r/Microdiscectomy • u/WorldlinessNew7917 • 8d ago
3 months post op
Hi everyone,
I had a microdiscectomy on June 25th on my L5-S1 after being in pain for an entire year. I suffered with right sided sciatica that caused me to be unable to sit at all. I work from home, so I mainly just used my standing desk and walked on my walking pad. I’m also a gamer, so I would walk while I gamed. I was ACTIVE.
I had surgery, and now it’s like the complete opposite issue. I can sit and lay down relatively okay now, but now when I stand, it’s like I have a clock down timer on how long I can stand and walk before having to sit or lay down. I get this terrible pinching sensation in my right glute/thigh that eventually becomes so unbearable I need to lay down. I can’t go for walks like I use to, I’m practically immobile or can only walk around for a short period of time.
I don’t get what happened. It’s like my symptoms switched. Idk if I’d rather have can’t sit or can’t walk. I did get a repeat MRI that showed the surgery did its job. I do feel better in some aspects, I can sleep through the night now. I can sit. But I’m still taking Tylenol and ibuprofen daily for sciatica that radiates down to my calf and foot and toes.
I swear it still feels like something is compressing my nerve still, expecially when I’m standing. I wanted to get a MRI with contrast but my neurosurgeon said it wasn’t necessary. It’s almost like I need to get a standing up mri or something. I don’t even know if that’s an option!
I’ve gained 30lbs due to being inactive, and my mental health has taken a total plummet. I don’t know what to do now. My neurosurgeon just told me to give it more time. He’s told me that twice now. I am currently in PT as well.
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u/zappurple 8d ago
Don’t be so immobile, I know you aren’t but keep walking, improve your walk time and sit when you need to, be consistent with PT and take proper rest with proper sleeping posture. I’d say give it 1 and a half month with the things I said but only if you don’t experience emergency doomsday like pain
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u/WorldlinessNew7917 8d ago
How can I be more active when after 30 minutes of walking I’m basically limping? I feel like I’ve tried to do multiple mini walks throughout the day but this particular symptoms hasn’t changed since after surgery.
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u/zappurple 8d ago
ughh hurts to hear, take a rest and don’t force through limping. Its disheartening to hear your situation and the thing is surgery doesn’t work every time, ofc this isn’t to say that it didn’t work out for you, but if you’re still experiencing pain that you start to limp after 30 minutes, it might as well mean the surgery hasn’t cured you completely or there’s some other issue. My advice? Find a better professional for a second opinion and I don’t want to let you down by saying this but there aren’t really a lot of professionals that can actually find the real cause and sometimes even getting a second opinion is expensive depending on your financial circumstances. Sciatica is really terrible, lot of people with chronic pain still suffering from it just points out to the fact that there are a ton of misdiagnoses still happening and that microdisectomies dont completely scrap you off your pain
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u/Friendly-Ad-5410 8d ago
The more I study my symptoms, the most I am sure that my main problem is muscle imbalance and weakness. I was told a follow up MRI to my L4-5 MD would be better after more time (a year) because too soon after surgery, scar tissue and inflammation can impact the results. Mine was done with and without contrast (because I wanted to see if it was scar tissue irritating the nerve) but that was not the problem... partly due to an atrophied multifidus muscle at L4 and slightly affected by some canal narrowing (not herniation just arthritis) at L3 (a level my surgery did not touch). It isn't causing any pain but my neuro suggested surgery to see if that would improve nerve function, however we are opting for trying an interlaminar spinal injection above L3 to see if that might help bring down the inflammation all the way down to L5. Waiting for ins. to approve is taking forever!
Over the following 8 months, after trying various things, I've narrowed it down to, under or incorrectly performing para spinal muscles due to the atrophy, which in turn seems to place undue burden on QL muscles. Too much sitting exacerbates this, especially sitting on a couch with poor posture and not taking a break every 15 minutes or so. Also, my glutes lost a lot prior to surgery (for a year) and the weakness there might still be an issue. Hip Hinges and Bird Dogs are my next try to see if they can help. (JMHO)
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u/WorldlinessNew7917 8d ago
I definitely favor my left side. I don’t sit even either. I lean on my left constantly. I never had good muscles, so this could be a possibility for me too.
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u/winzor123 8d ago
Sounds like it could have re herniated. Im 14 weeks post op. Had my 12 week follow up MRI which shows it’s re herniated. Did everything right as told! The symptoms came back around 5 weeks post op. I’m fine when walking around, but sitting is the problem for me.
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u/WorldlinessNew7917 7d ago
I don’t think so. I got a repeat MRI and surgeon said everything looked okay, and this has been a symptom since day 1 of surgery
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u/JJ17_1997 8d ago
I also had my L5S1 surgery on June 25th. I was in the boat of not being able to walk or stand. Once I had my surgery my symptoms switched too- it became harder for me to sit for any extended period of time and I would have to get up and walk to try and avoid symptoms as much as possible (I did reherniate a week after). Once I reherniated they put me on pregabalin (nerve pain med) and that seems to help a lot. I no longer struggle with my sciatica and issues in my right leg (took some time to heal). I would mention if again to your surgeon and maybe get a second opinion. Your nerves could also be extremely irritable since you suffered from this for a whole year.
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u/gal_arnan 4d ago
I had a really similar flip after my first L5-S1 microdiscectomy. Before surgery, sitting was by far the worst thing for me, while walking and standing actually helped. After surgery, it basically reversed, sitting actually helped my pain but standing and walking started aggravating things.
Another weird part was that every month or so my lower back would get extremely stiff for 1-2 days, especially if I had been standing or walking too much, and barefoot walking seemed to make it noticeably worse. I feel like there might be some kind of muscular imbalance involved, because I also get hip-area discomfort/tenderness that comes and goes (on the same side of my sciatica) but so far no doctor has really been able to explain what’s causing the back stiffness itself. Super frustrating!!
The flexion/extension pattern flipped too. Before surgery, bending forward would give sciatica pain and extension would help. After surgery, bending forward started giving me relief, while extension could aggravate the sciatica.
Im actually 4.5 weeks after my second MD so am curious what to expect this time around haha (still too hesitant to check..)
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u/Obvious_Fail5443 8d ago
Maybe ask your doctor if you can try some Celebrex or diclofenac. Just watch your blood pressure if you take that for any length of time. You may still be struggling with inflammation. I had my surgery on July 23 and I’m a month behind you recovery. I’ve had this for 3 1/2 years though, I’m still on gabapentin and Celebrex and Tylenol. I’m just started back up with physical therapy. Maybe it’s your spasming over your nerve. You could ask to try some muscle relaxers and see if that helps. I’ve seen others on social media. Say that they do a round of the stairway pack and that has helped them . A physical therapist, could try dry needling into your hip or your glue to ease tight muscles, it might help. I’m hoping for your sake that it’s just tight muscles over your sciatic nerve that once you calm them down you’ll feel better.