3 weeks Post Discectomy does it get better ??

Hi all newbie here and wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction .I had a discectomy 3 wks ago after living with the pain for a year.I made a good recovery and most off my pain had slowly got better each day but i woke this morning with a stabbing in my lower back to the right where i had the l5s1 discectomy and it hurts there when i take a deep breath in ,Im kinda scared as it seems like its starting all over again and i dont want to be a moan to my family who have had to listen to me for the last year (well thats how i feel they will feel).I was on a lot of meds before the op and have slowly started to cut back on them all even though my doctor who is so nice to me says i should stay on the oxycontin for a month and she will start to taper me down in the next couple of months.I really needed off them as i cant cope with having a fuzzy brain anymore.I am still taking lyrica 75mg at night i stopped the morning one and I have stopped the oxycontin and naproxen just taking two paracetmol when i feel it starting to hurt.My question is really is it normal to have this stabbing pain and it to hurt when I take a breath.Sorry if Im rambling Im worn out from it all !

Hi terilperi and Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum. First off I have some questions, you said you have allot of pain now, did you just up and stop taking your oxycontin? Or did you slowly wean off of them? If what I am reading you just quit taking them. I don't know what kind of dosage you were on,  and how you started tapering down, but but with oxycontin it is best to wean off slowly. Rebound pain can be a problem, and three weeks out of surgery is not all that long, for having a discectomy. Just my personal oppinion but I would listen to your doctor and follow her instructions on getting off your pain meds. Also about your current pain, maybe you should call your surgeons office and talk to them about it, it might not be any thing but again it might be something important, either way your doctor should be informed about it!

I do wish you well and hope you can get your pain resolved. Again I welcome you to our CP forum!

White Beard

hey there, i have had a surgery like yours and then a fusion later. i know everyone is so different but i would say 9 weeks. you have been traumatized in an area that does not react well to swelling and inflammation. two schools of thought: 1. taper off opioids and any other central nervous system meds quick even in the presence of pain and spasms/muscle pain. 2. within reason keep on all the meds you can that keep a filter in place until your brain forgets and/or you prevent pathways from forming and becoming hardwired. i lean on the second. including nutrition and nutracuetical supplements with medications and ease into physical reconditioning. i think that Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor's accupunctuer is great cause it boost your endorphins and enkephalins. i think the precursor amino acids like DL-Phyenlalanine and L-Tyrosine and L-Glutamine with Branched Chain Amino Acids aid healing and biochemistry and staying on an opioid for a while, just not oxycodone, for some reason most people do not tolerate tapering it well but at the same time you need the filters in place so you do not upload your brain with chronic pain. hydrocodone/ibuprofen maybe or low dose hydromorphone? some surgeons say NSAIDS after surgery are not good because they do supress some hormones and tissue healing compounds but i know another who believes in adding one post surgery. muscle relaxants that are effective but will not create a barbiturate type dependence are tizanidine or cyclobenzaprine. there are topical compounds that include several drugs that you have to get from the compounding pharmacies do help heal the nerves at the site, you do not want them encased in scare tissue. pain is brain. a tens unit may help the healing. arnica gel can help. give it time, you have just hit the first turning point and it will get better. if you are hyper get some lorazepam or something, 3 more weeks and you will most likely be happy. how big is your incision? and i will pray you and i wish you the best. NICK PS you are not rambling

Terri, the physical therapy should really help you as long as you don't have an aggressive therapist. Every now & then one of those will come along. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel you are being pushed too hard. If you do something & you think it is too much speak up about it, do not try to push through it.

Walking a dog right now would not be a good idea, especially if you have a dog that pulls on the leash. The pulling & yanking would land you flat on your back & would really rack you up. I am getting the idea that you are wanting the healing process to hurry up & be done with & it is really going to take a few months to get you there. Drs. have a bad habit of telling surgery patients oh you will be back up & running in 6 weeks, that is nothing but text book talk & I have never seen anyone be back on their feet in 6 weeks. That is not a realistic thought either. Now that you have had this surgery you may need to lower your expectations of yourself somewhat. Being pain free & back to what we call normal may not happen but you can get yourself back to a decent functioning level. Keep in mind your body went through a lot of trauma having this surgery.

Take care.

Super huge giant ^^DITTOs^^ to what Susie just wrote about walking the dog! Oh my goodness, I know what she's getting at! I have a 72lb Chow mix who's a puller. Nope, not a good thing.

I hired the neighbour's teenage daughter to walk him for a while....quite a while, to keep me from taking an accidental tumble.

As she mentioned, you are still quite fresh. Take things very slow and be gentle with yourself.








M.

Generally when someone does this they are being a little too active & not listening to their bodies. That is a big, big mistake many make after surgery simply because they start feeling good & push too many buttons. Have you talked to the dr about this? If not either get an appt asap or at least call & talk to the nurse who can talk to the dr & get back with you. If this pain is serious enough then by all means get in to see the surgeon. Don't let the what if's take control here, its just not worth all the additional stress. Also, don't wear yourself out thinking the very worst case scenario because there is probably a reasonable explanation for what is going on. People that have spine surgery have great days & then suddenly they will have some really bad days, the surgeon should have told you this. It can be a bit of a roller coaster in the beginning.

Hang in there & let us know if you either go to the dr or speak with his nurse.

Hey glad you checked in but sorry to read you are still having difficulty. I sure hope everything checks out good & that this is just a glitch in the road. Please let us know what you find out is causing these problems.

Take care.