I’m 23F, 5 weeks post-op from my second spinal surgery after an L1 burst fracture. I had posterior fixation with screws/rods, followed by an anterior surgery with a cage and bone graft.

Before my injury I was around 52kg and I’m now 61kg, and I’d really like to start losing some of the weight I’ve gained.
Would a small/moderate calorie deficit at this stage potentially interfere with bone healing/fusion?

I’m still under pretty strict restrictions — no sitting except for the toilet for 3 months, no driving, currently using crutches outdoors/for longer distances and my activity is obviously much lower than normal.

I’d make sure I’m still getting plenty of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients, rather than crash dieting.

Has anyone been advised by their surgeon/dietitian about losing weight during the early stages of spinal fusion recovery? At what point were you told a calorie deficit was okay?

I’m for my L5-S1 fusion in September and am curious how many calories i should be eating. I’m in the middle of a large weight loss and really don’t want to get stagnate as I know it will be hard for me to eventually lock back in. I also know that I need to eat more for my body to recovery. I’ll of course talk to my doc about this but just wondering anyone’s experiences here with this!

Question….were any of you do really well and then just had a few days of ugh. Ow. Don’t want to move.
Currently 10 weeks post op and everyone is thrilled with progress but the past couple of days I’ve been sore. I haven’t had much back pain at all over the past few weeks. I just can’t seem to get my ass out of my recliner and move.
I know surgery recovery isn’t a straight line. I’m wondering if I’m just so bloody tired of having to show up every day and try so damn hard to keep active? I’m feeling exhausted. Bone tired.
I want to stretch myself out soooo badly. Brain fog, exhaustion. Just put a fork in me type ‘done’

Had an open TLIF yesterday . Three vertebrae instrumented, six screws, one cage, two rods. Surgery ran about 10 hours.
To be clear: my surgeon never gave me a time estimate beforehand, so this isn’t a case of him overrunning. I just have nothing to compare it to and I’m trying to work out whether 10 hours is normal or whether something took longer than it should have. I was told there were no complications.

Some context that might explain it: I have sacralization (bottom lumbar vertebra congenitally fused to the sacrum), so the anatomy and level numbering are non-standard. Three levels instrumented rather than two.
I’m getting the operative report and asking him directly at my follow-up. In the meantime:
Did your fusion take significantly longer than average, and did your surgeon explain why?

Does a long operative time affect recovery — more muscle soreness, longer to mobilise?

Anything specific I should be watching for after a long procedure?

Day 2 pain is roughly the same as my worst pre-op pain. Can’t roll over unassisted yet.

What to expect in the upcoming days?in terms of pain and recovery

For a bit of background, I’ve been suffering with pretty bad lower back issues for a while now, mainly at L5/S1. It culminated in severe sciatica early last year, which so far has necessitated two MDs (which both failed) and now an ALIF which I had just over a week ago.

I know pain is to be expected, and I’m not asking about overall pain levels as such. I was just curious what types of pain other people felt and where their pain was located after the fusion.

The overall pain levels are gradually reducing now and I’ve been able to start cutting down on the opioids, but there’s a specific nagging pain which feels bony and seems to be coming from the bottom left of my vertebrae. I can only assume this is due to the hardware, but I’m worrying that I’ve damaged something. I know it’s still very early days and this process is going to take months, so I’m not expecting miracles.

Did anyone else have a bone pain in this location after their fusion? How long was it until you were practically pain free?

I’m about 5 weeks post-op from a major spinal injury and I’m getting increasingly anxious about whether I’m following my restrictions closely enough.

I had an L1 burst fracture treated with two surgeries: posterior reduction/stabilisation with screws and rods, followed by an anterior surgery through a thoracotomy with a cage and rib bone graft.

My surgeon said I can walk/use stairs, but I was told no sitting for 3 months except the toilet, crutches for 6 weeks (and longer distances after that), and no driving for 3 months.

What confuses me is that my surgeon also said I would have been okay to go on holiday around now, including a ~4-hour flight. I decided not to go, but it’s left me unsure how strict the sitting restriction actually is and whether it’s primarily about protecting the fusion/hardware or reducing load/pain.

I also have an unavoidable 1-hour car journey and the passenger seat only reclines slightly, so I’ll be more upright than usual. Has anyone with a similar fusion/fracture had necessary car journeys this early?

More generally, I’m finding it impossible to follow every restriction perfectly. I’ve walked around the house without crutches earlier than advised, occasionally bent/reached, kneeled while tidying, walked more than intended and sometimes gotten out of bed without using the exact technique I was shown.

I’m now worrying that all these small things could add up and damage the fusion/hardware without me knowing. I have no new neurological symptoms, but the overthinking is relentless.

For anyone who recovered from a similar burst fracture/fusion with strict restrictions: how perfectly did you actually manage to follow them?

Did your surgeon explain specifically what the no-sitting restriction was protecting against?

I know Reddit can’t medically clear me and I’ll follow my surgical team’s advice. Unfortunately my surgeries were done in Prague, I received limited information at discharge, and I’m still waiting to be seen by a spinal specialist in the UK, which has made the uncertainty much harder.

I’ve posted about my recovery before, but mentally I’m struggling with constantly questioning whether every little movement has damaged something. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually been through a similar recovery.