What has been the range of recoveries? I meet with my neurosurgeon soon. Debating on whether I should do surgery or not… I’m scared
My recovery was pretty easy as far as these things go. My biggest issues were neck soreness and fatigue. For the first 6 weeks I wasn’t allowed to drive, bend over, do housework, or lift over 5 lbs. I returned to work 8 weeks post op. I’m now over 2 years post op and am doing well. No regrets!
Thank you!!! That makes me feel a little better
I also recovered pretty quickly and was back to work 7 weeks post op. I had the same restrictions as Anglyn and pretty much the same neck soreness and fatigue. I took a few naps a day I could walk and interact with my family like normal. My dad came and stayed with me for the 6 weeks to help me with the kids and make sure I didn't do things I wasn't suppose too. I could have gone back to work at least a half day a couple weeks before that. Most days I felt great and the headaches were gone right away. My neck and surgery area were sore for a while and I rested a lot. If there's a show you've wanted to watch and its a few seasons old I recommend starting that. I did that because sometimes I fell asleep within a half hour or so. I didn't want to do movies because I always fell asleep.
I would definitely recommend the surgery but do your research on the surgeons in could make or break your experience and recovery. I was referred to a surgeon who typically doesn't do the "first" surgery he usually did the corrective surgery after people had unsuccessful surgeries the first time. He was reluctant to take on my case but my neurologist said they will try to have you see someone else. Insist on him he is the best and who you want don't let them talk you into someone else. Then told me I not to tell them that he recommended me because he could get in trouble. It took multiple phone calls to get him to agree to take me on but it was worth it.
Also get copies of every test result, CDs of every MRI, etc. and start a binder. This will be very helpful if you change doctors then you won't have to get info released from previous doc. When I walked in with my binder and they could flip through like it was a chart it saved tons of time and prevented repeat tests and blood work.
I was super scared got myself all freaked out with the research and things I found online. I almost cancelled it a few times and almost left the morning of my surgery while I was waiting in pre op. Surgery is scary but my quality of life is so much better and I'm a lot less depressed than I was for sure. I can play with my kids and have energy to be the mom I want to be again. I had power of attorney paperwork drawn up, did a thorough advanced directive. Wrote letters to family and friends and prayed a lot. The few weeks prior to surgery I was really freaking out about it. It wasn't anywhere near as scary as I thought it would be in my head. Try to breathe and weigh the pros and con's. I got to the point where I was like anything to fix me even a little I can't take the constant pain anymore. Surgery was the best decision for me for sure.
Hope this helped. Write down any questions you have and write down the answers when they are given. The appointment will be a blur when its all over or mine was I was thinking about tons of other things and the what ifs the whole time. It was nice to be able to see the questions and answers once my brain slowed down and absorbed the info.
Thank you guys I appreciate The info
" I was super scared got myself all freaked out with the research and things I found online. I almost cancelled it a few times and almost left the morning of my surgery while I was waiting in pre op. Surgery is scary but my quality of life is so much better and I'm a lot less depressed than I was for sure. I can play with my kids and have energy to be the mom I want to be again........."
This is EXACTLY where I am today.....
Tears flow easily & I am getting irritable!! SCARED
My surgery is a go. My surgeon was amazing. He explained everything so well
Rebecca your not the only one who scared to death before surgery!!! We all go thru it ,but you will be so much better after surgery and you give yourself the rite amount of time for recovery , take all the time you need for proper healing, this is very important, it doesn’t happen overnight and it’s never as fast as you hope ,but every week that goes by you will fell better and better !!! You will be in my prayers!!! Good luck 
It’s so much less scary when you have a good doctor take time to explain it! I’m happy for you and am wishing you a speedy recovery!
Hi. I just posted a similar question (see New Member - decompression recovery and fatigue). My 14 year old daughter is 7 weeks post-op and still can't go back to school full time due to fatigue. I am trying to figure out if this is normal or not.
Remember your body does go thru a trama, sometimes just by self healing p, the body works harder than normal, then you add in the other things she is trying to do, the body works twice as hard!!!
I believe ALOT in natural remedies, I see an all natural pathic doctor, he know what I have just gone Thru, my surgery was almost 16 hrs long, because of complication with the fusion, but he is going to do a complete panel of blood work and see what vitalism my body lacks, especially with all the meds. Before and after surgery…maybe you can try that too.
In my case I was extremely fatigued post op. I think it’s very normal and I noticed gradual improvement each week.
The few weeks before the surgery I didn't sleep much so I get where you are...if you want to chat at all or just vent all the scary without getting your family freaked because you are I'm here. That was the hardest part for me was trying to stay strong and brave for my kids and my office and my boyfriend. Everyone was super supportive and I think just as scared as I was, so I saved my tears for the shower and for after everyone was in bed. Everyone told me relax you'll be fine but when its your head being cut open its really hard to relax especially when all you see on the websites is the stories that didn't work out.
I've tried to make a point to stay connected with the board since just because I know there were far too few success stories. Not sure what your symptoms are but I know at when I was getting close to surgery I had debilitating headaches, fatigue (probably more from the lack of sleep) and really bad anxiety. I had Power of attorney paperwork drawn up and all the paperwork drawn up for guardianship of my kids if something happened I wrote letters to my family, my kids and my boyfriend. Probably did a lot of the emotional draining to myself but I wanted to be better safe than sorry.
Only advice try not to read the bad stories, spend as much quality time with loved ones and try to stay busy doing things you love and try to rest if you can't ask your doctor for something to help you rest for the weeks before surgery. Read the list on here of things to have for the hospital. I took a stuffed animal with me mainly at the request of my daughter but it ended up being a great prop for me to get comfortable on my side. So I would suggest a body pillow or a medium stuffed animal to help comfort level. Sleep in the hospital as much as you can and tell the nurse to wake you for meds if need be and have them right down the time on the board in your room and the next time you can get meds and do not let them ignore you when its time. It is much easier to maintain the pain then to try to get it back under control.
I wish I would have written down the names of the nurses in ICU the first night they were fabulous but I was to groggy to remember the names but they were on top of my meds so much that I slept the whole night. The nurse the next day I had to track down for my meds every time it was annoying.
Get a small comfy pillow for behind your neck in the car the braking made my neck really sore on the ride home. I got a travel pillow from Joann Fabric and took part of the stuffing out. You will be on your side for weeks to sleep and my hips got really really sore because I am not a side sleeper so try to find a comfy spot to lay on your side before surgery its hard to move around and keep your neck steady afterwards. I used an outside gravity chair in my living room quite a bit too.
Ok I'm rambling but trying to tell you things I wish I would have known. If you have any questions or just need to freak out feel free to contact me any time. My cell is 586-921-2122 seriously though any time noon or night I really could have used a listening ear just to get it out of my mouth and breathe sometimes saying things out loud helps take it off our minds.
Remember it gets better...I promise.
LG15 said:
" I was super scared got myself all freaked out with the research and things I found online. I almost cancelled it a few times and almost left the morning of my surgery while I was waiting in pre op. Surgery is scary but my quality of life is so much better and I'm a lot less depressed than I was for sure. I can play with my kids and have energy to be the mom I want to be again........."
This is EXACTLY where I am today.....
Tears flow easily & I am getting irritable!! SCARED
Fatigue is part of the recovery and takes time. I am 7 months post-op and still struggle with fatigue. Rest up when you can!!!
Thank u guys so much!!!