Wound follow up
Thank you for the info Lucy T and Microsucess.. I have never had surgery before so the old brain goes to the worst possible place. I saw the Dr today. He cut off my "tails", some of the stabbing came off too. I only had Dissolvable stitches no steristrips or anything like that. He says everything looks great. I will be putting polysporin (ointment for cuts)on it to help the healing now. He said I should be able to take the dressings off on Sunday.
For those wondering the doctor send generally the wound heals from the bottom up pushing all the fluids and stuff to the top. As a result it takes the top portion longer to heal
This was my first car ride today and my leg didn't like it. Mostly I am feeling burning and aching, almost like growing pains. I had not taken any pain meds for three days but last night i had to take one Percocet as the leg ache was keeping me awake. Otherwise I feel much better. I am just waiting for the set backs to come. Today is a rest day due to the traumatic car ride:p. I am walking on a TM 3-4 times a day for 15 min each at 2.0 mph. Can't wait for the spring weather to get here so I can get outside.
How are you doing today Lucy? We will definitely chat and keep in touch. We can share our successes and set backs and get through this together.
Hi.
After having a few really good days (and head feeling better) I went out on Saturday for a much longer walk with a break half way when I sat on my togu ball. I was doing really well only 1 co codamol 1 naproxen in the morning. However now I am sh**ing my self again about over doing it. my other side (left buttock) has been achy. This started about 1 hour after getting home. It was ok this morning (Sunday) but as the day went on and when I got home from my walk for a lie down (on my left side which is the side I have been favouring to lie on) it has started to ache again. It this a sign that the op has failed failing and that a reherniation is starting but tuis time on my left side? Or is it possible to that the muscles are tight in my back after walking? I am so scared.
LucyT
Hi
They've cut through a life time of muscles when they entered the back and you must remember the muscles on top are area specific but the muscles underneath run all the way from the glutes through the lower back. When you walk post surgery you should definately expect either tightness, possible muscle spasm or an uplift in pain. Dont presume this will happen on the side you'd expect because the brain is trying to compensate at the unconsious level so is making millions of adjustments to how you stand and walk so aches in the right when you had the op on the left is to be expected just as much as having aches on the same side.
If you are having a large increase in real nerve pain then ring the dr. However your remarks sound normal going off my own recovery post op.
Any Qu's please just ask. I know it can be scarey in the early days-weeks-months regarding reherniation.
You really are my hero.
Its not nervy pain more the sciatic ache and only in the top of my buttock. Oddly its better when I am up and moving about? like you ssid before they don't give you much in the way of what to expect. I am seeing my physio on Tuesday, I'm sure he'll be saying the same. I'm such a worrier it just helps when some one can reasure you. my right leg has been good and has not given me hardly any trouble at all this weekend. Which is a good thing.
Thanks for the calming and quick reply
Lucy T
I agree with Microsucess it is most likely your body just compensating for this assault (surgery) that has been done to it. I too have had a couple days where its felt like my back was unstable and then I have a little bit of nervey annoyance, not really pain, and I panic a little awell but it's just all part of the healing process. I also find that my good side aches much faster, again this is just compensating for what's going on
My neighbor down the street had surgery a couple years ago and when I talk to her she reminded me of something that's really important. She said you might be healed on the outside but you're still healing on the inside. It's very important that we remember not to overdo things. I have signs posted reminding me of this, and about using proper posture, all the time because as good as I feel I don't want to end up back to where I was. Take your time don't overdo things. We have to remember this is a marathon not a sprint.
Good luck with the physiotherapist. I don't see one for four to six weeks post surgery.
Questions
Okay, so I m just coming to the end of 3 weeks post op. how much did you find you we're resting in a day? How did you fill your day? How much we're you walking in a day? Were you driving? did you find riding in the car uncomfortable? I know we are not all the same but it would be good to get an idea of we're others were at so I could set some goals for myself.
Currently I do 3-4 walks per day on the treadmill ( too cold for out doors) for 15 mins each at 2.2 mph. I generally stay up for 2-3 hours and then lay down for an Hour. During my up time I alternate between sitting and standing in that time. I am trying to keep sitting to 15 min max. My only road trip has been a 7 min drive to the dr and my leg was unhappy with me after. I have not driven yet. Does this seem reasonable?
Spine feels unstable
Okay so I am hoping that someone will come back here to answer. Hope its not me :confused:
Just have another concern. I am not having really any leg or hip pain. I get the occasional burning in my leg or slight sciatic irritation when sitting but no big deal right now. I am wondering if anyones spine feels unstable. I feel as though if I make the slightest misstep that the spine hurts and shifts. This is making me very nervous. I get pain there as well if I misstep. Generally it doesn't last very long but my low back is painful. I did not have low back pain prior to the surgery. I am just hoping that this is normal, I don't want to find out I have an unstable spine then have to go through a fusion as well. I have my first post op followup on April 10th so 5 weeks after surgery. Lots of questions for him!
