Spine and Abdominal pain

i just got home from having surgery. A spinal fusion they went in through the front above the groin above the abdome and put a cagelike instrument in place.
Then they went in through the back and put in the rods and screws and things to cause lordosis of the spine. I know it is early after the surgery still but i am in so much pain. Ive had a herniated disk repair in my back before 2 yeara ago but it was nothing like this. I cant get confortable cant get a shower cant get out of bed cant sleep. Does anyone know of anything to help with the pain? Or a timeframe of of when it will get better.

I personally have no clue, but I guess you should tell your doctor about it, maybe he'll write you a prescription of suitable painkillers.

Get yourself a chocolate bar

Hi Grey Wolf. How are you doing now? Hopefully you're improving now. I haven't had back surgery yet, so I'm not sure of the recovery time frame, but I have an extra transitional vertebrae with malformed transverse processes, so one leg is longer, my Piriformis and sciatic nerve all all messed up on one side, and I have a tilted pelvis and lordosis, plus a slew of abdominal amd pelvic diseases. It hurts. Some days the pain is so bad I can't make a complete sentence and I just lay on ice packs all day. I have had several pelvic, abdominal, and bladder surgeries now, and here's a few things I've found that help me.

First, be forgiving of yourself thru your recovery. Everyone recovers at a different rate, so even if someone says they got better in 2 weeks and you're still suffering at 6 wks, that's not something to beat yourself up mentally over, but it's easy to do. We all want to be better right now. Sometimes it just takes longer, so be kind to yourself.

2nd, be honest with your doctor or surgeon about your pain. Nowadays with the war on narcotics, it translates to a war on pain patients sometimes. People with legitimate pain are afraid to tell their doctors how they really feel for fear of coming off as a 'drug-seeker.' But if you have real pain, that is what those medications are there for and a qualified doctor should recognize that and treat you accordingly. Be honest about your pain, take the meds exactly as prescibed, and get to feeling better. If you are in debilitating pain, you can't exercise and recover properly. Pain management is important to recovery.

3rd - Recovery requires a few more things...
Rebuilding muscle and regaining flexibility again. So if your insurance covers physical therapy, I can't say enough good things about doing it at the clinic and at home. It hurts like a you-know-what, but its so worth it in the long run. I just finished 14 months (off and on) of PT and I hated doing it that long, but I don't regret it one bit.

Ice and heat are godsends. I alternate them and I can't say just how much that simple thing helps. Also, I alternate meds. For instance I take my Rx pain med, then 3 hours later take 2 motrin, then later a Rx, then the anti-inflammatory and so on, so I don't have the highs and lows of pain relief working, then wearing off sharply. A muscle rub like Tiger Balm or Biofreeze can work minor miracles temporarily, so long as your dr. approves.

Also, eating healthy and taking vitamin supplements can help you recover. For instance, if you've become a post surgery couch potato, then you may be running low on Vit. D, which helps bones and joints...so it's good to pay attention to nutrition.

Finally, recovery can wreak havoc on mental health and a lot of people become depressed (raises hand). So if you can, find good books, puzzles, coloring books, model planes, boats, cars, learn to tie flies for fishing or to make jewelry, whatever stimulates your mind and soothes it. Boredom can be seriously detrimental. So if there's something you've always wanted to do, maybe now is the time. Maybe you can write the next great American novel.

Whatever you do, just make sure your doctor says it's okay. Best of luck and I hope you're well on your way to recovery!