Question
I had minor scolioses and 5 discs (middle of back to lowest) removed and fused with parts of my hip bone and a cadavra's bones on Jan. 29th, '07.  I also contracted a staph infection which was found on Feb. 9th and was operated on again Feb. 9th.  After spendinf all of Feb. in the hospital, my back was healing nicely (maybe it was the drugs. I have been doing PT exercises that the doctor gave me at home.  When I stopped taking the narcotics and just took Motrin, tylenol and aleve, my pain started to come back.  Worse and worse everyday.  I went for blood tests and exrays and all they could find was arthritis and Sciatic nerve problems.  I have had those problems for awhile.  The doctor said I have to give my back more time to heal and the swellin and inflamation is causing alot of my new back pain.  I went for an MRI with dye injection because the pain kept getting worse.  The results he said were the same.  Inflam. and more time needed to heal.  Well, the morning after the MRI, I couldn't even get out of bed.  The muscle spasms (I think that's what they are) are so bad.  I can't walk very good or long.  If I sit, the pains shoot from the lower part of my back all the way to my upper back.  I cannot lay down on my back because that causes the pain to increase and both sides are numb on the outside but hurt on the inside and I can't lay on my sides very long.  When I stand up, I feel like I am going to drop to my knees.  There's no support in my low back and I get these shocks or spasms. Is this a normal healing proccess or is there something wrong other than arthritis and sciatic nerve?  I'm getting scared.
Thank you, Carla


Answer
Although I'm not a physician, I would agree that you are going through a fairly normal healing other than the staph infection.  

Swelling is a big consideration in spinal surgery and it can causes nerve pain, weakness, and other issues.  The swelling takes weeks to go down so I believe that what the blood tests, MRIs, and your doctors are saying is true.  Time will be the true determination of how things are going; the swelling needs to be gone before you'll be able to really know the extent of your recovery.

In the meantime, you might want to ask your doctor to increase your pain meds until the inflammation and swelling are gone.

Thank you for your question, Carla.  I hope that my answer was helpful.