Morning Ladies!
Looks like you are both having good and bad days....i certainly hope the good outnumber the bad!!
Keep strong and positive and as said before im sure in a few weeks this will all have been an awful nightmare you have just woke up from!
Im still able to work although my symptoms like yours are all over the place...where as before sitting was a problem but walking was fine i now have gone the other way and sitting is fine hence why im able to still work but standing for long periods hurts. I still wake up in the morning and feel like ive been kicked all night in my sleep but the Tramadol, Naproxen, Paracetamol, Omeprozole soon kick in and it begins to ease a little.
Have my MRI in a week and a bit and have another osteo IDD session this afternoon then its off to work.
Thoughts are with you both and prayers for a speedy recovery!
Take care
Rob
hi rob
really glad your still able to work and now you don't have to wait long for m.r.i. make sure you let me know how you get on.
i did go for walk today big mistake lesson learnt looked like an 90 year old hovering over the buggy legs are still very weak and slight sciatica but more my back, but not gonna give up that's just taught me not to run before i can walk just frustrating.
had district nurse come out today to check my wound it looks ok i had steri strips last time this time stitches having them taken out on fri can't wait to have a long soak in bath overall i think im being very impatient, cant wait till i can go back to work although after one day ill be wanting to stay off again lol
you take care rob good luck for next week.:)
Hi Gang!
Well, ive taken a turn for the worse....again!
As you know i have another MRI next week and an appt with consultant on April 19th but having worked Monday i woke Tuesday to a slight niggle which i thought might go in a day or two. Yesterday whilst putting my left leg in my trousers i felt an almighty pain in the left buttock and since then have been in bed. The pain is mainly in the thigh region and is present continuously and even my tablets are not helping. Last night i must have had a total of two hours broken sleep and feel like ive been hit by a bus!
Meant to go to osteo at noon but theres no chance of me making it there! Rest is the only option i have right now!
This although not life threatening is so demoralising!
I hope Emlou and Yogi are having a better time of it since your ops!
ATB
Rob
Hi,
Well surgery definitely isn't a quick fix!! My pain has reduced but strength still not there yet still getting wobbly leg after walks. Wound still oozing ++++ after each set of physio exercises, not convinced it is an infection as very watery and has no smell, looks more like serous fluid , back to drs tomorrow so hope to get some answers.
Brillo, yogi hope you improve soon and don't overdo it .x
hi rob
so sorry to hear your in a bad way it's just not fair we are too young for this, after you have your scan and your still in bad way id phone to explain if you can see consultant earlier, good luck let me know x
emlou i know your an nurse but have you got swelling around your wound and headaches think they said that's the first signs of spinal fluid you make sure you get it sorted hope it turns out ok.
i myself still in pain leg still have nerve pains back i don't think will ever be the same since there is not much disc left but have to stay positive just gonna work through it, and rob like emlou say's surgery is no quick fix if your one of the lucky one's you should make quick recovery it all depends im not gonna give up i want my life backxxxxx take care both of you keep us posted x
Hi yogi,
Feel the same as you just want my life back, feels like one step forward and two back at the moment. My sciatic pain back today, not sure if its because I didn't walk as much yesterday as felt unwell in self or whether its due to swelling. In answer to your question yes wound is swollen but no real headache, I'm hoping its not a csf leak so keep telling myself its just the healing process, but as feel rough again all day today I'm not doing as good a job of convincing myself its not today!! I am hoping GP may have some idea, the aftercare/advice/support if definitely not there from hospital/ surgeons following spinal surgery! Feeling sorry for myself today as not only a reaction to having dressings back on , now got a rash from antibiotics!!
You are bound to find your recovery slower than others as you've had two surgeries in such a short period of time, take things slowly ( mind you not much choice with our bodies) and hopefully you and the rest of us will stop feeling so old and more like our age!
