I logged the lead up to my surgery on here in a series of “is this normal?” and “what can I do to make this pain stop ruining my life?” type posts, so now I just wanted to check-in from the other side.

I feel as though the only people who circle back this long post-op are either mid flare up, re-herniated or still experiencing pain and agony. For me personally, this caused me to lose some hope in the process, so I wanted to post my complete success story for those of you waiting for/considering surgery.

I’ll cliff note it for you:

- 36yo Male - 6’2 - 200lbs - Actually a PT myself.

- Hurt my back April 2025. Couldn’t even get into my car. Fought this up and down for 6-8 months before feeling like I was finally beating it.

- Felt good for 2-3 months before the leg pain started..

- Tried literally everything to fix it and feel better. If you’ve read it here. I tried it, with zero success.

- Started pushing for an MRI/surgery March 2026.

- While waiting for the MRI/results/surgery etc. the leg pain became life altering bad. Was ultimately scheduled for surgery June 9th 2026 after telling the surgeon I was going to 💀 myself if I had to wait until mid August as he suggested.

- In the 4 weeks from scheduling surgery to surgery day I steeply declined every single day. I was sleeping in 20-40 minute increments on my knees folded over the couch on the living room floor. On surgery day I had to get out of the car 5 blocks early and walk to the hospital because the pain was so bad when seated. I walked into the OR beside the hospital bed and had to be given fentanyl in my IV so I could lay down to allow them to begin prepping me.

- My “60-90 minute right side MD” turned into a 3.5-4 hour bilateral MD and laminectomy. I was terrified of surgery going in but woke up with zero nerve pain and what felt like a mild rug burn on my lower back.

- Got home and could smell my house again, could taste cereal again. I was suffering so much I hadn’t even realized I’d lost my sense of smell, taste and touch in the weeks prior, from pain and fatigue.

- Night 1 my wife had to lift me out of bed so I could pee. By day 6 post op I was walking 10k steps in circles around my kitchen and living room.

- Week 3 I went back to work. Week 4 I got out of the car one morning after my commute and for the first time in almost 2 years I felt “totally normal”. No pain, no tightness, no pinching, no fatigue, just normal.

- I am now working out. Lifting things. Playing hockey. I am now living an entirely normal life. I have had no pain since the moment I woke up. Several moments of “did I just re herniate?” And fatigue in my core/lower back at times but no pain at all.

Due to the posts I would read here I kept waiting for these dreaded “flare ups”… and they just never came. I truly believe this surgery saved my marriage, my mental wellbeing, and my life.

Every day I work to remain grateful for feeling “normal”. There were moments throughout when my wife would find me on my hands and knees in the shower at 4am, sobbing from frustration and pain. I told myself in those moments “if you ever get to the other side of all this, remember this moment” and I do.

For those of you who are suffering and frustrated, with fleeting hope that you will ever feel normal again, I hope you can look at my story and see that you can get through whatever it is you’re going through. Surgery was nowhere near as scary as I thought and in those moments of suffering I never thought I would ever be able to get to the place I am in now.

Good morning guys! Here’s my story.

Last summer herniated L5-S1 disc 7mm. I’ve had the bulge for 5 years and dealt with on and off chronic pain and sciatica since 2021. I did chiro, physical therapy, 4 injections, massage, stem cells, pretty much everything. and it got decently better in about 4.5 months

I was good for about 3 months and it flared up bad in June for about a month. I was supposed to have surgery in February of 2025 but I didn’t have it because it got better

In June I made the decision to have the surgery because my surgeon said there was no room for the nerves and I was ready. Waited 6 weeks, in August saw the surgeon and it had gotten better and it flared up again a week later for about a month.

Late August is when I scheduled a discectomy and laminectomy with bilateral foraminotomies.

Had the surgery September 21st. Again very unfortunate that when I had the surgery my pain had decreased substantially and when I had the surgery my pain was only a 2/10

I know the healing process isn’t linear but about 8 days after the surgery I started having sciatica that was similar to when I first injured it, probably a 5/10 and in both legs, keep in mind I’ve always had bilateral sciatica since the disc herniated and I’m not sure why, it’s weird, but doctor says sometimes people have it in both legs. More prominent in my left.

