I am now 15 days post bi-lateral L5/S1 microdiscectomy/ decompression surgery and the pain refuses to diminish. If anything it's worse today than at anytime since surgery. In particular, leaning backwards feels like it is pinching the disc, similar to before surgery but over on the left hand side rather than central. Beginning to feel that this isn't normal post surgey pain after all, but re-herniation. Anyone have any more specific information on symptoms and duration post successful surgery that I can compare to? It's the not knowing whether or not the surgery has been successful which is frustrating me - I can't move on with anything until I know - and my next consultant visit isn't until Friday 13 December (yeah, doesn't seem like the best date for good news!).

Mark

I had the same problem after my surgery although mine was a great more invasive than yours. Two weeks after my surgery I started having pain around my left knee that wouldn't go away. My doctor claimed that I was faking the whole thing so we waited for 6 weeks and it was getting worse. He ordered an MRI and said that if it came up normal he would see to it that Workers Comp would be notified that I was faking and should have to pay them back for paying for the surgery. The MRI scan showed that scar tissue had formed around my left L-3 nerve root and was slowly compressing it. The doctor was so angry with me that he refused to see me and I had to return to my family doctor for care. He started me on Neurotin and it helped with the pain but the side affects are not pleasant. So we switched to Lyrica. I would suggest that you discuss the possibility of using Lyrica in conjunction with your pain meds.

Thanks. I too tried the Neurontin and gave it up in preference for codeine phosphate, oramorph and normal ibuprofen. I don't so much have a big pain problem as a mobility problem owing to this disc pinching feeling (stenosis-like) and there are some positions/movements I must absolutely avoid. I just want to know whether anyone had this after the operation and it cleared up on its own accord or not.

My surgery was in 2002 and my problems are worse now than they were then. I was sitting in the Surgeon's office having my post-surgical exam. I informed him of my new pain and discomfort and he turned to his intern and said, "Usually if we can operate within a year after the injury our success rate is 80% or higher. But when we operate 2 or more years as in this case it drops to 25%." Then he turned and walked out.

AFraid I don't even know what an microdiscectomy is,but wanted to show off my pom pom skills and let you know I"m being supportive over here for you..hey the laughter of my pom poms should be enough to atleast make you smile!

For all of those just post microdiscectomy/decompression surgery wondering what to expect, here's my experience:

I am 19 days post a bi-lateral S1/L5 microdiscectomy/ decompression. I did nothing but potter around the house for the first 2 weeks, as advised. I have been very careful not to lift anything more than a carton of milk and if I need to bend down I am bending the legs, not the back. I get help with my socks - unless nobody's looking. I have now been walking outside for the past 5 days and I have also resumed mild stretching exercises. I am only walking about a mile a day at the moment as strength and fitness have been significantly eroded by all those weeks lying on my back. Need to build up slowly and not be in too much of a rush. Still have sciatic nerve pain in my left leg (whereas prior to the surgery the pain was predominantly right leg). Still have a sensation of stenosis if I extend my back backwards and it is uncomfortable lying prone face-down on the floor for the same reason. I avoided doing the standard leg-raise test for the first 2 weeks for fear of what I would discover but now I find I can raise both legs significantly more than I could but still with some sciatic nerve discomfort. Only a very mild occasional throbbing in the leg at night and this is reduced by lying on my side and flexing one leg, drawing knee up to chest, as I had to do prior to surgery. Still have to do a carefully coordinated 10-point manoeuvre to turn over in bed in order to avoid pain. However, I have the optimistic feeling that, as a general trend, all these symptoms are reducing, day by day from about 5 days ago. I am pretty confident that I have not re-herniated, despite my initial fears. I find that walking and exercise does temporarily exacerbate the symptoms slightly, as I suppose is to be expected. As from a few days ago I am off all pain-killers except Ibuprofen which I decided to continue to take, with food, as an anti-inflamatory, observing that the external wound is still slightly swollen. Onwards and upwards. Please use these personal notes for benchmarking your own recovery but also be aware that every case is unique.

Kind regards to all. There is life after a slipped disc afterall.

Mark

I am 45 and finally went back to the doctor after almost a year of progressive pain in my left leg. After taking as many as 4 - 6 pills a day, turns out I had a herniated disk (L5). I had a microdiscectomy and the pain in my left leg was gone!! I started the core exercises ok. Then, I added walking and the next day felt a light pain. I took ibuprofen and the pain continued for a week. The dr now has me on methyiprednisolone. So, hopefully, I just over did it and the pain will cease soon.

