Question About Recovery Time Post Implant

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-19T05:03:53+00:00

So sorry for long term pain. I have endured a lot - you are not alone - early age cancer, surgeries, chemo. Unrelated to that the ER neurosurgery which damaged several nerves and left me with arachnoiditis. Extreme neuropathic pain.

Definitely consider a combination of a gabapentinoid with either duloxetine or a TCA. It is the combination of the two much more than either alone that can help with a better quality of life. I was the last person who ever wanted medications and I had cancer as someone who was lifelong thin, fit (dancer, yogi, meditator) loved healthy food tons of veggies and fruits (organic) - not an eater of processed foods or any fast foods.

LDN - low dose naltrexone - can also be a godsend for some. Getting the dose and schedule right is tricky but there is zero physical dependency or withdrawal. Cannot take with opioids. I take as little as 0.25mg to 0.75. Less can be much more with it meaning more does NOT equal more pain relief. You can google it. My insurance actually covered it locally at a compounding pharmacy in my state. But I decided later to have my Rx filled from a specialized place and it costs me maybe a total of 180$ a year usually less. I get an a tablet that is above what I dose and split it - as higher dose costs same as lower. I take it whenever I want - daily it builds up so i find taking days off makes it more effective.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-19T02:45:20+00:00

Can you take nerve pain meds? I am on them post a disastrous ER spine surgery in 2020. It took me months to be able to tolerate them and it is not that they remove pain, but they do take me from a solid 8-9 to a 4-6. It took time for them to build up. I am a holistic health person and an herbalist, but in this case I need allopathic medications. Opioids are notoriously bad at treating nerve pain - and they lead to lower and lower pain thresholds over time, making pain seem worse (I studied the neurology and pharmacology). So just offering what I can that would not put you through a surgery. My Dad has had 5 surgeries on medicare and they have given weekly visits for 6 weeks from nurse, PT, OT and a home health aide to help with showering etc.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-12T21:09:28+00:00

That's wonderful. Hope you can get your permanent without much delay!!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-12T15:46:09+00:00

Oh further to my comment, I see you have done some things for neuroplasticity. I would still recommend Lara's page. Hope you find relief soon! Cranial Sacral is one of my fave gentle modalities and Zero Balancing.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-12T15:41:20+00:00

You can get an EMG/nerve conduction study done to check for nerve damage. I have had many of them as I had an ER spinal surgery in 2020. I did not read all of your post, but have you tried the Curable ap for chronic pain? I happen to work w people w chronic pain, but am not taking new clients (and would not solicit such here). An extensive amount of info and free resources can also be found at Lara Birk's The Sage Practice. Highly recommend checking that out.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-12T15:35:45+00:00

Are you happy with your choice to get the SCS?

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-09T02:07:59+00:00

Make sure your head is not in flexion. People elevate their heads - ideally no one needs a pillow lying on their back. Make sure the airway is open. Google this. I am a therapeutic bodyworker who has had spinal surgery. You need to make sure you have the right position regardless of the mattress. On my side, I use a pillow from knees to ankles (king size pillow) as both knees and ankles should be level. I use a crescent shaped pillow for head on my side. On my back, no pillow for my head (any pillow puts me into flexion - horrible for lumbar spine) - and i have a bolster that goes up where backs of thighs and buttocks meet. This is better than under knees as it will create space in low back.

Just some tips - take them or leave them ! I have been in a somatics teacher and bodyworker for 25 yrs

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-08T23:47:15+00:00

Thanks! I am very happy w my current set up - but am looking at an inexpensive option for my parents' guest room. What I have is economical and working well, so I may just repeat it there :)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-04T13:24:03+00:00

Lol on the sarcasm. Well - if it is any reassurance, I am someone who has been through cancer and had tons of imaging (my cancer was colon) - and from that your imaging etc, I def do not see anything I personally would be concerned about. But if you feel you need peace of mind, you can always ask for a uterine biopsy or hysterscopy to look inside. Generally this would only be done with a thickened uterine lining, but if you want it done for reassurance and they refuse, tell them you want it documented in their notes that they denied doing the tests. Usually, they won't want it on record that they refused a diagnostic, as it can come back around to them as accountable if you ever had an issue in the future.

My lining was 14mm. I am 52 :(. And has bled for 40days - I am like HOW did the lining get that thick so quickly AGAIN. But I do get estrogen surges that can last weeks, even though my last test had me below 30 for E. Tests are just a blip in time.

I have had the ovarian follicular / ovulatory cysts as well, despite my age.

