12 weeks post op

 So only one week left before I graduate from PT and we all agree I'm ready.  Only new exercise since last post is band in either hand and strech one way and then another in that if you took still photos it would look like a big X.  So one hand up above shoulder outstretched and other at opposite hip come together than switch direction.

No more crying since that one day at work since Jan 8th (today is the 31st).  But I have learned what position now makes things ache that I hadn't been in until the last week 3x.  If I'm in a low back chair, I tend to instead lean forward (onto Bar, table, whatever in in front of me) and as it's at a lower height this causes me to "sink" my head lower and shoulder blades kinda hunched up.  Ow! Like fucking ouch!  So need to remember good posture but yet 3x in 8 days...when will I remember? It makes my neck & shoulder muscles hurt then and following day so that's 6 out of last day but at least it's mild soreness.

I can lay on my left side even more but still certain positions or length of time I start getting nerve pain but hubs says I am doing it in my sleep and it's not waking me so doing it even more than I realize.  Tingling when bending over and reaching is the same but have not noticed it when I yawn.  But MAN is my scar itchy this week!

Can't think of any other update really.  Only iced once at work this week.  Still do at home about every other night. I think this will be my last surgery update unless something happens.  It's been quite the experience but fairly short in the big picture.  

10 wks post op ACDF Surgery

 Had a great past 10 days (so since the crying episode last Wednesday from 3-4pm). My PT even seemed surprised this Thursday when she asked how neck and back were feeling and I said 'decent. Pretty good.  Just slightly sore from new exercises from Tuesday (I'll get to them in a bit).  Had joked on Tuesday that I must be feeling better as I suddenly notice my other older pains again.  Right hip was hurting last Friday, some knee pain during week as it got colder, and my lumbar is back to being biggest pain every morning.  Thanks overall arthritis. 🤨 But he agreed with me that our bodies tend to notice the 'biggest' pain at the moment so it's finally back to what I had before all this ACDF stuff started.  

I've been dealing with knee arthritis for 10 yrs now, hips about 7 yrs and lumbar 2 yrs so this is nothing new.  Used the recumbent cycle twice this week to try and keep the knees and hips loose and twisties during my current PT exercises to try to help the lower back.  Wish I had written down those exercises so I could remember them.  Not doing bridges as feel that's bad for C7-T1 site right now.  Just sucks that for fusion I'm not allowed to take NSAIDs which is what my arthritis med is so just suffering thru but honestly it's not that bad yet.  I think it is because of the whole 'your brain gets used to higher levels of pain as you deal with them' prior to the neck/nerve pain I thought my lumbar pain was pretty intense even on the med.  Now I'm like "eh, sucks a bit but acceptable" without the med.  Imaging how nice it will feel once I can go back on drug.  Will have to remember to ask doc on Tuesday when that will be.  6 months? A year? 

Ok so to new exercises lay on stomach and raise shoulders to 'pinch' shoulder blades. Hold for 3 count. Relax.  I call it the Butterfly as I think if I didn't have arms but wings, this is how I'd move my wings.  Another is then still on stomach lay so arm lays over side and pretend I had a bar bell in hand, raising elbow until hand is level with hip and slowly bring back down. Be sure not to hunch shoulder. 10x then do other arm.  I said on Tuesday after doing these "wow, that's the hardest thing you've had me do yet!" He said I had advanced. Thursday my main PT was shocked I had moved to that.  Asked how it went. Said muscles were sore that night and next day but not unbearably so. (Did take a muscle relaxer that night because have learned not to try and be a hero. Don't need another cry session).

MD appt follow up is Tuesday one month after my 6 week check up that they added because it was on my worst day post op (full day of pain & crying because of the new left side nerve pain). Originally wasn't supposed to see doc until 3.5 months post op. But at such a better place now but wanted to keep appt as I do still have slight nerve pain on left and to ask questions. Like could maybe an added injection later help if still have it at the 3.5 month appt? Would that require another MRI? Is there a already planned MRI to check on fusion then already? If not, when do we look at that as I believe x ray can only see so much. Reminds me I'll copy & paste these questions to a note to reference at appt.  

9 weeks Post Op ACDF Surgery

 Ok so I won't be 9 weeks for two days.  But it's hard to figure the days now but gimme a sec...61 days. 

The big news this week is I worked a full 5 days.  Bad news is Wednesday afternoon last hour of work I cried from pain/emotions.  I wouldn't say the pain was *that* bad.  I mean, it was bad from whatever muscle manipulation PT the night before making my neck feel like I had bad whiplash add in turning my head for 8 hrs but it was more the emotions making me cry. Kept having irrational thoughts of what if I end up a cripple and hubs leaves me. What? I swear to effing God this is perimenopausal as I never had these kind of intrusive thoughts before. Ugh. I hate crying in public. I am not that girl.  And I just had tears rolling down cheeks back in my corner window cube. Not full on hysterical or sobbing.  Only someone saw and I think told on me so my boss was like "if you need to work half days..." and I'm like it's just a bad day.  And I was right.  Next day wasn't great but not as bad.  And that Thurs PT did something that helped. So I am pleased with myself for 5 days straight. After 9 weeks of not. Go me! Celebrate the wins.

