OT: Back surgery

I had 2 surgeries in december for my herniated disc that I suffered with for way too long. I have got alot of my life back since but I have been having the same pain as before my surgery only it comes and goes with no reason. Before my surgery it was 2 years of pure pain and nothing that I did or had done could help for more than a week. I had the steroid injections, I did ice packs 8-10 times a day. I swam in pools, did gravity therapy, went to Chiro 5 days a week, acupuncture ect. It was all worth the time and effort I put in it as I never could have kept going with out that. Has anyone else had this ? How was your recovery? I am 3 months out from my surgeries and I have questions that the Doc who has never had back pain can't answer.

I am Blessed. I had surgery in '01. Recovered well. Any slight pain really gives me a scare, but has always gone away. Give it time, don't take ANY chances.
You will find that there are many who do not have successful surgery.

i have had four surgerys. one in 71,75,two in 80. i hav had all or parts of six disc removed, plus parts of two verts. i get along fine if i use my head. wally

You are still early in the game. After my second opperation it took 9 months to go back to work. The pain came and went but was less all the time. Do the streaching exercises, they help.

I had a laminectomy for a herniated disc in 1968. I was back to work part time in about 3 weeks, and full time a couple of weeks later. Back then I was working as a printer at a local newspaper and commercial printing plant. (I went on to be General Manager for several years).

The stretching exercises and plain old walking help. I developed a lot of ways of doing things that avoid strain on my back. Still use them.

Maybe a half dozen times over the next 15 years, I had a muscle or nerve spasm so painful it would lay me up for a few days. Knock on wood, but that hasn't happened lately.

I found out the worst thing I can do is stand in one spot for an extended period of time. Also found out it's counterproductive to try to baby my back too much. I just keep going he11 bent for election, and if I have a back ache once in a while, I pop a pain pill and keep on truckin'.

One thing I won't do is lift something heavy with someone else. I'm always afraid they'll screw up and throw it all onto me. I've developed a lot of habits to use leverage, etc. to accomplish something without using my back. If I'm moving something, my wife will ask if I want help. I'll tell her no, just let me putter around and I'll get it done.

Don't know if this helps, but that was what transpired with me.

Did mine back in 87,,,Had my ups and downs but for the most part its been an improvement,,,
No matter how good the body shop a wrecked car will never be new again,,,,Just be glad you have something to drive...

Do a Google search for Dr. John Sarno and read up
on some of his reasons for back pain. He wrote a
few books which really helped me. I had back
surgery and still had pain and wish I'd never had
it. His book "Mind Over Back Pain" really opened
my eyes and helped me. The book isn't anything
like the title indicates, it gives reason for the
pain and how to reduce it.

I have had 5 surgeries over the last 20 yrs . plus every other prosedure they could think of . Would always get better for a few yrs. then the pain would come back . I have pain 24/7 now and the docs dont think there is a reson to try another surgery as long as I am up and walking . Cant do things the way I used to but I still get my work done . I am on my 3rd set of teeth from grinding them so much . I hope you have better luck than I have but I come from a long line of bad backs . Do what the doc tells ya to do and NOT DO and learn to work more with your head and not your back . Good luck

Had my operation in '04, after doing the nerve blocks and the therapy route. Had to walk around with 2 arm canes because of sciatic nerve pain in both legs.
Surgery opened nerve cord areas that had been pinching, and fused L3 that had sipped out of line, along with trimming the insides of the 3 bulging disks.
Was fine after, and went back to the work I was good at in 7 months as a truck road mechanic. After 2 years, and being careful, I'm back in the same shape with anterior muscle pain both legs, and spasms that drop me to the floor when not expected.
Bottom line.....It will make you better, but you cannot jump in and do everything you might have done before.

I have had 2 laminectomies and another surgery to remove bone from the side structure of vert. that was pinching a nerver b/c a disc had collasped. My Dr. has always stressed to me that the healing process takes a full 12 months. Give it time and do what he says. I have things at work that require that I be here thru the summer, as soon as they are done I am going to have a fusion done. 24x7 pain for past year and it's getting worse... I thank God for the Drs. at Texas Orthopedic Hospital in Houston, they are some of the best in the country.

I had two laminectomies on the same disk 6 months apart. I had pain like you are talking about off and on for at least a year. I still have twinges here and there. Get used to it.(the soles of my feet got hot all the time too but that went away) The worst thing you can do is sit around. Walk as much as you can because it strengthens your back muscles. Use good mechanics and good posture. Dont twist or bend over and touch your toes without supporting yourself on something with one hand. I still get flare ups but thats just the way it is. One thing that I figured out was that most of the time when it flares up it was something I did the day before yesterday and not yesterday. Dont know why but it sure helped me figure out what not to do. Ice always made my back stiff. Heat makes it feel a lot better. You can get those "thermacare" pads for you back. They wrap around at your waist and get warm when you take em out of the package. They last about 8 hours and it helped me to sleep in one during the first year especially in cold damp weather. Good Luck! Keep moving, Dont sit.

One more thing that helped me a lot. Lay flat of your back. Bend one knee up (like doing a bent knee sit up) and lift the straight leg as high as you can toward your head. Do 5 or 10 & try to go farther each time & then change legs. Your back is supported because it is flat on the floor or bed and it stretches out that hamstring in your leg. A lot of times it would make my pain go away.