Had back surgery yesterday at the ripe age of 25...

[ErinH]

I've been very active in sports since I was about 10. Little League baseball, then high school, wrestling, track, BMX for the past 10 years of my life, weight lifter, on and on...

For the past few years my back has bothered me, and for about a year now I haven't been able to do anything without being in severe pain. Long story short I found out I have a herniated disc that was poking out pretty dang far; pinching my ciatic nerve and causing me severe pain (and I mean SEVERE... I've had 2 previous elbow surgeries, both ankles broken twice, and separated shoulder and the back pain was the worst of them all). After nearly a year of rehab, & chiro nothing helped.

I went back to a neurosurgeon and opted for surgery.

So, just had this performed yesterday. I was walking right after surgery, but my back still hurts bad due to the face they had to go inside and cut the portion of disc out. But, the good news is that I should be back on track in a few weeks.

Just wanted to share and see if anyone else has had this done and what their results were.

*goes to walk around some more*

 

[stratman]

Highfihoney has had major back problems, maybe he can fill you in. Anyway good luck with your recovery.

 

[mazersteven]

Ouch

Yes I hope recovery goes well for you.

 

[ErinH]

^ Yep. L4/L5 vertebrae.

Seriously, it's hard to explain the pain you feel with an injury like this. I seriously mean it when I say that I couldn't walk for than about 5 minutes without having extensive leg pain.

 

[mazersteven]

I have been dealing with a severe rotator cuff injury now for about 6 weeks. I can't even begin to describe the pain. I can only imagine what you have been going through.

 

[ErinH]

I have been dealing with a severe rotator cuff injury now for about 6 weeks. I can't even begin to describe the pain. I can only imagine what you have been going through.

Have you tried working out/exercises for it?

I know of a few in particular that will really help, assuming you havent' gotten past the point of no return.

I used to do them myself after I separated my shoulder.

 

[mazersteven]

Have you tried working out/exercises for it?

I know of a few in particular that will really help, assuming you havent' gotten past the point of no return.

Working Out? Hell No!!!

 

[ErinH]

Why not?

I'm not saying run out and start pounding weights. There are a few exercises (I used to use 5lb weights when I started it up) you can do that will strengthen them up.

This is at least worth a look at man:
http://www.orthoassociates.com/shoulder1.htm

^ You can do those laying down with 5lb dumbbells, or you can buy an elastic trainer package from somewhere like Wal-Mart of Target.

 

[mazersteven]

Before I start working out, I think I should have the surgery first. MRI scheduled after the 1st of the year.

 

[ErinH]

Before I start working out, I think I should have the surgery first. MRI scheduled after the 1st of the year.

Oh, sorry. Didn't catch that you were having surgery.

I did those when I separated my shoulder, which helped me stay out of surgery.

 

[mazersteven]

Oh, sorry. Didn't catch that you were having surgery.

I did those when I separated my shoulder, which helped me stay out of surgery.

Dr. said one of my tendons seems to be torn also. This will be my second MRI. First one was in an open MRI machine. Next will be in a closed machine. Between the 2 Dr's I have been to so far. Making me push here, and pull there. I am like "lets get this over with already". Cut me open, and fix it. I can't sleep more then 1-2 hours at a time.

 

[ErinH]

I am like "lets get this over with already". Cut me open, and fix it. I can't sleep more then 1-2 hours at a time.

That's exactly what I went through.

After tiring every option I had I finally had had enough. I wanted surgery so I could actually enjoy the rest of my life.

My goal is to start back with light core strenthening exercises for a couple months, and then start working out again.


The worst part about this all is that I can't let my puppies around me cause if they jump on me, it's gonna hurt like hell.

 

[mazersteven]

The worst part about this all is that I can't let my puppies around me cause if they jump on me, it's gonna hurt like hell.

I has to chase my grand-son around Sea World yesterday. He is 13 months old. My arm today is on fire. But I guess it was worth it.

At least your on the road to recovery. Take your time, and listen to what the Dr's tell you to do. Some people stop, and then have complications later on.

 

[Sheep]

I have Scoliosis... the sway in the spine.

I hate it, it makes me look slouched when I'm not, and when I correct it, my back muscles start to ache. I need to start working my back out more, but my home gym is piled under crap that my family refuses to throw out.

New Years Resolution: Throw out anything in my way, including people.

Best of luck to you, and a speedy recovery, I have only experienced minor back pain, and that isn't fun.

SheepStar

 

[mazersteven]

I can't sleep more then 1-2 hours at a time.

I did good this time. A solid 2 1/2 hours sleep before waking from the pain.

