hello everyone,
Going to havemicrodiscectomy surgery on the L5 February 13th. Anyone have any stories about numbness? My whole right leg is basically numb, I have gone through the radiating pain etc...did anyone experience the numbness too and does it go away after the surgery?
hello everyone,
Going to havemicrodiscectomy surgery on the L5 February 13th. Anyone have any stories about numbness? My whole right leg is basically numb, I have gone through the radiating pain etc...did anyone experience the numbness too and does it go away after the surgery?
Hi vampire, Welcome to the back board! Sorry to hear that you are having such troubles especially with numbness. I had lumbar laminectomies & these were done to relieve nerve compression & what my neurosurgeon told me was that nerve compression can be relieved by surgery but depending on how long & how severely the nerves are compressed before the surgery can determine if there is any residual nerve damage after the surgery. I had nerve pain, some numbness, toes that didnt work for about 4 months before surgery & after it took about 6 months before i saw the last of the nerve compression symptoms go away. I hope that you come through your surgery with flying colors! Please update us on your progress & we will be hear if you need a listening ear.God bless you, vampire.
The following 2 users give hugs of support to: gmak Karlee1010 (02-22-2013), vampire41 (01-31-2013)
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Hi Gmak,
Thanks for the information. I was worried more about the numbness then the pain. Can that be permanent or will it go away. How long was your recovery? I hope I can get back to putting my socks on without pain. I will update as to how it goes. Thanks
Hi Gmak,
Thanks for the information. I was worried more about the numbness then the pain. Can that be permanent or will it go away. How long was your recovery? I hope I can get back to putting my socks on without pain. I will update as to how it goes. Thanks
Hi vampire, I was mistaken on that post, Im sorry , let me correct myself by saying after the surgery the majority of the huge nerve pain & symptoms were gone & after 6 months the sciatica was completely gone & after a year the numbness that was left over like a few toes & some patchy numbness was healed except for a few spots that didnt come back but it was of no consequence at all. My recovery was hampered by spinal fluid leaks, when i was injured i had an exploded disc & the fragments caused the leaks & when those were repaired two of the grafts didnt take & i had to have a 2nd surgery two weeks later.I hope that all your symptoms of nerve compression are relieved immediately upon decompression & have a quick recovery.
Last edited by gmak; 01-31-2013 at 06:04 PM.
Reason: info repeated
The following user gives a hug of support to gmak: vampire41 (02-01-2013)
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Hi Everyone,
Had my microdiscectomy on the 13th and am on my 5th day of recovery. One word AWESOME. I forgot what it was like to have a good back. I still have the numbness and am sore and bruised from the surgery, but otherwise wowit feels great. I was scared going in but it was worth it. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. I walked a mile yesterday with no pain...YAY. I am worried about the numbness but hey I think it will take time.
The following user gives a hug of support to vampire41: Karlee1010 (02-22-2013)
Glad to hear you had immediate relief. Just be sure to proceed with caution. The greatest risk for a discectomy patient is that he/she feels suddenl;y so much better that they tend to want to do everything they haven't been able to do prior to surgery, and do it all at once. This results in overuse, causing a nerve flare or even reherniation.
Even though surgeons tell patients recovery is about six weeks, remember that it takes a good six months for the disc to heal to the point of being strong and tough.
In terms of walking, you are better off taking frequent short walks rather than one or two long walks. The point of walking is to stretch out the spinal nerves to keep scar tissue from attaching to the nerves as it is forming and filling in. Walking short distances frequently keeps you from overuse injury, keeps you from causing a nerve flare or inflammation and keeps you from tiring yourelf.
Also remember to limit sitting to 15-20 minutes at a time.
The following user gives a hug of support to teteri66: vampire41 (02-18-2013)
The Following User Says Thank You to teteri66 For This Useful Post: vampire41 (03-13-2013)
Well done on having your surgery and feeling good about it. With regards your numbness, I had numbness on my left leg front before my surgery and muscle cramps on my thigh front, after surgery and in thirteen week then I still have much the same effects but no nerve pain so I am feeling positive. Keep up the walking but not too much too soon. Best of luck
The following user gives a hug of support to pasko52: vampire41 (02-18-2013)
Thanks everyone for the info. On the reherniation does anyone know the percentages of this happening. I am starting my final RN clinicals in the fall of this year and I want to be sure I am ready. The walking deels great. I worried about the numbness before and I hope it goes away but it is soooo good to not have the pain.. Thank you every one fro their input. In week thirteen are you feeling great? Hope so..best luck to all of you.
