So glad to hear it went well Franki.
Hope to hear from Nicco88 too - hope everything is okay!!! Let us know when you pick up your little boy for the first time.
Good luck with the recovery and keep moving, don't be scared of your back. That was what held me back to start with, I was tense in my back through fear of pain and once my physio helped me release that then its been onwards and upwards. Its that difficult balance between not doing too much and not doing to little!! I'm still very stiff when I get out of bed first thing, but once I do my exercises and stretches then I'm just a normal person again. Keep us posted on your progress, would love to hear how you both get on 🙂 Do a diary Franki, even if its just so you can look back in six months time to see how far you have come.
Also big yes to pilates, it really makes a difference, my mum suffered pain for years and I kept nagging her to do one to one pilates, she finally went for it (in desperation), last month she walked up to Machu Pichu and doesn't have that all consuming pain anymore.
Big :wave: to Stumaz!! Good to see another rider so determined. I'm not riding yet but my aim is to go for a little pottle on my friend's plod within the next month.
Let us know how your first sit goes????
Glad to hear so many positive posts 🙂
Back home now - 1st report.
I had my operation on Sunday morning and it was just a massive relief to wake up and see my lovely wife looking at me. I was so scared prior to the operation and I was so happy to be able to move my legs and toes.
But even now, I had not yet met my consultant that did the operation - lots of registrars and students but Mr Alo has been adsent the whole time!
The pain after the anaesthic wore off was immeasurable. They gave me morphine but it ran out after 50mg and they did not refill the machine. But I had to keep passing water on my side during the night which took a massive pelvic push each time. By the morning my muscles were exhausted, I had no sleep, I was soaked with urine and I really felt so depressed. The physio had me out of bed really fast and started me on my excercises but I was just totally worn out. No body had properly discussed the op with me and I felt like they were rushing me out.
To make matters worse the man in the next bed had his op 7 months ago and now he cannot walk properly because of an infection!!
I got home yesterday and I am trying to get about, trying to wash etc but it is so difficult. Although I did manage to get some sleep last night i still feel exhausted.
My back feels very fragile, I get muscle spasms and I need to get some confidence that I am not actually going to break!
The sctiatica is gone, but at the moment what I am experiencing is just as unbearable. I will post again in the next few days.
God that sounds awful Nico.
What drugs have they given you to take? I was given Tramadol, diazapam, voltarol and paracetamol when I was discharged which meant I didn't really feel any pain. If they haven't given you enough drugs see if your wife can call your GP and get them. I was told if I ran out I could get more from my GP. They'll knock you out something chronic, but I just slept for most of the first week and felt so much better for it.
You've probably got huge muscle fatigue where the sciatica was. I had that when I tried to cut down my drugs too early. It was an ache that reduced me to tears it was so bad. But its normal and its a good sign that the nerve has released its grip.
Also perhaps lie in bed and practice deep breathing. Try to imagine each muscle relaxing. My back still feels fragile in the morning but it gets better every week. Its not your back thats causing this its the tight muscles around it which are spasming and holding it tight. The important thing is to do your exercises and not be too scared.
But check your drugs, you need to be out of pain so you can sleep and your body can heal.
I hope that helps but post if you need anything....
The only drugs I have been given are CoCodamol. I refused the Tramadol because I hate the side affects and they just dont work for me.
I managed to get some breakfast, wash and made the right decision to change beds. I dont think our IKEA low bed did me any good last night. I did my physio on our spare bed this morning and I have just woken up after 2 hours good sleep. I am going to have some soup and go back to bed in a bit.
Feeling a bit happier and a tiny bit more mobile now. I think its the first hours after lying down that are going to be the worst.
Still so nice to be at home. My wife has taken little JJ to nursery and I am going to get some more rest. I will post again tomorrow.
on the mend?
I slept on the spare bed last night and with some effort I found that by this morning I could actually roll over onto either side, albeit with some degree of pain. This meant I now have 3 sleeping positions although i still feel so much better after a few hours just lying on my back.
This afternoon I am feeling quite a bit better. I have been able to wash my hair, do a little work on my pc (i am connected to my work pc via the internet) and I have just woken up after my late morning sleep. I am starting to feel a bit better in myself.
My back is still very stiff but I think I am more aware now of the wound itself rather than back pain, which I suppose is a good sign.
My sides and stomach muscles dont feel so strained today but I am still unable to sit for more than 20 minutes without feeling pain and becoming very stiff.
