Nearly a year and a half has gone by. Since then I have spent countless hours standing at work, standing in line, standing at events, and standing while rocking my son. Walking, running too--and all in next to no pain at all. I am back snowboarding (and looking forward to a new season!), playing hockey, and pretending that 2009/2010 never happened. Doing good so far!
The worst pain is playing hockey with skates--that is a huge torsional load on the s1/l5 joint but really the pain is insignificant. The worst pain after a 4 hour stint on skates is what I used to wake up with every morning. Likely anyone else would feel close to the same with an intact spine after such a game. Now I get to wake up the next day even after such exertion feeling 100% fine with no pain.
Is it truly 100%? I'm not really sure, I don't know what 100% is. But it really doesn't matter at this point. I consider myself 100% lucky that I can do 100% of my activities once more. I really can't ask for more.
The worst pain is playing hockey with skates--that is a huge torsional load on the s1/l5 joint but really the pain is insignificant. The worst pain after a 4 hour stint on skates is what I used to wake up with every morning. Likely anyone else would feel close to the same with an intact spine after such a game. Now I get to wake up the next day even after such exertion feeling 100% fine with no pain.
Is it truly 100%? I'm not really sure, I don't know what 100% is. But it really doesn't matter at this point. I consider myself 100% lucky that I can do 100% of my activities once more. I really can't ask for more.
I'm so grateful I cam across your blog. My husband has a grade 4 75% slippage and we have been doing everything we can to put off surgery. We are both very weary of him doing surgery right now with the information we have been given. Maybe we need a few more opinions. Forwarding this to my husband hopefully it will make him feel a little better about things.
ReplyDeleteHi, My name is Brenna ... I was going through blogs that have to do with Spondylolisthesis and came across yours. I both have a fused grade 5 Spondylolisthesis (before surgeries and full body traction it was a complete slip beyond 3 inches, you can view pics of xrays on my blog or related FB page if you're interested), and I have several health-related blogs, one which is about my journey with Spondylolisthesis (spondylolisthesisgrade5.blogspot.com). I also have a related Facebook page which compliments the Spondyo blog. I would love to talk sometime and share stories! I started blogging back in 2009 in hopes of reaching others with the condition, but I only really started to connect with others when I created my Facebook pages. My surgeries and body traction (and cast) were done in 1997, which was slightly prior to the internet taking off, and therefore, I had no support or information from those who had been thru the same thing. The more people I connect with thru the internet with this painful and often scary condition, the better I feel. I also hope, like yourself, to assist in guiding others thru the process and help steer them away from the hasty docs who like to use more severe cases as their own experiments. Are you on Facebook? If so, I would love to chat with you there on my Spondyo page, as I have been considering creating an online closed support group for those with Spondylolisthesis as well. Okay, with all that said, I hope I didn't over step my!?! I get really excited when I meet others who can truly relate and understand, ... and love being able to help support and encourage others, as well as gaining the same support for myself. I hope today brings a little less pain and a lot more energy! Oh, and here's my email just in case you're interested in talking: healthandillness@gmail.com. You can also find links to my Facebook pages on my Spondyo blog site, which I included above, as well as contacting me thru both my blogger profile and/or my message contact box, located at the bottom of all of my blogs. I hope to hear from you in the future! Many blessings to you! Brenna (Cat)
ReplyDeleteHi, i came across your blog while looking for a map of LE dermatomes. I was diagnosed with L5-S1 isthmic spondy 2yrs ago. I am 40, i've always been athletic and active and would like to continue to be so. I have relatively little pain, but lately developed some foot numbness. I am also in healthcare like yourself. I would like to ask you some questions, as I have never met anybody young and active with the same problem. Your blog is great, you chose a very positive and creative way to deal with your setback! ddyalesha@gmail.com - Could you drop me an email if its ok with you? Thanks! Alex
ReplyDeleteAlex, good luck with your journey. Hope it is as "smooth" as mine is. I try to stay away from emails and put up any information here, so feel free to ask any specific questions. Ultimately this all changes so quickly that even a few years later, I'm sure the modalities and outcomes are even better. My only word of advice is if it is truly a mechanical issue (i.e. CT / MRI shows > grade II) get it fixed sooner rather than later. Otherwise the nerve damage can set it and the outcome may be less than ideal. Don't buy the hype of "one incision," see several docs for 2nd or even 3rd opinion, and do a search of their published papers. If the doc publishes nothing but equipment type stuff--then he is likely far too intimate with the vendors who sell the titanium. Otherwise stay fit, lay off the narcs (they have 0 long term positive outcomes), and good luck to you.
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