Discectomy - After the Operation

[aq n]

Hi,

Give NHS direct a call......

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Myarka.

 

[? sohysterical ?]

Thanks for the replies.

Has no one else experienced such pain after a microdiscectomy then?
More than anything i worry i will have to have another MRI scan...i really did not like that.

x

 

[wfeqqubeitqimxeqe]

I experienced pain to the wound site & stiffness post op. What you are describing is I have to say very similar to what I am experiencing now & I am awaiting surgery. When I was discharged after my 1st discectomy I was told that any worsening of pain or new onset of symptoms such as you are having should be checked out. MRI's are certainly not the nicest thing to go through but it may not come to that. But please don't let that put you off asking for medical advice. Gaining that advice sooner rather than later could mean the difference between needing or not needing that MRI. As with all medical things everyone's experiences differ
All the best
Take care

Tracey x

 

[CarpeDM]

Hey all, its surgery day TOMORROW!!!....and very scared, i remember just how much it HURT afterwards from my last op!!! And also scared of the anaesthetic, i hate the waking up part cos i never know where i am!

Melza, its so good to hear from you hunny bee! Glad you are home and on the way to getting your life back! I have been thinking of you loads and its lovely to hear from you Keep us posted!
I won't need the ear plugs, i have had loads of experience dealing with batty old ladies, hell knows that i have been stuck in wards with them enough over the last few months!!!

I saw Mr Von Arx when i was in poole hospital, i saw him 2 weeks ago, he was ok. Have seen him a few times. It was the other one, Mr Baco (reminds me of bacofoil ha ha!) who did my first surgery. But it will be our little friend who does my surgery tomorrow.

Tracey, my disc prolapsed again 8 weeks post op last year....8 weeks!!! I just could not believe how unlucky that was, my surgeon was bleating on that just because i had 8 pain free weeks, that my surgery was successful. We just left it as an agree to disagree debate! Tellingly though, he said that he himself will perform my surgery this time, as if to say that his consultant botched it last time, but wouldnt admit it of course! I just gave up arguing with him, he wasnt having it that my surgery was not done properly last time!

Monkey, sounds as though you need to get in and see your surgeon for a consultation asap. I hate MRI scans too, i have had loads and they never get easier. But on the flipside, they are the only scans that allow the doctor to get a full picture of whats happening there. I just concentrated on that, i just kept thinking that the only way they can see whats what, and get it dealt with,is to just try to keep as calm as possible and get through it.
It took me nearly 6 months to get a consult after my disc prolapsed the 2nd time, so get on the phone and cry, sounds terrible, but thats the only way they would give me an appointment!

Well, i doubt i will sleep much, am bricking it LOADS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish good restful slumber upon the rest of you however!!!

Buenos Nochas Amigo's!

 

[Dre D]

Good Luck ALiH78. Fingers crossed for you.

x

 

[ScoobieGirl91]

Very best wishes for your operation ALiH78. Just think, next time you are on the forum again you will be Post-op, and that part of it will all be over. Good luck to you.

Monkey - I am two weeks post op now and I personally don't have anything like the pain you describe. I know everyone is different, but your pain sounds concerning. I hope you find someone who can assist you to feel better soon.

 

[lmkogqgo]

Ali, all the best for tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you. I'm already bricking it & my surgery is still 9 days away.
Your story sounds so much like mine, although i got to around 10 weeks before my problems recurred! I argued at 8 weeks that it 'didn't feel right' but hey what do I know its only my back!!!!!!!
I don't pack ear plugs either I use my trusted ipod & drift off to that. Certainly does the trick as last time I was given IV medication & didn't even wake for that.
Melza hope you are keeping well & monkey waffle have you managed to get any advice concerning your symptoms yet?
Tracey x

 

[dominicanmarine163]

Hi All,

Well i had my first day back today and i am aching. First of all i had to do some training on the fire service speed boat and a bit of swimming. After this we got a flat fire with 2 persons inside (Both rescued), this is when i started to ache mainly in my back. Last of all we got someone from a lift in a block of flats.

A long day but i have got through it. I do ache and i had a bit of leg pain in the morning but i was able to do some stretching and get rid of the tightness in my legs and back

I think everything went well and i still haven't taken any pain killers for a while.

I will keep you posted

Cheers Olli

 

[The Dreamer (AC Theory)]

Hi Tracey
Decided to hold on till my phsyio tomorrow. Hopefully they will help if only a little bit. I really cant bear this pain any longer!

