Discectomy - After the Operation

[Kelsey Hugunin]

Hi Ali what a lovely thing your daughter said they can be lovely at times i was on my hands and knees yesterday trying to but some washing in the machine and my eldest came in saying mam what are you doing you ,should'nt be doing that ,move out of the way i can do that why did'nt you just ask me !!!!He is 8 going on 18 sometimes.The boys havent been to bad my youngest is'nt sleeping very well at the minute he was up at 5am this morning then woke up his brother at 6am with the noise he was making and with my hubbie and the man flu i am wrecked if i hear him moan and groan just one more time ..... take care claire x x

 

[Bert]

Hi Claire,

Aw bless your 8 yr old, trying to be the man of the house whilst mummy&daddy aren't well!!
My daughter just leaves a trail of destruction behind her!!
She is good though normally, if i ask her to do something to help, she will, but sometimes moans that i am treating her like a slave!! She really did say that!!!
7 going on 17!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ahelhujuiczihbemi]

Hi Jess

If you look at fireolli's post dated 4 july 08 it lists most of the exercises which I do. I was told that it best to do them first thing in the morning when you least feel like doing them! My surgeon told me to really stretch my leg out as straight as poss when doing the hamstrings to lenghten and stretch the nerve.(I have one of those elastic stretch bands which my physio gave me and helps to get my leg higher) It seems to be working for me. I also walk when I can and really try to stride out - again to stretch. I do fitball classes which involves lots of stretching too and I swim. I really stiffen up if I don't keep moving so I believe that exercise is just a way of life and I really enjoy it. If I hadn't been exercising all my life I don't think I my recovery would have been as good as it is and my physio said it had certainly helped me make such good progress.

I do hope you start to feel better and that your pins and needles disappear. I try to do my stretches before I go to sleep too and you wil find that they get easier the more you do them. When they feel too easy you will need too look at something different to push yourself that little bit more.

Keep in touch

pennylane xx

 

[Pryldamrin]

Agree with you pennylane - exercise, stretching etc is an ongoing thing, particularly for those of us who've sustained an injury.

While we're on the subject of the funny things children say, this was one of the conversations from my weekend:

Me (talking about my spine to friends) "So I have an extra vertebrae"
Friends' young daughter: "I have a trampoline!!"
Me: "Ok, you win!"

 

[joe joe]

Hi everyone have been to see my consultant for my 6 week check and he is really happy with me he is very pleased with my recovery and is confident that it won't happen again !!! (i'm not to sure)I dont have to see him again,He is a lovely
doctor who looks like Phil from location ,location .location which freaks me out a bit because in my head i think he is going to try and sell me a house !!!!!! He said to take it easy as with the fibromyalgia condition progress may be slow but not to have that awful sciatic pain and to function to some degree is enough for me .I only started with the sciatic pain in sep 08 and had the op dec 08 so i think thats helped i couldnt fault the care i reiceived on the nhs .hope everyone is ok take care claire x x

 

[amivaKath]

Hiya
Havn't posted for a while as i've been busy arguing with my employers & got very down with it all. Well I saw the consultant who has changed my Lyrica dosage & wants to see me again in 3 weeks. He's concerned about the problems but hopes its just a little blip & it will have improved in the next 3 weeks. So heres hoping. As i said i got really down about it all but thanks to some amazing friends & my family i'm on the up again. The pain is still awful. I don't sleep due to it & have got constant back pain, shooting pains in my leg, numbness ......... you guys know the symptoms need i say more. I'm still concerned about the urinary incontinence & waiting for an appointment with the specialist nurses.

So my employers!!! They are such a helpful lot ..... NOT!!! The redeployment they were working at making permanent 4 months ago needed a business plan. Having spoken to my manager yesterday it hasn't even been started. However, they want me to attend a meeting with HR soon & if they decide I need redeployment during this time I then have 8 weeks to find a position within the trust or they will terminate my employment.That is if they do not just go for the jugular & decide to finish me on the grounds that I am incapable of fulfilling my role. Difficult when they havn't even put the plan into action eh & as i'm on a walking stick my post as a ward sister may prove a little difficult! Yep, thats right these oh so helpful employers are indeed the NHS!!! Grrrrrrr!!!!!

Other than that I am fairly well (lol). Glad to hear everyone is doing well

Tracey xx

 

[L D]

Well I did the thing I feared more than anything....injured my lower back again. I have had minimal problems with my lower back and so got a bit too ambitious, curtain pole now fixed to wall and curtains hanging from it (I was nearly freezing to death!). Next morning I bent down to pick something up and my back 'twanged', now a day later I've taken all the pills and thankfully its eased off now. Someone please tell me this doesn't mean the disc has slipped again!