Hello Anglewings, it's frustrating, isn't it, that there's no way of knowing whether the pain is normal recovery pain or because there's been a further prolapse/extrusion? How long after you operation is it? Are you persisting with walking or have you stopped? Is your pain the same sciatic pain you had before or is it different? One thing that happened to me was that I slightly pulled muscles in both legs the first day of walking outside because I had weakened so much so quickly during the lead up to the operation. But pulled muscle pain is easy to differentiate from sciatic nerve pain. I am now 23 days post op and still have similar sciatic pain to my last post - not really too painful but a worry - can't move on with anything.

Mark

Hi Back2back

I had my surgery August 28, 2013. The pain I feel now after taking the meds may be a pulled muscle in my lower left back. This pain is different from the pain I had that triggered me to get the surgery. So I think it is either the healing process or I over did it. But, I do feel a little sensation in the left leg. I stopped exercising and then went back to the dr, who told me to continue with the exercises. But, when I did the pain in my back began. I just do what I can and will see how I feel after this round of steroids is complete.

I am now 38 days post-op for a bilateral L5/S1 microdiscectomy/decompression so thought I would provide an update. Re-reading the status I provided 19 days post-op, I find I have perhaps all the same residual symptoms but all slightly less pronounced. I am still having to be careful turning over in bed. I can raise both legs to the normal tendon/muscle strain limits, sometimes without any sciatic nerve twinge and sometimes with. Lying on my back with my legs straight was uncomfortable a few weeks ago due to mild sciatic pain down to the lower leg but now I can often lie like this without any discomfort. Can now also do press-ups whereas lying prone face-down was uncomfortable a few weeks ago. All in all this sounds like progress. I saw the consultant today and he advises no running for a few months yet. Hope this helps someone.

To whom it may benefit:

I have now just passed the 2 month mark post a bi-lateral L5/S1 microdiscectomy. My consultant has written to me suggesting I now start physiotherapy and recommended a specific physiotherapist. I had lots of physiotherapy prior to the operation and none of it made the slightest difference so we will see if it helps post-op. I keep an open mind. I am off all pain-relief medication as I have no continual pain but do feel sciatic pain twinges in the left hip - occasionally radiating down to the lower leg - when turning over in bed. I cannot, fortunately, replicate this pain when upright so I think it has something to do with how the inter-vertebral disc is loaded. This has reversed since the operation: pre-op I had a lot of pain upright and minimal pain lying down; now post-op I have more pain lying down and minimal pain upright. For a similar reason getting out of my quite reclined car seats is quite uncomfortable and I am aiming to change vehicle with a more upright driving position. I am walking about a mile a day without discomfort. I resumed work in the office after 3 weeks and initially was quite tired by end of the day. Luggging my laptop around also exacerbated symptoms. This has got better. I still have a noticeable lump around the wound site. The consultant says this is just scar tissue but it feels 'bony'. A point immediately below the lump is painful if pressed. After my operation, the burning question I had was whether I had re-prolapsed or not. Now, 8 weeks on, I still cannot answer that question but realise that the question is perhaps unhelpful. I have come to the view that the sensible way of viewing recovery is to assess capability. Afterall, if I went to the medics with my residual symptoms today, there is no way that anyone would recommend a second operation. Hope this helps someone. Mark

Final installment from me:

I am 8 months post a bi-lateral L5/S1 microdiscectomy. I am doing pretty well. I can walk, jog and cycle and have recently started sailing again without too much difficulty although I am very careful what I lift and if I over-do it, I pay for it for a day or two. Still have the occasional sciatic nerve pain down the legs on a weekly basis. I am not very dilligent with the physiotherapy but I strongly believe that I need to build this into my daily routine for the rest of my life to maximise the outcome and I am determined to do this. All in all, a successful recovery I think although I will never be as good as new.

Regards

Mark

Bit late to this party. I've found this thread really useful, it's a timeline of events and progress which I haven't found elsewhere. Mark I hope you've been well since your last post. I'm 14 days post MD and wouldn't wish to do this again. I'm also hoping my residual sciatic pain melts away over time. It's definitely not a herniation, the pain is not as severe and that's why it was harder for me to understand. My consultant is excellent and he's not worried at the stage, it's not uncommon for there to be bruising etc on and around the nerve which will take time. To reassure me he's happy to do another MRI in 4 weeks time based on my pain profile between then and now. Fingers crossed!