Discectomy - After the Operation

[BiPolarBear]

Got a phone call today, and my op has been moved forward to next wednesday ! so that means i will be getting the clerking in stage at the same time as i go into hosp. So can someone pls tell what i need to bring to hosp and what that involves etc..

thanks

 

[Taummarer]

Hiya Greg,

Pre clerking is an appointment where they do all the pre-surgery checks, ie. blood pressure, temparature, MRSA screening. To ensure you are fit for anaesthetic, as if you have any kind of cold or chest infection, or stomach bug, they may postpone your surgery.
Its also an ideal time for you to ask any questions you may have about your procedure and what happens afterwards.

As for taking stuff into hospital, they sometimes discharge the day after surgery, other hospitals discharge the day after that, so a change of clothes, i would take 2 sets of undies, one pair PJ's or t shirt and shorts.
Then, just a wash bag. You wont be able to bath or shower, but you can have a wash. Just don't forget your toothbrush!!!
Maybe also take a small amount of loose change for the patientline thingy so you can watch TV if you so wish and buy a newspaper when the trolley comes round in the morning!
Thats what i did anyways!! I would have shrivelled up from boredom if i couldnt have watched TV!!

Anyhooooo.....I hope this helps, and I hope all goes well with your surgery. Looking forward to hearing how you get on

Luv Ali xx

 

[Jonathan Crabtree]

Hi all...thought id join the debate having just had my op on Tuesday...
So, 2 days post op and all's well! I had mine in Walton Neurolgical hospital, and what a fine hospital it is
As for the op, like most on here I was crapping myself about having it done (what if im paralised?!!! etc...) but it was all for nothing. I woke from the op in some pain but that was taken care of with tons of morphine, I walked out the hospital the next morning sore but capable.
My leg pains gone and all that I have now is post op pain around the wound. I intend on following the excercise program to the letter and I know Ill be back in action in a few weeks.
My advice to anyone who's got the option to have it done and is certain they need it is DO IT! The sooner its done the sooner you'll get your quality of life back
Regards
Pete.

 

[Bishop]

Welcome to the post-discectomy world PeteH. Glad to hear you are feeling better already and hope your recovery continues well.

Ali - how are you going now? Hope you are getting on better this week.

Sorry chiddy, can't relate to the calf pain issue. Hopefully it will pass for you and that it does not hinder your recovery process.

 

[hedeeshibra]

hi i ha my op last tuesday dicectomy repair of dural leak and exision of lumber disc been in a lot of pain and numbness had mri scan on the sunday 29 the called me to come in on the tuesday bit scared but all done now .Still numb on the thigh and foot

 

[Ness]

Hi.

I had L4/5 discectomy in December 2008, after having a prolapse in Jan 08. Have had more problems since the op so far. Can't sit down or stand up for long. My leg weakness, tingling, numbness seems to be the same. This stops me doing my job as I have a physical job. I have been swimming every day, about 25 mins on my back, using my arms at my side to paddle. This has helped to build muscles and really relaxes my back. It takes away any back pain that I have before swimming. I also walk about 1hr most days. My leg symptons change every day depending on what exercises I do. I am trying to find exercises that don't aggrivate my symptoms.My experience since Jan 08 is that everyone is different and what helps one person might not be right for someone else. All the various specialists I have seen have different opinions. Now I feel that it was best to go with my gut feeling and to keep on looking for help until I found someone or something that helps.
It seems common for most people that I have read about to have bad experiences and to have lots of unanswered questions. I'm trying to read as much as I can about the surgery and rehab and trying to keep positive, which sometimes is very difficult when you feel you can't live normally.
I am striving towards making a complete recovery. I just wish I knew how long it is going to take.

 

[supermariio]

Just a quickie to say thank you for your kind messages Chiddy 71 and Subi, I went into hospital on Monday, had my discectomy on Tuesday and came home on Friday. Feeling very sore but much less pain than pre op, still getting occasional leg pain down both legs but very optamistic that this is just the 'healing process'! Much more mobile than I expected to be on day 5, taking one day at a time. No regrets at present, the hospital staff and the care I had was outstanding. Will post again when up to it.

Luv, Michelle x x x

 

[Scarlette Starr]

Dear All

Have been following this thread with interest for a few months and have found it a great source of information.

