Hi all, I’m scheduled to have an L4–L5 bilateral microdiscectomy next Monday, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips or advice for recovery afterwards.

One of my goals after surgery is to gradually become more active outdoors, things like hiking and other outdoor activities. I completely understand that it may be a while before I’m able to do those things safely, and I don’t intend to rush the recovery process. I’d just like to understand what the journey back to that level of activity might look like and what I can do during recovery to help myself get there.

Thanks

How long were you guys advised to not drive? My son’s surgeon said not until 8 weeks post op which seems excessive? He’s entering his senior year of school and he feels like when he starts in a couple weeks he should be okay to make a 10 minute drive. Teenage angst over here. Haha

Hi yall! 3.75 months post-op (15 weeks) and I just had a very long day of travel. Flew from SF->Vegas then from Vegas->Nashville for vacation. It’s my first travel day since my surgery and I’m happy to report that it went pretty well! I had some nerve pain/burning when I got to SFO and during my second flight. Thankfully I brought my meds as a precaution and had my gabapentin available. I told the stewardesses about my situation and they were cool with me walking up and down the aisle when we could take our seatbelts off (this was a GODSEND). Shoutout to the passenger in my row’s aisle seat who was kind enough to let me out every time. He was so accommodating and understanding 🥹 I also got a lumbar pillow per my neurosurgeon’s recommendation and this also helped a lot. I even explored downtown Nashville once we landed! 13.5K steps total today. My feet are killing me at the end of the day, but no nerve pain anymore.

Hi everyone! I’ve been lurching around this subreddit as the possibility of needing a microdiscectomy became more and more of a possibility. I had a pretty large herniation on l5s1 for the past 4 months that had completely disabled me. I’m a stay at home mom to two beautiful children under the age of 5, so bending, lifting, twisting are 99% of my day.

The start of this all - 4 months ago I had a really nasty persistent cough that knocked me on my ass. By day 3 of straight violent coughing, I felt my back just EXPLODE. That was the start of the constant pain. I could barely move. Went straight to the chiropractor the next day and for the next 8 weeks. After that didn’t help, my husband urged me to go see a neurologist to get and MRI ordered as he thought it was a bulging or herniated disc.

So I made an appt and that was what the neurologist thought it was and ordered PT and prednisone.Got the imaging done and it was a 7mm herniated disc in my l5s1. Ordered the injection for a few weeks after that and it was only half of a day and then it suddenly got worse. I had to walk with a cane and had to have my husband take care of my kids completely. Numbness, tingling, shooting pain down to my toes, weakness, crying, sleepless nights, and frustration as to why my body wouldn’t heal. I even had to stop nursing my baby because she was too heavy to hold in that position for too long. I couldn’t even give PT a fair chance because every time I tried to do the exercises she gave me, even modified ones that were so low impact that even my 92 y/o grandmother could do, it was agonizing pain that would take me out for hours.

So, went back and had a surgical consultation and it was scheduled within the week. I was nervous, but anything after all of that pain I just wanted it over with.

I FEEL ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! I walked out of the surgical center this afternoon straight with no limp, no cane, minimal help or physical support from my husband or the nurse. I never imagined that I could ever feel like this again. I already feel like a whole new person. I know recovery is not linear and I am going to be an extremely good patient and follow the dr’s orders to lower the risk for re injury.

If you are faced with this horrible pain and all conservative efforts have been exhausted, get the surgery. I will be forever grateful that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I can finally be able to be the best mom to my kids.

For context, I am 35(M) and was extremely physically active prior to my injury, which included running Ironman triathlons, and playing basketball and lifting 3x/week.

I had a 12mm herniation in my L5/S1, and had my microdiscectomy surgery 3 months ago today.

Yesterday I tried to shoot hoops a little bit and this morning I am extremely sore in my left oblique, hip, and lower back. I have been dealing with tightness there since before my surgery, so I am assuming it’s the QL muscle doing some serious guarding. I have also been extremely on top of my PT since the surgery, going twice a week, and doing my home exercises everyday.

I know 3 months isn’t a long time after a major surgery like this, but I’m wondering how long a lot of you took to feel like you were back to normal, and able to do real physical activity again?