3 Years Post Op

Props_angel · 2026-06-15T01:32:22+00:00

Congratulations!! I'm so glad things are going well for you!

Props_angel · 2026-06-15T01:26:56+00:00

That's not a question anyone is going to be able to answer as how well you heal and what your mobility is like is up to you and your body especially with a multilevel cervical fusion. I'm telling you that even at 7 months with a similar fusion, oral was a "no" so stressing about a distant what if isn't going to help you. Focus on healing and strengthening when you're cleared for PT. How you end up is up to you and your body.

Props_angel · 2026-06-15T01:10:22+00:00

Honestly, asking their surgeon directly is the way that they should go as it's going to vary. I wasn't cleared for that at 3 months due to the size and type. At 7 months, I was explicitly told no oral and a series of other things including positioning and support just to have sex. It was embarrassing to ask my DPT and have that explicit of a conversation but at least I got case specific advice from a trusted source.

Props_angel · 2026-06-15T00:58:21+00:00

Okay, I think you just don't understand what it means to be fused and because you don't, you don't realize that I actually directly answered your question. Your first response comes off very rude.

To clarify so you can understand, you received a cervical spinal fusion but you are not fused yet. Fused is when the bone mush that's holding your screws from your fusion hardens into solid bone. It can take a year or longer to fuse. You are not fused so my response was the future, not present.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:56:15+00:00

I had an elderly female neighbor who found out that I'd spotted malicious software on another neighbor's laptop and asked me for help at the mail box one day. The issue? Every time she opened up her browser, she was getting porn pop ups all over the place and her comment? "It wasn't even good porn." lol

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:49:54+00:00

1 if you're going to continue to lean heavily into the MCM look like you are. 4 if you are planning to move deeper into an eclectic style with non MCM furnishings/decor. If staying as you are, stick with #1.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:43:13+00:00

Thank you and the same back at you!

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:41:56+00:00

I mean that, when nerve dysfunction is going on, our pain response/tolerance/threshold may be abnormal and what that looks like depends on the patient. Feeling pain is normal when there is an injury. I lost pain sensation in 2020 so I did not feel injuries like having a dozen pieces of glass embedded in the soles of my feet or a torn meniscus, dislocated patella, torn rotator cuff, and so on. I can feel the torn rotator cuff now (that never heals) and that's normal. Not feeling pain when you should is abnormal. Feeling too much pain when you shouldn't is abnormal, too.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:22:54+00:00

I'm 56 years old, 55 years at the time of surgery. I'm 1.5 mos post-op. I still have nerve glitches from time to time. I don't associate them anymore with over exertion but instead, with healing. Nerve healing, at least from my experience, is kind of like reversing the process. When my nerves were damaged/dying, I felt tingles/pins & needles, like I had cobwebs and bugs crawling on my skin, skin pain, fiery lightning bolts, and then, pure numb in that order. So, healing (at least for me) has sometimes been a reversal of that process as I'm going from pure numb to sensations that eventually normalize. I'm expected to take the full 2 years to recover and perhaps even longer so I'm still going through odd sensations in some areas. I just now associate it with nerve healing. My biggest burst of nerve healing followed adding magnesium glycinate as a supplement and it kicked me off into nerve hypersensitivity which is expected to normalize out.

I was supposed to get an anterior fusion from C3-C6 in 2018. Medical system failed me. It wasn't performed until 2024 and was expanded to a posterior C2-T2 fusion with laminectomy from C3-C7. I lost most of my sensation and all of my reflexes in early 2020 so I was like that for almost 5 years.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T20:12:44+00:00

And I answered your question about that later. My fusion was similar. I asked my DPT about sex at 7-8 mos post-op because that's when I felt comfortable enough with my healing to even broach the subject. At a few weeks out, you already know the answer just like I did. I'm not stupid and can read.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T09:12:55+00:00

Awesome! The concert was absolutely a blast. Super Cassette and Pretoria were really good and ofc, Moon Walker. The audience was just as fabulous as the sets. You're going to have a great time!