I was terrified and appalled in equal measure at some of the things I had read/continue to read, but positive thoughts and wishes to all going through this and hopefully we’ll all come out the other side, in a place we want to be.

For anyone considering the op, it’s a very personal decision. My heart goes out to those people on here that’ve had multiple operations or continued difficulties and ongoing pain. I really wish I could say or do something but as you know, there’s not a lot you can do.

All I can say is I worked like a demon for six months pre op to try and build up my fitness and core muscles which has really proved worthwhile for me. It was really painful and difficult (tears, swear words, snot, etc), but I kept at the back exercises and also walked as much as I could which was gruelling as I found it so hard to stand upright at times. It blooming hurt, I won’t deny that, but I think I gave myself the best fighting chance for a good recovery. I also overhauled my diet and increased the water consumption up to 2 litres a day (you get used to it……). Positive thinking also helped, with realistic goal setting, oh, and a physio with a well developed sadistic streak who pushed me beyond where I thought I could go!

I am now 5 whole days post op L4/5 discectomy/decompression. I haven’t felt this good in years! Absolutely no leg pain, the numbness, pins and needles and the dragging foot has totally gone. So far, touch wood I haven’t fallen over either due to leg wobbles .

For me, so far, it was the best decision I made and I hope this may be of some help to others considering the surgery route. I appreciate that it can appear that there are more horror stories on here. I’m not dismissing the value of this forum in anyway! Please don’t get me wrong! What I’m trying to say in my own clumsy way is I'm sure there are more “success” stories that don’t get heard for whatever reason and just do as much research as you can before you make your decision.

Best wishes to all going through this xxx

 

[Billgun]

my op is now been moved to next thursday ! I gearing myself up for this !

 

[meimei Su]

Best of luck with it gregdfc, I am now 9 days post op (L4/L5 discectomy) and whilst I am still in a great deal of leg pain, I dont regret a thing. I have seen my Dr today and he has prescribed me some slow release morphine to stop the peaks and troughs that I experience when my pain killers run out.

Donzy1971, fantastic result for you. I too tried to keep my fitness up as much as possible pre op, however unfortunately I am still getting such terrible leg pain, its a bit of a lottery in the morning as to which leg it will be, but I am trying to keep my spirits up and optimistic that it is part of my body/nerves healing. On the bright side, I am sleeping through the night now, which pre op was something I hadnt done for months.

Sending best wishes to all you pre / post op'ers

Love Michelle

 

[Diane Tiny]

Hope everyone doing well/better and improving everyday.

Michelle, hoping your leg pain settles down asap. Great news that you're sleeping through the night! What a bonus it is! I didn't realise how sleep deprived I was prior to the op - suppose you just get used to some things as the "norm" then when you get something improved it's a treat!

Good luck to Greg too, you'll be fine!

 

[Kamal Jalil]

Hi All,

Lots of new people on the forum. Well i am 10 months post op and doing well. My job is fire fighting which i am still able to do, i also get myself down the gym about 3-4 times a week.

My advice to all the new post op people would be: do 3 10min walk a day and lots of stretching in the first few weeks. After that try and get swimming and down the gym to get those legs strong. You will get leg ache but you need to get those nerves used to movements. Do not be scared to take pain killers even though you may have been on them for a long time they will help in the early stages.

If you look through past posts you will some exercise that were given to me when i was recovering, they helped me alot and still do.

Hope this helps, good luck with recovery

Olli

 

[Suger Rush]

hi pete. i read that you had your op at walton.i am due to also have my op at walton. i was wondering how long you had to wait for it? i seen surgeon on march 10th and was told it is about a 3 month wait. were you treated well at walton then?
cheers daver

 

[bella blue]

I posted on here a couple of weeks ago.

Well I am now 2 weeks post microdiscectomy and wanted to let you know how I am getting on as I think its important to report back on good experiences as well as bad.

For me after coming round from the op my leg pain was completely gone. I was obviously sore for a few days as you would be after any op but this was simply post surgery pain.

Worst part for me was actually coming off the prescription painkillers I had been on since mid feb 09. don't get me wrong I wanted to be off them but the cold turkey was a real smack between the eyes, wasn't expecting that, still it only lasted for about 4 days. feel great now and not taking any pills of any kind.

one question I am still asking myself is how much exercise should I be doing 2 weeks post op? I was physically fit before I went in for the op and I am sure that is helping me now I am in recovery but what can/should I be doing right now?

