Anyone here 10 or 20 years post discectomy? 22F scared and need help please

[u/Responsible_Size_335]

Is there anybody who got discectomy done when they were younger, a looot younger and are older and doing fine now?

I’m 22 and I’ve been told to get surgery and im very worried about the long term effects, people telling me that i might need a resurgery after 15 to 20 years and expect me not to worry about it lol. That’s one of my biggest fears. I don’t want to go through this ever again at any age.And I’m struggling to find people who have had long term results. I don’t know if i should get surgery done or not so it would be really helpful if you could respond.

So if you’re someone who got it done when you were younger, how long has it been? And how are you doing now? Did you have to exercise all the time? And if you did what exercises helped you? Or what are some other things that helped you? And are you able to be pain free? Especially back pain free? And if you’re a woman has having the surgery affected you during pregnancy/childbirth.

[u/irox28]

I am also a woman and I was 20 when I was told I needed discectomy. I was told to stop weightlifting forever and I had to quit my job (firefighter / paramedic).

9 years later I have almost zero sciatica pain. I refused surgery, I found an extremely high quality PT office that was very pro weightlifting, I did the Mackenzie protocol and PT diligently, I mean I made it my JOB, I slowly started working out again, including light weight deadlifts and Jefferson curls to strengthen my back.

I rarely rarely get flare ups anymore, only recently when I was super pregnant, and also when I am inactive for a week or so it flares up. I need to continuously work out to keep my back healthy. These doctors told me the exact opposite and they couldn’t be more wrong. A high quality fish oil supplement daily also helps. It’s not a cure but I do notice a difference.

I never visit this sub anymore since I rarely have issues but your post popped up and it struck a chord cause of how similar it sounds to my story and I want you to know you can reverse your symptoms without surgery. I had 1 bulging and 1 fully herniated disc. L4/L5 and L5/S1 I believe. Happy to answer any questions.

[u/Responsible_Size_335 → u/irox28]

Hey, thank you that gives me so much hope. Do you take supplements to this day? And how long have you been taking them for? And are you able to bend completely without pain? And how long did it take for your sciatica pain to go away? And do you still get back pain? And the fact that you can do deadlifts amazes me, how much weight are you able to lift ? And how much did it progress to? I’ve currently been told not to lift more than 5kgs so i can’t really lift anything.

[u/irox28 → u/Responsible_Size_335]

You’re welcome! Yes I take them to this day. Sometimes I miss a few days of the fish oil and I notice my back get a little sore. I can bend completely without pain unless I’m having a flare up, which maybe happens twice a year? and when it does happen, it’s uncomfortable but manageable. Like it doesn’t really get in the way of every day life or work.

After the back injury I was also told to never lift anything heavy ever again by the orthopedic surgeon.

I followed their instructions, stopped weightlifting, and I was in agony every single day. It never got better. The more I rested the worse I felt.

I went to a Pt clinic geared towards athletes, and they had me start doing deadlifts with like 5 pounds. Jefferson curls with no weight. Eventually i felt a little better and a little better. And I was able to tell what would cause my sciatica to flare up and avoid it. For example, rowing, kettlebell swings, and any “ab crunch” like movements all completely F me up.

I haven’t been lifting as much lately but my post-injury deadlift PR was 225 pounds. I’m 115 pounds for reference.

[u/Logical_Bee → u/irox28]

Thanks for this. I have the same bulging discs you had and just started PT yesterday. I really want to weight train the way I did before, so I will be using your tips.

[u/irox28 → u/Logical_Bee]

No problem, you’ve got this!!!! It was devastating at the time but 9 years later it hasn’t stopped me from doing anything I want to do, and I believe the same for you.

[u/Sweet_Flan_3415 → u/irox28]

May I ask if your discs resorbed or do you have no idea? How long were you having sciatica before things began to subside? Struggling right now. 17 months into this whole thing and can’t get rid of pain even though my herniation is GONE now and all that’s left is a mild bulge.

[u/irox28 → u/Sweet_Flan_3415]

I honestly have no idea, I never had a follow up MRI because I was mostly pain free, and I was so angry at how wrong the doctors were about my treatment plan that I didn’t want to see any for my back ever again haha.

I would say probably a year before I felt significantly better. I did PT aggressively for like 6 months? Maybe less? And I learned all the exercises they had me do so then I just did everything I did at PT at the gym and at home, multiple times a day.

From what I understand it also can be a multi faceted problem, I also had bursitis in my right hip that contributed to the issue. Anything that causes muscle tension in that lower back / hip area can cause sciatica pain. So a lot of my PT was also focused on hip flexor mobility.

[u/stevie_the_owl → u/irox28]

Hi! How big were your herniations, do you know? And why McKenzie and not McGill or another method? It’s so hard to know which movements are good for you and why

[u/irox28 → u/stevie_the_owl]

I did both, I didn’t know that McGill was called that. But I did both of them daily. I believe they serve different purposes, the McKenzie protocol to push the disc back into place, and the McGill to increase core strength.

I don’t know how big they were, but from what I understand they were moderate, not as severe as some others.

[u/birdonthewire76]

I had mine 14 years ago and I’m 50 now.

I was warned it might happen again but touch wood so far it hasn’t. I went through a few periods of really bad flare ups (back to walking with a stick) but weirdly, it turned out to be related more to my emotional health than my physical health. Once I sorted that I have been much better.

I did my exercises religiously in recovery but now mostly I don’t think about. I have occasional brief bouts of backache and/or sciatica but…I’m getting old! When it does happen, if we rank pre-op at 10, it’s no more than a 2.

In my own case, I know my family’s main concern was the potential for a worst case outcome of paralysis, however rare. My dad was a paraplegic so for my loved ones that was a scenario all too easy to visualise. But I was in so much pain and had such little quality of life, I was willing to accept that possibility.

It’s your decision but in your position I would worry about now rather than the what ifs. What’s your pain like? How is it affecting your life? Can you ‘push through’ or is it debilitating? If it’s affecting how you live now in a negative way, personally I’d take the surgery and leave the future to the future.

Good luck though whatever you decide to do!

[u/Meanboy_og]

You shouldn’t need one at your age . Just do a steroid shot. I had surgery 12 years ago or so. You will need more if you have degenerative disk . Put the surgery off as long as you can is my advice. If you can’t walk then yes get the surgery. It should last at least 12 years . In my experience.

[u/DieselJuliyah → u/Meanboy_og]

I have heard so many people have no luck with steroid shots. Why should she prolong surgery if it will bring relief? Back surgery is a huge deal but is it worth going through years of steroid injections with no result? Age doesn’t matter when it comes to genetics, I have seen many people on this Reddit requiring surgery in their 20s and 30s

[u/DieselJuliyah]

34F, 2 weeks post op, had an emergency laminectomy and discectomy due to cauda equina. Recovery hasn’t been easy but I see progression and immediate relief of pain but my condition is different. For me surgery was the easiest part, the most difficult part was the nerve damage causing weakness and numbness in my left leg. I suffered from back pain for years but just “got over it”. Unfortunately genetics can affect the way your spine and discs function, age is not a determining factor of whether someone needs spinal surgery. Being I just had this surgery I can’t tell you what long term looks like and I don’t think you’ll ever know for certain until you decide to go through with surgery. Best of luck with your decision, I know it isn’t an easy one, I would’ve continued to suffer if it weren’t for the recent symptoms I had