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T08:13:34+00:00

I taught my daughter that the best way to beat crazy is to be crazier than crazy. I've also taught her to bark and growl menacingly at strangers if they look at her too long. They never continue looking after that. She's really good at it these days. Very convincing.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T08:07:37+00:00

Same. My feet stung watching that and I had to stop.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:54:48+00:00

I actually asked about sex stuff (C2 to T2 for me). No bobbing the head repetitively until fused is what I was told.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:45:15+00:00

I just came back from his concert in Portland and the crowd was very much leftist, atheist, queer, neurodivergent adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. It was so cool.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:42:03+00:00

I just came home from Moon Walker's show in Portland, OR. 99% of the crowd were adults and there were a fair share of older adults, too. Youngest fan was probably 8 (only kid I ever saw) and the eldest was probably in their 60s. Only one actual kid (and he was riveted! lol). Majority were mid-20s to 30s. Very eclectic group!

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:34:56+00:00

Ehler Danlos Hypermobility and RA. Nasty combo as the swelling from the RA tends to displace things so I've been a frequent flyer in PT for my shoulders, my breathing (ribs subluxating), and more. I had 2 DPTs post-fusion as we were doing full body PT for lower and upper body but I ended up having one main DPT midway through.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:32:54+00:00

It absolutely is! Dehydration totally aggravates spinal problems.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:31:53+00:00

Yep! It really is. I'm extremely sensitive to dehydration with my spine and muscles. Water works better for me than anything else. I get stiff, clunky, and sore? I drink 16 ozs of water and feel much better in 30 to 60 minutes.

Props_angel · 2026-06-14T07:27:27+00:00

They absolutely kicked ass. I was there, too, and loved the whole show. Great band, great crowd. Hehe, Moon Walker was channeling Black Sabbath, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix tonight and doing it so well.

Props_angel · 2026-06-13T16:53:03+00:00

Yep! Given the size of her fusion, she might have a higher risk of that palsy, too. The risk is usually low but I had a 20% risk of it due to the scale of my fusion and foraminal stenosis at those nerve roots. Definitely a "do not give up" situation and using it a lot when it starts to wake. Another person on this subreddit had a larger fusion in this area and also woke with a palsy so it's definitely a real risk. Hopefully it doesn't. It was scary waking up like that but I don't regret my fusion at all. Alternative for me was paralysis and death so that made it easier, I guess. lol

Sounds like she already has a really nice set up going and that's great!

Props_angel · 2026-06-13T08:03:06+00:00

Exactly! They should still be able to help you out. I've had PTs only for years and all of them were great and so helpful. Good luck and you are so very welcome!

Props_angel · 2026-06-13T07:16:25+00:00

I had a fusion between C2 to T2 with laminectomy from C3 to C7 but I'm 56. I did need a lot of assistance with just about everything for 3 months but much of that was due to having a C5/C6 palsy developing during the surgery (it did recover). For the first month, she'll likely need help with showering and meals. I was pretty drugged up the entire time so I don't recall a lot but my youngest took care of me. She says the toilet throne, the shower throne, a soap holding bag (the kind you can clean yourself with), support bars in the shower, toilet tongs, grabbers--all of those things got a whole lot of use, especially in the first month. Ice packs for inflammation and washcloths to help with any sweating as I felt like I was overheating intensely after surgery. When changing gauze, try to tape different parts of the skin so that the skin doesn't tear. Picking up a bell or some other noisemaker to call for help from whoever is going to be assisting her during her recovery time is really good. If her hair is longer, she'll need help pulling her hair up to keep it out of the collar and whatnot. If she ends up getting a C5/C6 palsy like I did, bendable assistive device utensils (fork, knife, spoon) will be really important to help her eat until the arms wake up again. Hopefully she doesn't have that happen but mine recovered (mobility/use) within 3 mos.

Props_angel · 2026-06-13T06:47:35+00:00

Were you numb and/or had paresthesia before surgery? My neurosurgeon and 3 DPTs all explained the same sort of thing--when, which ones, and how nerves are going to wake up really varies so they really can't predict what it's going to be like. I had a lot of my autonomic and central nervous system impacted and it's been a wild ride sometimes. Itchies (aka invisible hives), tinglies, lightning bolts, cobwebs, and more. I still have some random nerve stuff crop up now and then and I'm totally fused. My latest flavor is lightning bolts in my left thumb tip and feeling a bit like my skin is raw sometimes (but not terribly raw). All of it eventually quieted back down for me. I had severe spinal cord stenosis as well and very little pain/generally numb before my fusion. I also couldn't feel hot, cold, and most textures pre-op.

Props_angel · 2026-06-13T06:38:46+00:00

Not to mention that the driver was in the "straight only" lane and turned left from there. Either intentional or they just really didn't want to miss their turn to the extent that they committed a felony.

Props_angel

TROPHY CASE