Lumbar Laminectomy Recovery

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Beachgal85

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Hi! I'm now at 6 weeks recovering from a lurabar laminectomy, facetectomy and foraminotomy surgery for the lurabar L4/L5 discs. I had a ruptured L4 disc along with nerve damage and bone spurs. I have drop foot which is healing.

I'm feeling like I'm at a stand still with the back pain. I sometimes feel nauseated too. I will be going back to work next week which is mostly sitting. I'm not really thrilled about this since sitting irritates my spine/back. I still have issues with getting into the car and driving. It seems to be getting a little bit better with each week.

The doctor recommenRAB that I keep taking the muscle relaxers as I'm healing.
Really, is this going to take a good 6 months before I see a difference?

I can take walks and wade in the pool now. Each week is getting better and the pain is surely better then it was before surgery. I'm thinking its just a matter of time for everything to heal and feel better.

I welcome any advice or suggestions! :)
Thanks in advance!
 
It took me over 9 months to feel like I had real progress. The pain down my leg was gone but I had alot of tingling, jolts and nurabness in my legs. My back still swells if I do too much and I can't sit too long but it is what it is. I still am glad I had the surgery
 
Hi Mel,

Thanks for sharing your story. The main pain is my lower right side of my back (L4 disc area) which is where it all started in the beginning. I still get thigh pain also and its brought from movements with my lower right back. If I bend or do alot, it gets irritated pretty easily. I just want that pain to go away and guess it will take time to heal. : )
I just don't know how I'm going to get through sitting all day at work. Plus, working a late shift doesn't help matters.
 
For me the surgery took away the pain down my leg. I swear I was ready to chop it off. I was too afraid to have a fusion because I have osteroporosis and was afraid the hardware wouldn't hold. The surgeon told me the laminectomy and discectomy wouldn't take care of the back problem.
I never went back to work, retiring a few years earlier than I wanted. I still can't stand for a long time and sitting too long is impossible. I feel for you having to go back to work and work night shift. ugh.
 
I'm hoping the back pain will disappear in time. I had facetectomy and foraminotomy also with the laminectomy. I had bone spurs. In fact, the doctor said my disc was deformed and was taking on the form of a bone spur. Its pain in my back when I bend, stretch or whatever. I noticed going in the pool and jacuzzi last Sunday seemed to help it.I cannot swim yet, but the wading in the pool seemed to help too. I'm gonna try going in the pool again tomorrow. I work 1:00 - 10:00pm shift so its gonna be tough for a while.
 
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