Struggling after a discectomy

[Melonjuice]

I had a discectomy over a week ago after years of intense sciatic pain, it got so bad 2 years ago I had to be picked up by a member of the public and physically put into a cab. Then it got better and I was able to live a normal life., 2 weeks ago I felt sudden pain in my back and down my legs - I was unable to move. I had mild cauda equina and intense sciatic pain so bad I was unable to even wash or dress myself and was crying and wetting myself. I wondered what I had done , ( I did try to move a tv unit in my front room and I carry a laptop and books to and from work ) a new MRI showed that my L3 L4 herniated had bulged out more than it had 2 years ago , and was touching the sciatic nerve, hence the pain, so I was given an emergency discectomy
every thread I’ve read so far says that people were up and walking the day after the operation. I’m the complete opposite. When I woke up I was such an intense pain in my back ( leg pain gone) I think I passed out, I was not able to walk, unaided and spent 4 days In hospital being helped into a commode the pain was so unbearable, and I was unable to look after myself or my child and on strong meds

my mum was at my house looking after my 9 year old. I was discharged from hospital after being able to walk up and down the hospital hallway and safely get on and off the toilet/ chair
The first few days at home were incredibly painful, the pain has gotten better now, but I’m having to use pre-Gabalin diazepam dihydrocodeine and laxatives . I’ve stopped the codeine because it’s making me sleepy and my mum has now gone home and I need to be able to be alert for my daughter. I’m still in a lot of pain though in my back area

oyher threads on here people are saying they have returned daily activities were pain-free a day after the operation, and were walking about normally. Why isn’t this happening for me ??
if I go on a walk like I’m told I’m supposed to , I’m in intense pain afterwards I’m forced to take the codeine, all the rehab information says that I must walk, but I’ve been finding I’ve been dreading it because of the pain
I’ve also become miserably depressed being a single mum with no one to help me really - my mum had to go back to work as she is on a zero hour contract and needs to earn
all of my friends who were initially concerned, have stopped messaging and not one person has come round to see me I’m just feeling really miserable and depressed and wondered if anyone had the same experience as me regarding recovery
I still have 23 Staples in my back which are coming out Friday I’m hoping this will help
I’m also worried because the surgeon says this kind of surgery does not fix canal, spinal stenosis and that the disc herniation can reoccur his talk with me before the surgery was very blasé, and he basically made it sound as if the surgery is only a quick fix and may not deal with the issue in the near future. For reference. I only had mild Cauda equina i.e. a mild disc bulge touching the nerve but it was causing excruciating pain

I’m so sorry for the massively long post. I just wanted to have a bit of a cry and moan. I’m also feeling extremely bored and lonely, and I’ve had enough of watching TV and scroll
in my phone.

Hi I've had 2 discectomies so Iliterally do feel your pain. My first was when my DD was only 5 months and my second was when she was 9. I'm also a single mum and have had both hips replaced also since then, DD is now 15.
Try not to worry and compare yourself to others. People react and recover differently and at different rates. Worrying about this will just prolong things, concentrate on yourself, if you can't take the codeine ask for something else. In my experience the painkillers only take the edge off to help you cope not take it away completely. But make sure you are taking them regularly so they are in your system. Up your fluid and fibre intake too if you can. You will be stiff and swollen for a while so cut yourself some slack and only do the absolute necessities, slowly.
Is there anyone you can ask for help?

OMG this sound absolutely horrific have you been back in touch with any medical professional? My husband had an LS5 Discetomy a number of years ago and I was coming home every day prior to surgery to care for him as he was virtually bed bound until the surgery happened and in intense pain on tramadol and naproxen . After surgery he was much better and could walk unaided for short periods and was back to work a month later . I really hope you are okay and seek some advice

I've had 2 micro-discetomies on my L4/L5. i can honestly say that after the first one it probably took about a week to 10 days before i could fucntion relatively normally... however it failed and i was back on the operating table withing a couple of months.

The second, i took it way easier... i think it took 6 weeks for me to be able to function relatively easily.

I do not know how i would have managed if my DH was not around to help! thankfully my DC are adults so needed no help and all i needed to worry about was myself.

Thank you for your replies. I will try to take it easy but the mental strain is really bothering me
its really nice to hear that you have both recovered well and I am hoping for the same x

I am so sorry you are feeling so shit. I have also had surgery just last Monday so today is one week post op. This is my second spinal surgery, the first was a discectomy which I remember being in alot of pain afterwards and recovery was slow and painful, but it was steady. Try and get up and walk for 10 minutes every hour just to move those muscles and get everything moving again.
This time which was 13 years after my initial surgery, they inserted a cage and fused the bones, and although there is tightness and pain in the back, I was in sooo much sciatic pain that it affected every part of my life. I have been walking for longer ever day and today I went to the mall.
What I'm trying to say is each persons body will respond differently to the surgery, we just have to be patient, try and give ourselves the best chance, by walking and resting and looking after ourselves and we will be back on our feet before we know it. I wish that every day is better than the last.