I'm 5 months post op, Is they any light at the end of the tunnel for me?
I'm still in pain especially my right calf, feels like constant cramping.
I can walk ok, as soon as I stop I can't stand up straight due to my right leg feeling very tight.
It was a herniated disc at l5, s1 nerve.
I had a microdiscectomy back in December 21, 2015 right before my 18th birthday ( today marks the 4 month post surgery mark ). I still have pain running down my right leg ( upper glut and sometimes in my calf muscle ). Before the surgery I have had the disc pinching on my nerve for nearly 10 months.... It ruined my summer and I couldn't do what most of my friends were doing... My parents were too scared that something would go wrong with the surgery, so we tried Physical Therapy for about 2-3 months. My pain was getting worse and worse. After a lot of convincing I got my parents to allow me to get the surgery ( No regrets at all ). I would rate my pain before my surgery as 9/10 and now after my surgery I rate it as 5-7/10. I can't even remember how it feels to have no pain... It is constant and doesn't go away ( I feel better when I lie down on my back or stomach ).. I feel better when I sleep on the ground rather than on my, what used to be comfortable, bed.... I am starting to lose hope on ever feeling better... Everytime I walk I have pain in my upper right glut ( every time I extend my right foot ) and sometimes it goes down my right leg to my calf.... I still can't bend down without a massive amount of pain running down my right leg... I can't even sit down for longer than 30 minutes because I start to have a lot of pain in my calf, which makes going to school really hard.. Are there any patients that have had this type of surgery and felt better in more than 6 months?
View 2 RepliesI had L4/L5 microdiscectomy and laminectomy about 4 months ago. I had on and off low back pain for 6-7 years but it became unbearable couple of years back. Prior to surgery I had buttock pain and I couldn't walk or stand without pain. I am recovering pretty slowly. I am off pain meds and I walk 45 mins a day and do gentle back stretches as advised by the surgeon. The surgeon said that I had a big herniation and he removed about 60-70% of the disc. Is it common to have that much removed?. Will I be able to recover fully or will i need more surgery like fusion in the future. I am just 27 yrs old and I don't want to live in pain.
View 1 RepliesI am early on after my discectomy (day 3), but I am concerned. I see many people have immediate pain reduction, I woke up and still had my preop pain. Now it's just pain deep in my thigh and the surgical pain. I am also worried because I still can't stand up straight! I haven't been able to stand straight for two months following a car accident that reherniated my l5s1. The original injury was resolved to an acceptable level without surgery. It was interesting that the car accident immediately stopped all nerve pain in my right leg that I learned to live with, but it moved to the left leg!
I am just getting concerned since I see so many posts where people wake up painless and can walk freely. I can walk for maybe 2 minutes then i am in really bad pain, and i'm hunched over while walking. Should I be concerned? Any insights from people with less than storybook recoveries?
I had a microdiscectomy almost 4 weeks do to the disc pinching my sciatic nerve. The pain before the surgery went from my left butt cheek down to my foot, and felt like someone was sticking a knife in my hip and calf. Since the Surgery I have had severe nerve pain in my left foot in the ball of my foot to my toes. I am currently on gabapentin pills and gabapentin cream. I was just looking to see if anyone had any ideas what could help get me off the recliner. Or any ideas whether this would go away or how long this usually lasts.
View 3 RepliesWeek 5 post microdiscectomy on L5/S1. Numbness and pain on my leg and toes is gone BUT currently experiencing numbness and sharp shooting pain on my left testicle making it difficult to have an erection.
View 1 RepliesI'm a long time sufferer of low back pain (20 years, I'm 42). I believe I've given my diagnosis & previous treatment rundown on a previous post, but I'll post it here again, hopefully short and sweet:
Last MRI (Feb. 2012)
Bulging L4-L5, Herniated L5-S1 (Central Annular Tear, 6mm protrusion)
Previous MRI in 2008 showed basically the same as above.
I have tried most therapies & treatments, including but not exclusively:
Acupuncture, TENS, PT, ESI in 2008 & 2012, Prolotherapy, Mackenzie Stretching, Chiro, Massage.
Some of my main activities that I've had to scale back to, and serve as productive exercise:
Walking everyday, inversion table, swimming, Mackenzie stretching.
I used to do martial arts and grappling and have not done so in a couple years now.
I have a hard time now with doing things that I HAVE to do, like working around the house or sitting in my car to drive to work as a couple examples. I cannot do any type of sports that have ANY kind of flexion movement. (I'm able to swim because my back is in extension position)
I've been reading some posts regarding folks who've had the microdiscectomy procedure done, and I've met with many neuro and ortho surgeons during my long journey. I've also begun to research BMSC treatment as well, as this is proving to be very promising, but is still in the very early stages of acceptance and use in the States. I've always opted to not have an invasive procedure because of fear of it not helping and possibly making things worse.
However, I'm just tired of the conservative approach not working and I'm tired of not being able to fully live my life.
