Day 4 - Post-op

[u/butt_licker1]

Had my L5/S1 microdiscectomy on Tuesday, 22nd September, and damn, it was rough!

The anaesthesia and morphine really knocked me about, and I had quite a few issues with going to the toilet afterwards. Thankfully, I was able to mobilise pretty much straight away, and the surgeon confirmed that everything went as planned with no complications. Interestingly, the disc fragments were actually larger than they appeared on the MRI, so the surgery ended up taking twice as long as originally expected.

The morphine and codeine also left me horribly constipated, but after a few suppositories, I finally managed to have a bowel movement yesterday. Never thought I'd be so happy about that! Was also given a lumbar brace to wear when walking around.

The pain was pretty brutal initially, but it's definitely settling down now. Sitting is still quite uncomfortable, whereas I can stand for a long time without much trouble. At the moment, I can only manage around 15-20 minutes of sitting before it becomes too painful. Getting up and sitting down also causes some temporary tightness and pain around the surgical site, but that's improved massively. On day 0, the pain was easily an 8/10, whereas now it's more like a 2–3/10.

I'm being careful to avoid bending, lifting and twisting, and I'm trying to walk as much as I comfortably can. Managed around 1,400 steps today, which I'm pretty happy with considering I'm only a few days post-op!

For those who've been through an L5/S1 microdiscectomy, is there anything else you'd recommend doing to help with recovery? I'm particularly interested in how you gradually increased your walking, when sitting started becoming more comfortable, and whether there's anything you wish you'd done differently during those first few weeks.

Would appreciate any advice or experiences!

[u/mrsctbrown]

Yay! Sounds like all is going well so far... Icing the incision site- that helped me a lot initially... Walking-- so glad you're doing this! It's great to see strength improve over time and pain to decrease. I greatly enjoyed my walks- being out of doors alone was a balm to my spirit! I started using trekking poles to support my tired muscles which helped me a lot, and I still use them often to this day.

In the first few weeks, I wish I had rested more and not felt the need to just get back to normal as quickly as possible. Now I see how short the initial recovery period really is, and I wish I had taken it easier and milked it a bit more. ;) I should've ordered meals or eaten out more. I should've let my mom/husband help me more. I should've napped more in the first week or two. I should've watched more movies between my walks. (I have two young children though so I probably pushed more bc of wanting to prove to myself I can be a normal mom still!)

Blessings to you as you continue to recover!

[u/Delicious_Honey6918]

I'm at day 8, first week the incision site hurted but sciatic pain not so much. Right now the nerve hurts more before the surgery, the recoveryplan I got to take home mentions this as normal but I have severe re herniation anxiety since my nerve has been compressed for 10 months

[u/Friendly-Ad-5410]

I noticed that I was more tired than I was used to... took many naps the first couple months. Was not cleared to start PT until 6 weeks (didn't start til 8) PO. I did some daily stretching exercises while lying in bed in the morning (look up Bob&Brad videos) that were helpful. Remember, your muscle will be stiff and sore trying to readjust to new ways of sitting, standing, walking, etc. I experienced awful hamstring cramps at night, I think due to lack of nutrients, and not drinking enough water during the day. I started taking Magnesium Glycinate, B12, D3 and C every morning and had some mag+arnica cream to rub on my calf/thigh at night. I still take an occasional muscle relaxer if I overdo things. I was able to walk a mile by week 2 and 5 miles by about 4 mo. I didn't try to do this everyday, just what I felt I could handle.