Dear vampire, Wow, sooo great to have no pain! Try to be so careful with everything so that you dont over do! This is wonderful, i remember that i had too much " fight" in me to want to be normal too fast, didnt ask for help & my friend came & did my nails & it took forever! She was trying to keep me still! Lol Those clinicals are a long way off. Best advice for me came from my neurosurgeon, he said that recovery was like stacking blocks, go slow, steady, one by one thing a day & if you go too fast all tumbles down & i would have to start over from beginning. So thrilled for you!
The following user gives a hug of support to gmak: vampire41 (02-19-2013)
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Hi gmak, I am taking it slow and seeing how it goes. Today is post surgery day 6 and so far sooooo good. I am looking forward to longer walks and running. Thank you for the support.
According to medical publications, reherniation percentages are low -- around 8%. I must ju;st know a weird slice of the population because from my experience, it is much higher! You can be as careful as possible, but some of it is fate or genes or ?? One hears stories of people who reherniate when coughing or sneezing.
Since you are studying nursing, I'm sure you are aware of the tremendous impact running puts on the discs....
The following user gives a hug of support to teteri66: vampire41 (02-19-2013)
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Everyone is different. I wouldn't worry about comparisons. Some of the bruising has to do with how fast your surgeon operates, how much blood is "lost" during the procedure, etc. It may also have something to do with the technical aspects of the micro surgery -- they may cut less but they thread instruments through layers of tissue which may break more small blood vessels.
My surgeries were all the old-fashioned open method. I didn't have any bruising.
The following user gives a hug of support to teteri66: vampire41 (02-20-2013)
The Following User Says Thank You to teteri66 For This Useful Post: vampire41 (02-20-2013)
Hi gmak, I am taking it slow and seeing how it goes. Today is post surgery day 6 and so far sooooo good. I am looking forward to longer walks and running. Thank you for the support.
Hi vampire41...I'm glad to hear your recovery is going well. I'm 16 days post op from microdiscectomy on L5/S1. I can't believe you walked a mile so soon! I think I could, but it is so icy and snowy here in Indiana right now. I have tried to go out and walk in the neighborhood when it's cold...but not in the ice!
Much of my pain had subsided right before surgery. I went through with it anyway, as it took me a year to make the decision to do it and I would get better and then one move would take me down. I'm feeling pretty good. I do seem to get tired, but I think it's more from lack of doing much of anything. My surgeon said the numbness would be the last thing to heal. I'm getting strength back in my leg and foot, but I'm still quite numb. I also have random aches or slight pains, but from everything I have read on here, I think that is fairly normal. It's quick, and then subsides. I have a 3 week follow-up next Thursday.
I do hope it helps others to read posts from some of us whose recovery is going well. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and me as well, that it continues in a positive way!
The following 2 users give hugs of support to: Calin Karlee1010 (02-22-2013), vampire41 (03-13-2013)
Calin....One of the number 1 complaints post surgery is how tired people feel and how long it can take to regain strength. Some of this has to do with how long one was laid up prior to surgery and unable to get much exercise...or even walk around the block.
Just pace around your house every hour or so for five minutes. The important thing is to walk to stretch out the spinal nerves. This helps to keep adhesions from forming when the scar tissue forms and fills in...anytime for about 10 days to 12 weeks post surgery. It is imperative that you walk, walk, walk. You don't need to walk a mile. Distance is unimportant at this point. Five minutes done frequently is more effective for stretching out the nerves.
So happy you are feeling well.
