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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think a spine operation will mess me up?

17 replies

JanisJoplin73 · 28/09/2018 08:30

I have a styrated disc bulge in my back and have had awful boitsnif sciatica for the last 6 years ( 2-3 times s year) where I can’t walk without extreme nerve pain and it takes weeks to recover. I am now a single mother with an autistic son who requires lifting and carrying and is high energy and a clingy and chunky 10 month old. My STBXH is a doctor but not helpful to me and not very empathetic. A spinal consultant has suggested an operation. I have no help so I’m very worried about recovery. Has anyone had one? What’s your experience? N.B I was a very active sporty person and I will be badly affected mentally if my condition is made worse by an op.

OP posts:
Original poster
JanisJoplin73 · 28/09/2018 08:32

Sorry bouts of sciatica

OP posts:
Schoolchauffeur · 28/09/2018 08:41

Sorry to hear you find yourself in this position. My DH suffered in exactly this way and had the surgery ( a discectomy)which in his case was life changing - woke up pain free for the first time in a year and has had no problems since ( surgery 8 years ago).
So in that sense he would recommend it.
However in the first few weeks after surgery he was not allowed to sit down for more than a few minutes at a time and was supposed to lie flat or stand. No driving for a couple of weeks and no lifting. So I could foresee issues for you immediately afte surgery but if you could get short term help I would have thought it would be worth it to get rid of the sciatica.

Original poster
JanisJoplin73 · 28/09/2018 09:35

School chauffeur that’s very helpful but can I ask how many weeks it took him to heal completely?

OP posts:
lborgia · 28/09/2018 09:42

Janis I will PM you....

Minniemagoo · 28/09/2018 09:43

I've had 2 discectomys in my lower back and recovery really does vary. While you are up walking (short distances) very quickly for at least 3/4 weeks you cannot carry anything heavier than a bag of sugar, it will be a couple of months before you should lift/carry baby.
As PP said you can't sit for extended periods of time. Each time I had 8 weeks off work but the first time (under 30, no kids) I went back not only pain free but back doing exercise etc.
Last year I had the second in my early 40s and was still doing intensive physio 6 months later and for a good few months struggled with unloading washing machine/dressing beds etc. We got a cleaner a couple of hours a week and my kids (pre teens) really helped out.
That said by 9 months I was totally recovered, active, fit, doing rollercoasters on holidays etc.

Ollivander84 · 28/09/2018 09:47

I had a 5hr discectomy with cauda equina
Discharged 21hrs post op
8 weeks of no bending/lifting
I drove after 10 days
Did the full recovery alone and it was ok, lots of walking
I have no sciatica now but do have lower back pain - however the pain before was unbearable screaming pain, then I went numb. I didn't have a choice in the op as I got cauda equina

Ollivander84 · 28/09/2018 09:50

Oh and couldn't sit for more than 45 mins

Schoolchauffeur · 06/10/2018 13:08

Sorry to be late to replying to you- I would say he was back at work after about a month- desk job . His biggest problem was actually not his back but regaining proper strength in the leg he’d not used properly for 4 months. It just used to go from underneath him without warning. Had regular exercises from physio to do which built up the strength

Whereismumhiding2 · 06/10/2018 13:36

I had discetomy & decompression spinal surgery last year. I'm a lone parent to 3 children (divorced, XH/father unreliable)
Best thing I did, as I could barely walk and my legs were on fire all the time .

Candlelights2345 · 06/10/2018 14:21

I had a Discectomy at l5/s1 level and i wish I’d had it done sooner as I put up with so much pain for so long. I had 10 weeks off work in total, the main thing is not being able to sit for more than 20 mins at a time. by 4 weeks I was going for short walks. Besides being in hospital I don’t remember needed to take much in the way of painkillers when I was discharged.

larry55 · 06/10/2018 14:32

I had a discectomy 7 1/2 weeks ago and I couldn't believe how quickly I recovered. I had had bad sciatica for two years and when I came round from the op I had no pain in my leg for the first time in two years.

I wasn't able to lift anything heavier than a kilo so was not able to look after my 14 month old dgs for six weeks but now I can lift him again.

EdWinchester · 06/10/2018 14:32

MY dh had 2 prolapsed discs for 4 years. He could barely walk

He had minimally invasive microdiscectomy surgery by a neurosurgeon. He had it done as a day case and was back to work the next day. It was transformative. His pain was gone immediately and he did a 100 mile bike ride 8 days later!

Before the neurosurgeon was recommended to him, he was seeing an orthopaedic surgeon who was proposing a much more major operation with at least 8 weeks recovery and a less promising long term outlook.

PetuliaBlavatsky · 06/10/2018 14:42

My DH had a discectomy 10 years ago. Unfortunately in his case it didn't work and he is still in constant, chronic pain from his back and sciatica. We know two other people who had the op at a similar time and they had textbook recoveries with no ongoing problems so it seems he was just really unlucky. I think it's worth mentioning though as it wasn't really discussed beforehand that it just may not work and he spent a long long time thinking he was just being a wuss and that everyone still had pain afterwards.
His recovery from the op was awful (sorry), he was on strong painkillers and sleeping tablets throughout. Our DS was 3 months old when hehad the op and he first picked him up on his first birthday. He couldn't reliably pick him up for another year or so though, and I always had to lift him in and out of the cot for example. There is no way he could have coped as a single parent for at least a year afterwards. As i said though, he seems to have been really unlucky, but it's worth being aware of the times when it doesn't go so well.

GoodSouls · 07/10/2018 21:51

I'm watching this thread with interest, I have an L5/S1 disc prolapse and have been offered a discectomy but I'm so unsure as I am recovering slowly from February when I was bed ridden for 3 months, I'm now back at work and back to exercising. I'm scared to take the plunge for surgery because of the long recovery time and the possibility that it may not work.

OP I sympathise with you regarding this decision, I hope you find a solution, do you think your ex will step up if you make the decision for surgery?

Toomuchgoingon · 07/10/2018 23:32

I had a discectomy between l4 and l5. The relief from the pain was almost immediate. I couldn't have continued without having the op. I spent 3 weeks with a friend following the surgery due to being unable to lift anything etc but it was the best thing I could have done

MumW · 07/10/2018 23:50

I've had spinal decompression (disc turned out to have become solid so couldn't be removed.
I wouldn't say it was the miracle cure that a discectomy is for many but it has made life better.

Recovery is a long process and you would not be able to do any lifting for many months so you would need a lot of help with DS.
There are always risks with any kind of intervention but only you know how difficult life is now and whether you can get the support you need to recuperate.

LINDAHOAD · 12/07/2024 11:13

was booked in for neuerolytic root block (radiofrequency denervation thermocoagulation cryothrapy or phenol including rhizolysis + image guidance including bilateral lumbar

on my letter pf discharge it says medial branch block injections + image guidance including bilateral lumbar

does anyone know if these are the same procedure

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