How Long Till I Heal?

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miltondecarva

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Hello guys im a newbie here :wave:

Im 24, i used to be very active..playing soccer 3 x a week gyming 6 x a week!!i hate not exercising !!!! ive been struggling with my back for over 2 years now. Cutting a long story short i had a herniated disc at L5/S1 with disc protrusion and nerve impingement at S1.

I had a Laminotomy on Noveraber 17 09, after the op havent felt much difference...just can bend over now without sharp nerve pain!

Its Been roughly 6 months now still have Calf pain in my left leg with tingling sometimes in my left foot (toes) but its the pain by my right buttock sciatica that worries me most..is this normal 6 months post op?

Please if anyone has any feedback please can you let me know. im worried about my recovery and if its supposed to take this long..Am i overreacting as ive read and been told that full recovery takes 3 months?

I really would love to just get back to being active and NORMAL..this condition is so draining! :mad:
 
I don't have any answers for you but can offer empathy. I injured my back in January of this year. My right leg is still nurab in spots, I still have near daily pain. I have started to see some improvement lately - a corabination of stretching, core strengthening exercises, and acupuncture, but even just sitting here typing this it hurts.

I hope someone answers your post with some insight. I'll learn from it too.

Good luck.
 
welcome to the board!

sorry that you are in pain...it's miserable isn't it? You said that you suffered for two years before you had work done...well, that two years did damage. You can't expct-well you could but you wouldn't get it-to be rid of all of your pain in three months or six. It took a looooooooong time for you to get to this point and it will take time for those nerves to heal. When the doc went in, he moved nerves around and they don't like to be touched, much less moved. Now they have to settle down-and that takes time. Normal would be a year for total healing...

You may have done permanent damage to your nerves. The nerve impingement at S1 takes care of the sciatic nerve and the pain that you are experiencing in your claf and foot. There are meRAB that you can get to take care of the pain. They were originally developed for seizures, but a secondary effect is that they are good for nerve pain.

Bottom line? You need to give yourself time. Patience is golden...;)
 
Thank you for the quick replies :) your insights are most helpful and comforting! i guess i should just give it time...I really just want to be normal and be able to do the things i used to.

I just hope that i do recover in that time!! If i m not feeling better in a year should i worry?
 
Hi, we have the same problem and I have been asking the same question i.e., How long does recovery take. I am at 4 months now and I see absolutely no changes. My doctor switches from 6 to 8 months recovery to 8 months to a year. I told him I should see some improvement and he doesn't respond. My problem is not only pain and nurabness but also I cannot keep my trunk erect either in the standing position or walking,. I cannot put my hand out in front of me and raise the over my head without bending my knees and grabbing on to something. I cannot carry anything out in front of my body unless I am in a stooped position. I am fearful that I will be like this for the rest of my life. My orthopedic surgeion suggested that I see a neurologist. I saw a Neurosurgeon. He requested that I get another MRI and he wanted to evaluate the PRE to the Post MRI. He did the evaluation and he maintains that I could benefit from further surgery and also replace the present hardware for an alternative type that would be better. I am not very optomistic as my orthopedic surgeon didn't see anything wrong with my post-MRI. I am in need of another opinion on my Post-MRI. Good Luck I hope it all works out for you. I just wanted to share are similarities.
sincerely sabremaker
 
Sorry to hear that you are still in pain. No one knows how bad back pain can be until they have been there. I had a micro-diskectomy on L4/5 done on 10/13/2009. I also had disc material protruding and impinging on my nerve root causing sciatica pain, causing my right foot to go nurab and swelling in my big toe and on the ball of my foot which was very painful to walk on. I felt great after surgery for about 2 weeks probably because of all the pain meRAB. The sciatica, foot pain and foot swelling were gone. At 3 weeks the surgery started swelling up and all my symptoms came back as if I had never been in for surgery. I asked my Neurosurgeon about the swelling and pain and he said I needed to give it more time. At 8 weeks after surgery I was worse than before I went in so I got another MRI because I thought I re-herniated my disk and went to another clinic for a second opinion. They said that L4/5 was not showing another hernia but that L3/4 was showing a lateral tear and was bulging and could be causing more problems. They did an epidural which helped for about 2 days but did not work. They did a discography / Ct-scan which showed that I did have tears in L4/5 & L3/4. I went in for endoscopic laser surgery on 2/22/2010 where the Dr. went into both levels and cleaned them up. He told me he would give me a 75% chance he could help me but I still feel the same. It has been over 7 months since my first surgery and I feel I would have been better off never having surgery at all. I think most of my problems are from the first open back surgery which feels like I have a board in my back it is so stiff and also swells up by the end of the day. I have only done PT at home with the handouts that the Dr
 
Milton-

Did your surgeon give you any "no-nos"? Such as no lifting anything heavier than 25 lbs. No running (yes, that is a possibility), no rollercoasters (yep, another one)....or did he just turn you loose. OR did he say we will discuss limits when I see you at ______ months? If he has said nothing, you might want to check with either him or his PA to see what the restrictions are-if any.

You will recover and be "normal", but your normal will be different than it was before the surgery. You will learn to be cautious about your back at all times, and to watch how you do things. You have had it fixed. And anything that has been repaired isn't as strong as it was when it was whole, right?

I would ask your surgeon what his limits are for you and when does he think you will be ready to be "cut loose".

Good luck and keep asking questions. We are here to offer what advice we have. I am fused from T9 to my sacrum..so I've been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
 
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