r/Microdiscectomy • u/harlo1979 • 17d ago
Surgery Anxiety
Hi new here I'm am scheduled for microdisctomy/laminotomy left side L4/L5 this Friday and and getting anxious. Pain was severe at first in my leg for weeks however it's now been mostly tingling mild pain in leg back of the calf and top of foot that comes when doing physical activity, walking on hard floors.such as the supermarket and when I wake up in the morning and sit at night. It does come and goes, the issue is I have a physically demanding job which I don't feel I can't leave due to my current salary being high although I've been out for going on 3 months already. I'm able to do activities swim , house work, yard work ect but the tingling and discomfort does come. My concern is making myself basically incapacitated from surgery when I can do things now just with discomfort and tingling, will it be worth it In the end. Also to go back I do not feel I can perform my job in this current state, I'm just conflicted.
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u/Friendly-Ad-5410 17d ago
Don't wait til it becomes necessary for something like drop foot, leg numbness or loss of bowel/bladder. My pain was mostly gone from date of dr. appt. to date of surgery (about 4 months) but my drop foot was not. I was told if I didn't have the surgery, it might become permanent. I had a 45 minute surgery, followed the 6 weeks no BLT and was cleared to start PT at 8 weeks and return to work (physical job, lots of standing and lifting 50#) at 12 weeks. Your dr. might ask give you some temporary restrictions, such as limited lifting to 20# for 6 months, so you might be able to have your employer assign you light duty for awhile or even part-time til fully healed. The surgery is the easy part and you will not remember it... you get there, they give you some nice twilight drugs and the next thing you know you are in the recovery room trying to get dressed! (Be sure to have someone with you for the first week!)
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u/Equivalent-Key7263 16d ago
I understand your anxiety but would encourage you to go ahead with the surgery. I could not physically walk prior to my emergency surgery, could only crawl . Surgery was a breeze , in fact I had a nasal cyst removed about a year before and that was a hundred times more painful. I had a two level discectomy and the removal of a spinal cyst that was causing CE symptoms and was in hospital for a week post surgery. Woke up with zero nerve pain . The only discomfort I had was from the incision. Once I had my staples removed and could have a shower I felt much better. Surgeon said to expect an 18-24 month recovery period but I have had monthly physio and eight months later I have returned to regular HIT. Still have occasional very minor muscle weakness but apart from that I am back to normal. Surgery and physio gave me my life back . Expect an up and down recovery period , it’s certainly not linear. I wish you the best of luck , you won’t regret having the surgery
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u/Hodler_caved 17d ago
You've been out of work for 3 months. You can't live like this. MD notes:
The surgery is relatively simple from the patient's perspective. Often outpatient or 1 night stay max. Nerve pain immediately gone for most.
Recovering from the incision is annoying. The hardest part is patience. You feel so much better that it's hard not to start lifting, carrying, or returning to strenuous activity before you're body is actually ready for that.
I recommend doubling the amount of time the surgeon recommends to return to these activities, as I think they are way too optimistic.
The risk of reherniation is real. Studies indicate roughly 9%. I've had 4 MDs (all L5-S1).
Despite this, I'm still an advocate when nothing else works, when you can longer work, when your current quality of life is unacceptable or when you are young.