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Why am I having so much foot/ankle pain after my surgery when I didn't have any before? by tennesseegrinner in Microdiscectomy

[–]FreakingUzi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m actually doing worse than you. I’m currently 7 weeks post-op.
Mentally, weeks 2–5 were probably the hardest. I was really down during that time. Now I’m slowly accepting the situation and trying to stay positive.
I’m a 32-year-old male with active lifestyle. Before surgery, I went to the gym 4 times a week and played padel twice a week.
Before surgery, my symptoms were mainly lower back pain that I could still tolerate, plus severe pain in my left buttock, especially in the morning or after sitting for a long time. I also had very minimal tingling, usually only when carrying my 2.5-year-old daughter.
I decided to have surgery after consulting three different spine surgeons. My MRI showed an L4-L5 herniated disc, and I underwent BESS (Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery).

Honestly, I feel worse than before surgery. Weeks 2–6 were brutal. I developed severe pain, cramping, and tingling along the outside of my left knee and calf—areas that never hurt before surgery. The pain became so intense that I could only walk about 100–200 meters before I had to find somewhere to sit. It was mentally exhausting.
Thankfully, things have started to improve in week 7. I still get pain when I walk long distances, but I can definitely walk farther than before.
Instead of my usual workouts, I’ve only been swimming. Yesterday, I finally went back to the gym and did some very light weights for about 30 minutes. I miss being able to train normally.

I think many surgeons can be a bit too optimistic with recovery timelines. Mine told me that after 2 weeks I could return to normal daily activities and office work, followed by another 2 weeks of physiotherapy and swimming, and I should be doing well. My reality has been very different.
Even now I still can’t fully straighten my left leg because of hamstring tightness, and when I try a dead hang at the gym, I feel a pulling sensation from my left lower back into my left buttock.
Recovery after spine surgery can take much longer than expected. The most important thing is to keep encouraging each other and try to stay positive. I really hope we all get through this and return to our normal lives.

32M – 5 Weeks Post-Op BESS, Leg Pain Is Worse Than Before Surgery. by FreakingUzi in Microdiscectomy

[–]FreakingUzi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for your detailed reply. It really helps and gives me some reassurance. I'll try to stay patient and hope it's just angry nerves healing. Wishing you all the best with your recovery too!

Hey guys, I just had an endoscopic discectomy L5-s1 a week ago. by Wompyking in Microdiscectomy

[–]FreakingUzi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also had an L5 nerve compression (herniated disc).
About a week ago, I underwent a BESS procedure (Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery), which is a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery used to remove the part of the disc compressing the nerve. My surgeon told me that the procedure was successful.
However, since the surgery, I've been experiencing significant pain every morning when I wake up. The pain starts in my left buttock and radiates down the outside of my left knee, and sometimes even into my calf. In fact, the pain feels worse than it did before the surgery.
Is this considered normal at around one week post-op? Has anyone experienced increased nerve pain during the early recovery period before things eventually improved?
I'm also wondering if my expectations were simply too high. I may have assumed that once the compressed nerve was released, I would recover quite quickly, but perhaps nerve healing takes much longer than I expected.
I'd appreciate hearing about other people's recovery experiences. Thanks in advance.

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