Back Surgery in your 30s?

ChaosParent23
Thu, 20 Feb 2020 15:01:40 +0000

I just had a micro-discectomy of the L5/S1 about 4 weeks ago. I’m a bit older (42).
Since mine was degeneration as well as herniation from a serious car accident, PT didn’t help at all. My disc was bulged to the point that it was going down my spinal canal and choking the nerve running down my leg. That’s actually what hurt, not my back.
I did 8 weeks of PT, which actually made my situation worse. I also tried the epidural steroid block, which did precisely nada. It took a couple months of waiting for an opening, but I finally got surgery and I feel great now. Some lingering issues w/ my gait and walking further distances but I see a PT for that in a couple more weeks.
My back didn’t hurt before surgery but it’s a little touchy now. I have very little disc left, so I do baby it a little. I still do all my normal household activities, except for things like have DH or DS change the water bottle in our water cooler.

The worst part of the whole experience was the pain while waiting for surgery. I was loaded up on drugs, but it didn’t really do much. I was still completely non-functioning. And then getting off the drugs! My one piece of advice for anyone is to have a plan for coming off the meds BEFORE surgery. I didn’t and there were a few days of misery that I wouldn’t have had to go through if I’d known better. I was on 2 different opioids for about 4 months. About 24 hours post surgery I felt well enough to stop taking the pain meds. Huge mistake!! I didn’t need them for pain, and I didn’t want to take them, but my body physically thought it needed them. It’s like having the flu, but with an extra helping of anxiety and depression. It won’t kill you, but it’s utter misery. Weaning is the best method for coming off opioids. For me it took about a week to get off them completely.