pain 3 months after surgery?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jodi n
  • Start date Start date
J

jodi n

Guest
Hi all,
Starting to get a little worried... I had a micro d, laminectomy on dec 11.
But yesterday i started to feel some annoying pain in my ankle, the same kind of pain i used to get before surgery. The physical therapist said it was probably nerve pain, but now i am so terrified of having that horrible start all over again.... any suggestions? has anyone ever had this after surgery?
Thanks
 
Jodi,

I'm sorry you're going through this, and I think it's safe to say many of us here had had microdiscectomies and had the nerve pain continue.

There are several possible causes, and realize that the nerve pain you may now have may not be as bad as it was before, although anyone who has experienced severe sciatica will forever be in fear of that wretched pain.

It's possible the disc has reherniated, that there is still some irritation or inflammation to the nerve roots, you are forming scar tissue, etc.

I had a discectomy and my pain wasn't resolved. Several months later I had a discogram which showed that my disc had a huge tear in the side of it and I had to have a fusion of L4/L5 to fix it.

I am still not pain free, but I am not trying to scare you and most people do get better from back surgery. Most likely you need to give it time to heal, and you may have some minor sciatica problems long-term.

Best wishes!
 
It often takes many months for the nerves to completely settle down. When they go in nad move them, it irritates them to no end and it takes time for that irritation to settle down. That and the fact that there can be swelling that is pressing against the nerve also causes irritation and that nasty pain.
 
I'm a little over 3 mos. post partial discectomy myself. I've had very few days where I can honestly say I've been pain free. Most of my pain has been in my right foot or thigh and it's sometimes worse than pre-surgery. I've also heard that it can take a long time before the nerve settles down but being a pessimist (I drive my wife nuts sometimes) I also worry whether I've reherniated or developed scar tissue. Hope your pain resolves soon.
 
Thanks to all,
HuRABon07, i hear ya ... i drive my husband nuts as well, i am so afraid of a re-herniation, espicially with a toddler running around!!!!!
my back does not exactly hurt, it feels really sore, and my ankle hurts now, it does feel like the nerves, but now? so much for feeling better a few weeks after surgery like the sergeon said!:dizzy:
 
Jodi,
I am a little over 2 months post-op from a microD on L4/5. I am experiencing the sciatic leg pain and foot pain constantly. The folks I have talked to here say this is normal and nerves have to heal. Some say the nerves need the same time period to heal as long as you were hernaited or injured. Don't know if that made sense. If you were herniated for 6 months, expect 6 months minimum nerve healing. But everyone is different. I am very frustrated at this point. All that time, money, and effort to get this fixed and I am still hurting. BLAH! BUT I am still in less pain than before my surgery. I need to keep reminding myself that fact. But still frustrated. I see my surgeon this Monday to discuss this pain. I kept calling and complaining to the nurses and finally the Doc said to come in. I am hoping to get some clarity and some peace of mind from him. Don't know if he will offer up the nerve regeneration idea or not. I hope so, so I can get my mind to accept that I will hurt a while longer but it WILL get better. Like you I worry about the reherniation of the disc. But I don't think I have done that. Anyway, I let you know what the Doc says on Monday. Until then, take good care of yourself!

SookiePooka
 
Went to the surgeon yesterday to talk about my ongoing pain in the leg and foot. He said it was too late to be neve issues, however, there may be some small inflamation at the incision site that is contributing to the pain I feel. He said that the pain I am experiencing may be due to the muscles around the nerves are super sensative due to the severity and duration of my injury. So physical therapy is the treatment. However, at this point I hgave no money for the three times a week he prescribed. I will attempt to do all the low back/stomach/leg stretches and strengthening I was taught by my physical therapist prior to surgery.
If anyone has some handouts or links to give me more stretches and strengthening exercises please email me so I can add to what I was already taught.

Thanks!
SookiePooka:cool:
 
Back
Top