Guest guest Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Hi, Zero gravity chairs can be very expensive; there are some really nice leather ones that are designed for a living room. There are some less expensive ones though that do the exact same thing. I bought mine form a hardware store; it looks like patio furniture and it cost $28. It works wonderfully and there are many days it is in my living room! I highly recommend this type of chair for anyone that has disc problems; it's like you can feel the discs " opening up " as you lean back on the chair. It feels really good! For those interested check out Target; I know they had the chairs last year for about $50. Hope everyone has a low pain day! From: v1mob <v1mobyahoo (DOT) com> Subject: Re: Any experiences with Spinal Fusion To: Hugs-N-Pain@ yahoogroups. com Date: Friday, May 22, 2009, 8:00 AM > > > > The Orthopedic Surgeon we went to this week said my wife needs a spinal fusion to get the space back at L4-L5 where she has the worst degeneration. This surgeon only uses the Open PLIF procedure. I have been reading about a MAST PLIF which is minimally invasive. Does anyone out there have experiences (both good and bad) with either of these? > > > > We have an appointment scheduled with a Neurosurgeon for July 21 as a second opinion, or if he agrees and does the MAST PLIF we might go with him instead. > > > > Thank you > > Marty > > > Hi had the exact sugery you mention in 2005.Long recuperation. though very successful. > Thank you, . I'm full of questions. You mentioned a long recovery period, how long did it take you? The Orthopedic Surgeon said it would probably be a year before she would " be back up to speed " and feel like she could do anything she wanted. That sounds pretty good to me because it's been about 7 months since she's been able to do anything. She can barely walk now and can't bear to sit anywhere except in my big recliner with extra pillows under her legs for longer than about 5 minutes. (I've ordered her one of those Zero-Gravity chairs. The Dr. said it should help her be able to sit in the living room longer since it takes the pressure off the lower back.) Most days she never really gets out of bed. But when he says " be back up to speed " , does he mean how she is now or closer to how she was before the pain jumped from 4-5 to 9-9.5? He also explained that the surgery would not take away all of her pain " because you will still have the same 59 year old spine and body " , but that it should take away about 60% to 75% of the pain. That sounds really good to me because that would mean pain reduced to about 3-4 and she hasn't been that low for over 2 years. How much would you say your pain level went down? Which type of surgeon did you have, Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon? Thank you, again. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Ok...kewl...I see what you mean. I started looking around and sure enough. I have a lot back problems. My L3 and L4 made a mess of the nerves and I ended up with my " RSD " leg. I have sciatica on the other side. At least both sides get equal pain. I'd just hate to feel lop sided. Amazon has a lot listed. How do they work? I'm really interested in this if it releives pressure on those nerves. Lotacats Twitter_follow me http://twitter.com/LotacatsFunPix Express Chronic Pain Awareness http://www.cafepress.com/lotacatspix/5815010 Lotacatsfunpix.com http://www.lotacatsfunpix.com/ Deviantart http://lotacats05.deviantart.com/ From: v1mob <v1mobyahoo (DOT) com> Subject: Re: Any experiences with Spinal Fusion To: Hugs-N-Pain@ yahoogroups. com Date: Friday, May 22, 2009, 8:00 AM > > > > The Orthopedic Surgeon we went to this week said my wife needs a spinal fusion to get the space back at L4-L5 where she has the worst degeneration. This surgeon only uses the Open PLIF procedure. I have been reading about a MAST PLIF which is minimally invasive. Does anyone out there have experiences (both good and bad) with either of these? > > > > We have an appointment scheduled with a Neurosurgeon for July 21 as a second opinion, or if he agrees and does the MAST PLIF we might go with him instead. > > > > Thank you > > Marty > > > Hi had the exact sugery you mention in 2005.Long recuperation. though very successful. > Thank you, . I'm full of questions. You mentioned a long recovery period, how long did it take you? The Orthopedic Surgeon said it would probably be a year before she would " be back up to speed " and feel like she could do anything she wanted. That sounds pretty good to me because it's been about 7 months since she's been able to do anything. She can barely walk now and can't bear to sit anywhere except in my big recliner with extra pillows under her legs for longer than about 5 minutes. (I've ordered her one of those Zero-Gravity chairs. The Dr. said it should help her be able to sit in the living room longer since it takes the pressure off the lower back.) Most days she never really gets out of bed. But when he says " be back up to speed " , does he mean how she is now or closer to how she was before the pain jumped from 4-5 to 9-9.5? He also explained that the surgery would not take away all of her pain " because you will still have the same 59 year old spine and body " , but that it should take away about 60% to 75% of the pain. That sounds really good to me because that would mean pain reduced to about 3-4 and she hasn't been that low for over 2 years. How much would you say your pain level went down? Which type of surgeon did you have, Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon? Thank you, again. