My experience - the first 23 days

It's been awhile since I've been on here. We moved before the surgery, and just recently got the broadband set up at our house.

The purpose of this site is to give info to others on ADR. My case is just one of many, and everybody is different. Here's the path I've been on since my ADR surgery on May 11:

Surgery Day - Was wheeled into the OR at 8:00. Had about 20 people in there, and they hooked up a lot of wires to various parts of my body to monitor my spinal waves. Woke up at 12:15pm in post-op, in overwhelming pain in my mid-section due to the frontal incision and the Charite artificial disc replacement in my low spine. Was given four injections of morphine (one in the hip, three through the IV) and hot blankets before I was moved to the orthopedic wing at 2:00. Spent all day laying down in bed, on my back. Leg pain was non-existent, which was great. Received morphine every three hours. Would sleep for 10 minutes, then wake up briefly, and fall back asleep again. I really don't remember too much that day. Did not move, and was not allowed food or drink. Mouth and throat was extremely dry, and was given ice chips. Had a fever of 100.6. Pain level – 9, due to the drugs and not having to move

Day 1 (after surgery) - My worst day. Still not given food or drink. Was to have P.T. at 8am, but they gave me morphine right before, and it made me very dizzy and light-headed. I got as far as sitting at the side of the bed, before I had to lay back down. Pain was overwhelming. To roll on my side and push myself up into a sitting position was the most difficult thing I've had to do physically. Fever went up to 102.1, so I was given an antibiotic. At 5:00pm a nurse helped me sit up, stand, and walk a few steps to a chair, where I sat for 45 minutes. Getting from the laying down position to the standing position was very, very difficult and extremely painful. Walking was fine; I was slow, but did not experience pain. Sitting felt good, but I really had to sit up straight - even the slightest bending caused extreme pain in my low back and stomach. Between 6:00pm and 8:00am Friday morning, I got out of bed about 6 times to use the restroom. Walking was the easiest part; getting out of bed was the hardest. Continued to receive morphine every three hours. Slept, with pillow support, on my right side for a few hours in the night. Still no leg pain. Pain level – 10, due to the drugs making me sick and having to move around

Day 2 - At 7:30am, finally was allowed to have a clear liquid tray. Was taken off the morphine, and give Percocet. Between the liquids and the Percocet, automatically noticed a huge improvement. The nurse had me put on the back brace for the first time. P.T. started at 8:00am. Was able to get out of bed a little easier. Using a walker (though I didn’t need it), I walked up and down the hallway of the ortho wing. I was asked if I felt like doing stairs, and I said yes. I walked up and down a flight of stairs with no assistance. I was cleared by P.T. to leave the hospital when I felt ready. The clear liquids agreed with me just fine, so was allowed to have actual food for lunch. Had chicken noodle soup, crackers and cottage cheese, with a Coke. After lunch, I was discharged. Managed to get dressed by myself (though it was very painful), but I did have to have Brad put on my socks and shoes, since I couldn’t bend. Left the hospital at 1:45; a little over 2 days after the surgery, which was shorter than the usual 3-4 days most people stay. The car ride was ok, though I couldn’t have the seatbelt touching where the incision was. Once I got home, I actually walked around the house for an hour, and experienced no leg pain. Had a very hard time sitting and laying down. Our couches are deep and too “soft”, so I couldn’t get the back support I needed. Still had a lot of trouble getting up after laying down. I was, however, very, very happy to be home. Was given Percocet, which I was to take every 4-6 hours for pain; I was taking it every four hours. Had a small meal for dinner…mashed potatoes and a biscuit from KFC. After not eating for a few days, I did not feel like eating any meat the first few days. Did not sleep well, and had to sleep on my back. Pain level - 9

