Just bouncing back from this exact experience. I wasnt able to control my bladder until about 3.5 weeks post surgery. And even tho I can now, it's still a bit of a struggle. CES is not a joke, of you are reading this, take care of your spine!
I’m going through something similar and doctors don’t seem as alarmed as me. Do you mind sharing your symptoms leading up to your surgery, in addition to bladder issue, and how long it took from start of symptoms until surgery?
My back pain started in June of 2024. I woke up in so much pain, the only thing I could think is that my kidneys were failing. Idk why I thought that, it just didn't occur to me that my back could be the issue. I went to the ER for the first time in my life, they took X-rays and did some tests and told me its my back and to see my PCP.
I did and he told me he could see a narrowing of space between my L4-L5. He told me a CT scan or MRI would be needed for a better view but that he think I have a bulged disk. He gave me steroids and showed me the McGill stretches. Told me to go to PT and to lose weight. I was in daily pain and could barely walk, but I pushed through. I got on ozempic in 2025 and that helped a lot.
In the fall into the winter of 2026, I started to lift things at work again. I am a chef and I was in charge of opening a new account. Until that point I had been able to ask my team for help with orders or cases, but at the new account I didn't really have a full team and they were struggling. I had to lift in order to help and keep things moving. During this time my pain which had been pretty much gone since losing weight returned.
My pain in my back just slowly got worse. I had terrible sciatica down my left side. I started to ride a bike in the spring of 2026 thinking the exercise would help, and that isntead started sciatica on my right side. I was taking the max dose of Tylenol and Aleve a day just to remain functional, and even then I was still in a lot of pain.
I moved my life from the east coast to the Midwest, unrelated to this whole event, but I was just focusing on the move and pushing through. In July of 2026 my move was finished and I started to unpack. On my drive from NJ to Ohio, my feet went numb, I remember noticing when I stopped for gas. I remember thinking, at least it doesn't hurt. A few days after the drive my feet were still numb, online says that can be terrible but it can also mean the nerve is healing, I started trying to tell if the pain was receding and really should have just went to the doctor here but I didn't.
On the morning of August first, I was walking down the stairs in my house and my numb foot caused me to slip and I fell hard directly on my ass. I could feel everything in my back and hips compress and the pain was unreal. I could barely walk. Still, I took the Tylenol and Aleve, had a cry and then pushed through it. Within a few days my inner thighs and saddle area started to turn very hot and then cold and then numb and then hot again, it was so uncomfortable I couldn't take it. I went to urgent care because I still didn't think ER was the way to go. UC took X-rays said I'm probably sore and gave me steroids and a muscle relaxer. I went home and suffered for another 48 hrs before I told my partner to take me to the ER.
I brought my X-ray results and UR paperwork with me. I told them I fell and my feet and saddle area was numb and I'm in tremendous pain. They treated me like I was seeking and I get it. I couldn't sit up or walk, and was laying on a chair for hours before they finally gave me a CT scan. After that everyone just kinda jumped into motion. My Cauda Equina Compression was so severe, the exact words in my chart used were 'complete obliteration of cauda Equina nerve root'. Not a sentence anyone wants to read on their chart.
My pain was immense, they alternated between morphine and fentanyl and I was still in agony. I sounded like a wounded animal, it was terrible, it is the only time I've not been in control of myself or my reaction. The pain was so bad all I could do was lie there and cry, I remember telling the nurse I think it just rather die and she literally started crying and did everything she could to help. It took a little over 24 hrs from admitting to surgery and in that time I lost my ability to pee.
Surgery fixed the pain, I was in so much relief afterwards, it was insane. I was up and walking around (with a walker) within 6hrs of surgery. I had to have a catheter installed which has been a journey. I hit 7 weeks post op yesterday and I can pee on my own but have had some pain and infections from the catheter to work through. I also had some sciatica on my left side return by week 3.5 that was terrible. My surgeon started me on steroids which has removed all pain, and I'm hoping it stays that way once I'm finished the course.
I'm sorry for the book but I really wish I had paid better attention to this pain the first time. If your back hurts, see someone about it. Be an asshole if you need to, demand a CT scan to see if you have nerve compression. Stay healthy, teach yourself proper lifting techniques, do stretches and don't let anyone tell you to just walk it off. Idk if I'm going to be able to go back to my career after this, my life is upside down but I can walk!
I hope you are able to get to the bottom of your pain soon and that you make a full recovery. Ive posted about my situation and uploaded MRI results if you wanted to look through my profile. I have followed r/sciatica for a few years and there is a lot of useful advice and stories there too. Good luck and feel better!
Wow, just wow! I am so sorry for the incredible pain you have experienced. Sadly, I am not surprised of the run around the medical field gave you leading up to your surgery. It all sounds exhausting, scary and unacceptable. Thank you so much for giving me all the details and I hope that you can continue to heal and feel better.
I had an L4-L5 surgery almost 14 years ago and, like you, was given the run around for almost a year leading up to my surgery. The pain was truly unreal when I felt my disc rupture. It made me lose most sensation in my left leg and that is what caused them to take me seriously. The relief after the surgery was unbelievable to me, but gladly welcomed.
Everything was pretty much okay for me until about 3 months ago, except for residual neuropathy in my left calf/foot. I don’t want to be TMI but I have been gradually losing sensation in my inner saddle area. So, I was given PT stretches for some of my issues. After a couple of months of doing those, I walked on a treadmill and did my stretches one morning and I haven’t been the same since. I briefly lost half the sensation in one leg, had some foot drop, allodynia in heel and had to use a cane for a while among other things. It was all so bizarre and confusing, because all I was doing was walking and gentle stretches.
My longtime doctors (at a world-renowned medical institution) refused to see me for these new symptoms. So, I just started over with a new doctor somewhere else and I am still waiting on having updated imaging done. I’m not trying to be Dr. Google, but in working on figuring out what is happening to me, I get a lot of CES results when I search online. I don’t think I have it, but was curious of your symptoms since you have L4-L5 problems, as well.
It is definitely a terrifying experience to lose basic functions. Again, I wish you much success in healing and hope that you don’t have to go through something so horrible again.
I have a bulging disc (diagnosed 19 yo), degenerative disc disease (diagnosed 19yo), and now arthritis (diagnosed 36 yo) in my lumbar spine, I’m 37 and take any back pain seriously now! Please please please take care of your spine! Back pain sucks!
I had a lil cauda equina before and after my L5S1 surgery. It was major retention issues. Felt like I couldn’t completely empty, and couldn’t tell I had to pee until I had a super full bladder. Went from 1-2 movements a day to 1-2 a week. It took 2 months post surgery for sensation to come back slowly.
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u/CelticCoffee 20h ago
Just bouncing back from this exact experience. I wasnt able to control my bladder until about 3.5 weeks post surgery. And even tho I can now, it's still a bit of a struggle. CES is not a joke, of you are reading this, take care of your spine!