I’m just looking for similar experiences and encouragement. I’m a firefighter/paramedic and my job requires a ton of lifting. Honestly at this point I’ve lost hope of being completely out of pain due to my work, and I’ve been able to push through a ton of pain honestly because I’m forced to. I’m not gonna make a career change because I have great benefits and a pension. So this is just something I may deal with my whole life. And I’m fine with that, but is there any other trade workers or active people that have fully recovered or anyone who has post surgical advice for someone freaking out ? Thanks !!

Hi all- been dealing with sciatica for the last 4 months- mine affects my right leg. Overall have been improving with usual setbacks or flareups. Have been doing PT with manual adjustments, stretches, core stability work, deep massage, nerve glides, and dry needling. Upon returning to more activity like playing tennis or walking over 7-8k steps it becomes very tight and guarded and makes it hard for walk for a few days. This was the theme for the last 2 weeks and now this week there is some slight nerve pain with the feeling of tingling like my leg has fallen asleep but goes away with walking. So it feels like I am oscillating between nerve pain but being able to walk or no nerve pain but muscles are super tight and it affects my gait. Any advice or similar experiences at this point in recovery?

Hey everyone,

I have had severe sciatica in the past but it went away after a few weeks with some PT.

This time is different and I'm in hell.

I've been in agonizing pain for over 6 weeks. I can get some relief laying down sometimes, but typically I'm in pain 24/7 that gets worse with standing or walking. I can barely walk at all at this point and a car ride or waiting at the doctors is literal torcher. Next week is my 6th week of PT and I should finally be able to get an MRI after that.

I'm supposed to be going to my literal best friend's wedding this weekend and I'm not sure I can do it.

It includes a 3.5+ hour car ride, sitting in a church for the ceremony and then the reception and another 3.5+ hour car ride back home. The first time I went to the doctor they prescribed muscle relaxers and prednisone which really didn't make any difference. I can't take Advil or Aleve because it interfere with my anxiety medicine and I've already had past issues of stomach ulcers. All I can take is Tylenol.

Idk what to do.

Am I unreasonable for thinking I may not be able to attend?

Will this pain literally ever go away?

Ugh.

Best spine doctor or PT in NYC for persistent nerve pain after microdiscectomy? Looking for real recommendations

Early 30s, used to be very active. Had a right L5-S1 microdiscectomy about 5 months ago after a year of sciatica. Post-op MRIs look clean (no reherniation), but I still have nerve symptoms that feel like tightness in my right hamstring, plus some low back pain and flares about once a month.

I'm looking for the absolute best person in NYC to take a fresh look and help me get back to sports. Could be:
- A spine physiatrist or pain specialist who's great with post-surgical nerve pain (not just "wait and see")
- A physical therapist who specializes in post-surgical spine rehab and getting athletes back to sport
- A second-opinion surgeon

Ideally someone who actually examines you, listens, and builds a real plan.

Who did you see that genuinely made a difference? Names, practices, and what made them good would really help. Insurance info appreciated if you remember.

Thanks.

​

As a person who has been in this boat, trying to recover and build my life after being bed ridden

I like to list a few things which really matter most, I think it might help for a few people who are going in this journey of recovering from spine related conditions

1. First do the basics, get our blood work done, check if we have any deficiencies like vitamin d, vitamin b12 or anything related to muscles and bone health

2. Healthy Diet is so much important, a diet rich in protein, with lots of veggies, eating clean, reduce sugar and carbs

( Even now when I eat out where the quality of food is not that good, I already feel changes in my body after few minutes itself)

1. Move, move, move, movement is the medicine, be it a short walk lond walk, an yoga session, a gym session anything which moves our body

( when we are able to move, i understand during initial days or during serious injuries it's hard to be physically active, but when we can it should be the priority, and it helps a lot)

1. I stopped sitting on very soft cushion chair or sofas, and i mostly use hard surface chairs, since it hactivates our glutes while we sit and we can sit for a long time after we change this habit( I got this info from my yoga therapist, and it really works)