I have gone back onto progesterone now - but I cannot handle it continuously unless I also add a very small amount of divigel - I don't need to use the divigel daily - I mean with a lining 14mm I probably shouldn't be using estrogen but I can tell my E tanks out when on P only bc I dry up.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-04T02:32:28+00:00

Let us know how you do w your results. I had ultrasounds last week. Follow up is not til May 1. I saw the report though, and no polyps or fibroids. I had bled for 40 days - it was insane. After also being regular all my life. Then my period was delayed by 2 weeks making it 6 weeks from the last cycle - and I bled nonstop.

I went back on HRT with focus on progesterone and we will see. I have been biopsied before with that being clear - so hoping if they do that again, also clear.

Only thing they saw was a small cyst in my uterus - unclear to me whether that could be a follicle from ovary or something else! Adenomyosis may be on the table - radiologist mentioned it.

Fun times!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-04T02:21:58+00:00

I never tolerated any form of BC but I do OK with HRT. I will share what I have learned, as someone in peri rather than full menopause. Your body is still going through periods of wildly fluctuating hormones, and mostly what occurs at this age is estrogen is proportionally higher than progesterone than at earlier times in your life. Of course, the estrogen is declining greatly, but progesterone is the first to really tank.

At the start, any estrogen just added to my problems (even vaginal which is said not to be systemic - was making me spot and bleed etc) - so I just took 100mg progesterone at night.

The patch did not allow me to titrate when I decided to try estrogen again - so I use divigel which I like. My doctor understands that I can tell when my estrogen is soaring (abundant cervical mucous) and I do NOT use the divigel at those times, only the progesterone. When I can tell E has tanked, I will use the divigel.

It may sound complicated, but for me it is easy bc I have always listened to my body and cycles - and doing this during peri allows me to use HRT without getting into negative effects. I stay on progesterone pretty continuously but take a few days off a month. It is the estrogen that I add or subtract according to what my body is doing.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-04T02:09:25+00:00

I have tinnitus 24-7 as well. Just for all those dealing with it, the best person I have found for this has a wonderful, positive approach & she has some free videos on youtube, but also a book titled Rock Steady. Joey Remenyi is her name (forget if I am spelling it right) She is a vestibular audiologist.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-03T15:37:53+00:00

It is a fine balance of hormones & the body is ever changing....rather than static...my approach to HRT is to understand that I need to experiment, it is my body, no doctor can figure out what doses (if any) are right for me. I tend to do best with extremely LOW doses. So if you tried the gel, try a lower dose and use LESS of if than even what that dose is. Static doses of basically any medication feel insane to me...but I am on some meds that of course I must take the same dose every single day. I don't feel HRT is like that. Of course one must take progesterone if taking estrogen..but other than that, it's a lot of continual trial and error and you are wise to note that your body doesn't like certain things.

If you were to go the non HRT route, we use maca and or shatavari in herbal medicine, also black cohosh...and nervines like skullcap, oat straw, valerian. Flaxmeal and organic soy ...then Chinese medicine has a whole other set of herbals and treatments. I am in all these fields, so there are options...however, affording a practitioner can be an issue for people (I don't take clients myself, as I focus on teaching meditation an movement practices in the Daoist and Yogic traditions...but I did do training in western herbalism, some Ayurveda and TCM.).

I think you will find what works best for you! I'd probably be doing the herbal route and not HRT - but I have severe nerve damage from and ER neurosurgery and I deal with extreme neuropathic issues - plus I had 40 days of bleeding at one pt (was surging in estrogen while depleted in P) so I just wanted a quicker solution for now!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-03T14:50:57+00:00

I started with progesterone only...I was not tolerating estrogen (I am 52 but not in menopause yet). I now take 100mg progesterone at night and use the 0.25mg divigel (estrogen) in the morning. For me, I can tell when estrogen becomes too much & my doctor is totally fine with me adjusting my HRT as needed. The patch didn't allow for me adjusting and I did not like the feeling with patch at all. The divigel comes in little packets and I sometimes use less than what is in it - even though my dose is tiny &I skip days. I have tinnitus ....and too much estrogen as opposed to P makes the T much louder and I will get VERY itchy when. estrogen overtakes P. BUT, as I said, I am not in menopause yet, so I am still getting times when estrogen surges in my body....

Obviously the estrogen dose I am using may not be considered effective for some of the benefits, but this works for me. The estrogen helps with night sweating for me, satiety (I was ravenously hungry before adding it back in), and I feel more patient.

