Discectomy - After the Operation

[Jenz]

hi guys
its been nearly five weeks since my L4 L5 discectomy, decompression. My pain levels are minimal, i would actually say i am pain free. I am going to see the surgeon on the 26th of this month for a check up. The only thing is that although not sore my legs and bum/back feel almost tired all the time. Hopefully this will improve. I think my expectations were too high.

I have been let go from work so will have to start looking for something else. Hopefully i will find something soon. I have been recomended to do light work and nothing too physical, not easy when i have plastered all my life.

Anyways everyone keep your heads up, it can and does get better

 

[Maika H]

Dear Irishman, so sorry you lost your job...me too. I hope you find something soon. Your muscles have had a bit of a hammering and need to be eased back into full use. Walking will be good I reckon, hope improvement continues for you.

 

[annaajane]

Shazza66, I only just noticed your message and thank you. Actually I'm thoroughly 'hacked off' but have to keep the spirits up. Hope you keep your job, its really awful to lose that too. xx

 

[verticalsmurf]

Hi all its been afew weeks since i last posted but i have been reading everyones stories and its good to hear that some are doing well after there ops and i do feel for those still waiting. Just a recap, i had microdiscectomy in april 2010 and was good for first few weeks till pain returned in my leg and foot along with pins and needles,tingleing etc.At the moment my biggest problem ive got since the op is the constant lower back pain which is also in both hips and two to three times a day my back "just goes" it feels like my lower spine is snapping in two which leaves me immobile for a few seconds because of the pain. I was due to see my consultant in october but it got cancelled and then i had contrast mri scans in december with an appointment to see consultant on 18th feb for results. Yesturday i recieved a letter cancelling my appointment again till 18th march and after ringing my consultants secretary i was told there was nothing she could do and although she had my mri results in front of her she couldnt tell me anything i just have to wait.My doctor thinks im deppressed and this is why im in paini walk three to four miles every other day but afterwards i get pains and pins and needles in both legs for rest of the day and night which keep me awake. I work from home so im lucky that way but i wouldnt say im deppressed just totally fed up its gone on this long,does anyone else have this problem after this op?

 

[kckid2]

Fedupbigtime & Bekpet....hope you are both doing well and that the surgery went ahead as planned.
Fingers crossed that you are now pain free!

 

[msd]

Hi everybody, i,m alive haha. Surgeons very pleased with all they did but they only did the one discectomy L2/L3. I am recovering very well. Able to walk up the stairs like a normal person instead of changing to all fours , half way up. Pain is well controlled with analgesia but have to be consistant with physio exercises. The op. was wee buns compared to 22 years ago. I think, with my past experience, that physio is the key to recovery
Foot still a bit numb, tingling in saddle area continues,tingling still down leg but that is being caused by adhesions from previous surgery. Plan is to order another MRI and then a nerve root injection but I am happy enough at the minute
I had no catheter but had a few probs afterwards but they have resolved.
Bekpet, I hope your as good as I am. Im delightd you got away for surgery.
I have been told I will not be back to work for several months and as I was off last year for 10 months, I doubt I will have a job to go back to but will just have to take a day at a time

The fustration is awful.
I was so fustrated when the surgeon told me, he would only treat the one disc. I could have cried, in fact, I did. I just wanted the whole thing to finish. I knew he could do it, but he said it was too dangerous.
Anyway, thank you all so much for your support and help. It really helped me a lot and I just hope I can help anybody else out there. I will answer any questions that I can.
Love to you all, Fedupbigtime

 

[ladystang]

hey fedupbigtime, glad your op went and i hope that eventually you will be fighting fit again. It sucks that you suffer all this and lose your job, just what you really need! Ive got my job for another month, i have an appointment with the surgeon on the 21st of feb so im hoping for a date for my op and then i can give my employer a date to return to work. If not then they are goin to get rid of me!!!!
Anyway, good luck and i wish the best.
Hope all went well with Bekpet too.

 

[wijhuupn]

Hello everyone. It's all done and dusted. Went to theatre about 4.15 on wednesday and was in recovery by 5.45. I've not had to take a single pain killer since I came round and the only discomfort I've had is where they've made the incision. Came out at 5.00 on Thursday and been fine since. I know it's going to be a while before I'm right but everything's been so much better than I'd anticipated that I'm not worried about a long recuperation. Just know I need to take things slowly.
Glad everyone else seems to be doing well. I'm not sure how much the surgeons had to do as I haven't met with him yet so interested to find out how severe it was, but I've no leg pain, no numbness and no tingling so however bad it was, I don't care, it's a million times better now. I'll update another day. My daughter wants her computer back! But everything's looking positive. Fedupbigtime - hope you're feeling as fit as I am and are not in any major pain. Speak soon ....