I wrote a long sympathetic reply to Tracey about her work issues and then managed to lose it. I never know how much information to put on this forum but I am now smothered in legal wrangles because of my employers (NHS), I was shocked that these people actually play dirty, what kind of business is this! I finally got support from my union and all sorts of things are happening, but very slowly. Tracey, don't let them dismiss you in any way! Try your union, and keep trying and phoning.....I phoned all round the country until someone helped me. If you're not in a union try ACAS, I think they help with employee issues (google it). They can't get rid of you just like that, what about the disability act? Sorry, I get so mad with these people. Here we are fighting to get rid of unbearable pain and the same people (might as well be) try and finish us off. Fight back Tracey, I don't want to but decided they can't ruin peoples lives like this.

Now back to my drugs overdosing.....am I moving forward at all?

From
Misery guts x

 

[DoubleJay]

Hi Melza, thanks for your response. The NHS never cease to amaze me. They keep you on long waiting lists & then due to their incompetence they try to finish you!!!
I;ve got a union rep attending the meeting with me & having spoken to the union lons standing illness / disability dept I was told they can actually give me 8 weeks to find a post to redeploy to as I am incapable of fulfilling my current post!!! It was when she added that 'this happens a lot as they hope you will jump before they have to push you' that I felt sick. She then brightly added 'you could always try for ill health retirement' I'm 38 & could quite easily transfer to out patients if only they'd got off their ar$*@ & put the business plan into action. Like you Melza I don't want to fight but they are about to see a side of me that hasn't been seen since I worked in A&E!! When I expressed my concerns to my manager she simply said 'i don't blame you I would be worried if i were in your position too' Hows that for support?!
Have to say Melza a 'twang' doesn't sound too good although having never experienced one i'm not much help i'm afraid
Tracey xx
Tracey

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hey all,

Sorry to hear of the troubles you are experiencing Melza and Tracey-1, that on top of your back problems is awful, i really feel for you.
I fought the NHS too for treatment, but don't work for them so can only imagine your predicaments.
I really hope that as good an outcome as possible will come about for you both.

As for your 'twang' Melza, i also had a twang about 3/4 weeks post-op. It really did hurt for a few days, but after some major pill popping, i am pleased to say that it did subside.
I 'twanged' myself just getting into bed no less, shows that I really must be careful even doing minor things!

Still got back and leg pain, but tramadol is a wonderful thing! Its really helping to keep the pain under control.
I was hoping to be off them by now, but after the housework episode last week, i am happy to keep popping them for as long as i need to!!
The GP said 'Oramorph is an option', and i said NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
I am SOOOO not going there again, i would rather have chronic pain than touch that stuff again!!! Thats what nasty stuff it is!!
What gets me though, that the doctors and nurses were quite happy to shovel that stuff down my neck for months on end, but they failed to tell me that i would end up hooked. That really annoys me still, my morphine use wasn't monitored at all and i ended up chronically ill as a result. Nice eh?

Anyways, gripe over!!
Claire, thats good news that your consultant is pleased with how you are doing, good to hear that.
Its just a slowly slowly process isn't it? Thats how i have found it to be.
Its really frustrating though when you want to do 'normal' stuff.
Hope the fibro settles soon for you as well hun

 

[LALA13]

Hi, I'm feeling much brighter today. (I apologise for my moaning, grumpy self my last few posts) Melza I re read your reply several times from yesterday & thought yep I WON'T let the buggers win!!! My manager rang today to assure me she had no ulterior motives & then said but I can't guarantee what HR will want to do. Talk about passing the buck. So I will fight them even if its just so that they don't keep doing this to others.
It helps that my previous employers are recruiting at the moment & have been awarded the 2 tick disability symbol. So even with my stick & reduced mobility i have applied for a position. (NHS Direct Melza if you have 1 locally is so the way to go. They do respect & value their employees)
ACAS were very helpful. Melza thanks so much for your reply it really has made all the difference.
Ali, hope you are okay. I can't understand the mentality of these medics given the problems & how ill you were when coming off the morphine.
Clare, glad to hear the consultant feels all is going well with your post op recovery. Hope the fibro settles too.
To everyone else hope you are all well
Tracey

 

[tfezhuubiunidhexp]

I went shopping today, the boringness of domesticity (the one part of normality i didn't miss!!!).....
.....And got a taxi home, and as fate would have it, my taxi driver is seeing a rheumatologist in the next few weeks as he has back pain accompanied by sciatica, and has done so for the last 3 years!
I was able to pass on my wealth of knowledge, about the 18 week rule, and not to be fobbed off by first opinions.....i wouldn't have done this if i weren't part of this forum, i wouldn't have all the knowledge i do if it weren't for this forum.
I would still be saying 'yes doctor, no doctor' and taking what they said as face value. Now i fight, fight, fight LOL!!!
See? You are all invaluable! I was able to help someone else because of you guys.....there should be more forums like this!!!

 

[AmyV]

Hi all

Feeling a bit fed up today so thought I would share my frustrations.
Had a great week and felt better than I had since op but as usual I go and spoil it all by thinking I am back to normal and can do what I used to do! I was even running upstairs (well sort of) and did my exercises with great enthusiasm and effort and guess what - I have overdone it and my lower left back, hip and buttock are killing me and I can hardly move now without sharp pains.It is so frustrating!

