Had a peri rectal abscessā¦ the pain was indescribable. The draining was even worse.
1 Like
Thats the stuff of gore sites!
I was screaming in agony at the Urgent Care. True story. I swear the numbing shot did fuck all.
1 Like
I thought your superpower was making sandwiches 
Had one of those fuckers like 15 years ago.
I knew I was in trouble when I was naked on the bench with my ass in the air and the attending said to the residents: āā¦come check this out guys, this is pretty badā, as he was reaching for his scalpel and told a nurse to come and help me remember to breathe.
When a doctor says āThis is going to hurtā youāre in trouble.
Broā¦ the agony ! And it was a female nurse tooā¦
I am in the same boat.
They used 8 vials of propofol on me to keep me under during my back fusion. The anesthesiologist said I kept wanting to wake up, which is not good when they are inside your spineā¦
His exact comment was, āIt was like trying to keep a rhinoceros sedated.ā
1 Like
Its amazing how powerful a response from our body/brain can be.
The chemistry says ālay down buddy. Chill. Weāre gonna relax now.ā
The brain says āThe fuck we are!ā.
Mine thinks its party time. I remember watching a Brian Alshru vid when he needed a pic line for iv antibiotics, and implied that he had gone kinda berzerk during a previous one.
My buddy that was in a drug induced coma for quite a while was living in a seaside villa with a beautiful latina princess the whole time.
2 Likes
For me at the time, I think it was more a muscle mass issue greedily slurping and processing all the sleepy time juice.
The 3 hour fusion also turned into 9 hours as he had to make 2 more large incisions to lift my vertebrae from all 4 sides. The surgeon said he usually operates on humans and not muscled livestock.
1 Like
Also very relevant!
Where were you at mass wise at that point? About 300, and relatively lean, right?
1 Like
I was lifting heavily all the way up until the day of surgery.
I was somewhere in the 320-330 range - relatively lean for me anyways at the time.
2 Likes
They donāt let you rest much after orthopedic surgeries, do they?
I actually kinda liked the release instructions I got. Like the first time in my life I was compelled to chill, with nobody horsewhipping me about deadlines and shipping dates and āhow much Iām getting paid!ā 
. That last one really kills me!
They had me up 30 mins after waking up and walking laps. They wanted to get my ass out of there. It was during the covid bullshit, so I couldnāt be admitted - since it was not a life-threatening issue. I was just coming close to losing use of my left legā¦ that is all.
So, for a surgery they usually keep you in the hospital for 3-4 days on a morphine pump - I got sent home the same day with Percocet 5ās and muscle relaxers. Mind you I had not taken any narcotics all the way up to surgery while dealing with severe pain because I hate narcotics. I am a control freak and donāt like anything that alters my cognitive ability.
The first 5 days were pure hell pain wise. The percs and muscle relaxers even doubled up did not do a damn thing. Of course, they arenāt even this tight on narcotics and pain relief for fucking junkies. I felt the best when walking, so I would walk in place in the shower with hot water running on me for hours or walk outside. I slept maybe a few hours the first 4.5 days. Then at the end of day 5 the pain subsided dramatically as the swelling receded. At that point it was manageable with no medication - just soreness from the surgery and cutting.
The third week I went back for my first checkup and I was driving myself at that point. The surgeon came in and my first sentence to him was, āIf I hadnāt had back surgery 3 weeks ago, I would be beating your fucking ass right now.ā
He thought I was joking at first, but I made it clear I was not and laid into him about how he made me suffer for no good reason - borderline malpractice. He is the premier spinal surgeon known around the country for Semes Murphy. He also knew I was an attorney.
Long story short he apologized and refunded everything I had to pay out of pocket.
1 Like
That pendulum sure did swing a long way, didnāt it?
1 Like
Indeed.
In 2005, while playing college ball I got a bad cellulitis infection on my large toe from a big blister due to all the rain we had early that season.
They had to lance it and give me antibiotics.
Along with that they gave me 50 OxyContin pills with 3 refillsā¦..
I got more narcotics for a simple foot infection than I did for a 9 hour back surgery, brilliant.
1 Like
Can they not just give you some morphine at that point?
I swear doctors are so paranoid about addiction nowadaysā¦. No one is getting hooked if you get a shot of something to avoid āscreaming in agonyā.
In Aus we donāt have a problem with addiction to these meds and we are super strict with them but if you come in to hospital with a burst appendix, broken bone, rectal abscess etc youāll be given pain meds
I hear in America there is a policy of just not giving them in the ER because for every dose a million and one forms have to be filled out and this policy started because drug seekers often came into the ER looking for a fix (which virtually never happens in Aus)
Howās the lifting now? Could you go back? Do you have adjacent segment disease? What level(s) did you end up having fused?
Fusions sort of suck for weightlifters/athletes because they restrict mobility and put stress on adjacent segments of the spine during activity which often leads to more fusion down the line. This is particularly evident if you are hypermobile
I sustained pars fractures at l5-s1 and now have spondylolsthesis. In Australian gold standard for this is fusion and I absolutely refuse no matter how much it might hurt knowing elsewhere fusions are rapidly becoming obsolete for treating this esp at my age but Australia is a good 20 years behind on most orthopaedic issues (and we are proud of being 20 years behind)
Lifting is fine - except now I also need a total shoulder in my left shoulderā¦ lol.
My case was a little unique and āeasyā to fix. I had a spondylolisthesis in my L4. My L5 and S1 were already fused from birth (very common in those with a lot of Native American ancestry).
The spondylo either happened very young or at birth - it was a grade 2. Usually with this type you see surgery on it in early 20ās / late teens. Doctor was amazed I made it to 33 without any severe issues from it. He attributes all the lifting and muscle to putting off the inevitable with it for so long. My disc was completely gone and it was bone on bone. The doc didnāt even know how I was walking the nerve was so compressed.
I donāt do heavy deadlifts anymore, but the rest of my spine he said was healthy and robust. He doesnāt foresee any other issues with my spine from regular lifting / living. I was cleared at 4 months after surgery to lift and do as I please. The main things I was told is to keep my core strong and donāt deadlift and squat houses anymore.
I have had zero issues and have 95% of my mobility. I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat.
4 Likes
Thatās whatās happening with me, but one level below
Iām 24
Total shoulderā¦ is resurfacing or the ream and run procedure available for you? Because total joint replacements for shoulders are significantly more limiting than say total hip replacement (if done right).
America has something called the ream and run total shoulder replacement which is essentially a shoulder replacement that preserves most of the rotator cuff
Way better for muscular guys who want to be active relative to traditional ānever go into internal rotation, never lift more than 30lbā shoulder replacement
Yes sir, the ream and run is available at this point.
I was told to have it done before I am 45, so I donāt wear out the cup of the joint.