 

[jostenmeat]

Just discovered this thread, Im sorry about what you have been going through. My brother, a young doctor at the age of 30, just had surgery for his herniated disc several months ago. He's discovered that he actually he has an extra disc/segment to his spine. Anyways, when they opened him up, they found that his sciatic was going blue. Very very bad. Before this surgery he couldn't walk upright, he was really screwed. He has recovered well, but sometimes the uncomfortable sensation still arises, although he can walk fine. While its great that the surgery was successful, its too bad it didn't completely 100% fix the problem. He was really bummed when his condition was at its worst, and the extremely possible chance that he'll just have to do all this again later in life.

In mid-summer we took a vacation and hit up a whole bunch of national parks, Yellowstone, etc. We did a good amount of hiking and less-than-ideal sleeping for his already very iffy back. Add great amounts of time sitting in a car...

It might sound funny, but one thing you might want to be pretty careful with is sex. I think that fked him up again for several days nearly 3 months later, pun not really intended.

Oh, the greatest pain he had was his throat. No one realized how anterior his windpipe was, so they had two guys jamming the tube pretty hard, and just didn't know about the serious forward bend of the pipe. All's well now. I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[highfihoney]

My goal is to start back with light core strenthening exercises for a couple months, and then start working out again.

Every surgery is different as well as each persons back pain,its a b!tc# though,i know,ive been there & am still healing.

I broke my back about 25 years ago & have had serious back pain since,last year i had 3 severely herniated discs & 2 bulging discs,all at the same time Ive had a bunch of serious injuries in my life,including an extended visit to the hospital burn unit for 3rd degree burns covering 12% of my body,in the burn unit they scrape you like they are peeling off old paint,no amount of pain killer injections will stop the pain .

Even getting burned as severely as i did,if i had a choice to be burned again or another bout with the back,i'd choose getting burned any day,nothing can compare to the pain level i had with my back,i was CHEWING oxycontin's like they were M&M candy's,i still see my back doctor & he has me seeing a "pain management" doctor also,both doctors agree that i will be taking pain med's for the rest of my life,right now im taking Vicoden for average pain & Oxycontin for when im going out of my mind with pain,which thankfully is not that often as of late.

The best advice i can give is to NEVER stop doing the excersises that you've been given to do from PT,even when your feeling better dont stop doing the stretching excersises,trust me this is the most important part of living a normal life.

Another thing as allready mentioned, is to be ultra carefull with sex,i was in too much pain for 5 months to even think about sex but once the pain was half a$$ under control i was feeling a bit frisky,i thought i was taking it easy while doing it too.

About 3 hours later,while taking the customary after sex nap,i awoke in extreme pain,stood up,lost all bladder control & went into a fit of vomiting,i had to be rushed to the hospital where it took 2 injections of Diliudad-HP to stop my screaming.

Thinking about how you move your body before you do it,planning how to best lift objects & keeping on a strict regiment of stretching excersises will be a must for you.

 

[highfihoney]

I did good this time. A solid 2 1/2 hours sleep before waking from the pain.

You aint s#itten either,2 1/2 hours of sleep is good for the injury you have.

I feel bad for you guy's cause i know what your going through,it becomes maddening & all consuming,hang in there though,sooner or later the doc's will find the right treatment.

 

[aberkowitz]

Just saw this thread as well- took a break from AH for the holidays.

Erin, I had a very similar surgery almost 4 years ago (I was 24 1/2 at the time). I had a herniated disc in L5/S1 that had no specific cause. There was some unknown trauma to the back (either from a day of playing touch/tackle football or from traveling extensively for work- my doctor said it could have been either one equally) and over a period of several months it worsened to the point where 90% of my ciatic nerve canal was compressed. For a year I tried healing it non0surgically with epidural treatments and physical therapy, but my disc was just too inflamed so I eventually opted for surgery. I had a microdiscectomy in March 2004 followed up by 6 months of PT. Today I have no pain on a daily basis. I can golf, ski, scuba dive, and pretty much do any sport that I want. I work out 4-6 times a week with the only limitation being that I cannot run since it will put too much stress on my lower back (I use the elliptical). I get occasional soreness when I sit for too long a period or sleep on an uncomfortable bed, but it goes away with simple stretching.

Bottom line- there is light at the end of the tunnel!! Do your exercises, constantly stretch, and make sure that once you're cleared you go straight back into the gym and stay in shape. The best my back has felt is when I am working out regularly. Best of luck to you!!!

 

[ErinH]

Hey, that's great to hear.

I've been doing pretty good. I try to walk a good bit, and though my back is stiff and I get an occassional leg pain, I'm much better.

The pain is subsiding and I'm sleeping better.


Thanks for the kind words. I'll update as it goes.