Progress Report: Four and a half years later!

I'm back with an update! January of this year marked four years since my microdiscectomy/laminectomy. I can't believe it's been that long! A lot has happened.

Back-wise, I'm in pretty good shape. I can't say I'm where I was before I got hurt years ago, but I rarely have back problems or pain. I still have slight nerve damage in my baby toe/certain areas under my foot. They feel slightly numb most of the time. But even that has subsided over the years. I used to call this numbness my "warning sign" that I was doing too much -- I assumed it had to do with the sciatic nerve. I don't have that any longer. I guess that is good.

I still get stiff in my back, I still get the slightest bit achey, I still occasionally pull my back while vacuuming or something. But it's no big deal. I have been trying to get back into shape (again) with renewed vigor -- around December/January my husband (yes, the sweet boyfriend who helped nurse me through my back surgery!) and I actually started jogging on the track at the gym, of all things. And guess what? No back pain! I was actually very skeptical and was pleasantly surprised to see I could run without pain. We were up to two mile runs (one mile running continuously -- no big deal to runners out there, I'm sure, but a big deal for me!) when in March we tried running on a trail. Big mistake. You know they make "trail running shoes" for a reason. I sprained the hell out of my ankle and that sidelined me for a good 7 weeks. But we've been back at it for almost a month, and slowly but surely running longer and longer each time. My goal is to comfortably run a 5K later this summer and we're both well on our way to doing that.

The times between really pulling my back are fewer and farther between. The first real incident of note was this past August/September. I ended up going to the doctor because I was in a lot of pain, wondering if I somehow even reherniated due to the horrible sciatica I was experiencing. It was the kind that was so bad you can't sit down. I actually went to a doctor, the first time I'd seen anyone about my back since my surgery. She told me she thought it was muscle related and gave me flexaril and mobic, and a small shot in the behind, I think it was cortisone? It totally killed all pain for 3 days. Then I took the prescriptions for a week or so. And then I was fine. 

Whenever I don't exercise for a while, like my several weeks off in March/April healing my sprained ankle, I start to eventually have a little back pain and sciatica. This goes away immediately after exercising. So I know what I need to do.

I've moved 2,000 miles away from SoCal and I'm not only in much more comfortable environs (no more 400 sq ft cluttered big city apartment!), but I purchased a really great mattress. It's a huge spring mattress with a big, thick memory foam quilted top. It is amazing. I never wake up from back pain -- heck, I never have back pain! I didn't realize how little my last mattress helped my back issues. So that is nice. I still only buy good shoes and stay away from heels. I'm working on firming up my core at the gym, I have a long way to go but I can tell a huge difference already. The little things.

I am really happy that my back pain is not defining me as a person any longer. I know I am lucky.
I'm in a new city in a new job and none of my coworkers have any clue I even had surgery. It's just really not a big part of my life right now. And I'm killing myself at the gym in order to keep it from ever being like that again, as much as I can help it.

Oh, and my siamese nurse? She is still "nursing" me back to health, and always up for a good cuddle: