success story post l5 -s1 discectomy

Hi all, I first started watching this forum 6 months ago awaiting urgent surgery for a massive l5 s1 lt disc prolapse. I had very little pain (the back pain I had was predominantly right sided for the prior 3 months which I had assumed was sacroiliac pain) . When this pain disappeared and I was taking my 10 yr old daughter out for a surf lesson I felt something not quite right in my left hamstring region. Within 4 or 5 days there was significant numbness on the outer border of my left foot with progressive weakness in my left leg. As a GP I was aware of the potential processes that could cause these symptoms in the absence of contemporary signifcant trauma and was pretty anxious. The initial back pain I had had was related to lifting a fishing kayak off a roof rack, but that was several months previous. The orthopod I saw initially commented that he was surprised to see me walking due to the size of the disc prolapse on MRI. Subsequently I saw the local orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in disc surgery, and despite the physical signs and Mri features he was reluctant to operate. However, with both the nature of the symptoms and the fact that both my wife and myself are medically trained we opted for surgery as the best option for gaining full recovery of function. The surgery went well and within 5 weeks I was back in the water catching waves and within 3 months strength was almost back to normal.
I have read many of the testimonials in this forum and just wanted to add my two penny worth. The decision to have surgery was not an easy one. If pain had been the predominant symptoms, on reviewing the evidence, I doubt very much whether I would have had rushed into surgery ( I was pretty terrified of the prospect). For me weakness and numbness (loss of function) significantly upped the ante and made the decision much easier. I have had patients of mine do very well with surgery and others less so. My personal experience is that surgery has been a major benefit in that I am back doing the things that bring me joy in life. However it must be remembered that the surgeon was reluctant to operate, despite the fact that I am colleague, and my wife a consultant anaesthetist in the same hospital in a small town. The surgeon was basing his decision on the evidence that even massive disc prolapses may resolve. Personally , if there are physical signs of weakness and numbess with a corroborative scan then that suggests nerve root compression and surgery is appropriate. In pretty much all other situations there is very little clear evidence that surgery will achieve more than time. MRI change may resolve significantly yet pain persist. Unfortunately surgery for pain will always remain a lottery and if pain doesn't resolve post surgery or is indeed worse, that may not necessarily reflect poor surgical technique. There is just so much we cant predict about these conditions, that even in the best surgical hands there is an element of uncertainty.