And I think just being able to connect to the outside worlds and work etc is a great help. I realise that I am going to be stuck here for a few weeks yet but already I can see a glimmer of hope. I will still takes things very slowly and do as I am told - 3 x physio, some walking and lots of rest!
Saturday - day 7 after the operation
I cannot believe how well I feel today. Ok still tired, dizzy and with a slight amount of pain, but I have been able to tie my shoelaces and actually leave the house! Went to the local shop - took a little while and I felt a bit wobbly but it felt like a major achievement.
I realy feel like I am on the mend - there is NO SCIATICA..!!!!!!!!
Another 10 days and the staples come out - hurrah!!
Feeling good today - still a massive hill to climb yet but I am sure that I will get there.
I cannot believe that only a few days ago I was genuinely suicidal and I totally regretted what I had done. Yet today I feel like I may just about survive this. There will be some downers to all of this - like being in a separate bed to my lovely wife, or not being able to pick up my beautiful 18 month old son for a few more weeks, but I am alive, healthy and on the mend. I now have my life to look forward to and I cannot now say anything negative about the NHS or the staff at the Manor Hospital. Everything was done for a purpose and I am now genuinely happy again.
time is healing
Just thought I would give a little update too, especially after reading the last couple of threads. Hey, Nico, I have been following your threads and great news you are starting to feel on the mend. I do feel for you though with your little one, but you can make up for the lifting when you are able to. I am lucky that my son is 14, I would hate to have to pick him up, he is taller than me!! I am still in early stages of healing but like you, it seems to be getting slightly better each day. I truly believe that feeling positive is a way forward to faster healing, even if pain is present. ( I read that having a positive mind heals quicker) One thing I did not mention in my first thread was that just before I had my epidural, which made my condition worse, my boyfriend of 5 years decided to cheat, blaming it all on my meds and condition. I was at my lowest point at the time as the pain was so great. I promptly moved out, back to my moms with my son and that was my point of becoing saner, along with the op. I realised how miserable I had been and think pain is hightened when down. Life is getting better and better and I have become my old self again, it's great!!!
The one thing I have noticed is that my wound is healing quickly, sitting down is easier, my back is easing each day, though I must say, my pain has increased in my legs. My 'good' leg, the one with the lesser sciatic pain, is much worse! As the day progresses, the pain is worsening, though I do believe this is completely normal.
It has not stopped me from trying to be 'normal' and I am trying to take a walk each day, increasing the length. However, I must admit, I am not sitting and resting as much as I should, I put that down to my medication though, I am still a little 'twitchy' from it. I hope to reduce it soon.
I have my first appointment with the physio on the 16th and an appointment with my occupational health doctor to try and make a date to start back work.
By the way, can anyone say when I should realistically start to drive again.
All in all, in myself, I feel wonderful. I can honestly say, and have spoken to many who state the same, having the operation was the best thing that happened to me, and at the right time. I know it will be a hard slog, ie, 1 step forward and possibly at times, 2 steps back, but it is worth it just for a quality of life. So here is to how I feel and hope you all do too, be positive, it will all fall gradually into place :):)
good news!
Good to hear things have turned a corner for you Nico 🙂 Sounds good and I'm sure it won't be long before you're picking up your son again!
Good to hear you're coming on too Franki. You've been through a real ordeal, what a beast 😡 but sounds like you are so much better off without him. Also totally agree about a postive mindset, that's made such a difference with me - its why I posted on here to start with.
Not sure about anyone else but I started driving again about three weeks after my op. I got the go-ahead from the physio first. Just short trips first and built them up gradually. A month after the op we went to France.
I had good news too 🙂 My physio is chuffed to bits with my progress, my pilates teacher says I can join her flatwork class and don't need one to one sessions because I'm doing so well!! Pride comes before a fall I know and I have been a bit stiff this weekend - and why was that?? Because I didn't do all my exercises and stretches because we had visitors :rolleyes:
Onwards and upwards!!
Feels like we are all in a special members club!
Today, I am feeling great again. I have had some pain in my hip-bones when I have done a little too much this week - like bathing my little boy and putting him to bed - the bending over was a bit too soon for me I think but generally I have been doing really well. Religious physio, lots of lying down, and not too much time spent doing work on my pc. I have had a tiny bit of a sciatica reminder every now and again, but this has gone as soon as I have got up to move around.
My scar is very scary - and I have had to get my wife to re-dress the wound for me and she was nearly sick when she saw the 13 staples sticking out of a very wobbly line down my lower back!