Day 3 – Made sure to walk around the house when I could. Felt sick and tired, mostly laid around and watched tv. Still no improvement getting in and out of a lying down position. Took an actual shower, my first since the day of surgery. Wore the back brace at all times. Took Percocet every 4 hours. Still ate foods that were not as hard to digest, like jello, crackers, etc. Really didn’t have much of an appetite, and had to force myself to eat. Still did not sleep well; couldn’t get comfortable. The incision area started bothering me – mostly I just wanted to itch it all the time, but couldn’t. Pain level – 9.5 (just didn’t feel as good as Day 2)

Day 4 – I turned 29 today. My best day since the surgery. Today was the first time I actually looked at the incision. It was covered with steri-strips, so I couldn’t see much. The incision’s 2.5-3” long. My stomach area was extremely swollen – I looked like I was six months pregnant. The Percocet wasn’t sitting to well with me, so I switched to Vicodin; every six hours. Actually felt like going out for lunch, so Brad, my parents and brother went to Olive Garden, since I felt like having Zoupa Toscana. Ate two bowls of soup, but my stomach hurt afterwards. Went to Home Depot, and walked around a bit, which I needed to do after sitting at the restaurant for an hour. Came home, opened get well and birthday cards and gifts. Had some birthday cake. By the end of the day I was physically exhausted. Pain level – 8.5

Day 5-8 - My first days home alone during the day. Don’t remember too much. Incision getting more irritated. Mostly just sat and watched tv or read books. I started noticing little improvements here and there, BUT I started having severe leg pain in both legs, in the entire leg. Was unable to sleep in bed, because it was too soft and hurt my legs even more. Started sleeping on the couch because it was firmer, but was only getting 5 hours of sleep. Nothing I did relieved the pain. Gradually started eating a bit more. My parents brought over a reclining chair so I would have a more comfortable place to sit, which felt good. Able to do light housework. Also, on day 8, drove for the first time about 5 miles to pick up stamps. Was exhausted afterwards, but did ok. Pain level – 9 (due to increased leg pain)

Day 9 – My worst day at home. Felt sick to my stomach, and the leg pain was unbearable. My incision was very, very irritated, and I couldn’t touch anywhere around it. Sat in the chair most of the day. Fell asleep in the afternoon. Felt absolutely miserable. Still not able to sleep in bed. Pain level – 9.5

Day 10 – Felt much better than the day before. Was able to move around some. Incision still very irritated. There was a small part of the incision not covered by the steri-strips, and it started to bleed just a little. Still stayed down most of the day. Pain level – 8.5 (leg pain and incision problems)

Day 11 – The incision problems began. Stopped wearing the back brace, since my back was strong enough at this point, and it was just irritating the incision more. The incision started bleeding a lot, had to put a band aid over it. Went out to eat and run errands; was tiring but felt good. Got out the laptop and played games in the late afternoon while lying down. My first day where I had two “big” meals for lunch and dinner. Pain level – 8.5 (leg pain and incision problems)

Day 12 – Called doc’s office about incision, said they would look at it on Day 14 during my post-op visit. Incision still bleeding, and my skin was very irritated from the steri-strips, which had not fallen off yet. Was able to start cooking and doing more tasks around the house. Leg pain still bad, and still sleeping on couch. Stopped taking the pain meds. Pain level – 8

Day 13 – Able to run errands (usually had other people drive). Doing more stuff around the house. No real change from day 12. Pain level – 8

Day 14 – Went to the grocery store, with my mom’s help, and bought groceries. Walked about a mile, and then went to my post-op doctor’s visit. They took off the steri-strips, which was horrible. I guess I was not given the proper instructions from the hospital, and I could have taken them off (they told me not to). The adhesive was severely adhered to my skin, and it was horrible. A small part of the incision was still bleeding, so I was put on Cipro, since they weren’t sure if it was an infection (I didn’t have other symptoms), or just the whole adhesive/allergic reaction thing.

Day 17 – First day back at work. Worked half days day 17, 18, 19 and 20. Day 17 had some pain when sitting, but by the end of day 20 was feeling very comfortable.

Day 23 – First full day back at work. Haven’t missed a day since.