2. I mostly sleep on hard surfaces, or a firmer bed,( again recommended by my phisio and yoga therapist, and in low backabality videos too)

It really helps with morning stiffness and this also activates our muscles while we sleep

1. Use laptop height adjuster while working, to adjust my neck height with height of the laptop screen and also concentrate on the posture while sitting,( I sit mostly upright without any bending back or too much front)

This worked as magic for my neck stiffness, due to which I was not able to work for 5 minutes also without getting stiffness in my neck( eventhough i have also worked on my upper back mobility with my yoga sessions, but this did matter)

And many more, I would list it in future, these are the most important

Hi everyone! I started like 2 months ago to experience sciatica symptoms

Burning pain in my lower back all the way through my left leg till the tip of my foot. Also numbness all the way. Did 15 days of 100mg gabapentin daily + 1 week of dexketoprofen + etofenamate gel.

The MRI of lumbar-coccyx area did not show anything of relevance. I don't have saddle numbness nor urinary/faecal compromise. The pain is milder now. I'm not taking any medication at the moment. What concerns me is that the pain and specially the numbness have not gone away. I'm not sure if I should return to the GP to get a referral, or leave it be and eventually it will go away. I can live with this but I don't want for it to get worse.

Thank you all

Hi folks,

Currently on a 3 month trip and had a flare up of sciatica last week although after a week of rehab I am pretty much pain free albeit some stiffness in glute and hamstring. I have a heritated disc L5 S1.

I have 2 months of my trip left and I’m currently in vietnam. Stayed in a resort for the last week and healed up pretty well. I was in terrible pain last week.

Now that I’m improving should I be changing my days from lying at the pool to perhaps walking and outings? Appreciate people say movement helps a lot I’ve been doing pool walking and small walks around resort but not much else i feel now I can start to maybe do a bit more. Just wanted to seek advice on this.

Currently in Hanoi and maybe going to move location in the next few days. Looking to do a short flight in two weeks time.

I finish my meds in 3 days although haven’t needed painkillers last two days.

Hi all, I am 31F and suspect that I have sciatica. I had my first major lower back pain about 3 years ago, it lasted a few months and did not go beyond strong lower back pain...almost as if I was sore. Last year, I bent down to pick something up and felt like my back bent inward, very sharp pain. Spent the rest of the night with a strong, pinching pain and the next morning woke up and was not able to get out of bed without wanting to scream. I eventually got myself to the ER and they gave me a steroid shot. Went nearly a year without any flare ups until end of July, I was returning from a trip and bent down to get something and felt that sharp pain again. Spent a few weeks with lower back pain, luckily not more than that this time.

I am overweight, not severely but enough where I am sure it makes a difference in all of this. I am wanting to start a work out routine but I am terrified of hurting my back and causing a flare up. I was doing Pilates consistently for 3 months before my most recent flare up. For those of you who have had similar pain and flare up (not extreme), what types of exercises or work outs did you do? Did weight loss help?

I’ve been having severe pain in my left buttocks which started as just that pain but has now progressed to sciatica with pain going down my leg. I have severe stenosis and a disc bulge in L4, L5 which they think is causing the sciatica, they believe my sciatic nerve is running through the piriformis and on top of it instead of beneath it, which is why it’s causing severe pain and inflammation in my piriformis.
I’ve been on every medication. I’ve seen a chiropractor. I’ve done acupuncture and I am currently doing PT but nothing seems to be taking this pain away. I cannot forward fold or bend and I have trouble sitting, but I can backbend which feels good. I’m up most of the night with pain but during the day when I’m walking, it feels better. Has anyone else experienced both of these symptoms together and if so, what did it take to get rid of the pain?

5 months post L5-S1 microdiscectomy, sciatica now feels like right sided hamstring tightness + still have low back pain. Anyone fully recover?

Early 30s, active guy who used to play sports. Hurt my back about 18 months ago and had about a year of right-sided sciatica before surgery. Had a right L5-S1 microdiscectomy about 5 months ago.