Believe me, I understand there are many that are worse off than me and I wish I could help you because I know how bad chronic pain is and what is does to you physically AND mentally.
All the doctors I've ever seen look at me (at 5'9, 150 lbs, lean and "looking" healthy), and I pass all the "strength" tests they give me. They tell me to go conservative, which I fully respect. However, just because I look healthy and can pass them pushing on my legs and feet while I resist, and I'm not losing bladder or bowel control doesn't mean that the slightest move or overdoing it won't put me down again.
Case in point, (After 2 years since my last episode and the walking and my conservative exercising not giving me the progress I'm expecting after 2 years), I decided to, (at the recommendation of a sports med doctor), to go see a well respected and very highly recommended, (by friends), PT Strength and Conditioning coach. He put me through an initial PT type evaluation and I had my first session last night. Well, about half-way through, something wasn't feeling right. We scaled down the workout, (which was pretty conservative already), to just stretching at that point. Long story short, I'm now back to stabbing pain, radiating leg pain and tingling, and standing crooked and not being able to sit down.
I'm really beginning to seriously consider surgery, or possibly explore BMSC treatment for the disc(s). I'm sure since it's been 2 years from my last one, I'll need another MRI before doing anything.
My question is, what would you do if you were in my shoes?
I have had a lumbar L5S1 mico on feb 14 of this year. Now I am having sharp pain in my back under my right shoulder blade by the T7. Plus this makes my back tighten up and spasm. Any thoughts out there. I know it has to do with the injury but does anyone know what this is... btw not the gallbladder I don't have one anymore. This pain is at its worst when I am lying down and if I rotate to the right side the pain will be so sharp it stops me in my tracks...any help would be great. I also got my S! nerve checked and it is relieved from the surgery but I am left with the numbness in the foot, calf, and upper thigh and also told this might be permanent.
View 3 RepliesCouple days ago I stepped out of bed and almost hit the floor as the excruciating pain shot through my calves. I have not exercised or done anything extreme. I have tried stretching and over-the-counter pain meds ..
View 1 RepliesI don't always have this pain in my calf. only after i've walked a little while, but when this happens i get a pain in my the middle of my right calf and a numbness in my foot. My foot actually loses all color too and gets cold. almost like it's getting no blood flow. any ideas?
View 1 RepliesDlight pink thick discharge and after I went pee I had to wipe 3 times and all 3 times there was a lot of discharge I haven't had a period since May and it will be July in 3 days. I had 2 day bleeding. first day light cramping 2nd day no cramping just spotting I took a home test came back negative
View 1 RepliesI am writing to ask you about my father. I am a Family Physician from India. My father is 67 years and is having diabetes from the past 10 years. His sugars are in control, recently cut down the medication to 1 tablet of (Sitagliptin 50 + Metformin 1000), earlier he was taking Metformin 1000 additionally. PPBS is reaching 200 now. He complains of occasional sweating while walking and during at home as well. Says he has pain in the calves during morning. BP is under control 130/80 mmHg and cardiac tests including ECG, echo, TMT done last year and normal. What is this calf pain and occasional sweating attributable to? Today, he complained of sweating while walking. BP, Sugar and Pulse (104 after walking) same as mentioned earlier. No chest pain or breathlessness on exertion, had some giddiness. Kindly advise.
View 1 RepliesI fractured my 5th metatarsal and sprained my ankle about 5 weeks ago and was given a cam boot walker. I can finally sort of walk on it if i don't put much pressure on the broken part. But man oh man my calf just aches and throbs as if i just ran a marathon, and all i did was some chores around the house. i wonder if i should be walking on it or is the pain in the calf a sign i shouldn't? or is it just cause the muscle atrophied? when does the pain subside?
View 8 RepliesI'm a 21 year old female & I was diagnosed with Sciatica in December & it's been driving me crazy since. I have had back problems in the past as I done gymnastics from a young age & studied make-up artistry for two years, both which can strain your back, also my job of working in retail has not helped. I have been in & out of the doctor's & it recently got so bad I had to go to hospital, I have been referred to physio however the waiting list is at least 10 weeks long before I will get to see someone. I've been taking advice from doctor's, I am on medication however I don't find it is helping, I have been doing stretches, yoga, going swimming, walking for as long as I can before the pain gets unbearable & to no avail. It's gotten so bad I can't sleep at night because I can't lie in a position without feeling shooting pains through my calf or my thigh. I'm really at my wits end, I'm so frustrated & down all the time because the pain is constant & it's stopping me from living my normal life & going out at the weekend with my friends. Can anyone recommend anything else that might help? The pain started in my lower back & has now spread to my calf & in the past few days has been making my foot feel numb.
