... Hi all - I am recovering (1st day home) from a TLIF (first time at the L4-L5 level). Do you all use ice exclusively? My doc said I could use ice and heat. Been using an ice pump that they sent me home with but much prefer heat. Also, in the hospital they had me on a continual dosing of Percocet and Flexeral - yesterday after I came home I was talking "gibberish" and... (2 replies)

... Hi, thanks for the info and advise!! I am having both L5-S1 and L4 fused so the fusion will be from S1 to L3. I think i have a great surgeon. i don't know if it is okay to post a doctors name here but his name is James C. Weis with the OAA group in Allentown PA. I checked as much as i could find on him and everything i found was positive. he apparently has done lecturing... (7 replies)

... Yup, it's the flexeril. Different muscle relaxers have that affect on various people...unpredictably, I might add. I forget the one I was given after my recent fusion, but I took it once, felt like I was on a LSD trip (or at least what I'd read about them!!) and that was it for me. Called the surgeon and he switched me to another one. Luckily there are many options...if... (2 replies)

... Hi supermom, I must say you sound really good for your first day home! Flexeril knocks me out like im unconscious, drowsiness is definitely a side effect, i dont even move at all when i take it & sleep for too many hours so i had the dr change it too. I use ice when im having pain to make it numb for awhile of course being careful to protect my skin it helps with swelling... (2 replies)

... thanks again for your advice. Yes the smoking is going to be a problem. the surgeon had already told me it is time to quit, and my time after the surgery, 3 days in the hospital will give me a head start to quit again. I think i will have to stick to it this time.. I am a bad one with this as i like to smoke, which is why i think i have a hard time quitting. You are right that... (7 replies)

... My surgeon before surgery told me if I don't stop smocking, he will not do surgery for me. I never smocked more than 2-3 cigarets and not even every day! More like a social smoker. He told me that in smokers more complications with fusions and surgery/anesthesia in general. I stopped cold turkey and never looked back. Second surgeon before my second surgery required ... (7 replies)

... Now that I know you need a three level fusion, I can be a bit more specific in my comments. First, the smoking. Just so you are aware how seriously surgeons regard this, some spine surgeons will not perform a fusion on patients who smoke. It is that much of a detriment to healing. Have you tried everything available to you to quit? A lumbar fusion is different from... (7 replies)

... Thanks for the info and advice!! I really appreciate it. I have been trying to prepare my wife for what is coming, i don't think she grasps how tuff this is going to be. They are fusing from S1 to L3 as both discs at L5-S1 and L4 are flat and have both bone and disc matter closing off the nerve canal and putting pressure on the nerves to both legs. Not fun. Legs always feel... (7 replies)

... Are you having a one level fusion, L4-L5, or are they doing L5-S1 also? This won't make much difference in how you feel, but it can take a longer healing time. I am fused from L3 to S1 and am pleased with the results. It did take three surgeries to resolve my pain...but finally they figured out the source of my pain, and resolved it. I've just had lumbar surgeries so... (7 replies)

... Hi, I am new here and am looking to see if anyone else here has had this recently and how they made out. I have a history of back problems beginning when i was 25 in 1985 when i ruptured my L5 disc. the surgeon described it as an explosive rupture and it severely pinched the sciatic nerve to my right leg. they did a Laminectomy of L5-S1 and i was on my feet the next day and... (7 replies)

... Hello All, I am scheduled for TLIF L5-S1 bright and early tomorrow morning (laminectomy L5-S1 done 1 yr ago). Just wanted to get some feedback or recommendations (the good, the bad and the ugly) for anyone who has recently gone through this type of procedure. Doc says to expect to be admitted 2-3 days, and starting PT a couple months later. Pain "should" subside in a... (1 replies)

... Hi Shoot and welcome on board! Since you such a strong individual, I am sure you will do well during your recovery. Honestly, this helps a lot. I had spinal fusions myself and survived it OK. Despite heart failure and pneumonia 30 minutes in a recovery room. If I survived this, you, strong and tough will do well. :-) One thing I want to suggest: read well... (7 replies)

... well, I hope your surgery went well. I took a very long time to recover and still have pain at 10 months but am finally able to "live" again. I had to use a walker for several months, then a cane. REST is so important but also is WALKING, however slowly to prevent scar tissue. (1 replies)

... Im scheduled for TLIF tomorrow morning (yikes!). My doc advised "at least 8 weeks". Good luck with your procedure :) (12 replies)

... Well, I am 1 year post l4/l5 TLIF, and I want to get a positive story out there. I posted a bit after my surgery, but there is so much negative out there, I wanted to let those who are about to undergo this, IT IS WORTH IT! I just got done lifting weights for the first time in a year. Granted, I only bench pressed 135 lbs 3 sets of 8, and I had to pull my legs up... (1 replies)

... I haven't posted anything since last July, I think. Finished chemo instillations for the bladder cancer 7/31/12. Have had no recurrence of the cancer, but do have to have careful surveillance (cystoscopy and urine cytology every 3 months) because it was high grade. My back surgery was done 11/7/12, by an excellent neurosurgeon in Boulder, CO. He used TLIF--anterior and... (1 replies)

... You might also want to ask if there are any positive experiences with TLiF. I think the negatives you have seen pertaining to ALIFs are probably generalized comments about having a fusion rather than specifically to the anterior approach. Doesn't your surgeon have a preference? Usually one approach is more appropriate to the specific patient than another and there are... (5 replies)

... After looking through the posts about ALIF surgery.. I see a lot of negative things.. I really need to see some positives about the surgery. I am on a pro and con analyzation about getting the surgery or not compared to TLIF. I have to make a decision and I really need to see it led to positives rather than negative. Any good news out there? It will assist with this major... (5 replies)

... I had my TLIF on 1/2. Believe it or not, I was not nauseated but very constipated. 10 days to be exact!! As for the post op, I was in the hospital 4 days, I left earlier than I thought I should, but that was because I didn't feel that I was getting the needed care from the nursing staff. My husband could help me better at home! Once I got home, I was happy that I was... (9 replies)

... Welcome DaltonsMom, I had TLIF November 6 2012, I am doing very well now, but recovery is heavy duty for that surgery. It wears you out and you need assistance for the first few weeks. No lifting anything heavier than milk jug and that is from waist high no bending at all and or lifting from the ground level. I had a grabber stick and that was helpful. No twisting movement... (9 replies)