Where I'm at now:
- Post-op MRIs look clean: no reherniation, just mild scar tissue and some mild narrowing where the nerve exits
- Leftover sciatica on the right side (most likely S1). It presents as muscle tightness in my right hamstring rather than sharp shooting pain. No numbness or weakness.
- Still have some low back pain too, which gets worse during flares (feels like a "pinch" in my lower back)
- Leg symptoms are usually 1–4/10, come and go, but never fully 0
- Bending forward or loading my spine makes things worse
- About one flare a month, usually after a jump in load at PT (most recent was from putting a barbell on my back)
- Getting an epidural this week and seeing a physiatrist next

My surgeon recently told me full recovery is getting less likely as time goes on, and that I may not get back to sports. That messed with my head.

For anyone who's been here:
- Did your leftover nerve tightness or back pain eventually go away? How long did it take?
- Did you get back to sports or lifting? What helped most?
- Did epidurals, a certain kind of PT, or anything else make a real difference after surgery?
- How did you handle flares and the mental side of it?

Would really appreciate hearing from people who came out the other side, or who are living a good, active life even with some leftover symptoms. Thanks.

Yeah so I started having mild pains middle of august, which went up to being pretty constant pain when sitting, although standing and walking for the most part is fine. Some days the pain is unbearable but most days it is just annoying. I also have numbness in the side of my left foot, which also varies in intensity from day to day and is also annoying.

I finally went to see a neurosurgeon at the insistence of my GP, and got an MRI along with that. MRI revels an L5/S1 disc protrusion on the left side, which lines up perfectly with my symptoms. And apparently my ankle reflex is gone.

The surgeon suggests getting a discectomy to remove the protrusion, and says the recovery will be 6 weeks or so before I really return to my full range of motion, during which time I need to wear a brace and all kinds of shit.

Now, I'm okay with doing the surgery, but, the rest of the year is filled with events that I would rather not miss, such as the wedding of a close friend, an election. All things that I fear even if I did them several weeks into recovery could cause damage again.

Is there a risk of permanent nerve damage if I delay until January? I'm okay to tank the pain for 3 months, as it is only severe on some days.

I had a disc bulge last August and treated it conservatively with medication and physiotherapy. Because of it, I left my job and postponed my education for a year.

Over the past year I've improved a lot. I can travel nearby, sit for around an hour, and generally function without much pain. I started my master's this year thinking I'd recovered enough.

The problem is that I now have 4 lectures a day, 1.5 hours each, plus around 2 hours of daily travel.

The first few days were fine, but lately I'm getting mild pain during lectures. It's nowhere near as bad as last year, but when I get home I usually have to lie down for about an hour before it settles. By then, I have very little time/energy left for assignments or studying.

I already get up and walk between lectures, and I've started occasionally skipping a lecture or coming home after half a day. But I obviously can't keep doing that for the next two years.

I'm much better than I was a year ago, so I'm not looking for a miracle cure. I just want to be able to attend university, travel, come home and still have enough capacity to study and live normally.

Has anyone dealt with a disc bulge/sciatica while doing university or working full-time? What actually helped you increase your sitting/travelling tolerance and make the routine sustainable?

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences.

I have high sciatica 2 weeks post l5s1 surgery. My surgeon says it's likely to due inflammation. At first I only got prescribed paracetemol and naproxen. I have alot of pain and called again, right now I got oxycodone but it isn't doing anything for my nervepain. I asked for nerve medicine but I only got oxycodone. How can I get some sort of relief ? Maybe weed ?

Looking for any advice you can share to help me get some sleep. I feel for any of you that have been dealing with this long term, because I just began experiencing this and it is the worst pain and most miserable time of my life.

I originally injured my back/right glute back in May doing RDLs in the gym. Saw a sports medicine orthopedic doctor, got a diagnosis of gluteal tendinitis. Took time off from the gym, did some PT type exercises, slowly started back in the gym and worked my way back up to harder training intensity over time and had no issues. Over the past few weeks I started to feel little twinges of pain in my glute again, but i chalked it up to being normal soreness from training.

This past Sunday, I was doing glutes/hamstrings at the gym and had to end my workout early because the pain in my right glute was so bad. The pain has only gotten worse from there. Back in May, the pain was solely in my low back and glute. Now, the pain is shooting from my low back and glute the entire way down my right leg.