Brillo you really do need to make sure you go prepared with a list of questions etc with you, I must admit I forgot and ended up having to ring after my appt to ask the things I forgot. Living with the level of pain you're experiencing is so hard when you have family and work responsibilities, and you need to find out realistically what is you best option for long term health. Keep us posted and hope this episode passes soon.
hi emlou/ rob
feel very angry today i got a letter yesterday from the pain team from the hospital they have suggested that i should stay on oxycontin as a long term pain relief for my back and gabapentin because i told them i didn't want to stay on them ive not had them since leaving the hospital to me that's just masking the problem i do not want to pop pills for the rest of my life especially gabapentin i hate them and the side effects i didn't care the second time because i was lying in a hospital bed and didn't have my 2 year old to look after, they want to see me, well i think this pain im still having suggest the disc is just to instable ive got sciatica still granted it's not as bad as the second time but my theory to that is that the disc that's left is not big i may be wrong but i was not in as much pain after the surgery for a few days then my back went again then with the leg pain I SNEEZED, i know having a fusion is a lot more invasive but if this disc is not going to stay where it should then i think in the long run it will be the only option, i speak to a women at the school last year she had a discectomy but she never suffered from back pain before that just leg pain and she's doing cartwheels now only took a couple of weeks to recover her pain went after the surgery, so that tells me there may be a difference some of us can have spinal instability where others suffer from a prolapse disc and have good struture in spine therefore once disc cut away the rest of the disc will hold well.
emlou im sorry but i think your gp should refer you back you should not be suffering still with sciatica i really think a scan will be good and if it's ok at least your mind will be put right but you can't suffer like this and as for your wound again you know more than me but with you feeling ill i think it is fluid especially with the swelling that's how they knew i had a leak from the first time the nurse spotted it in hospital before my 2nd op, ive been told something once the nerves are free apart from healing pain you should not get any sciatica so please emlou if it carries on get them to sort it,
and your right about aftercare from hospital it's a joke no wonder the likes of us is still suffering,
take care emlou let me know how you get on at gp xxx.
sorry long winded today just feel there throwing pills at us to shut us up.
Hi,
I know what you mean about having meds thrown at you, I felt like that prior to being referred to a surgeon I saw 4 different GPs before I was examined but they were happy to dish out drugs, luckily saw a GP who seemed to know what he's talking about and I always try to see him. I've got my appt at dinner time with this GP so fingers crossed I'll get some answers, as felt they were dismissive at urgent care and just gave me antibiotics as easy. The hard part is that you can't even see your wound properly to explain any changes. However know its swollen as when I lay on back feels as though I'm laid on something and it still is puckered in appearance!! Oozing hasn't reduced, when I do physio exercises it weeps through dressing plus towel folded 4 times onto carpet ( even me the forever optimist knows that's not right!!).
It does sound as though your disc is unstable especially as pain intensified following a sneeze. I know someone who had disectomy a few years ago and quickly went on to have a fusion, she now climbs, snowboards and wears heels all without pain!!! She said she feels younger now than she did 10years ago, so there is hope for us.
Rob I do hope you are having a better day and that the weather by you is better than here, this ice isn't helping with my walking at all!!
Take care will let you all know what GP has to say xx
Morning Ladies,
Lazy sod aint i, just woke up! I put it down to having a horrendous nights sleep the night before. I only woke once last night so thats a good start. Having said that the leg pain is still present. Unlike you Yogi, i get almost no back pain, everything i feel is in my left buttock and down to the toes.When i stretch the leg and point my toes i get relief from the pain but you cant walk like that can you. LOL! It all feels muscular as if the muscles have gone into spasm and when i touch the leg i get a strange sensation as if the leg is not my own. If i do get up and walk to the toilet i instantly get a feeling of pins and needles throughout the leg and some pain and discomfort which screams out for me to return to bed. As a result when i do go to the toilet im not going as much as i should because the pain in so intense! Arghh!! All this is similar to the feelings i got when i stupidly went on my sons bike so im hoping a few days including the weekend of rest will see the muscles relax so i can return to walking and sitting pain free. Have either of you had the epidural? I know thats what my consultant suggested trying next before surgery?
Sorry to hear you are both in a bad way, its simply not fair in my opinion! You both seem to be such nice, honest and caring girls who have done nothing to warrant this condition being forced upon you!
