Progress Report: Week 14

Doing pretty good the past few weeks, but I suspect that is because I'm not really walking much after work. That is not good. But it means the sciatica is gone. But I don't want any scar tissue weirdness etc so I gotta get that going again.

However, after a trip to the roller derby last weekend, having some minor pain again. Who knew there wouldn't be SEATS at the roller derby!? I had to stand up for four hours. I did pretty good, considering. But surgery was just three months ago. So I've paid for it a little bit, but not as bad as a month ago when I got too carried away shopping and thought I'd reherniated. So that's good.

What Surgery Was Like Pt I

One of the things that I was the most curious about was: What Would Surgery Be Like for Me? I googled to no end, but it wasn't so soothing. There are too many horror stories online. Here's my experience.

First of all, I had been told this would be an outpatient procedure. The week before the surgery, I found out I'd probably spend one night in the hospital. OK.

A few weeks before, I had to get some chest x-rays, blood and urine work done. I think that this is when it really started to hit me that I was having this thing called "surgery" -- you know, that old or weak or sickly people have. Not me at 35. After giving blood a few weeks pre-surgery, I started to feel like I was about to have a panic attack.... The weeks prior (I waited out the Christmas break) were very stressful. I gained weight, got lots of well-intentioned yet not helpful "advice" from people. Probably the worst experience was when I went to a new physician in my primary care's office to get my EKG and various bloodwork. He was young and pretty "new agey" and wanted to know WHY I was having surgery. This type of surgery was a big deal, he said, had I tried other solutions? No dumbass, I woke up with a backache and decided to have a laminectomy/microdiscectomy. It was sorta insulting. But I was so upset and stressed by this point that I just started bawling. That was the indicator he needed, I suspect, to assume I was not sold on this surgery thing (not to mention perhaps not a good candidate for it -- I seemed like an emotional wreck!) He asked me if I had ever consulted my dreams about my back and advice as to what I should do. "Be sure to ask them to deliver the answer to you in a clear way that you'll understand," he added.

My dreams said, "What took you so long? You shoulda had this surgery 5 months ago!"

Two weeks before surgery, I had to quit taking Advil (my go-to painkiller through all of this, although I'll discuss my thoughts on prescription meds at a later date), because it thins your blood. I also quit with my fish oil and turmeric which I had been taking for inflammation, since those also thin your blood. Perhaps any anti-inflammatory thins your blood. Regardless, I wanted my blood to be thick 'n juicy during my surgery!

I packed a big bag with house shoes, a robe, toiletries--which I did NOT need--and that morning, my boyfriend took me to the hospital. My surgery was scheduled for late afternoon. I think I got there about 6 hours early. Yikes!

I went to a lot of different offices and filled out a lot of paperwork. People asked me if I wanted to donate my organs. I know no one had probably ever died from a microdiscectomy, but...holy crap! Not trying to be overdramatic but damn, this was really heavy stuff!

Ended up in a "waiting bay" type of area. Put on my hospital gown and socks. Got my IV put in. Sat in that room for maybe 3 hours, watching a Dog Whisperer marathon. So happy that my boyfriend was able to stay there with me.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

What's that? Oh, my surgeon is running behind. He is very thorough, I keep being told. A typical 45 min operation takes him 1.5 hours. That's cool. Still, I'm waiting. I play Mystery Case Files on my Nintendo DS. My boyfriend horses around with the box of gloves bolted to the wall. Time inches by.

Suddenly, the room is aflurry with activity. The anestheologist comes in. He looks like Ed Begley Jr. What am I allergic to? Well, all the women in my family complain about codeine. But that's not me. So, whatever!

I think it was around now that I just started crying. I was so scared. No one had ever died from a microdiscectomy....right?

Progress Report: Week 12

I'm happy to report that this week was much better than last. Hardly any sciatica, and not as much icing the back to kill the pain. And I'm down to only 2 Advil a day! Of course a lot of this is due to the fact that I'm not walking around the block after work. I should be. So next week I'll start that back up. Still going to physical therapy and they make me feel so great there, and like I'm improving. Of course I am the youngest one in the gym room at that time by a good 50-60 years so I guess I shouldn't get too cocky.

I'm just glad the pain isn't as bad -- I was fearing reherniation last week, and this week is great. Yay for no walking!