Prolapsed disc
Discussion
I jarred my back a few weeks ago and when I woke up I was unable to stand straight. From the waist I was kinked across to the right. A bit of rest and it seemed to improve a little but the pain came back strong recently so off to BUPA for am MRI. I get the results this evening and have the conversation around injections or surgery. The consultant suggested the issue was L4/L5, and I'm favouring surgery.
I lost 7 stone last year and with the pain in the back I have not been able to train in the gym so thre stone have come back. Hence the desire to get it fixed first time.
The question is, how fast is the recovery, I have a driving holiday booked in France starting July 21st. Will I need more than 2 weeks recovery before heading off on that?
I lost 7 stone last year and with the pain in the back I have not been able to train in the gym so thre stone have come back. Hence the desire to get it fixed first time.
The question is, how fast is the recovery, I have a driving holiday booked in France starting July 21st. Will I need more than 2 weeks recovery before heading off on that?
I've recently had my second surgery - L4/5 L5/S1 - Recovery for a discectomy is 6-9 weeks. No driving for 2 weeks after operation, slowly start with short journey gradually increasing. No lifting anything heavy for 3 months. First couple of weeks are a bit painfull until stitches come out. Start some physio building up your core muscles.
Any questions feel free to pm me. There are a few on PH who have had similar ops.
All the best for now.
Barry.
Any questions feel free to pm me. There are a few on PH who have had similar ops.
All the best for now.
Barry.
Same here mate - I had an L5/S1 back in Feb with 6 weeks off work. First 3 weeks were a case of no driving and being VERY careful. After that I could start to do small journeys, but it has not been until May that I really felt recovered 100%. You really need to treat it with respect and I would think 2 weeks after to start doing a lot of driving, whilst certainly possible would put you in a quite a bit of pain from sitting down for so long.
Any questions drop me a PM.
Any questions drop me a PM.
Take your MRIs to a good chiropractor (one that uses SOT) before you do anything. I was diagnosed with a prolapsed disc, and was recommended for verterbral fusion surgery. I went to a chiropractor and he sorted me right out. I know of others that have had the surgery and now walk with sticks or are in constant discomfort. Once it happens there is no going back, and the docs seems to know little about how the spine works.
NHS surgeons don't operate for the fun of it 
I had my L5/S1 discectomy almost a year ago, and haven't looked back since. The pain relief was instant on waking from the anaesthetic, and although I'm very cautious now when doing anything strenuous, I think it's mostly psychological - my back is probably stronger now than it ever was before thanks to the physio.
I had my L5/S1 discectomy almost a year ago, and haven't looked back since. The pain relief was instant on waking from the anaesthetic, and although I'm very cautious now when doing anything strenuous, I think it's mostly psychological - my back is probably stronger now than it ever was before thanks to the physio.
I'm 8 weeks post-discectomy for L4/5.
No stitches
However even after 8 weeks I'm fairly fragile and wouldn't be up for a driving holiday !!
No driving allowed for 2 weeks post-surgery (I couldn't sit in a driving position anyway so it was a moot point), been doin physio strengthening exercises pretty much every day for 8 weeks and still can't lift anything heavy, and am careful about any twisting motion. No extended sitting, still getting pain in my legs etc. (although generally much much better).
The recovery period is certainly longer than 2 weeks; I was signed off work completely for 4 weeks....
There is also risk of reoccurance so you really do need to be careful. It also hurt quite a lot for a while !
Happy to talk via PM but for me personally a driving holiday would be a nono even now, and 2 weeks post-surgery I could hardly shuffle to the end of the road let alone a holiday.
No stitches
However even after 8 weeks I'm fairly fragile and wouldn't be up for a driving holiday !!
No driving allowed for 2 weeks post-surgery (I couldn't sit in a driving position anyway so it was a moot point), been doin physio strengthening exercises pretty much every day for 8 weeks and still can't lift anything heavy, and am careful about any twisting motion. No extended sitting, still getting pain in my legs etc. (although generally much much better).
The recovery period is certainly longer than 2 weeks; I was signed off work completely for 4 weeks....
There is also risk of reoccurance so you really do need to be careful. It also hurt quite a lot for a while !
Happy to talk via PM but for me personally a driving holiday would be a nono even now, and 2 weeks post-surgery I could hardly shuffle to the end of the road let alone a holiday.
Because I eat like a horse but balance it out with exercise. So that needs addressing.
Met with the consultant yesterday and I'll be having the microdiscetomy in August after the holiday. There is an 8mm fragment of disc floating around which is nice. Apparently the first four joints are pretty shocking.
The thing is I have had no pain killers in the last 6 weeks as it's more a discomfort than a killer pain, but I figure I need to sort it before it gets worse. I also need to get back to training soon.
Swimming and cycling for a while maybe.
Met with the consultant yesterday and I'll be having the microdiscetomy in August after the holiday. There is an 8mm fragment of disc floating around which is nice. Apparently the first four joints are pretty shocking.
