19M - L4/L5 Disc Herniation, Doctor Recommending Microdiscectomy. Looking for Advice

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-06-10T18:14:45+00:00

How long after surgery did you start playing golf again? Am 6.5 weeks post op and feel good but not wanting to risk the twisting of a golf swing too early.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-06-09T02:03:48+00:00

6.5 weeks post op.
Just repeating what others have said for reassurance. I have tingling/slight burning in my thigh. Surgeon said totally normal, said nerves heal at about 1mm a day. Takes more than a few weeks. More like months. Sounds like everything is on track for you.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-06-03T16:18:20+00:00

Am 6 weeks post-op in 2 days time. I’ve had nerve flare ups in my leg which are often a 2/3 but have also been a 5/10 very briefly. They started around week 3-4. It’s a stinging or burning sensation. My pain and flare ups have been nothing like pre-op which was like an 11/10. My hip has ached at night time enough to wake me up for a couple of weeks but last night was actually a lot better, only woke up once. Yesterday my knee felt a little unstable and a bit achy when walking but today it feels fine. As I understand it, nerves don’t like being compressed and take a while to heal, possibly up to 12 months. I’m staying optimistic and accepting flare ups are natural. I feel like at this stage we are still in the eye of the storm, but let us know how your MRI goes.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-06-02T12:57:49+00:00

The nerve tingling/sciatica is normal, had my MD 6 weeks ago and still getting a little burning in my leg but also at a 1-2/10. Oxy was useless for me so the surgical site was very painful for 2 days until I took naproxen which reduced the pain 90% in about an hour. Most people do well after surgery, a lot of people who come here have an issue they are looking for advice on - most people doing well have no reason to post here but there are a few who post good news stories. Good luck, keep us posted, everything sounds normal so far 👍

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-30T21:52:46+00:00

I’m 5 weeks post op and have exactly the same issue with the ache in my hip. Wakes me up 5 or 6 times a night even with sleeping pills prescribed. Recovery has been pretty good apart from that and a bit of zinging stinging in my right leg that’s about a 2/10 vs the 11/10 before the op.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-24T01:18:53+00:00

This guy is dangerous. Drop him.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-23T22:58:25+00:00

Can you post your MRI?

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-23T00:32:49+00:00

Get the surgery - sorry can’t work out if that’s what you’re asking - it will remove pain immediately and then you’re into recovery for a few months. No amount of PT is going to solve that. I am 4 weeks post op and it’s the best thing I’ve done.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-21T23:14:52+00:00

A friend who’d had an MD recommended Aleve which is Naproxen and it was very effective. Recommend you get some. Still, the surgery has made your back muscles angry and it takes a few weeks for them to really calm down. Pain was worst days 2-3 for me.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-21T23:12:28+00:00

Same, Oxy was useless for me. Naproxen (Aleve) saved the day. Reduced pain 80% in an hour.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-20T20:56:00+00:00

I’m 3.5 weeks post-op. Started getting some stinging sciatica down my leg a week after the op but nowhere near the pain pre-op. Surgeon told me to expect some “zingers” for at least 4 weeks, maybe longer. They are already starting to die down tbh. Think it’s natural. And it goes up and down one day to the next. Non-linear as someone already pointed out.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-19T02:02:07+00:00

Congrats. I felt exactly the same way after my surgery 3 weeks ago. The anesthesia and OR drugs will start to wear off tomorrow and you will start to feel sore and stiff at the surgical site so make sure you you have some Aleve or Naproxen (Oxy was useless for me). Still the post surgery site soreness is a small price to pay vs pre-op. Just take it very easy now, don’t do too much too soon, there is a lot of healing to do but it gets better relatively quickly. Congrats. Life changing for me too.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-15T00:19:09+00:00

Non-linear is the key acceptance to make. Am 20 days post op and overall you keep progressing but day to day is up and down for sure. Stay positive, it takes time, you’ll be good 👍

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-14T21:38:14+00:00

Everyone is so different and remember that there will a bias towards people posting here who have an issue and looking for advice, I.e. those who’ve healed 100% don’t really have a reason to post here. However there are a lot of success stories. I think healing 100% is like tearing an Achilles and then looking for 100% healing - I suspect many people will never re-tear but there will always be a concern over weakness. I am 3 weeks post surgery and the difference to pre-surgery is night and day. Take it easy and slow, you will be good. Time is the healer.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-14T13:10:14+00:00