View 13 RepliesAll through the winter i wore heeled boots, only a small heel then about a month ago i started wearing flat "dolly" shoes again, after about a week of wearing flat shoes i woke uP and couldn't walk properly due to pain in my calfs so i went back to wearing boots and just occasionally wearing dolly shoes. Sunday i went for a walk with my friend but i wore flat sandals ended up walking about 3 miles. Monday morning i got out of bed and nearly fell due to pain in my heel which i couldn't feel until i put my weight on it, i found it painful to walk on the rest of the day and today (tuesday) its became worse and the pain has travelled up my calf, similar feeling to what i felt a month before, which is becoming worse as the day goes on.
View 6 RepliesFor 11 years I have suffered with this condition. The 1st diagnosis was claudication, 2nd arthritis, 3rd peripheral artery disease, 4th nerve interference from protruding spinal disc , 5 6 7 8 9 10 etc. I have taken every known treatment . Where would you suggest I try next ?
View 1 RepliesI am 21 years old and I have been on birth control since I was a teen. I started out on the pill because I was experiencing very bad cramping that resulted in me missing many days of school per month. The pill worked fine for about four years but then I started getting bad cramps all over again. I went to my doctor and he prescribed a different birth control pill for me but that pill,and every other pill they put me on after that, made me nauseous and sick. I decided to stop taking birth control all together and just just used condoms but my cramps where just to unbearable and my cycles became long (i'm talking like two weeks, heavy flow). So after about a year of not being on birth control I went to a new obgyn who suggested I try the nuvaring. Well the NuvaRing didn't work either. First I had burning inside my vagina, then I had crazy liquid like discharge and lastly I was nauseous every morning. But, I only had it in for a couple of days, so I don't know if I actually gave it enough time to work properly. Soon after I received a lot of pressure from my mother to get the iud because her worst fear in the world is for me to get pregnant and I just moved far away from home so she worries a lot. I went to my doctor while on my period to get the Mirena put in, he tried to talk me out of it but I refused. He asked did I want to try the shot or the implant but I was reluctant to the shot because of the associated weight gain and I didn't want the implant because my mother had problems with it. Getting the Mirena put in was so painful, I guess since I have never been pregnant but it wasn't what people described. I literally thought I was going to die for about two days. I ended up become really dehydrated and lost my appetite for about a week. I have had the IUD in for a little over a month now but I've have issues. Issue #1, I cramp almost everyday. The cramping isn't as long as regular period cramping but it's equally as painful. It feels like someone is stabbing me in my right side for about 10-15mins. I went to my doctor after the first week to see if it was still in the right place and he determined that it was and I just had bad luck. Issue #2: I have been spotting for about two weeks now. Issue #3, The string poked my spouse for the first time today and I wasn't very happy. I'm very angry and stressed out. I feel like this is totally bull because I am going through the same stuff I was going though before I got the IUD. I was reading online about how the cramps should go away after about six months but what about the strings? I don't want this to ruin my sex life but then again I don't need any unexpected pregnancy right now. Some women have said that cutting the string helps but I am fearful that the IUD will get lost. I am so scared and don't know what to do. I know for sure that I don't want kids right now but I don't want this thing ruining my chances of ever having children. I need some advice, Please Help. I want to know if I should get the IUD taken out and if so, should I try another form of birth control like the shot or the implant? Or should I give the Mirena a couple more months? I've noticed that the stings seems shorter since my period stopped. Could that be caused by my period? I'm thinking that maybe the strings will become longer and my spouse won't feel them anymore. I don't know what to do.
View 1 RepliesFor the past couple months I experience sharp, stinging (or maybe burning) pain in my calf, usually right leg but sometimes left too.
I've been walking long distances my whole life and never had cramps before. Been doing some reading and so far symptoms fits cramps.
I have lately been walking really long distances on occasion.
I have the pain happening at night. I wake up with badly aching leg (calf muscle) and need some time time for it to lessen, sometimes I fall asleep seconds later and when I wake up the muscle is stiff and painful. It's also bit painful/sensitive at touch on other days too.
I am currently taking two antibiotics. Mepron and cefuroxime. And have been on antibiotics for about a year now. Having more light cramping in calves than before. Honestly, I haven't been good taking supplements and drinking a lot of water. Could be my reason right there. Has anyone experienced this and is there a way to get rid of cramping and restless leg syndrome?
View 4 RepliesI've been having pain in my calf for about a month now.in the last couple days the pain has started jumping around. To the sides of my calf,to behind my knee now it's in my groin as well. Also my right testicle hurts(right leg is where my pain is).I finally got to see my doctor today and he thinks I might have a Pinched sciatic nerve and is sending me for lower back xray.so does sciatica cause this dull ache that comes and goes in different parts of my leg?can it also be causing my testicle pain?
View 3 RepliesI was wondering if anyone as similar problems to me. I have had alot of cramping pain on my left side towards the spine I have seen a gp about it and says it's musculoskeletal. A few days ago I woke up with the opposite side in agony and I phone the docs but they just said it is muscle spasm. I find it quite strange that the pain from my left seems to of gone and now it's top right of my back. Also how long does a spasm take to go thanks tracy
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