still painful to

the touch. They tell me this is also normal and could even last a month!

The stitches finally came out last Friday, and not a moment too soon.

People say my incision looks great, although I can't see it. One of

these days I'll invest in a handmirror!

All in all, the surgery experience itself wasn't as bad as I thought it

would be, but I am not eager to repeat it, so I hope I won't have to (knock

on wood!). Interestingly enough, the doctor didn't end up using Alloderm

for my dural graft because he said it looked like I had some skin allergies

and some rosacea, so instad he used my own fascia, from my neck. He said

this could make me stiffer than I otherwise would have been, but I am glad

he used my own tissue. I had been worried about the synthetically produced

human tissue.

My doctor was wonderful and he held my hand while they put the mask on me.

Also, for days after the surgery (although not the first, when I was zonked

and barely remember him being there!), whenever he'd come by to see me,

he'd answer a list of questions that I had, one by one.

Right after the surgery he told Ben and my parents, and then later me, that

I had been very compressed and " tight " , and that it had needed to be done.

Considering he could have said any number of things, I'm certainly glad he

reassured us all that things up there were really squished. That made me

feel best of all, considering that I spent 2 years wondering about this,

watching myself slowly developing more symptoms, and worrying about not

doing it unless I was at death's door. I'm glad I made this decision, and I

am praying that the outcome is favorable in the long run!

Thank you all for the support you've offered during this process. I can't

tell you how much it has meant to me. If you have any more questions

about my personal surgery experience, please send me e-mail. I will get

back to you as soon as I can. I've been a little patchy with

corresponding, but I hope you'll understand if it takes me a little while

to respond.

S. in Boston

Decompressed 7/20/99 at Brigham and Women's Hospital

C1 laminectomy + dural graft using my own fascia

Age 25 - dx CM1, 12-18mm herniation, 6/97