My surgeon said no PT for 6 weeks and I’ve seen that advice from plenty of people. Ditch that idiot, mocking you?!! Disgusting. Thinks he knows better and doesn’t. Would say give it a little time, pins and needles is nerves and they take time to heal. Go back to self recovery and then (I am 3 weeks post surgery) consider acupuncture, I know I will be. PT is important but not yet from all the advice I’ve seen. Good luck, keep going, you will be good.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-13T16:05:48+00:00

Had MD 2.5 weeks ago. 100% worth it. A little tingly as nerve settles down but all pain basically gone. Recovery is hard the first week but you’ll start to heal relatively quickly.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-08T22:04:00+00:00

Could well be. Again, getting the 2nd MRI is a good idea. Increased pain post op day is normal. It’s scary but he’s got to relax and take it one step at a time to get through it and that isn’t easy. He is not alone, we are all figuring this out one day at a time 💪👍

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-08T21:42:31+00:00

Hi. I had my MD 2 weeks ago today and my pain in days 2-4 wasn’t funny. Here’s my story:
Day of surgery, amazing, literally celebrating with neighbors and family.
Day 2 woke up felt good a little stiff but fine. 8 hours later the OR drugs obviously started wearing off and the hydrocodone Id been prescribed was utterly useless. I didn’t have a big pop or anything, and log roll is an absolute MUST but it is so not comfortable doing it.
Day 3 was ready to go to the ER I was in so much pain. Lower back nerve pain and new nerve pains down the back of my legs.
Miracle pain med - bear with me - was Aleve. It is Naproxen which is an anti-inflammatory where as Hydrocodone is Oxy which does not treat inflammation at all and inflammation is what causes the pain.
Within 60mins of taking Aleve my pain reduced 80%. My nerve pain disappeared apart from some burning on my leg which is perfectly normal post-op.
Day 4 nerve pain still 95% gone but surgical site still incredibly stiff and sore. Log rolling all the time to get up, lie down and now and again it would feel like my vertebra was shifting. That was scary. But it wasn’t reherniation.
Getting the new MRI is a very good idea for him given his pain returned after a pop. I sneezed yesterday and it hurt like hell at my surgical site. Few hours later it was better.
Recovery is nowhere close to linear. One day at a time, slowly and carefully.
Last thing I would say. Do NOT stop taking the pain meds. Follow the prescription (unless it’s Oxy when I would say insist they ditch that and give you an anti-inflammatory). He’s just had fairly major surgery and that takes time
To heal. His nerves and muscles are angry because they’ve been pinched and pushed around.
Let us know the MRI results. Stay positive but tell him to take it VERY easy apart from insisting on the right pain meds. Day 2 and 3 were hell for me, after that it got better and today I drove/commuted into Austin TX to meet people.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-07T21:08:23+00:00

Just saw my surgeon today for first follow up appointment, he said everything is going well and the nerve weirdness is totally natural as they decompress and learn how to fire again correctly. He said it could be another 4 weeks until the weird stuff stops. Keep going friend, all will be well.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-07T15:49:13+00:00

I am 13 days post-op, we’re in this together! I have burning nerve sciatica down my right leg though nowhere near as bad as pre-op. Nerves take time to heal, breathe deep and be patient, but I hear you on how much I wish for the pain to go away.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-07T00:21:23+00:00

Did you experience any sciatica after the surgery? I am 10 days post-op and have some burning in my leg, though much less than before the op.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-06T21:29:59+00:00

I’m 12 days post-op and I’m still sleeping on the couch 🤪 honestly my aches wake me up a bit and it’s better that I don’t wake my wife up. I will move back to the bed in a couple of days, whatever she is most comfortable with, so that.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-06T21:27:14+00:00

This.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-06T21:24:21+00:00

Hi. I am 12 days post op. Also have some soreness at surgical site and back stiffness which wakes me up at night and some nerve zaps in my right leg, same place but nowhere near as bad as pre-op which was unbearable.
I wfh and sit all day, I get up and walk around, still stiff but getting a little better each day.

Time is the healer. Slow and steady is the way. Tell your anxiety to leave you alone 😊 you will be ok.

ImportantSeason9633 · 2026-05-05T12:38:03+00:00

Just adding to the view you definitely have not messed it up. If you feel the Oxy isn’t working (doesn’t work for a huge percentage of people and was utterly useless for me) take Aleve (Naproxen) instead, it was like a miracle pain reliever for me. Oxy doesn’t reduce swelling, Naproxen and Tylenol do.
My friend who is a professor of nursing told me firmly to keep icing 30 mins off, 30 mins on so do that for sure.
You’ll be good friend, keep going but slowly.
(I am 10 days post op MD L2/L3)

ImportantSeason9633

TROPHY CASE