I am ending my seventh month post-surgery. Overall much less pain. I am still working on becoming more active and I can't stress it enough -- whenever I start to have back pain, if I walk or swim for 30 mins or more, it improves significantly. All I can guess is that it has to do with getting blood into the lower back and to the disc.
One sort of minor thing that is sort of minorly concerning me is that my foot/toe seems to be slightly number than they were say, 6 weeks ago. I am guessing this is nerve damage, but I guess time will tell. I can feel it along the outer edge of my baby toe, and on the sole of my foot a little along the edge and then this strange numb pocket almost in the center of my foot. I am wondering if scar tissue is compressing the nerve, but I don't have any other symptoms so maybe it's just nerve damage. We'll see.
Still having pain when sleeping but I think that is my mattress because I feel fine at work. Suffered a little flare-up this past week but it's getting better. I didn't do anything that I know of, but work has been very stressful and I've been chained to my desk. So that is not helping.
I would like to have child(ren) in the next couple of years. Sometimes I worry that my back problems are going to either keep it from happening or make it very painful. I have read online accounts that plenty of women have the surgery and go on to have normal pregnancies. But then you have to lift your child for what, the next 7 years of their lives? I am just wondering how all of that is going to play out. This is another reason I'm working so hard to lose weight. Still swimming, although not nearly as much as I want to, to strengthen my back. Can't recommend that enough, and it's something I never would have imagined myself doing.
But overall the results are still positive. I am still glad I had the surgery. I still feel I am doing SO much better. I know I am doing better already than many who go through this. I just want to be totally "normal" again. I have to remember that I'm well on my way.
First off I would like to thank you for sharing your experience with the rest of us. I am a 7-week post-op microdiscectomy patient for a "large" L5-S1 disc herniation. I must've spend days reading on the internet both before and after the surgery to look for what to expect, the do's and don'ts, can'ts and can's. You were absolutely correct that in the internet community we mostly see people posting their worries and concerns pre- or post-surgery, and that people with "normal" recoveries don't tend to be as vocal, thus first glance the success rate may seem to be alarming to an outsider.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you have raised in the blog in your earlier recovery is the reherniation rate, where we see numbers anywhere between 1/thousands for your surgeon to as high as 20% being quoted on the web. You probably will have realized, but just for the future patients and patients-to-be out there looking for information, I have came to the realization that if a patient is concerned it might be more useful to try and find out a surgeon-specific statistics, since many surgeons uses combinations of different techniques and recovery regimes.
I completely share your sentiment about the lingering sciatic symptoms and the fear and paranoia that the disc had been herniated again. After having gone through the painful process and durations leading up the the surgery, as well as the post-op recovery, I can't imaging anyone having to go back and start over because of a re-herniation. What also threw me (and from what I have read, at least some other patients) off was the fact that some surgeons pack the patients full of drugs after the surgery, and one might feel (sciatic-)symptoms free for the first week or two, until the drugs wear off and the symptoms can be mistaken as having "returned". I was also told for the symptoms to completely diminish it can take up to two years for some patients.
Re: your child(ren) plans, since I am a male patient it's probably not my place to have too much input, but here are a couple things that I have learned that might add to your already-positive attitude:
One concern I did raise with each of my treatment team (PT, chiropractor, and surgeon) was how much of my former life am I expected to get back in to after a complete recovery, since besides eating, sleeping, working, I'd almost always be found playing some sort of sports. Although in different words, they basically all told me once the disc heals it can function as good as an uninjured disc since the tears would have closed. My chiropractor even named some mixed-martial artists that are currently actively fighting that had gone through microdiscectomy surgeries, and somehow his particular examples really instilled optimism in my recovery.
The other thing is, when I was much younger I used to baby-sit some family friend's kids. Even at at young age, I was not weak by any means, but I was always amazed at how easily the kids' mom can pick them up with her little frame. (The older boy, about 6 years old, was 40, 50 lb easy). Actually the age of the boy was what reminded me of this story when you said you'd be lifting the kidlings for 7 years. Anyways, when I brought this up she said don't forget she's had 7 years to practice lifting them, incrementally since they were 10 lb, and sometimes she doesn't even realize the kids were getting heavier because she'd gotten stronger as well. I am sure the same would apply to your core and back as well.
On the lighter side of things, I am 26 years old, and I can relate when you said the health teams look at a young patient and wonder how we got mixed in the bunch. Often I was asked what the heck did I do to hurt my back :)
Once again it is both refreshing and reassuring to see the longer-term progress of a recovery in a blog. Not that I was feeling particularly negative about my recovery, but your optimism also rubbed off on me. I am sure I am not alone when I sincerely thank you for taking the time to do this for the rest of us.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful insights and comments, Eugene. I really appreciate it. I am doing this blog for me to track my recovery, but also just as much for anyone out there googling like we did, desperate for any information. It is hard to remain optimistic but I am trying, because what is my alternative? So this blog helps with that.
ReplyDeleteAs far as sports and MMA and the like (I am quite familiar w/ the sport and its stars due to my boyfriend), I live in LA and my favorite Dodger is Furcal, who had a MicroD last year. And look how far he has come in a year! So it's not impossible to be OK afterwards. I think staying active and a healthy weight make a HUGE difference.
Thanks again for your thoughts!
And most of all, I wish you a speedy recovery! :)
ReplyDeleteYea I'm 25 8 weeks post op second microdiscetomy due to a reherniation...this time went to pt 2 weeks out and hit the pool 4 weeks post op and every day since Along with an hour and half pt exercises mostly stretches...I've gotten better at an alarming rate but still fear reheniation after picking stuff up bending wrong...and am getting my pinky toe numb after flare ups....
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