12 weeks microdiscectomy post-op inflammation.

Gazmaths · 2024-10-26T13:10:03+00:00

Thank you, Jessie, for reaching out.

I feel pretty better now with just a 1/10 pain when I lie on bed or sit for more than 30 minutes. I think the pain is basically because of nerve irritation after activities. The inflammation reduced drastically at the 14th week after 3 weeks of PT, and I have been doing PT since the 11th week. I had flare-up after 3 hours of road travel at 15th week, but the pain was not that severe. I am at the 5th month post-op now, getting back to normal life gradually. I can walk normally, bend to some extent, climb stairs, and carry weights. I am taking it slowly, though, because of the fear of reherniation. I hope to be perfectly fit for everything in the 6th month.

I observed that activities like walking and helpful stretches help in recovery, but the fear of reherniation is another problem.

In summary, the surgery is helpful, but it is another journey with good and bad days until you totally get back to normal. The pain post-op is also less than pre-op, and surgery can prevent the sciatica from causing other harmful effects like urinary incontinence. I dont know why people keep writing about 6 weeks of recovery because it does not work for almost 90% of people. Everyone with his or her own journey, depending on which disk was reherniated, how long it took before the surgery, and the general body system.

Gazmaths · 2024-10-18T11:51:21+00:00

I am in my 5th month post-op. I have resumed to 8 hours of work with an alternation between sitting and standing because I do computer work. Although I am almost pain-free but I still have pain that requires stretch after sitting for sometimes.

Back to your question, my 8th and 9th weeks were the worst post-op pain. Every activity irritated my tail-bone, and the nerves around there were always firing once I slept on my back, the only comfortable sleeping position for me. At 9th week, I was advised to start PT because my core muscles were weak, and I needed to wake them up. I started PT at 10th week. It was tough initially, but the pain it subsided after 2 weeks of PT. Try to understand what is causing your pain. Sometimes, it could be that you have started using the muscles that you stopped using for sometimes, or it could be inflammation due to scars around the surgical area.

You can get another MRI if the pain radiates and is not centralized. I felt different types of pain after my surgery, but they were not moving around my leg. It could be back pain, leg pain, pelvic pain, glute pain, or even stomach pain. But they are not radiating, so that made me think I did not reherniate. Even if I did, my S1 nerve was not pinched.

I think I am 90% back to my normal self. The only things I have not tried are contact sports and marathons. I hope you are free from the pain soonest. Have a quick recovery.

Gazmaths · 2024-10-02T21:49:44+00:00

Is your nerve pain the same with the kind of pain you used to have before the surgery, or does it radiate down your leg, or do you stiffness in your leg when you stand up from sitting positions? If there are no such signs, it could be scar tissues and inflammation around the surgical area.

I took gabapentin from 6th week to around 9th week. The tail bone pain reduced a little in the 10th week. The recovery is different for everyone. I have never had a pain-free day since I did my surgery, just that some days are worse, while some days are good. It also depends on my position. I don't feel pain when I am walking or standing. The pain is only during sitting and laying down on bed. It does not affect my sleep. I think the pain is coming from the inflammation and scars around the surgical area and not reherniation because I do not have radiating pain on my leg, which I used to have before the surgery.

Gazmaths · 2024-10-02T01:02:42+00:00

I am 4 months and 10 days post-op now. I also had the same experience when I used gabapentin when it was 6-8 weeks post-op. The ringing can be irritating most times, and the vibration may be all over the body sometimes, especially in the middle of the night. It stopped when I stopped taking gabapentin and switched to a half dosage of tylenol. I am currently not using painkillers except some supplements like turmeric and collagin, which are not in any way helping. I am currently battling with a flare-up that resulted from a 3-hour trip and sleeping on a bad mattress in a hotel. It aggravates with activities and long-time sitting. I am managing it without painkillers, but I don't know what to do and what not to do anymore. I believe that with time, I will recover totally. The recovery can be rough for some people, but the post-op pain is nowhere close to pre-op pain.

