Major spine surgery tomorrow - post-op update

Surgery went well, but took 7 hours not including 2 hours of pre-op paperwork and sedation and 2 hour recovery due to the depth of sedation required for such a long operation. I arrived at the hospital at 5:15 AM, went into the OR at 7:30, left the OR at 2:30, and finally into a room at 4:30.

One of the reasons for the longer time in the OR was being extra careful to avoid breaking any existing AS fusion. The other reason is once they got in there, I needed a foraminotomy (remove bone spurs compressing nerve roots) as well as the laminectomy and posterior fusion with instrumentation and cadaver bone.

I'm home now resting and the pain is well controlled, but I have so many pills to take that I had to make up a checklist to ensure I took everything per doctors orders. The pain medicine I am own is ultra-powerful stuff. The only time the pain is bad is when I have to get up from a chair or the bed. I also cannot sit in a regular chair without next support. Within 30 seconds my pain goes from a 5 to 9.5 if I try to sit in a regular chair.

I also have a bit of a fever (100.5) that seems persistent, but there is no indication of an infection near the incision point or drainage whole spot. But, I am of good cheer and very positive mindset, and I feel such an enormous relief to be on the other side of this!

The other good news is that my arms and legs are 100% functional, with no temporary palsy that I read was possible. Most of the pain I have now is muscular around the next, which makes since because that is where all the cutting was done.

Finally, I did learn to not focus too much on the experiences people post on various internet sites. Most people go back to regular life and never post again, and thus the sample is biased toward worst outcomes, and as a result scare you to death.

Dx w/ AS in 1985. HLA-B27+. Left total hip replacement in 1998, lost 2" of height due to osteoporosis. Relevant meds include Remicade, Oxycontin, Percocet, Lyrica, Soma.7 hour spine fusion surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy and radiculopathy but have residual myelopathy. I have generalized osteoarthritis and have worn out hips, knees, big toes, and some fingers are fused or growing bones. Disabled since 2015. Chronic pain patient on a high dose of opioids. Live in zero gravity chair.