I found another website last night and posted on there too for support. IF either of you are interested PM me and ill send you the address. Im not sure its allowed on here to advertise other websites or post your email addresses.
Take care and speak soon!
Rob
hi rob
yes i had the epidural worked great but for only 5 weeks then pain came back worse it's only masking the problem, they even put it in during first op because nerves was so inflamed ha then look what happened, even though i do suffer bad with my back id rather have back pain then sciatica any day my leg pain kept me up again last night and when i put foot down the shooting pains:(.
good luck with mri xx
Absolutely agree with you! The leg pain is a strange one, it can be horrendous and painful then tingly and tickly then back to pain! The nerves are all over the place!
Im hoping that a discectomy will sort it out but we'll see!
Take care
Hi all,
I saw both the GP and the practice nurse yesterday, neither thought my wound was infected which I was pleased to hear. GP said if it was a csf leak I would definitely be seriously ill by now ( due to the amount of fluid seeping), they both thought that the liquid was serous fluid, and the fact that back had been immobile it had pooled and now physio exercises were moving that part it was leaking out through v small sinus at bottom of wound. GP thought that antibiotics are the reason for me feeling so rough as I have got quite a nasty (sore) rash from them ( I have a reaction to most antibiotics and this ones more a discomfort than full blown allergic reaction). I have to go back to see both nurse and GP on Tuesday. Fingers crossed the more active I become the less my wound will leak!!
Rob my friends husband has had 2 epidural injections over last 8 year and said they've been brilliant, however my consultant said he would only use them in boarder line cases, if prolapse is large he said that they are really just buying you a couple weeks respite and then you have 2 lots of waiting lists to be on!! He advised me that he felt it would be of no benefit to me at all. I would say even though surgery isn't plain sailing I do feel I have made the right decision, I still have some sciatic pain but its not constant and its significantly less and that with a lot less meds . I am off tramodol and reducing my amitriptyline.
Yogi, hope you're having a better day and weather not getting you down too much
Take care
Em x
Hi Em and Claire
Glad your feeling a tad better Em and hopefully on the first few steps to a full recovery! And when Claire replies next hopefully she too will be able to tell us of some good news regarding her recovery.
Im going to ring the hospital PALS department on Monday and ask them to chase up the epidural appointment i was told i should hear about within 4 weeks of my last appointment.
I want to exhaust every avenue before i commit to surgery but if thats where i end up i feel a little more optimistic about it since reading of your recoveries and microsucces's recovery.
We will be better people for this experience, although right now im sure we dont feel it, lol!
Take care and lots of love and healing!
Regards
Rob
hi rob
like i said i had the injection 2 years ago it was when i still had space around my nerves but when it wore off i was in more pain then before you forget about your condition so be careful don't over do it if it does work.
well i have some bad news ive been in horrendous pain again with sciatica and back i phoned department at hospital and reg phoned back he will organise another scan plus he phoned me back ten mins later asking if i wanted to be admitted for pain i refused im trying to cope at home, can't really fault the hospital for their prompt reply and concern he thinks im prone to this also because what happened to me while i was in hospital last time when disc came out even more while i was just washing, all i can say is that i don't want to put you off rob of the surgery don't forget i suffer bad with my back as well as my leg so in my case it's not gonna work, my foot is very bad at the moment stabbing shooting pains and outer calf again something is on my nerves again, i feel exhausted with it all i had a few days of being almost pain free even done my hair and makeup lol i feel like im letting everyone down i just can't take it anymore, if it gets worse i will go in at least the option is there. take care rob.
emlou so pleased your feeling better at least you know that the fluid isn't anything too bad keep up your optimistic attitude xxx
Thats so upsetting Yogi, i feel for you, i really do!
IS fusion the next option for you then? A friend of mine had discectomy and had a bout 6 months relief then reherniated and had a fusion, he is now 100% fine and owns his own paint/decorating business as well as being a London Cabbie!
I really hope you get some relief soon and things start to look a little brighter for you! Simply not fair!!!
Take care hun! x