Dma
Hi,
The spine for me felt very shakey in the early days and did give quite a bit of pain. This subsided after a few months and gave way to a more of a stiff back sensation. Your brain is doing over time trying to get you to protect the surgery area so dont over think it, its a survival instinct which in the early days post surgery is helpful. Once you see the physio they should tell you that you need to start moving past the injury and returning to normal functionality - this takes time though, as your going to want to protect it for a good while yet.
Just wanted to say thats its amazing all the detail that you have included in this forum as it really helps to see how you got on.
I had surgery done nearly 5 weeks today and i've had my ups and downs.
In week 2/3 just when i thought things were getting better i got really bad nerve pain but this got better after 3 days.
In the last week, the pain has been less severe but sitting down is still very painful. I went for a spa break and i had to sit in the car for over an hour. This was very painful so I had to recline the seat to enable me to not be in pain.
I used to be extremely active before the op running 50 miles a week in the peak of my marathon training but it has been 8 months since i have ran that kind of mileage.
It's been really hard to come to terms with the fact that i can't run but my surgeon is a runner and said that i should be able to go back to running when the nerve pain goes.
I'm not one to take it easy so its been a real struggle. I was walking 7 miles 2 weeks after surgery. This was broken down in three segments but then the pain got really intense and i stopped that.
I spent one week doing next to nothing after that as my pains got really bad.
Now I'm back to increasing my mileage again but i'm still trying to be careful. I started swimming, cycling and did 10 mins on the elliptical today.
Swimming and cycling has been recommended but not the elliptical. The weird thing is the elliptical seems to be the best thing for me in terms of 0 pain. That was the case before surgery too and i used to do an hour daily. Obviously i'm not being so stupid now and started off doing 10mins and I swam for a maximum of 30mins. I am curbing the urge to do more...
I am going back to work next week but dreading the sitting down. I was thinking of using my TENS machine and getting up for a walk every 30mins...
How's things with you now as its been a long time since you had the op.... I'd be interested to see how long the nerve pain took to get better...
I'm really keen to get back to running but i know i've got a long way to go...
hi dma297
i usually write on another thread ill give you my story.
i had a l5/s1 discectomy on the 26th feb 2013 was discharged the next day, about 3 days at being home i noticed my leg pain was coming back but it was a lot worse i phoned my consultants secretary and spoke to reg he booked me in for another scan 2 days later, i went for my scan and got told to go to my consultants office he looked at the scan and told me i reherniated the same disc he admitted to hospital for pain management and also booked me in for another discectomy the following week, while i was in hospital i went for a wash and basically had to press the emergency button as i could not move i was in that much pain the disc had come even more while i was just washing, just to clarify ive suffered chronic back pain for years and sciatica for the past 2 years, i went ahead and had my surgery so that's 2 discectomies in 2 weeks, the day after the surgery i was feeling rather good i was allowed to go home, at home i did everything i was told to do and for the first few days i was pain free apart from wound pain.
and then i was woken up with horrendous back pain that kept me up all night then a couple of days later it went to my leg also. i tried to pass it off as healing pain but it was too strong my back feels very unstable i feel i could do with a back brace just for support, also my leg is getting a lot worse i suffer with pain in foot ankle outer calf just want to chop my leg off.
anyway i phoned again and scan saturday just gone their waiting for a bed to bring me in when i spoke to reg he think's that i am prone to prolapses and the disc that's left which isn't a lot will not hold well due to spinal instability a fusion will be my only option but my l4/5 is prlapsed but not on my nerves just causing inflammation.
i was so looking forward to getting my life back ive been off work far too long im only 38 i feel very down id give anything to be pain free.
my theory is if people only suffer with leg pain then the surgery will probably be a success but if you have spinal instability it just won't work because you will be left with either chronic back pain or re-prolapses.
ill be probably going in tomorrow for pain management if i do have a fusion it will be under a different consultant. sorry for the long winded story.
take care xxxx clare
Me again.
I rested for a few days and the discomfort went again so I upped my walking again and this time I was much better and much stronger. I was able to travel on the bus the short distance to my physio too. He is pleased with progress and has reasured me that I am going to be fine. I will be seeing him again in 2 weeks. One hard thing of this op I have noticed is that from the outside you don't look like your suffering and people seem to think that you are back to normal because you can walk. I have had people asking me out to meals etc but I don't think they realise that I can get tired all of a sudden and need to lie down. I gave in and went to my boyfriends family easter meal (hour in the car broken into 2 stages) and then a sit down meal broken in to a couple of walks and then a drive home. I have been left feeling a little nervy in my right leg do you think this maybe a result of this?
Dma927. In the first few days I was super aware of my back and didn't want to move. It reduced over time and now I just feel stiff which goes as the day goes on. I still am not bending or twisting but I am def able to more about the place which is doing the mind a hole load of good as I am just starting to get the blues. I know I did the right thing having the op but my mind is bored and am I am starting to feel a little depressed about the whole not being able to do anything.
Anyway apart from this nerviness I have at the moment I feel ok. Will rest tomorrow.
Lucy T...glad that the rest helped you feel a little better. I agree people don't see that we are still healing on the inside. I really have no problem saying no though. I figure it is my back, my health, my future so too bad for them if they don't understand. The reality for me is that everyone understands so not an issue for me.