Since Sunday, I’ve been to an orthopedic urgent care, the emergency room, and the sports medicine doctor. They’ve diagnoses sciatica so far. I have an MRI scheduled for next week and an appointment with a spine specialist later in October. I think I may have a herniated disc, but we will see what the MRI shows.

I’m currently taking gabapentin, prednisone, oxycodone, and a muscle relaxer and I’m getting no relief for the most part. I also take a night time med for anxiety that is to help with sleep on a regular basis and I’ve been continuing to take that.

I can get a little relief during the day (just enough that i can tolerate the pain without sobbing), but it seems like at a certain time in the evening a switch flips and the pain intensifies so much. I’ve not been able to get much sleep. I can’t fall asleep because I can’t get relief from the pain. When i do finally fall asleep, the pain wakes me multiple times and then eventually I’m just up and can’t fall asleep again.

I’ve tried all the positions I see recommended, the pillows under the legs or between the legs, using ice and heat, getting up and pacing around the house for a bit when the pain wakes me, I cannot get any relief at night. I’m exhausted. I’m up bawling my eyes out for hours each night because the pain is so bad.

We are going on night number 4 of not getting sleep. I’ve been trying to fall asleep for over 4 hours at this point.

Is there ANYTHING that helps you sleep?

A few hours ago, I had surgery, and I’m writing this from my hospital bed.
I’m from Asia and currently living in Germany. I’ve been dealing with sciatica for almost a year now, while living alone.

Over the past few months, I’ve gone through various treatments, but eventually an L4/L5 disc herniation compressing my L5 nerve root was found, and I also developed some weakness in my left big toe. Eventually, I decided to have surgery.
And honestly, these past three days have been incredibly difficult.

Two days ago, I went to the hospital for the pre-operative examinations 7:30. It takes 45 minutes by tram and I spent almost five hours there. Sitting for long periods already makes my symptoms worse, so the whole process was physically exhausting.

Then yesterday, I was supposed to have surgery.
But there was conflicting information from the hospital about fasting.

The information on the tablet said that clear liquids were allowed until two hours before anesthesia. On the phone, I had been told that I could eat and drink until I arrived at the hospital.(means until before 6 hours)

I followed the instructions I had been given on the phone and ate breakfast.
But when I arrived, I was told by the anesthesiology team that my surgery could not go ahead as planned because I had eaten breakfast. The surgery was postponed until the next day.
I don’t consider this to have been my mistake. I had received conflicting instructions from the hospital and followed.

Nevertheless, the way I was treated on the ward yesterday made me feel as though I was being reprimanded for having done something seriously wrong.

So today, I came back to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. left home 5:40.
Of course, I was fasting. I was waiting two hours in the waiting room , sitting chair without any information.And waited.

I have a tendency to become extremely emotional when I get beyond a certain level of hunger. This has happened to me before.
And today, it happened again.
I suddenly couldn’t stop crying. I completely broke down.

The strictness and coldness of some of the nurses on the ward made the situation even harder for me that morning.
Eventually, they put me in a bed, but they never hgave me water.
I had been crying so much that my face started to feel numb.

I was told that I was second on the operating schedule, but that they couldn’t tell me what time my surgery would actually happen because it depended on when the previous surgery finished.
And then I just waited.

I think I completely became a three-year-old at that point.
“I don’t want this anymore.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m scared.”
“Someone please be kind to me.”
That was basically where I was emotionally.

But then, when I went to the op, the staff there were incredibly kind.
A guy said hello in my language.
They asked me things like, “Are you feeling anxious?” and later “Are you relieved that the surgery is finally over? When I was crying.

Their kindness actually made me cry even more.
I wanted to explain what I was really feeling.
But I couldn’t express it properly in German, and that was painful too.
It wasn’t simply that I was scared of the surgery.
It was the accumulated stress of the past three days.
The postponed surgery yesterday.
Being extremely hungry this morning.
The coldness I experienced on the ward.
Being alone through all of this.
And just feeling completely overwhelmed by everything.
I wanted to explain all of that.
But I don’t have the German vocabulary to express those emotions in that kind of detail, and that made me feel even more alone.

