L-3,4,5 and S-1 Fusion

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Hello,
Was wondering if anyone has had any problems with lower back fusion.
I had to have fusion of l-3,4,5,& s-1 with pins ,rods, and screws too.
My surgery was 7 months ago and I can walk again, but now I am having severe pain in my left leg. Can't sit or stand long pain intense!!!

[MarvinMartian]

I just had L4, L5, S1 Fusion done 5 weeks ago. I'm walking better but still in a lot of pain...Hoping it will get better.

My leg pain is better but my thighs are still numb. I was also wondering what to expect in the future. Sitting is what really gets to me, especially driving! Oh and going out in cold weather! I swear the rods react to the cold outside! It's like an electric shock going down my spine!

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Hi Amie,
It will take quite awhile for you to feel any difference in your leg area, 5 weeks is not long for having surgery. Not trying to scare you, and I know everyone heals differently, but after about 3 months the xrays showed that my left side pins, rods and screws had shifted lower than my right side.
All I can tell you is be very, very careful. There will be days when you will feel super great like you can take on the world, and those are the days you need to be most careful.
Stay strong, do everything the Dr. says, and I mean everything. My thoughts are with you, and I wish you a speedy recovery.
Give everything time to heal.

[MarvinMartian]

I know what you mean about days of feeling great...I DO have those days. I seriously have had several days of feeling like I've had a miracle happen! Like I could dance a jig or something or walk a million miles and I just want to jump for joy! Those are the days that I'm terrified that w/c will have a PI sitting across the street snapping photos are something, too.

What they don't realize is that, yeah, I may have a day here and there where I feel like that, but for every GOOD day there's 2, 3, 4, 5 or more after that of feeling like total crap and hurting like there's no relief in sight and that's even without doing ANYTHING on the good days!

But yeah, I AM careful even on the days I feel good. I do tend to try to get up and move around a LITTLE bit more on those days, but I still do it with EXTREME caution, trust me. I've offered to settle with WC and haven't heard a response from them yet, and it would be my luck they'd settle with me and the next day I'd screw up my back because I settled before I was fully healed. My other caution is to make sure I'm healed before settling but I don't think I have to worry about that because I don't think they're going to accept what we asked for anyway.

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Good Morning Amie,
Please whatever you do make sure you have settled for enough to cover future medical bills!!! I am looking at a 2nd surgery now on my back. Sometimes surgeries go very well for some and then others are looking at multiple surgeries
You know sometimes I think about what if the work comp people had to go through any kind of injury, how quick they would get help! I wonder if their checks, medical treatment, medicines, etc. would be delayed. I THINK NOT!!!
Smile everyday even though you don't think you can and always remember that there is more of us then there is of them ( sad as it may be)
Well at least we have the support of each other on this forum.

P.S. Wonder what a forum for w/c adjustors would read like?