I do think the nervy pain is from your extended drive and sitting. It too shall pass. Yesterday I had a lot of visitors and did not get a lot of rest time in. These days are the ones where I take the pain meds to help get me through. Sadly I am still on them but only once a day(at night) with a sleeping pill. If I don't I am awake all night with insomnia not pain. I will suffer the next day for it too!
I have the blues also, in fact have spend the last few days crying on and off. I have been off work for 4 1/2 months now. Prior to the surgery I was basically bedridden for 3 months. I couldn't sit, stand or walk for any length of time. Being housebound definitely gives you the blues. The nicer weather and getting to walk outside for a bit really helps. I found an app called Map My Walk. I start it, go for a walk and I can see how far I have gone. I can also preset a route so I know how far I will be going. This is great for goal setting and tracking progress.
Yogi/Clare... Thank you for sharing your story. I am very sorry for all the suffering that you are going through. I wish you the very best with the next steps and I truly hope that they can get you some relief. I know that I have DDD and 2 other bulging discs. I have yet to have my follow up with my surgeon to know what it looking like while he was in there. Things have settled a little. I find on the nights that I do not get a good night sleep that I have the most pain the next day (too much tossing and turning)
MelRunner...I used to be very active to and the hardest part of all this is trying to pace my recovery. It takes everything I have to not overdue it. I just keep reminding myself that I do not ever want to get back to where I was before. I wish you continued success in your recovery...as we all hope for.
I am 4 weeks down heading into my 5th week post op. My biggest issue is the back stiffness when I get up after laying down and especially first thing in the morning. Sometimes the muscles are so stiff I feel like I am bending backwards. It is like my pelvis enters the room before my shoulders. I suspect that after I start physio that this will help to loosen this up a bit. My incision is still very tender but it looks good. I would say about 1/2 inch to the left of it is also tender to touch. Sometimes it feels like a needle has pricked me. I assume this will pass in time.
I occasionally get some leg burning, but this really only happens on the days when I have not had a good night sleep. This is why I have added temazepam to my arsenal of medications. It is so apparent how import a good nights sleep is.
I am walking now on the TM for 17 minutes at 2.5 mph. 3-4 times per day. This totals 2.06-2.7 mile per day. I feel a little better and a little stronger everyday. It is only when I get up from laying down that I am quickly reminded of my fragile state. I still have not driven yet. I am not excited about crunching my body into a car. Friday will be my first time driving. It is only for 7 minutes to my osteopath.
I continually time myself for sitting in particular. I have a program on my computer that tells me to take a break every 10 minutes for 1 minute and at the 30 minute mark music starts and I have to get up for 5 minutes. (It does not let you do any work during this time) I work on a Mac and it is called Time Out - Free. You can set your own time parameters.
Be patient all. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Although we are healed on the outside, we are still healing on the inside!
Cheers
Week 5
So just started my fifth week post op. I woke up this morning with a lot of muscle spasms, it almost feels like the muscles are quivering and not so much sharp spasm. I did have some actual spasm on the right side and the right hip. After I applied some heat it relaxed a bit. I got on the treadmill but only did 10 minutes at 2.0 I think i will take things easy today. Yesterday I walked 4×18 minutes each at 2.5 on the treadmill. Maybe a little too much. Right now I really feel is though the back muscles are weak and I'm waiting to see the neurosurgeon to get the okay to start some Physiotherapy.
I notice when I lay down at the end of the day tht there's some swelling in my back. it feels like there are lumps in around the incision area. When I wake up in the morning that generally feels like it's gone. The incision is still sensitive to touch but it is starting to feel better.
Hope everyone's recovering well.
Dma / melrunner / all
DMA: The muscle spasms are to be expected while your healing. With the treadmill may i suggest putting a slight gradient on and reducing the time/speed slightly. When walking up hill i engages the glutes, quads and hamstrings more which are 3 key muscle groups needed to aid the recovery and improve posture. Over than that your schedule seems very good but as you say over doing it can cause issues. However dont be put off by me, just remember Quality over Quantity with recovery:)
MelRunner: I was in my 20-30's in the Services and was at best a 2hr 50min marathon runner. It did take months to get to a point where i could 'safely' run again and can on a treadmill at 17kph go for 25mins or 13kph for much longer. The key with running post Op is recognizing you put 3-4 times your body weight through your body when you run so post op this can cause further injury. So YOU MUST walk before you run and get all the key muscle groups working effectively before you venture out for a walk-jog program. So use these early days to refine your body - thats been my mentality.
Someone mentioned swelling at the incision site??? Post Op this is trying to heal so can fluctuate in size during the day/night when the blood supply peaks and troughs while to body tries to heal it. Without doubt ice is the winner however some people are prone to moving/twisting in the night = slight swelling. My remedy was sleeping with a lumbar support belt that has either small magnets or rigid thin plastic bars in that go in line with the back vertically (£2-5 ebay). As your sleeping with it it ISNT doing the work of the muscles, it simply keeps your posture and reduces twisting. Take it off when stood up and this lets the muscles take over the weight bearing and get used to the weight.
Any Qu's please just ask. Im nearing a year post op and plan on passing on any knowledge I can/if i can