Anyway thanks for listening to my self pity. I guess I am back to walking again until it calms down again.

And another thing - why does housework involve so much bending - my body doesn't do bending too well since op!

Anyway , how is everyone else? All getting on ok I hope.
I don't know where I would be without this forum

pennylane x

 

[I heart you]

Poor Pennylane, I'm right in there with you! I went back to normal household duties and did exactly the same thing, except I thought the disc had popped back out again causing near hysterics. I'm now thinking it was a muscle injury and have been doing lots of stretches and making sure I don't stress my back out any more....its certainly feeling much better now. I thought most of the healing would be completed after the first 6 weeks, I knew there was some muscle building to do but still thought I could get back to normal.

My friend had an operation on her hand around the same time as my op, everyone rushes to open the door for her and find her a chair to rest on....just because she has lots of visible bandages on her hand. I want bandages too!!!!!

So what do I do today? I never know whether to take it easy or push myself forward...answers please.

 

[Curious George C.Ac]

I overdid it toooo.....but with housework....Boooo!!!
A few days of rest and painkillers sorted me out.
Hot baths and heat patches help lots too xxxx

 

[ozokyqbd]

Hi All,

I am still doing ok, i still get sore after work and my nerves still get tight but with stretching and exercise i seem to be able to control it. I have lost about 1/2 a stone in the last 3 weeks from going to the gym loads and watching what i eat. I have cut out as much sugar as possible, it gives you a big head ache when you start not having sugar.

Other news, had 12 week scan last week and the little bean is moving about loads. It must be a girl, boys are to lazy to move that much

Hope everyone is ok and pain free, keep going and everything will work out ok.

Olli

 

[Nice to meet you]

Melza

I had physio today. Had to cos this morning I was so bad I had too be helped out of bed by hubby! I was never that bad even just after the op. Feel a bit better now. Don't how it had happened by physio said he hadn't seen me that bad in along time. You do automatically worry that the disc had popped agian though and that is scary.

Needles to say I am taking things gently this week. Due to go on hols mid feb so want to be in good form for then

Bye for now

pennylane x

 

[thoughts]

Latest report

Have been doing the stretchy exercises almost non stop and am pleased to report there is some improvement. Such a relief I can tell you, it was so painful I had serious problems moving at all. So I am now confident that I have a muscle injury and not another disc problem (think positive). It's so difficult finding the line between doing too much and doing too little. Was going to attack my boys bedroom now they are at uni.....perhaps not yet though eh.

Still thinking positive

Melza x

(Ps Getting some good results from battle with employers...I don't know which was worse, the back problems or them!)

 

[Snuggles.Shi]

glad to hear the job situation may be improving melza... how awful to have that added stress after everything you have been through. my employer paid lip service to all the supportive return to work corporate you-know-what, but i never felt properly supported and still don't. finally got a fun new chair last week (asked for it in august!). but the main issue is driving, which is an inevitable part of the job, although occupational health made a recommendation that my time in the car be limited. however, i am currently having to drive around 200 miles a fortnight, lots of which is sitting in rush hour traffic. which all leaves me quite stiff and sore. line manager clearly doesn't care though.

most entertaining in the workplace is watching the reactions of others when i randomly stand up in meetings to stretch. i think people are sure i am about to storm out in protest and mostly they look horrified! i have learnt my lesson the hard way though and am trying to ignore the embarrassment and make sure i get up every 20-30mins.

i am finding gentle pilates really helpful at the moment. i notice the difference between the start and end of the class, in terms of how much movement i have. it's a great feeling to touch my toes again, even with bent legs!! so i definitely recommend it, as long as you can find a sympathetic teacher who understands about the surgery we have had.

so excited for your impending arrival olli!! and very jealous....it ain't happening quite as fast for us, but i am hanging in there and reminding myself that my body has been through a lot this year and maybe just needs a little longer to recover.

lots of love to all. stop with the housework right now!!!
jess xx

 

[MANNEQUIN]

Sorry to go off topic here folks, but I just want to reassure Jess that at the age of 30 and 3 years trying for a baby I was blessed with a fantastic son. I didn't want him to be a lonely child so quickly went in for child 2 (greedy I know), and at the age of 31, I was the mother to 2 boys and I girl! You just never know what fate has in store for you, so watch out! I should add that I was nowhere near the Mary Poppins kind of mother, but they survived regardless.

Aren't those scans amazing Ollie! I swear to you all that I had never had a scan with my first child, so when my second pregnancy was scanned and I saw two heads on the screen, I truly thought she was just tuning in the image. Like we used to do with our good old fashioned tellys. When the reality was explained to me I had to be treated for shock, what fun I used to have once upon a time!

Back to stretching I suppose, love to all.

 

[Camwesseget]

thank you melza

jess xx