Overcoming Back Surgery and Finding My Way Back
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But I promise you that this period will pass. How long it takes will depend upon the severity of your transgression, the strength of your determination, and the help you seek from the Lord. But remember, as you stand firm, it will pass. The second period is not as intense. That, too, will pass, and you will feel more peace and will have increased control of your life. You will become free. I decided to fix it.
I began to remove the side cover plate to find what was wrong. In a few moments, I knew I was in trouble. Suddenly, the whole mechanism exploded in my hands. There were tape and spring flying in all directions. My efforts to put it all back together were frustrating and often painful. Irritated, I just about threw the whole thing away. If I can discover the principles that make it function, I can fix it. Soon the spring was coiled, carefully placed in its housing, the tape joined, the cover replaced, and it worked perfectly.
So it is with you.
As you follow it, you will become more pliable. The overcoming of serious transgression follows a pattern. First, and most difficult, is the internal battle, the crosscurrent of feeling, the anguish about being found out, the worry about the impact on other lives, and the fear of the unknown. This struggle is prolonged through indecision, and that means more pain and further damage. It can be cut short through decisive personal commitment to clean up your life, now.
Once that decision is made, there follow many individual decisions and acts, none of which is overpowering. The most difficult part about changing is to make an unwavering decision to do it, and, when required, to enlist the help of your bishop. Once that beginning is made, you will find the rest of the path becomes easier than you imagined.
- Gedenkstätten: Kriegerdenkmal, Soldatenfriedhof, Museum und Dokumentationszentrum (German Edition).
- As Ye Have Done It Unto One of the Least (Gazette Singles Book 2).
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Establish specific objectives, and move steadily toward them. Similarly, you need to be moving forward to gain control of your life. Satan would have you rationalize—that is, twist something you know to be true into a pattern that appears to support your deviation from truth. Rationalization leads you down blind alleys in life.
It drains spiritual power. It barricades the path to happiness because it distorts your understanding of truth. Overcome rationalization with truth and positive decisions. In time, they will form character resistant to the eroding influence you are striving to overcome.
It will discourage them from helping you. There is simply nothing good about cheating yourself by being disobedient to trust; there is no positive element of reinforcement that would otherwise come from obedience. To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done.
Count on the infinite power of the Lord by deciding now to be obedient to His teachings. Their past attempts to help have been rejected; you have not wanted help. Reach out to them trustingly. Ask for support in your sincere efforts to change. These stirrings are evidence of progress, like a growing light at the end of a tunnel.
Recovery from Spinal Surgery
I can provide an invitation: Please, decide now to repent and change your life. Sciatica is most common in people 30 to The key to diagnosing sciatica is a thorough history and a focused exam. The symptoms of sciatica are often worse with sitting or coughing, and may be accompanied by numbness or tingling in the leg. A physical exam can confirm that the sciatic nerve is involved, and I look for weakness or diminished reflexes in the legs that suggest that someone needs early referral to a specialist.
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With this information, I can make an initial diagnosis and start treatment. Many people think understandably that the worse the pain, the more likely something bad is going on. The body can reabsorb the disc material that is causing symptoms, even for those with severe pain. So, treatment focuses on controlling pain and keeping people as active as possible. If the pain is excruciating, lying down for short periods can help, but prolonged bed rest does not.
So once the pain diminishes, I tell patients to get up and start walking short distances. Since sitting increases pressure on the discs in the lower back, I recommend avoiding prolonged sitting or driving. Many people try treatments like physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic manipulation, but evidence suggests that while these approaches may help typical low back pain, they are less helpful for sciatica.
Over-the-counter pain medicines like ibuprofen and naproxen can help. The good news is that for most roughly three out of four people, symptoms improve over a few weeks. For those not improving after six weeks, surgery is an option. We know surgery can speed up recovery, but by six to 12 months people who have surgery are usually doing about as well as those who decide to just give the body more time to heal on its own. Surgery involves removing the disc material that is affecting the nerve. It is generally a very safe procedure, and while complications are rare, they can happen.
Patients often ask about spinal injections — where steroid medicine is injected into the affected area. Immediately after surgery, pain may improve followed by improvements in numbness and tingling. This can take weeks or months to improve or resolve. Daily walking is your physical therapy initially when you go home. We recommend ten small walks a day. This means whatever distance you can comfortably do ten times a day. Try to increase your distance a little each day, setting a pace that avoids fatigue or severe pain. You may climb stairs more frequently as your feel comfortable holding the rail.
If you have a living situation in which you have to go upstairs, you will only want to do this a little to start but then increase as tolerated.
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The need for physical therapy will be discussed at your post-operative visit. Remember your BLT restrictions bending, lifting, twisting following surgery. We recommend lifting no more than 5 pounds for the first 2 weeks following surgery. This is less than a gallon of milk. The length of time your restrictions are in place is dependent on your type of surgery. Restrictions are in place for 3 months for all fusion patients as we need this time for bone to properly heal. If you have been told to wear a brace, follow the instructions given to you by your surgery team.
Sexual relations may be resumed during the recovery periods. Avoid positions that cause pain. Your surgeon will clarify any concerns with you.
It is normal to have discomfort as you gradually return to normal activity. You may have increased pain temporarily as you begin moving more and work with physical therapy. Pain is a signal to stop what you are doing and proceed more slowly. Once home, we recommend you do not drive until you are fully recovered. In general, you may resume driving only when you feel safe, your reaction times have fully recovered and you are not taking narcotic medications when you need to drive.
You need to be able to see other cars safely by rotating your neck or trunk or by using mirrors, and completely in control of the car.
Then you take your foot off the accelerator. Physical Activity Daily walking is your physical therapy initially when you go home. Russell Ballard All speakers Audio Download Print Share close Audio. For patients having larger surgeries, we recommend Ensure or Boost shakes times a day during the first weeks after surgery. Sciatica refers to pain caused by the sciatic nerve that carries messages from the brain down the spinal cord to the legs.
You should not drive if you are wearing a neck collar. In some states, including Virginia, if you are pulled over and known to be on narcotics or muscle relaxers that impair your ability to drive you may be charged with a DUI. If you need to travel for over an hour, take frequent breaks to stand, walk and stretch to eliminate pain from sitting from prolonged periods.
Please contact your provider with any specific questions about driving. Constipation is a common side effect from narcotic pain medications and is often a challenge for patients after surgery. This can be more severe in large surgeries or in those with an abdominal approach. Once at home, we recommend using stool softeners or laxatives such as Colase, Dulcolax, Milk of Magnesia, Senokot, or Magnesium Citrate. If these are not successful, you may need to use a Dulcolax suppository or a Fleets enema to stimulate a bowel movement.
It is important to have regular, soft bowel movements. These medications are all available over the counter at your local pharmacy — you do not need a prescription. It may be helpful to consult your pharmacist while you are shopping if you have any questions. A diet of whole grain cereal, fruits and fruit juices especially prune juice will also help.
Call the office if you need guidance. It is common in the post-operative course to experience nausea. This is typically due to anesthesia or pain medications. Anesthesia will wear off with time, this can take many days. Urinary retention is an inability to void completely. This can happen after surgery when a urinary catheter is used. You will feel as if you need to urinate but are unable to do so.