The thing is I have had no pain killers in the last 6 weeks as it's more a discomfort than a killer pain, but I figure I need to sort it before it gets worse. I also need to get back to training soon.
Swimming and cycling for a while maybe.
If it's any help, I had bulgey disc for a couple of years before finally having surgery after trying osteopathy, physio and pilates.
It ranged from an achey feeling, to full on spasm, eventually the spasms got closer together and then one day I just couldn't move really (while in a tent in Wales on the first weekend of the racing season). Followup MRI showed a large prolapse (largeish - i think surgeon removed >25% of the disc, no idea how this compares in general. talk of total disc replacement in the future)
If your surgery is like mine, the microdiscectomy leaves a smallish scar (compared to the non-micro surgery) and tehre aren't any stitches.
First night I was on my feet to go for a wee (you just can't do that in bed when you're a girl and aren't allowed to bend in the middle). Intravenous pain killers for a day or so, then tablets - paracetomol, anti-inflammatory and tramadol (tramadol for a week or two, smaller and smaller doses).
Out of hospital on the Monday (op on the Friday - could've come home Sunday but there wasn't anybody there).
Journey home - recline the car seat a long way, get someone else to drive, take it easy over bumps and if it's a long journey stop for walking breaks.
Get up on your feet and walking/shuffling pretty quickly, and do the exercises they give you - you don't want to stiffen up. And you will weaken overnight with the surgery so you have tobuild the strength again.
Don't be tempted to overdo things (like I do regularly and get told off) and be patient.
My view is, short term inconvenience for long term gain (hopefully!) Things already feel better - my back feels "normal" I just need more strength and I still have neural pain which is dying away. Also it is still swollen locally even after 8 weeks.
Have fun on the driving holiday just make sure someone else is insured to drive "just in case" !
It ranged from an achey feeling, to full on spasm, eventually the spasms got closer together and then one day I just couldn't move really (while in a tent in Wales on the first weekend of the racing season). Followup MRI showed a large prolapse (largeish - i think surgeon removed >25% of the disc, no idea how this compares in general. talk of total disc replacement in the future)
If your surgery is like mine, the microdiscectomy leaves a smallish scar (compared to the non-micro surgery) and tehre aren't any stitches.
First night I was on my feet to go for a wee (you just can't do that in bed when you're a girl and aren't allowed to bend in the middle). Intravenous pain killers for a day or so, then tablets - paracetomol, anti-inflammatory and tramadol (tramadol for a week or two, smaller and smaller doses).
Out of hospital on the Monday (op on the Friday - could've come home Sunday but there wasn't anybody there).
Journey home - recline the car seat a long way, get someone else to drive, take it easy over bumps and if it's a long journey stop for walking breaks.
Get up on your feet and walking/shuffling pretty quickly, and do the exercises they give you - you don't want to stiffen up. And you will weaken overnight with the surgery so you have tobuild the strength again.
Don't be tempted to overdo things (like I do regularly and get told off) and be patient.
My view is, short term inconvenience for long term gain (hopefully!) Things already feel better - my back feels "normal" I just need more strength and I still have neural pain which is dying away. Also it is still swollen locally even after 8 weeks.
Have fun on the driving holiday just make sure someone else is insured to drive "just in case" !
Edited by dreamer75 on Friday 18th June 09:17
dreamer75 said:
Helpful stuff
Thanks for that, very useful to know. And thanks to everyone else. Do you think it would help if I lost weight/exercised before the op. I'm thinking swimming/cycling rather than running/weights. If I can strengthen the core before I go in that can only help?No mention of the back care charity. Before surgery, try calling them and downloading their exercises (FOC) and trying them. I tick all the risk factors - ex-rower, very tall, keen mountain biker, which resulted in a PD a couple of years ago and four months off work. Tried the injection - no effect, was about to go for surgery and was told to try the back care lot and their exercises worked wonders. I still get some stiffness if I stop the exercises, but when doing them I'm right as rain.
http://www.backcare.org.uk/
http://www.backcare.org.uk/
rhinochopig said:
No mention of the back care charity. Before surgery, try calling them and downloading their exercises (FOC) and trying them. I tick all the risk factors - ex-rower, very tall, keen mountain biker, which resulted in a PD a couple of years ago and four months off work. Tried the injection - no effect, was about to go for surgery and was told to try the back care lot and their exercises worked wonders. I still get some stiffness if I stop the exercises, but when doing them I'm right as rain.
http://www.backcare.org.uk/
Forgot to mention these guys - called them a couple of times and donated. Very helpfull - very nice people. Think it was rhino that recommended them to me also!http://www.backcare.org.uk/
rhinochopig said:
No mention of the back care charity. Before surgery, try calling them and downloading their exercises (FOC) and trying them. I tick all the risk factors - ex-rower, very tall, keen mountain biker, which resulted in a PD a couple of years ago and four months off work. Tried the injection - no effect, was about to go for surgery and was told to try the back care lot and their exercises worked wonders. I still get some stiffness if I stop the exercises, but when doing them I'm right as rain.
http://www.backcare.org.uk/
All of that sounds just like me!http://www.backcare.org.uk/
OP - it's always best to lose weight before an op like this, would you want to carry a couple of bags of spuds around straight after?
