Progress Report: Week 23

I had more discomfort and pain this past week, for what I believe were two main reasons. First, I swore off Advil this week. I had been taking it pretty much daily for 5 1/2 months and realized that this might not be the healthiest thing for me, with the side effects of prolonged use and whatnot. So I went cold turkey. And that meant more pain. Usually not too bad, but waking up I'd hurt in my back and have some sciatica issues, a 3-4 on the pain scale I guess. But I also realized that I was not doing my after-work walking consistently. So for the past week or so, I've been walking 1.5 miles/30 minutes around the block every other day. I plan to work up to longer walks, daily. I'm pushing myself a little and walking as briskly as I can, going up hills, etc. It is getting my heart rate up and making me sweat, which is so nice after 10 months of no exercise. I am so out of shape that this walking is totally enough of a workout at this point! (And, I no longer limp when I get tired, which is a huge accomplishment!) But the most exciting part of this is that my pain has diminished tremendously. I think I am adjusting to the no-Advil too. So this is all very exciting. So remember to walk!

What it Was Like, Post-Surgery

After spending those three days in the hospital, I returned home. Here’s where the fun part starts—at least in the hospital people are there to help you. Now the true test would begin. Here are some things that helped me through those first couple of weeks after surgery.

ESSENTIALS:

• A grabber to pick things up off the floor. You will not be able to bend for several weeks after surgery, and these things are a lifesaver. You can find them at chain stores and somesome drugstores.
• Slip-on shoes. I went to far as to buy a black leather tennis/work shoe hybrid before surgery. These could function as tennis shoes but looked nicer, so I could wear them to work even after surgery. I wasn't sure how long it'd be before I could tie shoes again! I also wore crocs (don't judge me!) and did my daily walking in those.
• Some soft loungewear/activewear. It was winter, so I got some soft velour and fleece warm-up suits because I knew I wouldn't be able to wrestle with a pair of jeans. These felt like pajamas, but the matching jacket could fool any neighbors who saw me doing my daily walks and make it look as if I had not been in bed all day.
• Baby wipes. I didn't take a shower for a week. It was just too hard to try to saran-wrap, plus my bathroom has a large old tub with feet. It's a huge old tub in a tiny old apartment. The sides of this tub hit me mid-thigh, I have to step waay up over that to get in. (I used a stool to get up and in after surgery.) Needless to say, my baths were sparse for the first month after surgery. Baby wipes helped with the "instant bird-bath" idea.
• Dry shampoo. You can usually find this in drug stores. See the above as to why I needed it. It was essential!
• A bath scrubber with a handle. When I finally was able to take baths, this came in handy and I just recently retired mine. It keeps you from twisting to bathe your back or the back of your legs.
• A toilet seat riser. I didn’t expect to need this, but after surgery I felt I needed one so I got one on the way home from the hospital. These aren’t cheap but I felt it was worth it for me and my bathroom setup. I was very pleased with it. The handles helped and the extra height kept me from having to bend down as far to sit. I think it is worth the investment, even if it does make your home look a little nursing home-like.
• Putting things in low places beforehand. A few days before surgery, I took a quick visual inventory of my bathroom, kitchen and bedroom, and placed things on counters and places that I could reach without bending. I put clothes out on top of my dresser, and toiletries on shelves waist-high. I even rearranged some food in the pantry and in the fridge so that I wouldn’t have to bend or twist.
• Pillows, pillows, blankets and more pillows. While I couldn’t rest my head on a pillow for a good week after surgery, I put one or two up under my knees and thighs and it took the pressure off of my lower spine. I later used them to prop up various parts of me in various positions, to watch TV or to eat.
• A TV/breakfast tray. A TV tray with legs might have been easier but the one I had had the little short legs. It was very helpful. Mealtimes were tough for a few weeks after surgery because it was so hard to get the setup right or to get comfortable. Again, I live in a very small apartment so there is no dining room table and I ate sitting up on the side of the bed before I graduated to a chair. I also would put books, magazines, pens etc. and this was my “desk” in bed as well.
• Things to read. Because you can only stare at the bedroom ceiling for so long.
  

NOT-AS-ESSENTIAL, BUT SO NICE TO HAVE:

• A laptop computer. I borrowed one from my brother and laid on my back with this resting on my chest. It kept me entertained and in touch with the world. I actually made myself two books, one on shutterfly and one on blurb, while laying on my back recovering from surgery. It was highly entertaining and kept me busy.
• Netflix. I treated myself to a subscription to Netflix and have been quite happy with it.
• A Nintendo DS. I already had this, and it lying flat on your back is a great time to use it.
• Cable TV. To alleviate the boredom.
• A Siamese-mix cat. Because they make the best nurses.
  

Little things were hard. I couldn’t feed the cat or clean her litterbox. Certainly no cleaning of my own. I am glad I had my boyfriend coming over every day to help me out, I have to be honest, it would have been very hard to do this alone. Luckily I got better quickly, and each day was an improvement. I also was on the walking regime that they give every microdiscectomy patient, walking several times a day around my neighborhood. At first this idea of walking so much seemed crazy — I was recovering from surgery, for goodness sake! — but it really did make a huge difference. I could feel awful and achy, walk for 20 minutes, and come back feeling so much better. I kept an excel chart too of how long I went each walk and each day, to make sure I was doing what I needed to be doing. By the end of my initial pre-work recovery period (6 or 7 weeks) I was up to 2-3 miles/day. I waited 7 weeks to return to work, and honestly don’t know how people return after a month or less. Sitting and driving were not easy for me and I was so afraid of returning to work after 7 weeks. Luckily, everything worked out OK!

Progress Report: Week 22

This weekend marked my five-month surgery anniversary. Wow! I am actually looking forward to July's anniversary date, since it will be six months. I am not sure why. Perhaps because when things were rough, I'd tell myself, "Things will be different in six months. It'll be summer. I'll be back at work. I'll probably have lost 30 lbs. It'll be great!" Well, maybe that's not all 100% true, but things are going pretty good overall. I'm noticing that my toe and side of foot is barely numb most of the time, and I can very briefly go up on my toes on my "bad" side. I don't feel quite as gnarled and tight on my left side. I've had some pain though lately that reminds me that I did have surgery 22 weeks ago. The other morning my back was hurting when I woke up. It was the first time I had realized that while the pain is substantially better than it was -- substantially! -- there still is not a day where I am 100% pain-free. There is barely a day when I don't take Advil. And then add in the pain before and that puts me at about 12 months where I didn't feel some pain every day. But -- and this but is important -- the pain is so much less than it used to be. I'm talking a 1 or 2 here. Sometimes I still have sciatica issues. In the evenings after work and after cooking dinner it can hurt. After I cleaned the bathroom it hurt pretty good. But then I lie down, ice it, and the next morning I am pretty much fine. I think that is progress! So overall I am optimistic that I will eventually be OK.