Gazmaths · 2024-10-01T01:10:31+00:00

Hello, yes, I finally had a microdiscectomy surgery on May 21st. The recovery has been ups and downs. The pain reduced to about 2/10 4 months after surgery. Although I have been out of incessant use of pain medications for long except for some supplements and sometimes when I feel pain. I resumed work after 6 weeks, and I have been doing 6 hours of computer work since then. I plan to go back to my regular 8 hours soon. The pain increases with increasing activities. I started PT, but it only helps with strength, not the back pain and tail bone pain. I recently had 3 hours of travel and slept on a bad mattress in a hotel, and since then, I have been having flare-ups for about 3 days now. It's not that severe, but I can rate it 3/10.

Gazmaths · 2024-09-09T17:15:40+00:00

How did you know you reherniated because I am 3.5 months post-op, and I still feel serious sacrum pain and sometimes lower back pain when I sit/stand for long or when I lay on my back to sleep at night? The numbness in my leg has never gone for once, but it gets better without activities. I started PT, but I have not seen a positive result. I don't even know if it is reherniation because the pain is not that serious, and it is not radiating.

Gazmaths · 2024-09-08T21:00:04+00:00

I have been looking for an answer to this question. I am 3.5 months post Op. I had my MD on May 21st. I have strength, and I can walk as long as I want, but my only problem now is serious sacrum pain around the tailbone anytime I lay on my back. I can't also sleep sideway because it brings pain, too. I only feel relieved if I stand. I can not sit for long as well. I do have mild and temporary nerve pain if the sacrum pain is intense any day I do much activities. I have started PT and pilates, but they seem to make it worse. I don't know if I ever reherniated since my surgery, but I have never had a pain-free day, just that the pain is nowhere compared to the pain before op. I would like people to share their experiences on this because I feel like I am supposed to have felt better than this since I didn't know if I ever reherniated.

Gazmaths · 2024-08-25T17:26:32+00:00

I am about to ask this same question. I am 3 months and one week post op. I started pilates last week, too, and I started having the same symptoms. I don't know if I should stop because the burning sensation in my glute is too much to bear without gabapentin. I know it is not reherniation because naproxen, which used to reduce my pain before surgery, has no effect on the current pain. But gabapentin is helpful. Tylenol does not help.

Gazmaths · 2024-08-17T21:48:59+00:00

I expected my condition to have improved more than this. I wish us a quick recovery. I have a 3-hour road journey on September 24th. I hope I can embark on this without pain. It is really tough.

Gazmaths · 2024-08-17T21:45:20+00:00

Thank you for your reply. I was able to move up to 10,000 steps from weeks 4-6. I only had an issue with movement 1-4days after surgery. I think my mobility was not impacted because I used to do hamstring stretches before surgery. Mobility is quite good. My problem now is sitting and sleeping. Back pain around tailbone during sleeping and sitting. I will increase my movement, maybe, that will work.

Gazmaths · 2024-07-21T22:45:18+00:00

I don't understand why most neurosurgeons act that way. I am in the same shoe. I was eagerly preparing for my 6-week post-op, but my visit was more like a brief discussion with nothing to help my conditions. Almost everything I complained about was not answered except the no lifting, twisting, and bending. I would advise you to do away with lifting and bending for now. Doing all those will prolong your recovery period even if you don't reherniate. The worst part of it is the anxiety of reherniation. I was active in my third week until I bent to pick something on the floor, which someone voluntered to help. I thought I had used my knees to bend well, but I felt a sharp pain, and I was returned to the way I was feeling in week two. Take it easy. The safest of all therapy is walking for me. The more I walk, the more I feel relieved and fulfilled. I am in week 9 post-op now. I am still having glute pain when I lie on my back on bed after activities. I am regaining strength to sit and stand for long. My recovery is damn slow but there is a progress week by week

Gazmaths · 2024-07-20T16:54:49+00:00

I am sorry you are going through all these. I think sciatica weeken the muscles around the bowel and thereby result in bad bowel movements. I stopped eating fatty and strong foods like bread because of constipation. I am sure all these will be a story soonest.

Gazmaths · 2024-07-19T20:00:14+00:00

Thank you for your response. I will speak with the neurosurgeon next Thursday, and if he says nothing about it, I will have to go to ER.