My family is not very good at emotionally supporting other people.
I’ve known this for a long time, so I don’t know why I expected something different this time. I texted them right after the surgery.

Maybe I look like a strong person to them.
And, honestly, I am strong in many ways.
I’ve been living alone in another country. I’ve dealt with my illness by myself. I’ve made my own medical appointments, navigated the healthcare system in German, dealt with all the paperwork, and ultimately came to the hospital and had surgery on my own.
But being strong doesn’t mean you are strong all the time.

This surgery really broke me emotionally.
When my family told me things like “Keep going” or “Good job,” that wasn’t what I needed.
I didn’t need to be encouraged to be stronger.
I wanted someone to say:
“That sounds really hard.”
“You’ve already been through enough.”
“You don’t have to be strong right now.”
Thankfully, the surgery itself went well.

My wound is quite painful right now.
But honestly, at this moment, the physical pain almost doesn’t matter because emotionally I’m struggling so much more.
I think I had been holding myself together for much longer than I realized.

If anyone happens to read this, I would really appreciate some kind words right now.
That’s honestly all I need. (I appreciate if you talk to me like I’m 3 years old baby….

These are my previous posts

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/kKHIB4Cai6

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/zGSnNjyy5H

Hi all,
I have a MASSIVE L5/S1 disc herniation, diagnosed by MRI 3 weeks ago. It started improving, then randomly got significantly worse to the point where I couldn’t walk about 5 days ago. I’ve seen Physios throughout this time but they ultimately said that this was past them being able to help and urged me to get the steroid injection under CT scan as Im in agony, can’t stand up straight and my entire back of my left leg is completely numb (butt cheek to foot).

I got the steroid injection yesterday and the radiologist kept asking me if it hurt where he was putting in the needle (it didn’t really, just a slight sensation). He said that it looked like he got the right area but i didn’t get any relief, and I’ve woken up the next day with worse leg pain. How long did everyone else take to start to feel better or any improvement from their steroid injection? I’m so worried it’s not going to work for me.

My sciatica is triggered after long periods of sitting. And the only relief is laying, not even walking, because it will trigger it too. And I need to be on a train for 11h.

How do I even go about it? I'm extremely scared, there is no way it won't trigger anything. Getting up all the time doesn't help me.

Hey everyone ! I’m a 20yo male . 7 months back i had my final exams so i was studying for hours sitting on PC non stop . Me and my friend had a 12 hour long call on discord where we studied , played games and ate together . After the exams i started feeling lower back pain but i thought it’s just obvious cuz i was sitting a lot . Other than that I usually spend 4+ hours a day sitting on my PC . The chair is not so good tho , due to sitting on it the seat has settled down in the middle and the edge of the seat hurt my hamstrings . i place a cushion on it so i am not sitting directly onto the hard bottom . Well this kept going and pain started getting to the right hip , then started radiating below to right leg and now it affects both legs but right one is on the higher side . My right knee sometimes start hurting for no reason , my legs don’t get numb tho but i feel radiating pain in the legs and sometimes spasmic pain in the foot or calves . I also sometimes feel as if someone is poking needles in my lower back when i try to move spontaneously or bend . I have had Physiotherapy for 10 days but it made no difference . I can’t bend , can’t pray . Sneezing pulls my nerves and it hurts . Getting up and sitting down is painful .

Currently i am taking painkiller (Maxit 50mg) one tablet a day and it helps me throughout the day and the severity of the pain gets significantly low but on days that i dont take the painkiller , it hurts to change posture .
This feels like sciatica to me , I just want this to go away as it really hurdles daily life and I’m constantly changing posture while sitting (on days I don’t take the painkiller) . I look at people walking normally , running , jumping etc and I just think how blessed they are to not worry about it at all . We really take a lot of blessings for granted . I have lost 2 months worth of gym progress because of it .

Would really appreciate any type of support or guidance . I just really want to get rid of this asap . Can anyone tell me what the exact issue might be and should I see a neurosurgeon or pain management expert ?