On a pessamistic note ive already packed my hospital bag incase they make me stay in again! Save my dad a job rummiging through my drawers lol.

Now i just need to get through another sleepless night. Got my tissues ready cos i know ill send most of night crying.

Im beginning to think im just being a wimp.

Roll on phsyio hopefully with some answers!!

X

 

[aron50]

Well folks, the time is almost nigh....in 5 hours time, i will be making my jolly way to hospital.

I am so scared, i just remember how painful it was afterwards the last time!!! Mind you, i slept so much after...problem was, i woke up about 11pm properly then didnt sleep all night with the pain!
And i dont know of anyone else that may have had this problem, but morphine keeps making me feel like i need to go to the toilet! So was on and off the commode all night! Certainly did not help with the pain!!
They tried the bedpan, but i felt like they were trying to kill me!!!!

Well i think that they have the patientline system with internet at this hospital, if i remember rightly, i did before, so when i am a bit more compus mentus, i just might leave a message saying how it went!

Olli...well done for being back at work and being a hero saving those people! Hope your recovery continues well

Tracey, thank you for your kind words, and thank you too monkey&Subi
Monkey, i have had several hospital admissions over the last few months, i got seen by the chronic pain team who tried and tested lots of medication to see what would make me comfortable. They may do this for you, or even without the hospital admission, ask your GP if he/she can refer you to your local pain clinic so maybe you can get decent pain relief so you can be comfortable whilst finding out whats causing you all this pain.

Well folks, next time i be on here, i will be a post opper....AGAIN!!!
Lets hope its 2nd time lucky!!! Bye bye for now

P.S. Melza, how are you going hunny? Hope you are comfy and getting lots of rest. Speak soon!!! Lots of love xxxx

 

[Harald]

Hiya Monkeywaffle,
I'd say you are far from being a wimp! Having had 4 children, the nerve pain I am experiencing now far outways the pain of childbirth!! I hope they sort this out for you even if it does mean a short stay in hospital it will be worth it. I know going in is nerve wracking & I hate hospitals (rather strange I know given that i'm a nurse, lol)
Olli, your last post has given me some hope that I can get back to my normal job. After my initial surgery & the complications with infection etc, I was redeployed to lighter duties but I do miss the adrenaline kick & work load of both A&E & the wards. Maybe 1 day i'll get back to it. Keep up the good work.
Good luck & take care all you pre & post oppers
Tracey xx

 

[Godgardann]

Hi everyone, only just realised it's Ali's op day...I hope she gets more comfort than I did! Not sure how I feel at the moment, my biggest problems is night time....my wound is really sore so I can't lie on my back and my hip bones are also tender so really struggling to get comfy and sleep. I have tried various positions and shuffled cushions and pillows around all night but with no success. Has anyone else had this problem and found a solution? I'm desperate to curl up and go to sleep.

Hi Tracey! The clock is ticking my dear...but I expect you'll be glad when its all over. People ask me how the pain is and I tell them my backs been in pain for 16 months, apart from the problem above the pain is nothing new. I truly hope it's the end of this story for me though.

Best wishes everyone

 

[linkexchangepaczka4]

I hear you Melza. Trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in is really hard, isn't it? For the first few nights in hospital I slept on my side as I was too scared to lie on my back, or roll over onto the other side as it hurt too much to put pressure on the operation area. But then of course I had pressure on my right hip from lying on it all the time. There wasn't really any position that was truly comfortable, it was a matter of what was the least uncomfortable.

ALiH78 - hopefully you are well and truly on the 'other side' now and are starting the recovery process.

Fireolli, it was good to hear that you are now up to returning to work, and that so far it is going okish. I should be back at work in around 2-3 weeks, all going well. I have a desk/phone bound job and a very demanding boss (which of course equals long hours), so I'm just trying to work out what will be the best way to effectively manage returning to the workplace. At least I have lots of time to think about this.

Monkeywaffle - how did you go with your physio?

