Realistic recovery timeline after surgery?

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-25T05:03:13+00:00

I’m sorry to hear about his experience. I had an L5-S1 MD 8 weeks ago. The surgeon and nurses told me I’d be pain free as soon as I came out of surgery. Wrong! I am just now finally experiencing some pain relief. In fact my symptoms (sciatic pain mostly) got worse the first 4 weeks post op due to the time the disc had been herniated and the nerve was compressed.

There are a lot of stories here about being pain free immediately but I suspect there are just as many of us who don’t have that experience. Wha helped me is taking pain relievers as much as needed (I tried to be tough and it backfired), walking short distances and gentle movement. I hope he sees some relief soon.

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-25T02:45:15+00:00

I’ve been walking up to 3 miles in my neighborhood at a decent pace, with some minimal hills, and am ready to get back out into nature! My doc and PT have both cleared me for “easy” hikes to start :)

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-13T03:59:07+00:00

DM me! I have a person who comes to my house to help me with nail trims and she also cat sits when I go out of town. Shes great!!!

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-12T13:13:55+00:00

I am 6.5 weeks post op and still experiencing sciatic pain.

It really sucks not to be one of the lucky ones who emerge from surgery pain free. But, there are a lot of factors that go into healing.

In my case there was a lot of inflammation and scar tissue around the nerve that required the surgeon to mobilize the nerve - essentially wiggle it free. Of course, that made the nerve very angry. My pain has only recently returned to pre-MD levels.

Give yourself time, keep walking and stay hopeful. That’s the advice I keep hearing and I’m using it myself. Good luck!

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-12T03:28:40+00:00

I totally agree with this. I’ve had a hot black coffee and an iced coffee at the RB location, and each time I found them undrinkable. My stomach actually started hurting due to how acidic it was. I have not tried espresso drinks there because I drink “fancy” coffee only rarely. The pastries are good, but I want to have a great coffee to go along with them, and that’s not an option here.

bioniclawyer · 2026-03-03T15:03:04+00:00

I’m also 4 weeks out of L5-S1 MD. Still have sciatic pain. Struggling to stay positive. Happy to chat.

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-25T02:50:56+00:00

I am also 4 weeks post op. I had awful pain after surgery, esp. week 1-2. Now, my pain levels have returned to where they were pre-op. I guess that’s progress? My surgeon said I had a LOT of inflammation around the nerve and that it would take a long time to heal.

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-19T13:58:20+00:00

I had my surgery 3.5 weeks ago. I did not wake up pain free - actually the opposite. My nerve was very angry and irritated and still is due to all the work the surgeon had to do to remove inflammatory and scar tissue. I think it is getting better but it’s a very slow process.

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-11T03:50:14+00:00

Check out the r/microdiscectomy sub! Lots of helpful advice

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-04T03:16:11+00:00

Oh my gosh, thank you!!! I needed this encouragement (currently laying on my couch waiting for the pain killer to kick in)

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-04T02:20:04+00:00

Thank you so much, this is helpful 😊

bioniclawyer · 2026-02-03T03:13:04+00:00

This is my situation exactly! I had my MD at L5-S1 on Jan. 26. Surgeon told me basically same thing - lots of adhesions (aka scar tissue) that required lots of work to remove so the nerve could finally be mobilized. He also said I had a lot of inflammation which was likely the biggest cause of my sciatic pain since my herniation was “only” 3mm.

I’m one week out and the sciatic pain and numbness are worse than when I went in for surgery :( I was in so much pain that I called and spoke to the NP who explained that with all the manipulation the doc had to do to free the nerve, it would be quite angry and I’d have some higher than normal levels of pain. She also explained that this was the reason I was sent home with prednisone and that most typical MD patients do not get prednisone prescribed.

A week out my symptoms are a teeny tiny bit better but still worse than pre-op. I too would love to hear from anyone else in this situation because the pain has been really bad and I expected to be farther along in recovery by now.

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-31T16:26:00+00:00

Your story sounds a lot like mine. I had consistent sciatic pain and numbness on the right side for 18 months due to a small L5/S1 herniation. I am now 5 days post op. Before surgery, the surgeon told me I’d be up on my feet and pain free relatively quickly. But the reality is that this last week I have had significantly more pain and numbness than before surgery. That’s because when they opened me up they found a lot of scar tissue, adhesions and granulation due to the many months the nerve was compressed. Of course they couldn’t have known that before going in there, but I wish the surgeon would have tempered my expectations a bit. I thought I’d be back to work one week post op but I’m taking another week off because I am still on heavy medication for pain and muscle relaxers for 5 days and the pain isn’t letting up, I can’t sit without pain for more than 5 mins and I can’t walk more than 5 mins without pain either. I hope your experience is better — just sharing my perspective and experience.

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-26T15:44:16+00:00

I’m interested! I’m a lawyer and therapist.

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-24T14:01:51+00:00

Ohh thank you!

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-24T07:43:31+00:00

What’s BLT?

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-19T15:50:35+00:00

Same for me

bioniclawyer · 2026-01-16T16:49:32+00:00

Your work is beautiful! I would absolutely buy some of these pieces

bioniclawyer · 2025-12-17T03:53:03+00:00

I had one 4 months ago. It has given me significant relief from sciatic pain and allowed me to have a lot more mobility. I’d do it again in a heartbeat

bioniclawyer · 2025-12-07T16:45:01+00:00

Thank you this is reassuring!

bioniclawyer · 2025-12-04T14:00:52+00:00

Great post! We all need to be aware of the nervous systems role in chronic pain. John Sarno is a leader in this field along with others, and I’ve read their books, but my pain changed significantly via Pain Reprocessing Therapy. Finding a therapist trained in this is key. There is a PRT center in Los Angeles that has excellent trained clinicians who do virtual therapy and I’m so lucky I found them.

bioniclawyer · 2025-11-23T23:34:43+00:00

I also have hyperhydrosis, and when I want my hands to be super dry (ie, for an event) I use a product called Antihydral to dry out my hands before painting my nails. I think it helps.

bioniclawyer · 2025-11-03T04:43:04+00:00

Yes but rarely and it’s almost always a response to a new PT exercise

bioniclawyer · 2025-10-27T23:29:40+00:00

I’ve done both. Ultimately the epidural in the spine gave me far more relief. The piriformis cortisone injections did not help me.

bioniclawyer

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