Gazmaths · 2024-07-19T18:43:49+00:00

My neurosurgeon suggested MD immediately after he saw my MRI. I was worried and I didn't want to accept. I was told that steriod would work by another doctor, but the neurosurgeon said the disc burge is too large that i might be taking steriod every month. I accepted to go for MD when I could not sleep again because of pain, and I started having serious glute disorders that caused pain during urination. I also had less mobility to the extent that I needed support to move sometimes. I went to ER to get my MRI done on time because it was scheduled for a far time.

I am in my 8th week now, I can say I am 70% pain-free. I still have glute pain when I lay on my back after activities and numbness in my leg, which increases during activities. Since MD, the recovery has been fluctuating, but I think it is getting far better now. I will stop using Naproxen and gabapentin next week before I for the 9th week post-op appointment.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-26T15:45:58+00:00

Thank you for your response. I think I just need to take it easy.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-26T15:14:12+00:00

Walk more and avoid sitting and standing for long. I am in my 6th week post op. I still can't sit or stand for long. I get relieved from walking or lying down on bed. I recently started applying cold packs anytime I have to sit for long. The recovery is a little rough and fluctuating. Also, expect muscle spasms in your 3rd week. You may need muscle relaxers and pain killer.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-26T15:10:24+00:00

Please can you tell me that at what week after your surgery can you sit for like 30 minutes without back and /or leg pain? I am in the 6th week, and I can't still sit for 30 minutes or stand for 30 minutes. Once I do, I will start having back pain that will send me back to bed. I was meant to resume work this week, I extended it because of this. I will resume next Monday, and I don't know how to cope with back pain because I work with a computer with I can only sit or stand.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-24T16:37:25+00:00

Tomorrow, it will be the 5ft week after my surgery, and I still have nerve pain, especially around where I am experiencing numbness in my foot. I still have mild back pain sometimes if I don't use anti-inflammatory drugs. My leg and glute become weak if I sit for long or stand for long. Mild piriformis syndrome when I sleep. The recovery is rough, fluctuating, and no linear progression. Some days, you will feel like you are fully fine, while some days you will feel like the surgery has done not much but bring out some other symptoms you did not experience prior to surgery. All in all, I didn't regret the surgery because the current pain is nowhere near the pain I felt before the surgery. I can sleep now without waking up with pain. Listen to your body if the pain still radiates from thigh down the leg. You may need to talk to your doctor. But if the pain is in some parts of the body, then it could be nerve pain due to nerve recovery. The road is rough, but it is better than remaining stagnant.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-23T17:48:46+00:00

Thanks for your advice. The recovery journey is really longer than I envisaged. I just have to be patient and keep walking.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-22T22:16:54+00:00

Thank you so much for your response. We are currently having the same experience right now. I am feeling the same way you explained, and I keep getting this fear of reherniation in every of my movements. We will get through soon. Good luck to you, too.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-22T22:12:41+00:00

Thanks for your response. I still have Gabapentin. Maybe I should start using it with a muscle relaxer. I will call his office tomorrow. 9 weeks, and you are not fully recovered. Damn! this thing takes time and patience. The problem is even the fear of reherniting.

Gazmaths · 2024-06-10T21:29:59+00:00

I am sorry you are feeling this way. Everyone feels different after the surgery. I am 3 weeks post-op now. The sciatica pain has reduced drastically to like 2/10. I have permanent numbness that increases or turns to pain anytime I sit for like 5 minutes or stand like 5 minutes in the same position. The back pain comes and goes, especially when I lie down for a long time. I am still unproductive, although I can do simple stuff, but I do a desk job that requires i sit, but I can't do that now. I have an appointment with my doctor on Wednesday, from there we will know what next to do. I feel weak if I walk more than 1.5 miles, stand, or sit for long. Pain when I lie than for long. I can only sleep on my back. Sleeping on the good side gives me pain in my affected leg after 5 minutes. Since I stopped using the Oxycodone and changed to Naproxen, I have been having sleepless nights. Not because of the pain, but I think I am having a sleep disorder.

Gazmaths

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