Note to self in how wonderful Mr Juice has been. He heard in my voice at work how bad Wednesday was so he emptied the dishwasher and did the sink full of dishes I was dreading (without being asked). Then Friday took down the outside xmas lights. Both before I got home so I wouldn't even get a chance to beat him to it.  This man loves me and shows me in little tiny ways daily. Because I am probably pushing myself a bit too hard here and there to be back to my "normal".

Want to write down the new exercises since I've already forgotten many of my lumbar ones from 9 months ago.  Blue stretchy band.  Grab underhanded, shoulder width apart thumbs point outward. Strech band outward.  I call this the Fonzy stretch due to the thumbs even though they point away from body.  Aaaaayyy! Feel shoulder blades close in. Next close knot in band in doorway at head hight, pull bands down to mid thigh.  Next in door at hip height elbows bent, pull to hips again feeling shoulder blades squeeze. These along with the four on wall - snow angels, touchdown jesus Y's, long arm strech clap, and hip to wall full twist full arm claps in each direction.

In sleeping on side news (an odd barometer I know but I went from can't at all 4 weeks ago) to now I can sleep on right side for over an hour at a time and believe I'm that way a third of the night going from right side to back and right side again. Left side still aches if on it for more than 15-20 mins but thats up from 5 mins two weeks ago so, again - improvements.  Just takes much longer than I'd like. 

Still some nerve pain down left side.  Don't remember if I documented I notice it's mainly when leaning on that arm (brushing teeth, sitting on toilet)  or reaching to side or above head and oddly when I yawn. Right side nerve pain occasionally but less than left.  

Still burping a lot but not bile like I was week 2-4. Just never was a huge belcher before so it feels like it's all the time yet it's not enough for me to remember to take the pepcid much so I guess it's not so bad as I went thru that first bottle a lot.  

Smoking - while back at it now (started back at 1 a day 44 days post op) have kept it to 8-11 smokes a day as apposed to 30-35 pre surgery.  So at least in the week of saying fuck it, didn't go off the deep end and increase more. 

I think that's enough updates for now.  Still icing 2-3 times a day and heating pad much of the evenings.

54 days post op

 So I told PT that I stopped the one ear to shoulder exercise as it hurt too much and she said "oh the one you were making painful faces on eval day? Yeah. Ok. Stop it."  Didn't suggest anything else, or we'll work on that function later down in your recovery. Seemed odd compared to other times/places I've had PT but OK.  

First 3 days back at work.  Mon/Tues/Fri because of NYE and NYD holiday.  Turning my head all day long on my 3 monitors hurt enough followed by PT Monday & Tuesday that I took a muscle relaxer Monday night and I had iced twice at work that day.  Tuesday only iced one at work and no M.R. Friday I didn't think to ice until last hour of work day when I realized I was so achey that I wasn't sure I could turn my head for the last hour of work.  Next week is 5 days so I'm going to try to remember to ice mid day every day so that hopefully I don't get that feeling at hour 7-8.  

Tuesday I had a different PT person and when I mentioned the slight nerve pain in my left arm since starting PT at the very end of session he said "has anyone shown you the trick?" What trick? No!  Make your hand into the OK symbol pretending you're holding a small cup of tea. Swing your arm down behind your hip then up toward your mouth but 'dump the cup of tea' all over your chin & neck from like nose height. He said it's like flossing your teeth -It hurts at first like 'why am I doing this?' But starts to help.  IDK as I forgot about it the next day of some reason (I swear to god the 6 weeks of doing nothing during recovery, my brain started to atrophy LOL) so I have only done 20 reps a day the last two days.  

Sadly after cryfest back on Dec 23rd I had a smoke on car ride home from doctor after 6 weeks of no smoking. And started having one smoke a day that week.  That turned into 2-3 a day earlier this week.  And then got together with a friend drinking who is also a chainsmoker when drinking (like hubs and I get).  I ended up having 11 yesterday 😳. Now is that better than the 30-35 a day I had prior to surgery? And the 40-50 I would have in past drinking with this friend? Yes obviously but I know me. It's all downhill. I hope the 6 weeks I didn't smoke and the reduced smoking is enough to not fuck up the fusion of bone.  Anecdotally I've seen people on the group I joined on FB say they didn't quit at all and they fused. And I know 15% of non smokers don't fuse.  But the percent of smokers who don't fuse is like 50%. My surgeon wanted me not smoking for 3 months.  But I found on line some medical saying 4 weeks and I've found some that talk about 6 months.  I can't believe for my breast reduction 22 yrs ago I went almost 6 months before a night of drinking with my old college roommate ended that.  And that was just for nice healing & scars on my boobs.  This is my frickin spine.  Addiction sucks.  But back then I wasn't really around anyone that smoked until she showed up.  These 8 weeks I've been sitting right next to husband who is smoking two packs a day so a) I don't know what the second hand smoke has been doing to my healing and b) I'm kinda impressed that I made it this long with that temptation right next to me. 

The small dagger in my back pain has lessened a bit this past week but it does still feel like I have a this metal rod connecting my shoulder blades and a metal cage in between the should blades on my spine constricting movement a bit.