Franki - I was so sorry to hear your news. I hope you are doing ok. It is hard to stay positive when you are going through a break-up. But you sound like a brilliant and strong person and I hope that everything works out well for you. A good friend once told me that if you need another person to make you happy in your life then you never will be. Loving yourself and enjoying life being single will do you good, and when you are ready to meet people again you will find that you will have become a very attractive person indeed. As to your pain and recovery - never miss your personal physio sessions - 3 times a day doing precisely what you have been told - and spend some quiet time lying down and willing yourself better. I know you will find it hard sometimes to be positive, but you must try. You are a beautiful person and you will recover 100%. Remind yourself that you are important and that you are an excellent human being every day. There will always be a bit of pain because that is what makes us human - we are fragile.
Pippic - I have already driven a short distance - just to collect my boy from nursery and I will be driving to work next week - but again this is a very small distance. I have out-patient physio on Monday so I will ask them if I should drive, even though I feel well enough anyway. I am glad to hear that you are progressing so well - keep up the good work!
Good progress all round..... was thinking, perhaps we should post the exercises we've got from our physios to find out if we're all doing the same or if there's anything any of us are missing?? might be a good resource for other post-discectomy people??
Any thoughts anyone?
I'd appreciate anyone posting their exercises for comparison...
I had a discectomy and decompression this time last year. For anyone who's worried about the scar - mine is now barely noticeable though it was scarily livid at the time. I still have some numbness down my right leg and backside and this hasn't really improved from how it was a couple of weeks after the op, but no sciatica anymore, thankfully.
Over the last few weeks, I have been suffering with a bit of back pain - primarily when turning over in bed and for about half an hour after getting up. Am seeing an osteo and think I might ask for another scan just to rule out the possibility of more disc movement. The pain came on a day or so after I'd been on a cycle ride - though I'd been going to keep fit classes and cycling a 7-mile circuit fairly regularly, so not sure if that was the actual cause.
Agree with the poster who feels older than her years - it's so debilitating to have a back complaint as it affects everything.
Anyone with any personal experience of pilates as an aid to mobility? Am taking cod liver oil and glucosamine which may be helping - is anyone else taking supplements that they feel are helping? Have also ordered some devil's claw which is supposed to be a natural anti-inflammatory, as I don't want to take ibuprofen in the long term.
Nice to have contact with others in the same boat (though wouldn't wish it on anyone!)
JJ
Exercises
I'd appreciate anyone posting their exercises for comparison...
Hi,
The ones I was given were great - physios went through them with me a few times before and after surgery. Hope they're useful: [DLMURL] http://www.oxfordclinic.org.uk/services/physical-therapies/physiotherapy.php [/DLMURL] (scroll down)
Olly.
Thanks for this Olly, it was useful to check through these exercises.
I have been doing exercises of this nature from a few weeks after my op last year, then progressing to regular daily walks and a fairly energetic keep fit class once a week, plus latterly 3 times a week 7-mile cycle circuit by about 10 months post op.
Trouble is some back pain has returned (not as severe as the acute sciatica that prefaced my procedure) and I'm not sure what to do about it.
Have seen an osteo a couple of times and am walking again steadily, but still in pain when turning over in bed (which is similar to the pain I felt post-op when turning in bed). Am just worried that the whole thing will start up again, I guess and I don't want to go through it a second time...
Praps another scan is called for to make sure nothing has shifted.
Thanks
JJ
Looks like some of these exercises are very similar to mine. I will scan and post a copy of mine over the weekend.
Thanks for that link Olly. Its actually really good to see that you're doing exactly the same exercises as everyone else.
Also had one other exercise straight after surgery where you lie on your side with your knees bent. Slowly straighten out the top leg (the leg you had sciatica in), keeping that knee resting on the lower knee (so you are not actually carrying any weight in the thighs) Then bend it back and repeat a few times. I also flexed my foot when I was doing this too, to increase the stretch.
Now I'm doing a lot more pilates exercises too and yes JJ I've found pilates has really started to strengthen all around my abs, hips and bum. I know a lot of people who have been helped by pilates so its worth a go. But I would go back to your doc if the pain is back, just in case.
Got signed off by my consultant today, although he's happy to see me again if I need him 🙂 He reminded me that after two months my nerve is still healing - apparently it heals at 1mm a day - which is why the muscle is still tight and a bit tingly sometimes down my left leg, but all sensation is back in my left foot which is fab. My back still get very stiff when I lie down for any time, have to do a few pelvic tilts to unlock it all again. When I get up it takes a bit for everything to unlock, but every week its getting better.
no horseriding for six months, but at least I will be able to ride again but lots and lots of walking and swimming 🙂
So glad to hear everyone's doing so well too.