s5 l1 discectomy

Almost 2 years to the day I had my spine surgery for an L5 S1 disc protrusion. Worked out well for me in the end, but surgery is a last resort. What's your circumstances if you don't mind me asking?

not that low down, mine was in my neck

astro football i put a disc out and it was sitting on the nerve since Feb,i was in shocking pain ( you couldnt describe the leg pain to anyone who has never had the pain)

had surgery 3 weeks ago today...i havent been great since...
i was on 12 tablets a day since the Op for the pain, but i stopped 2 days ago.
i tried nerve route block injections and that didnt work so i had to have the surgery.
Only thing was because the disc was compressed on the nerve for so long, the surgeon said the nerve was very very red and inflamed.
Im hoping there is no long term damage with the nerve and that time will heal me.

have a contrast MRI on friday. (not looking forward to it)

glad it worked out for you.

goodluck. It damaged my spinal cord very badly unfortunately but it had to come out as I would have ended up totally paralysed. I must have been lucky because I didn't really have any post op pain but then again they went in through my throat. You wont know the full extent of the damage untill at least 6 months after the op as it takes that long for spinal cord swelling to go down.

sorry to hear Burton, wow i wasnt expecting anyone on here to have had this done...
wow 6 months for swelling to go down :( oh dear

im supposed to be doing a lot of walking at the moment, but im in pain when i walk for more than a few mins as leg still week.
im not in pain if i lie on the couch for most of the day and get up and walk around the house.

im only 3 weeks over my Op so still very early.
i had to go to A&E after 1 week after the Op due to pain.
I also went back to my Surgeon last fri...so getting another MRI done this fri
this week my left leg feels good, but didnt sleep last night due to back pain

see if your GP will give you Tramadol, you take 8 a day with 8 paracetamol and it just goes direct to the nerve pain. Downside is they contain opium so you can't drink

3 weeks is no time at all. I don't know what your surgeon told you but I'd expect it to take many months to recover. I was warned it would take months of physio and meds mainly due to the post-op scar tissue. I was on the point of trying the nerve root injections and getting another MRI after 2 or 3 months, but decided against it. Glad I did because after another month or two I started feeling a lot better. Came off the meds and never looked back.

You're bang on about the leg pain - people don't get it, they just think it's only sciatica. Most sciatica is treatable with physio and other non-surgical options but when you've done your disc, that pain is a life changer. I had it for 8 months and then got crippling back pain and spasms along with it for the last 2 months before my surgery.

Good luck with the MRI.

afterwards was a ball ache, I had to go back to the hospital every month for 18 months for check ups.

I wish you lads a speedy recovery and hope all goes well for you,I suffered from sciatica for years until unbelievably I found a treatment that worked,never suffered a single day with it since and if what your going thru is worse than sciatica then I feel for you.
I could not sit down or stand without that pain,thank god its gone.

My partner has had 2 discectomies (14yrs ago) and she`s never been right since.Continuous pain,numbness in the soles of her feet,etc and has to use a wheelchair to go out.7 months ago she developed a severe pain in her left leg which was,initially,diagnosed as sciatica but now they`re trying to tell her it`s in her head caused by a trauma from the past.She`s got to go and see a Psychologist in December to see if he can help.In the meantime she`s still bedbound!!!! 7 months and no one can tell her whats causing the pain! Oh,and she`s on 45 tablets a day plus 100mg slow release patches.

any of you guys about?
i got really bad red spots all over my back today.
i reckon it could be a blood infection after the Op.

Daddodil1 - how did u get rid of it ?

grumpygit - 45 tablets a day oh my god...thats shocking, i feel so sorry for her.
there is nothing worse than severe sciatica....

Doctors steverill for a blood test

im heading 1st thing tomorrow morning.

used to argue like mad with my doctor about the painkillers not working tried everything,then went searching on the internet
found this professor who suggested an exercises,lying on the floor,bring your knee up to your chest and hold it there for about 3 mins at a time then the same with the next leg,done twice a day for weeks,not a sausage of pain since.

surely they have left you an open appointment at the spinal injuries unit steveirll? i still have one now after 4 years. I'm only guessing but would have thought you would have got an infection sooner than this, must be difficult not being able to see the wound

Steveirll

There is.It`s when docs tell you the pain is in your head! Many times I`ve been stood listening to someone tell her the answer is not in a bottle and I`m thinking "shall I chin him now or not".

I also had one in my neck. It was completely successful for me and I hope that after a while it will be for you too. Good luck.

Thinly veiled, I've got a new mobility car

Good Luck Stevreil...Everything will be fine...

DAFFODIL1 • October 17, 2012 11:39 PM BST
used to argue like mad with my doctor about the painkillers not working tried everything,then went searching on the internet
found this professor who suggested an exercises,lying on the floor,bring your knee up to your chest and hold it there for about 3 mins at a time then the same with the next leg,done twice a day for weeks,not a sausage of pain since.


wow they told me to do this when i left the hospital to go home, it was one of the excercises.
went to the doc today, allergic reaction to the medication i was on.
burton - ive to go back to see the surgeon in a few weeks time. its ireland, its not a infection thank god. i can see the wound in the mirror. i went private, 125 euro for each visit out off my ownpocket. my winnings on here is helping out
grumpygit - thats really awful..i know sometimes u would love to transfer the pain to the doc and see how they get on.
prinskipper - thanks very much.
bloomy - thank you kindly sir

And do you know what`s really pissed me off about all this? My missus has been in severe pain for the last 7 months and I have had to take 5 months off work(to look after her) and not once has our own doc been out to see her.I spoke to her on the phone a few months back and,after about 15mins,she turned round and said she didn`t make home visits unless it was an emergency! I`ve had to resort to threaten them with legal action to such an extent that they`re sending a doc out next Tuesday.

best of luck next Tuesday gg

a week now i am in very bad pain all in my left foot.
like as if i get a shock in my foot and pins and needles and stabbing pains in my toes.
i can deal with the pain in my toes but the shocks in my foot and burning feeling is severe.

doctor put me on Movox and Amitriptyline.............not doing anything for the pain.
but at least im sleeping a bit now.

Any of them anti-inflammatories?

funny enough no i dont think so :(

terrible foot pain, im finding it hard to deal with as its constant pain.

anyone ever have foot pain after the op ?

Surprised they`ve not put you on anti-inflams especially with your nerves being so raw.