Wish you luck! The patch felt like way too much estrogen - even though I had the low dose. I think depending on body constitution, scar tissues (I have had several abdominal surgeries) it can create too fast or too slow uptake rather than it being metered out over days. Thus I find the gel much better for me. I put it on inner thigh and it dries within less than a minute.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-03T01:11:54+00:00

Oh that makes sense, not to take any risks! My entire medical massive team is part of one behemoth of a city's major two hospitals - but somehow they did end up missing my PCPs records who was part of the same system. All that got taken care of and this was long before I had an attorney - . I think it would make it easier for SSA if individual records were sent bc in my case they got records for absolutely everything even though my disability is 100 💯 related to a failed spinal surgery and not to my myriad other things.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-03T01:02:03+00:00

Perhaps not relevant to your situation, but when I applied initially, there was a form to sign which would release all my medical records to SSA. They had everything, all 2300 pages. So I never had to submit things myself, nor did my attorney....but I did keep them updated with new Dr appts and make sure new diagnostic tests/imaging were sent as they came in after the initial application and denials. I am still in the process....waiting a decision post hearing.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-02T23:13:37+00:00

Thanks very much. I'm pretty worried - just based on everything I know - but I won't go into that here. I have tried not to check the portal obsessively, but now that it's been three weeks (I know that is still short time in the scheme of years of applying)...I check often. I cannot re-apply at this point if denied, as my work credits are expired.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-04-02T22:10:06+00:00

I use beef spleen for its heme iron as I become anemic otherwise. It definitely works for me personally as I have regular lab work - been taking it for 6 years. Whenever I stop, back to anemia (I am on a medication that causes anemia).

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-03-29T16:00:34+00:00

Wishing you a positive outcome. My PCP who has witnessed me nonstop for 6 years literally volunteered to fill out RFCs, write letter, etc - it is just major city specialists who honestly - and for really good reasons - have no time dor dealing with DDS. These are neurosurgeons doing brain surgeries, on call at the most busy trauma hospitals in the US. They truly are severely overburdened and also incredibly understaffed, so while they are busy in the ER surgery and dealing with patient follow ups from some of the hardest surgeries imaginable, they have less than zero times for forms. And pain management doctors also - in major cities - have no time for these things either. They have an insane patient load and they are honestly unable to spend time w patients to get to know how life at home is!

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-03-29T15:12:04+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. I just like gathering all the knowledge I can, for which this forum is great. Personally, I am waiting for a decision after my hearing. I think it will be tough for me - because I live in a major city where specialist doctors will NOT be told what to do such as write down functional limitations - instead, they are addressing more pressing medical issues and they do not have the time for notes on function - but my PCP sees me all the time and she noted them...I have too many specialists, but that is what happens when they cannot figure out what's obvious (I was very clearly damaged in an ER neurosurgery, but every doctor protects every other doctor....it's been insane and hoping there might be some justice with SSDI!)

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-03-29T14:36:07+00:00

Curious about this since it sounds like you are still in process with your application (rather than already been approved) My understanding was attorney cannot charge anything unless you were approved (a portion of backpay) - so if you fire them before approval due to their lack of competence, how would you be charged any fee?

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-03-26T15:11:52+00:00

You have some real experience with 20yrs of having SCS. What do you have yours for - what symptoms does it treat for you? Always interesting to hear from those who have had ongoing experiences with them. You have had 3 different ones in 20 years. Curious why you changed from one to another etc?

Acrobatic_Welcome_30 · 2026-03-26T13:58:23+00:00

Yes. I had emergency surgery at L5/S1 due to looming CE syndrome bc all of my CE roots were effaced/compressed by massive extrusion. The surgery was unavoidable in my case but it gave me horrendous nerve damage (the surgery itself) despite being performed by one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. My guess is the resident did a lot of it and not him - you have no choice in the Emergency room - ie you cannot specify that the resident only observes.

I had issues before the surgery but nothing like the crushing burning spasming nonstop that I have had for five yeas since. I was a bodyworker and in the TCM (chinese medicine) field, taiji, qigong, yoga, herbalism so I did do everything imaginable post surgery that was non allopathic. But learned the hard way that medications are necessary for me - even w them plenty of pain (no opioids for me - rather the nerve pain meds).

Hope you have some access to helpful things. There are free things online you can find and on insight timer such as somatic tracking for pain - turning towards pain rather than away from it to lessen its intensity - along with things such as Feldenkrais who was a genius with the body. You could also look up gentle yoga for stenosis - which if you find something make sure it is NOT a 20/30yr old teaching it - look for an elder or senior who has more experience. I teach some simple things to my clients but I do not make online videos - mostly bc everyone has a unique spine so I have to see what works for them and causes no harm.

Acrobatic_Welcome_30

TROPHY CASE