 

[deSade]

Can someone please tell me what the operation is like and also the recovery period in terms of what I can and can't do. I am currently off work but not sure when I will get back as I work with preschool kids? any advice appreciated! I am due for my op on Wed 26th January!!! Many thanks x

 

[Karle]

Hi Blondy78, Dont worry about your op. It really is nothing to worry about. Only lasts around an hour, and as Bekpet says, the most of the pain is around the incision site and that can be controlled with analgesia.
During recovery, you will have to take it slowly but you will not be incapacitated for too long. I had a shower and washed,blow dried my hair, made a pot of chicken and vegetable soup, all on my 3rd day post-op. Am very proud of myself.
Make sure you do your physio exercises and all the best.
Bekpet-delighted all went well for you.
Shazza - thank you. xx

 

[Efferiapelp]

Bekpet, glad to hear it went well for you! brilliant news!

Blondy.. i made sure i laid down as much as possible for first 2 weeks, but not quite as much in second week as first.
Week 3 i am back doing my job in our egg production unit and mucking my horses out, well actually i am back to normal apart from riding.
I have been doing a little more lifting than i really should probably be doing as we have no water in stables due to freezing temps so carrying buckets for them, but havent felt any ill effects from this.

Fedupbigtime...what physio exercises are you doing? did they tell you any before you left hospital? Not sure my surgeon is keen on physio, he gave me a telling off before my op saying i should never have gone as it makes nerve more inflamed with movements and he hasnt referred me back post op.
I want to start exercising again now, but no one to ask what i can and cant be doing, i used to run and apart from chasing a horse around an arena yesterday i've done nothing for so long, i've also got a cross trainer...does anyone know if this would be allowed!?
Not seeing surgeon until 10th feb which feels ages away!

As for my actual body pain, before op i had terrible pain running through my left bum cheek to calf muscle, i have noticed that if i kneel down (sit back right on my heels) or lift my leg over a sheep hurdle i feel that pain just in the bum cheek, i have to make sure im at an angle so it doesnt hurt, hopefully this is just the last effects of the pre op nerve damage and pain.

 

[Amber Mbing]

Hi folks, my own opinion is to exercise gradually, regardless of how well you're feeling. Walking is good and also some stretching exercises a post op physio recommended, I posted them on here once or twice. The muscles have had a bad time and need some TLC, I found some exercises through google, but start gradually. Carrying anything heavy could have painful, and long term, consequences, something you'll want to avoid.

And thats the lesson according to Melza...... Have a good day!

 

[mptgrzgv]

Hey all, well done fedupbigtime, you sound like you are doin well. I think a positive mind must help...take it easy tho. x
Bekpet..so pleased for you that it all went really well, you sound really positive too, take it easy also and i hope my own op is as good as yours : )
Jayshw..I hope you make a full recovery very soon, im sure you will. After all the long wait the 10th will come quickly.
Blondy, im sure you will be fine after reading these great posts, good luck for the 26th and be sure to come back and tell us how you got on. x

 

[maxBirdy]

Reading all these posts today has been great. JayshW - I can't beleive you're doing so much. I'll remember to take your advice on maintaining the correct leg angle next time I pop over a sheep hurdle!
I've definately got some stiffness and a bit of discomfort, though nothing major, but I'm not sure if it the remains of pain from the disc problem prior to surgery or as a result of the surgery itself. That's the only question I'd like the answer to.
I'm a bit worried that I'm not sitting enough as lying is so much more comfortable and I'm scared I'll not sit in the correct position and end up doing some damage. I'm sure this time next week I'll be looking back feeling loads better and wondering what I was concerned about.
Fedupbigtime - I'm glad you seem so positive as well. It's good to be able to look back now we've been through the op and know that we needn't have worried so much.
Blondy78 - I was really scared, but pre surgery was dosed up on Tramadol, Nurofen and Codeine everyday. Other than the one shot of Morphine they gave me in theatre, I've not had a single pain killer since the op. That, to me, already counts as a successful outcome. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just focus on the fact that you'll soon be on the road to recovery.