Although the physio team in the hospital were great my consultant said as I was fairly experienced (training regularly for 20 years) at various fitness techniques/gyms etc then I should just use my own knowledge and concentrate on core stability / low impact exercise for first 3 months at least. He also said for first few weeks i should only use walking (plus the stretches they gave me) as my form of exercise.

For last 4 days I have basically been walking for up to an hour a day and feel more than fine. Feel like its time to progress to swimming now but need to keep reminding myself its only been 2 weeks since the op and there must be healing going on inside me somewhere still.

interested to hear what others have done post op. for anyone out there still worried about having the op. if you MRI scan makes your consultant recommend surgery, you've tried physio etc to no avail then go for it! especially if your in the kind of pain we are all too familiar with and its really impacting your life.

I did have concerns pre-op but I think I did too much research. I should have had more faith in the consultant and his team. they seemed to know what they were doing and guess what. they did!

 

[Guavas]

Hi Northern Monkey
Sounds like you're going quite well in your recovery - good for you.
Two weeks post-op I personally would not have coped with swimming. (But there may be others who did ?) At two weeks post-op, I was walking and doing some gentle stretching, oh and doing a lot of shopping on ebay. I was still limiting the time I sat in a chair (the hardest thing, at least that's what I found...) to about 10 mins at a time. At about one month, I commenced physio which I found really helpful - my physio developed an exercise and stretching regime which I still continue religiously (now 6 months post-op). I did some hydrotherapy (at about the one month mark) and then built up to walking in the pool, followed by swimming on my back.

 

[rqegsufqihciinesg]

Go into hosp 2morrow for the clerking stage and friday is the op, So when im out i will post how im getting on

 

[Nevermind]

Hi Monty2,

Glad to hear that all is well so far!!!! I will keep my finger's crossed for your full speedy recovery...

Kind regards and positive thoughts sent your way..xx

 

[Ailsa McVicar]

haven't posted on here in a while, so thought i would write and say hello!

things continue to be very positive for me. now nearly 9 months post op, gaining strength and flexibility all the time, without really any structured or specific exercises. i now see the physio every 2-3 months and am back doing a couple of dance classes, as well as lots of walking (when i can). i just managed a mini holiday to barcelona with my mum and was absolutely fine. life feels 99% back to normal. i am still cautious and don't do any heavy lifting or prolonged sitting (if i can help it - work doesn't always oblige!), but otherwise it's hard to even remember how things were this time last year. i hope that offers hope to anyone still suffering

ali, melza, claire and the traceys....how are you guys getting on???

hope everyone else is doing well. i was back at my GP today for something completely unrelated and was welcomed like a long-lost friend by the receptionist. a little embarrassing, but also shows how far i have come from the almost weekly visits a few months ago!

take care all,
jess xx

 

[Unpretty]

Melza slipped quietly away because of a negative outcome. Very fit and active before back problems but unable to get back to normal activities. Although we all have similar conditions they have come about through different reasons, my spine is degenerating and apparently not likely to be cured...although I had high hopes. Sometimes it doesn't matter how fit you are, if your back is going to give up on you then it does.

Still exercising and stretching (as I have done all the way through) and supposedly having surgery on my upper spine. According to the consultant this op may not ease the problems in that area and so reconsidering going through with it. Especially as discectomy site now playing up, six months post op, and I have a wonky hip again. Might just leave it like that this time.

Glad everyone else is improving and wish you all the very best. Have to say I find the frequent suggestion on here that keeping fit makes all the difference to recovery very off putting. I believed that too.

 

[davidepeden]

Hi Melza
Sorry to hear that you haven't had the outcome you had hoped for. I am 7 years post op (LOL) and was reasonable for most of that time, but my discs are now degenerating further and I have been told that it will only get worse.

I have okay'ish days to very bad days and I am very restricted in what I am able to do now. I count my blessings every day that I can actually get up and move around, and going back to work was a big achievement.

I agree with you, depending on your particular problem, once your back decides to give up the ghost no amount of exercise will make a difference.

Chin up, you need to find ways of doing things that don't cause you too much pain, but I'm probably preaching to the converted.

As for the op only you can decide what is right for you x