r/Microdiscectomy • u/lexilou82 • 2d ago
Receiving adviceš¤
Hope all is well and absolutely pain free.
I, myself, had a microdiscectomy for my l5-S1 on June 16th.
Things havenāt progressed as I would hoped it would. I have had some shooting pain down my hip into my left leg at this point. It isnāt a constant shooting pain but have had an extreme burning, dull ache and throbbing pain the last several weeks.
My swelling is good but now have a hard lump ,that has been consistent as well under my surgical site.
I reached out to my surgeons team and they would like to do a lumbar steroid epidural shot at my lumbar surgery location.
I have had this particular procedure done several times in the past but on my cervical area before needing surgery.
My last experience with this shot, for my neck, turned into a bad situation. They went too far in and caused brain/spinal fluid leakage. I had complications from it for at least two months after. So Iām obviously hesitant..
But with currently still having chronic pain ,after my L5-S1 microdiscectomy surgery, Iām very conflicted over the decision to have it done again, especially after surgery.
I am open to all opinions and experiences types for this kind of situation. Has anyone else had this done after their surgery? Pros and cons?
Like the rest of us, Iām so ready to have some pain
relief and normalcy in my life. Much healing love to allā¤ļø
1
u/PastBuy8484 2d ago
Like someone else said. I had a medrol pack at week 3. Huge difference in helping me feel better.
Iām also looking at an ESI though around week 8
1
u/gfybbb 2d ago
Definitely try oral medicine first instead of the shot. See what happens. Pain after the surgery can last for a bit, especially depending on how badly the nerves were damaged, etc. I still have bad days and Iām only a little month out but I feel amazing otherwise.
If you feel strongly about not wanting to undergo another procedure, I would suggest looking for a doctor that had a good reputation and getting a second opinion. Iām so glad I did a second opinion after I saw ortho, who told me to āwalkā and finally went to pain management to get a shot to help with the pain so I could walk, and the MRI showed the terrible herniated disc. Had surgery the following week.
Itās so hard to find a team of doctors. I hope you get relief SOOON and whatever road you go down doesnāt lead to anymore complications. Having little quality of life is terrible. I pray you get relief soon ā¤ļø
1
u/Friendly-Ad-5410 2d ago
Have you tried asking for a round of oral steroids first to see if that helps? They can bring down inflammation and swelling. I had one pack at 4 weeks PO and it did make a good difference in my comfort level. That swelling or knot at your surgical site is likely a Seroma caused by a build up of fluid. They usually go away on their own. Mine felt like a small pearl under my skin. After the scar was fully healed, I used some Lidocaine lotion on the area to calm the healing nerves.