 

[Cammie]

Best wishes to all of you who've just undergone or are awaiting surgery. I had my op just over two years ago now, and never a days goes by where I am not exceptionally grateful that I had a discectomy. It was a pretty hard road to recovery but it really did give me my life back.

JayshW - I too have horses. I moved 30 bales of hay over the weekend by myself, and the back was ok with that.

Best of luck everyone.

 

[Bp Seventeen]

Hi all,
I met with my surgeon yesterday for my 5 week checkup. He seemed pleased with how i was doing, i explained i am pretty much pain free and no longer take tablets. He had me do a few stretches looked at my back and said it was looking good. He did warn me that there was a 10% chance of it happening again at any time.
He also told me that it wasent a discectomy operation as i thought it was but was in fact a Laminectomy. He explained that my back was particularly tight and he was freeing it up?
He says i am now able to go back to work, as long as it is light work. The only problem is i no longer have a job to go back to. So off to the jobmarket it is.
He is for sending me to physio and wants me to do pilates to strengthen my core stability? So i am waiting for the first appointment. I pushed him about getting back into sport particularly football and he said mayby , wait and see but he wasent aware of any footballers playing on after this surgery. When i said that i was aware of players like Terry, Ferdinand and currently Real Madrid striker Higuain, have all recovered from discectomys around the same area as my problem was he said that my operation was slightly more. So i am curious has anyone here had a Laminectomy and went on to carry on playing sport, in particular football?
I am still pain free, i have the odd tiredness or tingling feeling down my bum but its not really sore, sometimes i think i am imagining it.
I just wanted to update in case this helps anyone and if anyone has any questions just ask and i will be happy to help.

 

[Beautiful Disaster]

Hi Irishman, good to hear you're doing so well. I don't play sports but had a laminectomy and discectomy in my neck, the laminectomy was to make more space and reduce pressure on my spinal cord....I think. It was done in July and I thought it would recover in no time. Wrong, the physio suggested avoiding any kind of lifting or carrying for 3 months. And I'm surprised to find I still get angry muscles if I lower my head too long...i.e reading, sewing. Apparently it all needs time to settle down again, and it really does take time.

And welcome to my world of unemployment, the final insult. Its important to stay optimistic...but very hard to do. Good luck!

 

[Darth]

Thanks for the response Melza. Yeah that sounds right about the laminectomy. I have a tight back apparantly.It will take time.
As for the work thing, i am bugging people as i speak, someone will eventually have to give me a job

 

[moody dude]

Hi everyone, just an update.
Hope you are all doing well as I am. Just had a few ropey days there, not with surgery, but an old illness recurring. Okay now, though.
The exercises the physio gave me were basically extension exercises (mckenzie) to prevent adhesions. Was able to go grocery shopping yesterday, with hubby, of course to load and off load the trolley, but still glad I could do it. have not had any painkillers since last Wednesday but still need naproxen and baclofen.
Definitely, for me, the surgery was a great success, however I still have a numb foot and some foot drop after walking but hopefully that will be helped by the nerve root injection which I,m waiting for.
I am really delighted for you all, it is a great encouragement to read all your blogs and for anyone facing surgery, I would say, BRING IT ON.

 

[Miss Bookworm]

I completely agree. I went out for a meal with my hubby and kids last night. 6 weeks ago, I couldn't even have contemplated that as I wouldn't have been able to sit for that long.
Haven't risked the food shop yet, but that's mainly because I work at our local school and I can't shop without bumping into at least half a dozen of our pupils and their families and as I'm off sick, I don't want anyone jumping to the conclusion that I should be back in school. But I'm looking forward to knowing that maybe I'll be able to return to my job in a few weeks, all be it tenantatively. Hopefully I'll be able to be back in time to set the budget for the new financial year. I know it's mad but that's something that's been worrying me a lot whilst I've been off and I now feel able to beleive that life is going to get back to normal soon.
I think I've also realised just how much pain I really was in before the op and what a high pain threshold I must have. Now that I'm pretty much pain free, I can appreciate just how bad daily life had become. I wish I'd pushed for this op years ago. I could have been pain free much sooner, but still.... que sera and all that.
I'm glad to hear everyone else is doing so well. Those of you waiting for surgery, take strength from us. We've all been there. We know how you feel. And we all want to hear that you're able to put a life of pain behind you.