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 I really enjoy mine; it only takes minutes for me to feel relief in my spine. I talked to my PT about the chairs and she said they are great and considered a spinal unloading device; similar to ones used at PT but for a fraction of the cost. I'm including a link that talks about the benefits and background of the chairs. You can google them and will find a large variety of price ranges; just remember whatever you pay the overall design and benefits are the same. Lafuma chairs start at about $100 and I've heard good things about them. I got mine for under $30 though and have no complaints. Good luck and let me know if you get one. http://comfortchannel.com/zero_gravity_recliners.shtml Hugs, From: v1mob <v1mobyahoo (DOT) com> Subject: Re: Any experiences with Spinal Fusion To: Hugs-N-Pain@ yahoogroups. com Date: Friday, May 22, 2009, 8:00 AM > > > > The Orthopedic Surgeon we went to this week said my wife needs a spinal fusion to get the space back at L4-L5 where she has the worst degeneration. This surgeon only uses the Open PLIF procedure. I have been reading about a MAST PLIF which is minimally invasive. Does anyone out there have experiences (both good and bad) with either of these? > > > > We have an appointment scheduled with a Neurosurgeon for July 21 as a second opinion, or if he agrees and does the MAST PLIF we might go with him instead. > > > > Thank you > > Marty > > > Hi had the exact sugery you mention in 2005.Long recuperation. though very successful. > Thank you, . I'm full of questions. You mentioned a long recovery period, how long did it take you? The Orthopedic Surgeon said it would probably be a year before she would " be back up to speed " and feel like she could do anything she wanted. That sounds pretty good to me because it's been about 7 months since she's been able to do anything. She can barely walk now and can't bear to sit anywhere except in my big recliner with extra pillows under her legs for longer than about 5 minutes. (I've ordered her one of those Zero-Gravity chairs. The Dr. said it should help her be able to sit in the living room longer since it takes the pressure off the lower back.) Most days she never really gets out of bed. But when he says " be back up to speed " , does he mean how she is now or closer to how she was before the pain jumped from 4-5 to 9-9.5? He also explained that the surgery would not take away all of her pain " because you will still have the same 59 year old spine and body " , but that it should take away about 60% to 75% of the pain. That sounds really good to me because that would mean pain reduced to about 3-4 and she hasn't been that low for over 2 years. How much would you say your pain level went down? Which type of surgeon did you have, Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon? Thank you, again. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Hi my name is Jinny and I've been lurking.? The short story is had L3-L5 flip flop surgery in 1999.? Five months later I was trying to get an agitated patient back into the nursing home when he went off on me.? Reherniated L3-S1.? Got osteomyelitis and MRSA so bad I had to be airlifted to the U of FL....my entire spine from C3 down is now toast.? Failed all meds and conservative approaches, all meds.? Had spinal cord stimulator in 2006.? I now have RSD and the stimulator doesn't cover all my pain.? Waiting to consult with new PM specialist to have the intrathecal pain pump put in. My question is for .? I followed your link about the zero gravity chairs.? I also have primary Sjogrens which is slowly drying out my organs and it is difficult sometimes to inflate my lungs.? Will Medicare cover the cost of the chair?? I would really benefit from the massage chair..... Thanks for the post! Jinny Port St Lucie FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2009 Report Share Posted June 6, 2009 My wife is 4 foot 11 inches tall. She has degenerative disc disease at l4-l5 and the orthopedic surgeon says she needs fusion. She has been at pain level 9 since February. She has also started getting " clawtoes " , where the toes curl under, to the point where now she is actually walking on the tops of her toenails. The only place she has been relatively comfortable is in bed. Because of her height, she was unable to get into or out of my recliner without assistance and had to have additional pillows under her calves. We purchased one of the zero gravity chairs that has powered recline. She is able to get into, and recline the chair in a comfortable position, by herself. Most of the time she is able to get out of it by herself also. There are two models of this chair. The " silhouette " is 2 inches shorter than the regular model. This 2 inches is enough of a difference to allow her to be able to get in and out of the chair. She says that the chair is now the most comfortable piece of furniture we have. We tried out several models in the store. Because of her height, and back problem, she was unable to get the non-powered model of the chair to recline by herself. The store did not have one of the lawn chairs until three days ago, so we do not know if she could have reclined it by herself or even if she would have fit in it properly. I would have to say that even though it was fairly expensive, this chair was a good investment for us. My wife is now able to join the rest of the family in the living room for longer than 5 minutes. The first day we had the chair, she even went to sleep in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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