I would do specific back exercises, swim and take up Pilates(seriously) as that made the biggest of all changes and is also a lot of fun. How can you run and do weights with a PD?
point being, get a non-medical opinion before you agree to an op. The spine, back muscles, discs and surrounding spinal cord are a very finely balanced machine, and firing in there with scalpels, nuts and bolts is not really a good idea IMHO, and certainly not as a first attempt at rectification. There is no harm in try non-surgical efforts first, but there certainly IS harm in going for surgery, and you can't go back once its done.
MuffDaddy said:
dreamer75 said:
Helpful stuff
Thanks for that, very useful to know. And thanks to everyone else. Do you think it would help if I lost weight/exercised before the op. I'm thinking swimming/cycling rather than running/weights. If I can strengthen the core before I go in that can only help?But no idea how you would contemplate running - I was told to avoid imapact sports of any sort (and wouldn't have wanted to do them anyway), and I couldn't cycle because of the angle of my back, but we are all different!
Good luck - oh and I also thought, before your op get one of those grabber on a stick things - one of the most useful things I ever got (actually my dad got me), and get a few films on your lappy or a TV in your bedroom - the first week or three are REALLY boring!
dreamer75 said:
MuffDaddy said:
dreamer75 said:
Helpful stuff
Thanks for that, very useful to know. And thanks to everyone else. Do you think it would help if I lost weight/exercised before the op. I'm thinking swimming/cycling rather than running/weights. If I can strengthen the core before I go in that can only help?But no idea how you would contemplate running - I was told to avoid imapact sports of any sort (and wouldn't have wanted to do them anyway), and I couldn't cycle because of the angle of my back, but we are all different!
Good luck - oh and I also thought, before your op get one of those grabber on a stick things - one of the most useful things I ever got (actually my dad got me), and get a few films on your lappy or a TV in your bedroom - the first week or three are REALLY boring!
Agree about the grabber, but I was told NOT to stay in bed - I could do whatever I pleased, as long as it wasn't for very long. Lying on the sofa watching TV was such a pleasure though, I hadn't been able to lie flat for over a year
:iagree: about the bed thing - regular movement - I started with shuffling to a marker half way down our road and back 2-3 times a day - but the periods in between shuffles where I couldn't sit down were v v v v dull!
I know what you mean about laying flat too - it's SUCH a nice feeling!! I still use a small cushion under my knees but I can do flat too - what a novelty!
And congrats about the running - I've just been told I can re-start Pilates classes in a couple of weeks - life is slowly rebuilding itself
I know what you mean about laying flat too - it's SUCH a nice feeling!! I still use a small cushion under my knees but I can do flat too - what a novelty!
And congrats about the running - I've just been told I can re-start Pilates classes in a couple of weeks - life is slowly rebuilding itself
Well, I bookmarked this one before I went in.....
Had my Op last Monday (Day 8 now) mine was an L5 Micro Discectomy with a Wallis Ligament.
Was up and walking at 4pm on the day of the op (but only to the toilet) and by the tuesday I was doing the first stairs session with a physio. Overall there's been a massive change to the pain/sciatica that I was suffering from and if I'm careful with the recuperation and physio I do think it will changes things massively for me
Was told before the op that I wouldn't be able to drive for a month, but I did sneak into the drivers seat in a car park at the weekend just to see what I could do. Being sensible I didn't do more than move it from one bay to another - that was enough.
I'm just making sure that I don't sit/stand/walk too much and by varying things I can feel myself getting stronger. Lying down alot is dull but stable and makes sure I don't do any damage.
Had my Op last Monday (Day 8 now) mine was an L5 Micro Discectomy with a Wallis Ligament.
Was up and walking at 4pm on the day of the op (but only to the toilet) and by the tuesday I was doing the first stairs session with a physio. Overall there's been a massive change to the pain/sciatica that I was suffering from and if I'm careful with the recuperation and physio I do think it will changes things massively for me
Was told before the op that I wouldn't be able to drive for a month, but I did sneak into the drivers seat in a car park at the weekend just to see what I could do. Being sensible I didn't do more than move it from one bay to another - that was enough.
I'm just making sure that I don't sit/stand/walk too much and by varying things I can feel myself getting stronger. Lying down alot is dull but stable and makes sure I don't do any damage.
Hi im currently at home signed off from work with the same back problems as most of the above L4/L5 I have had accupuncture from the nhs, and Coil heating around the disc and I have shyed away from the operation as I am only 37, can I ask without being rude what age some of you guys are?
One consutltant is saying I am too young and the other is saying go for it. Confused really
One consutltant is saying I am too young and the other is saying go for it. Confused really
Edited by badboyburt on Tuesday 13th July 20:59
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