My motherinlaw has very fragile bones, hump back, and has shrunk about 8 inches! Is surgery wise for fractures if her bones are too brittle. She began to have severe pain and sometimes it was unbearable after several months she had an MRI and a fracture was found and she had surgery (minor incision to back) 1 day in hospital.
Her pain was relieved for about a week and she stepped off a 3 inch step and her pain came back. She had another MRI and this time 3 fractures. More minor surgeries 3 incisions.... some pain relief and now 4 weeks later.... pain again and 2 more fractures.
Do these minor surgeries shoring up the spine and repairing the fractures on such brittle bones actually cause more pressure and more fractures? Does anyone else have experience in this area?
She is going in for surgery again in a few days. What is going on with her?
She has physical therapy now and now is using a walker. She was using a wheelchair. She doesn't remember anything from one second to the next so when she does have pain, she doesn't know what she did.
The therapists told us that it is just a matter of time before she falls again. She has an alarm on her bed and chairs and around her neck but I think she is part "Houdini". I hope this helps....
Plus she has not had another fracture since.
I think maybe the anti-inflammatory advil has helped avoid fractures if that is possible anyway she hasn't had another cement surgery since starting on Advil/Motrin/Ibuprofen.
I have the same problem with my mother. She got cement put in in May and is in pain again now. If it is fractured they add cement. If it is not fractured they just give her a shot in her spine. She can sneeze and crack her ribs depending on how she is sitting. She does appear to get relief from the cement, longer and quicker than the injections. It lasts until the next time that she does something different and then they have to add the cenent to a new portion of the spine. The problem i have is the delay time. First it takes awhile for them to find the problem, then because she is on coumadin they have to wait a few days (5-10) before they can do the surgery. (If it happens on the wrong day she might have to wait more because they only operate on medicare patients on certain days).
During all this time she is in too much pain to walk, she gets constipated from the pain killer and the longer she is off her feet the more afraid she gets of falling. It is getting more and mor hard to get her back walking. She is afraid so her knees buckle but she pulls away when you try to help her so she falls because she is off balance. It can be a pretty vicious circle but i dont know what else they can do for her.
Yesterday she bent to pick up some paper and now her back is in tremendous pain again.
Is this normal? I know her bones are horrible fragile because she has shrunk 8-9 inches and is also very humped over so I don't know if strengthening some parts of her back is making the fractures occur more.
Has anyone been thru this? Are the surgeries for one week of pain relief worth it? Will all the surgeries finally add up to a new spine without fractures? My mother in law is only 77 but seems like she is about 87.
What questions do I ask the doctor if I get to talk to him? Her own daughters are sick of dealing with her (they are very selfish, neither one has a job and they both have lots of money - with vacations homes and "charities" so they are very busy, busy, busy)
so me, the daughter in law has to "do her share" Or my husband;s share. So now in addition to my dad I am trying to help my mother-in-law.
The woman in my family have pretty good bones so I have no experience with this!
She has lost 8 or 9 inches.
I've never spoken to her doctor but I may get an opportunity in the near future. Her fractures are in her back / spine.
I just wondered if the surgeries are known to actually cause more fractures. Perhaps they make her feel better and more mobile and thus she walks and causes more fractures? or are the surgeries a good thing.?
Her docs have her on pain meds and I have also consulted a naturopath who has given her an anti-inflamatory that has been working really well. Her doc uses less invasive measures. He said that the bones need to heal and it would take about 6 to 8 weeks. If it were my mom-in-lay, I would not put her through surgeries.
Also, step up the calcium/Vit.D/Magnesium intake. Mom uses a liquid calcium that is flavored and easy to swallow.
Lastly, I would caution against taking any of those bone building drugs...they have nasty side effects.
Good luck