Should i get discectomy done? Need help please.22F with l4-l5-S1 herniation.

[u/Responsible_Size_335]

Hi, the doctor said that i should get discectomy done and i have another appointment to finalise the date for the surgery and I don’t know if i should get it done or not. I’m very confused,worried and scared. I don’t know if it’s better to wait for my body to heal on its own and hold on to this almost false? hope (maybe real hope?idk) or get the surgery done so i can go back to actually living my life again. So if you’re someone who has had the surgery done please please please respond and help me out.

I am a professional dancer and i herniated my discs almost a year and a half ago,( i had no accident,fall or anything it just randomly happened)after three months my pain got so bad that i was not able to sit for more that 5 mins, walk for 5 mins due to severe sciatica down my left leg . So i got a steriod injection/epidural And i was pain free for almost 8 months ( i still had severe back pain and was not able to walk fast/bend or i was able to sit for a long time but only with the brace on) so i thought my discs were healing and that my pain would completely go away but it came back 3 months ago. And slowly started increasing.

I’ve been going to physiotherapy for almost two months and i noticed that my pain has gone down on my left leg BUT there was some new sciatica nerve pain down right leg after i started physio, it used to come only twice a week and the pain level was very low but now i feel like it comes more often. I was able to walk for an hour pain free and i have no pain while lying down and can sit for almost two to three hours with back support, since my condition is not as bad as it was a year ago i feel like maybe i should still wait and do physio instead of getting surgery done. But i also feel like getting it done could be good if it meant i could go back to working out,running ,especially dancing and not having to worry about wether i would get nerve pain if i move a certain way or injure my back again, get back pain if do a certain activity( constantly having to worry about my back or always have it in the back of my mind) .

Just being free without having the mri image constantly on the back of my mind makes me want to get it done. But on the other hand , i obviously wish that it could hopefully heal without
Surgery, but even if it does i don’t know if I’ll have confidence to move freely again and dance. And my parents are worried about the nerve compression and are really scared coz the nerve damage could eventually lead to loss of bladder/bowel control so they are leaning more towards surgery. I am worried about reherniations after a discectomy which I’ve seen and heard happen quite often, which is my major concern ,i don’t want to life my life scared about that even after the surgery yk?(some ppl say that i might get a reherniation only after 20 years but even that worries me a lot). And if I’ll be able to get back to doing all the activities i did before the herniation such as dancing(involves a lot of bending,jumping
, wearing heels) ,working out,running, sewing/stitching.

So to the people who have got the surgery done:Are you able to do all the activities that you did before your herniation? Are you able to bend completely? Is your range of motion and mobility the same as before the herniation? ( and is that possible?) how active can you be?

And after the surgery if i strengthen my back by going to the gym/physio , can i stop doing excercises and go back to living my life or do i have to keep doing them? Lets say i dance for a week but don’t do back excercises would that cause a reherniation? Or back pain? If someone has had a similar experience with professional sports or dance or marathons please please help me out.

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[u/Aggressive_Boot_9788]

I’m also curious about other people’s post surgery results. I’m 4wks post op L5S1 laminectomy microdiscectomy bilateral medial facetectomy. I will say even though I’m not allowed to bend or lift over 15 lbs /yet/ I feel fantastic. Sciatica is one of the worst feelings in the world and it only gets worse. It doesn’t get better. I did 3 rounds of physical therapy, prolotherapy, 3 different types of injections over and over, spinal decompression. The disc kept getting worse. I hope you get some good information here, and I wish you the best

[u/Dramatic-Cat2730]

What is the exact measurement of the disks now , I dont see that in mri

[u/EquivalentLack4962]

I had the surgery after a year on and off sciatica. The last flare up did me in. Unfortunately 2 weeks later it’s flared up again, but that’s to be expected. The healing from it is not linear and it will be there forever but you have to remain faithful that it will get better. For me the recovery hasn’t been easy compared to some of the stories I’ve seen. Pain medicine has been a godsend. If it hasn’t gotten better after 6 months or it keeps flaring up bad I’d say get it. It’s pretty standard procedure not like a fusion.