 

[bixQuichcic]

Hi, i have been reading all your posts for a while now and they have been very helpfull. I have been suffering from leg pain for the past year and a half and i was taking tramadol but managed to stop in September , still taking ibuprofen and paracetamol for the pain. I tried everything to make the pain go away but with no luck, i eventually had an MRI which showed a bulging disc and was then reffered to a consultant neurosurgeon. I had my surgery on the 20th October, when i woke i expected the leg pain to be gone but instead i had terrible cramps in my hip and was prescribed gabapentin which after 3days settled this but pain remained in leg. I was very stiff for the first 2 weeks but sure that is to be expected, now 4wks on and leg pain still around with numbness on side of my hip, it is as though my op never happened, back is brand new. I am at physio and doing all the excercises but they seem puzzled with the leg pain the same as they did a year and a half ago, i am beginning to think i am going mad and that it's just in my head. My GP has asked that i stop taking the gabapentin in the morning which i agree and have done so but he also wants to stop the Ibuprofen and the paracetamol, i tried lowering the amount over the weekend and i was fine but yesterday i was in agony and just upped the dose, dont know weather this is the gabapenting wearing off and the pain signals have got worse but i know i'll be for it when i go and see him next week. I also got my first follow up appointment after op in and thought it might be in december but its not till February!!!! If i am told that the leg pain is normal after the operation i think i will just shoot myself!!!!

 

[yeefernendeztgj]

Hi zozo
I had my discectomy 22nd September. I was amazed to find that I still had all my pre op symptoms but have been told as long as there is 'nothing new' there it's all normal. Apparently when the nerve has been compressed for some time it will take some time to heal. I am now 8 weeks post op and I still cannot feel the outer part of my left foot (wasn't that a movie?). I am beginning to forget what it felt like to be normal and my 'dodgy leg/foot' is now just a part of me that I hope will resolve in time. Went back to work last week on a graduated return and so far so good.
Good Luck to those about to have their ops and a speedy recovery ti those who are now post oppers (again) Melza & AliH78

 

[Free Leanding]

Well i hobbled to physio...dripping with sweat through pain by the time i found the right place. She didnt seem all that bothered with pain i am experiencing and just kept saying no doctor will investigate anyway cos its too soon since my op. She proceeded to stretch me, bend me, poke me, prod me. I cried. The most decent thing she said was to go to my GP straight away and get some better pain killers.

So off i went to local docs...she was a bit more concerned about pain and did a thourough examination of me...reflexes, lifting, numbness, etc. She asked what was bothering me most at the moment and i said the not being able to sleep at night with pain, so for now she has given me amitriptyline(?) which she said to take at night and it will help the nerve pain and also make me very sleepy which she said if i start to sleep more i might feel slightly better in general as i was beginning to get quite down and depressed.

She has only given me a VERY low dose at the moment though and said to go back if i need it stronger. I just hope for once tonight, i can sleep again! In a way im glad just to have been listened to by the doctor. At least she showed some concern and sympathy!

Back at physio next week so will see what occurs there.

Thanks for your messages guys. Really helps to have a rant and moan sometimes.
x

 

[??L0V3 M3 F0R3V3R??]

It's good that you have now been to see someone (well, two practitioners) now Monkeywaffle. Sometimes I think the greatest benefit comes from having someone listen to you and take your concerns seriously. Hope you get some relief from the suggestions they've made.

I am still mainly in bed most of the day. Unfortunately for me I live next door to an Amateur Theatre who are rehearsing a musical. The musical is about an icecream scoop who does not like the cold (?!) I now know ALL the lyrics, as I have heard each and every rehearsal. it is a good excuse to go out for walks during the day.

 

[Wu Songding]

Hi Melza, hope the pain is improving for you & you are managing to get some rest. It will get easier. The clock is certainly ticking, i just wish I could somehow fast forward it, have had a couple of really rough days with nerve pain thats making me feel so sick I just want to cry.
Ali, hope you are okay & managing to get some rest.
Monkey, glad you managed to get to speak to someone, hope you are keeping well

 

[June V]

Hello again, just read MonkeyWaffles message and was nodding my head in agreement about having someone who listened. I found my lovely doctor many months after I started having serious back problems and I almost cried because she was so sympathetic. The relief! You may have gathered that I am very clear about what I want these days so when they mentioned a visit to a physio I refused.....the ward physio was quite shocked but I am adamant....no physios! Some suffering is never forgotten.

The most important ingredients are a doctor who actually cares and a good nights sleep, otherwise we get isolated in our misery for far too long. I still remember just wanting to die last xmas, I think avoiding isolation is crucial.

I slept better last night anyway so was better this morning. Feeling c**** now though.

Night night

I hope Ali is okay.

 

[Trevor C]

I slept! A whole 12 well needed hours last night!!!!

Suffered through today though, still have leg pain and didnt want to knock myself out for whole 24 hours. So now glad its bed time again...and ill sleep again...fingers crossed!!!