The Following User Says Thank You to teteri66 For This Useful Post: Calin (02-24-2013)
I love the support and caring info in this thread. That's great. We all need positivity and hope for our similar but different back problems n all. I just found out, at 52, that Spinal Stenosis isn't my problem after all these years. Just got my MRI results back this week and I've always had Scoliosis and also, Degenerative Disc Disease (not sure how long for DDD) With all the clicking and clacking my back does, along with moderate to severe back pain ever since I can remember, I knew something was wrong. I just thought it was Spinal Stenosis. I don't know much at all about Scoliosis, and never even heard of DDD before! Anyways, after so many years of back pain, if my Pain management Dr. suggests surgery for me, I'll do pretty much anything to improve this. My pain medications do help relieve some pain, but after years of off and on excrutiating pain at times, It has reallly worn me out! Reading positive experiences and good attitudes really warms my heart and gives me hope! Thank you to all of you that posted on this thread to encourage, support, and share your own experience. It has really given me hope and lifted my spirits.....
The following 3 users give hugs of support to: Karlee1010 Calin (02-24-2013), gmak (02-23-2013), vampire41 (02-24-2013)
The Following User Says Thank You to Karlee1010 For This Useful Post: vampire41 (03-13-2013)
Karlee -- You might want to start your own thread and state your issues there so more people would see it. I quickly read through your post on the scoliosis board...and I think you may have a slight misunderstanding of your scoliosis issues.
I gather you have not been consulting with a spine specialist? Are you letting the pain management doctor manage your case? It sounds like you do not have an accurate diagnosis of your back problems.
I have found from personal experience that people can waste a lot of time letting specialties other than a spine specialist diagnose and plan treatment for a spine issue. It is the orthopedic spine surgeon and neurosurgeon who have the most education, training and experience in the disease and mechanics of the spine. Who better to go to for an accurate diagnosis??
I'm not attempting to figure out what might be wrong with your spine...but in general, the damage caused by degenerative disc disease can result in some breakdown of the structural elements of the spine that hold it in place. This can cause uneven wear and tear on the discs, shorten ligaments, etc. These changes can allow the structural alignment to shift which can result in a scoliosis.
Scoliosis is term used to describe any abnormal, sideways curvature of the spine. Levoscoliosis simply means that there is a curve that curves to the left...as opposed to dextroscoliosis which curves to the right....This may be something that has recently developed as your spinal problems have worsened. Overcompensating for specific pain can be a cause for this.
Hi everyone,
I am now 28 days post op and started back to work..thinking it would be a breeze. OUCH i only worked five hours and I felt like someone took a bat to me. Ha major soreness and some sciatic pain on my left side, which needless to say is the side that was not bad. My surgeon has fully released me and I am also a CNA. Me knowing my strength, I know I cannot do it. Anyone have any similar issues, and is it possible the surgeon was a little too quick to discharge me to full duty from lifting no more than ten pounds. And I thought I was doing good.
Its great you are doing well. I hope your recovery goes great. I think it was a great decision to do the surgery. Just remember to not lift and twist and bend.
Hi everyone,
I am now 28 days post op and started back to work..thinking it would be a breeze. OUCH i only worked five hours and I felt like someone took a bat to me. Ha major soreness and some sciatic pain on my left side, which needless to say is the side that was not bad. My surgeon has fully released me and I am also a CNA. Me knowing my strength, I know I cannot do it. Anyone have any similar issues, and is it possible the surgeon was a little too quick to discharge me to full duty from lifting no more than ten pounds. And I thought I was doing good.
Hi vampire, If ive learned one thing with 4 lumbar laminectomies it is listen to my own body. Personally in my opinion, from my experiences, i could not have been released to do full time work lifting & bending & twisting @ 4 weeks post op I couldnt have done it physically nor would my dr have let me. I was told that i could never work like this again by my NS or i would end up right where i started, and maybe that was just in my case but i was also told to call him, NS, if i developed any symptoms. So if i were you i would call & let the surgeon know because that how i was instructed.Have you gone to PT yet? Pt was started @ 4 weeks & they taught me body mechanics to help prevent further or more injury.
Last edited by gmak; 03-14-2013 at 11:37 AM.
Reason: info
The following user gives a hug of support to gmak: vampire41 (04-02-2013)
The Following User Says Thank You to gmak For This Useful Post: vampire41 (04-02-2013)
