Sciatica and surgery

[tonyd]

First of all,

I have to state that everyone is different and different things work for different individuals. As far as I am concerned, here is my story and I'll try to log as much of my experience here for other to follow.

Quick timeline first.

- Started training in 2008. was super skinny and decided to better myself with correct exercises, food, etc. (well, at least I thought so!)
- Trained religiously for a few years (always natural) to the exception of supplements. First rookie mistake, don't rely on supplement only. Your diet should bring you all the macros and micros. If not, you are not doing it right and all you'll do is exhaust your body real slowly. Supplements are called supplements for a reason.
- Trained about 5/6 times a week. Second rookie mistake, stop training upper body all the time! Of course, beginners want to see gain and want immediate impact. Having chest is easy, having a balanced and body that function is far more important.
- August 2011, after training legs one day, I went for back training the next. I was in a hurry, didn't want to stretch and the moment that changed my life until now happened....deadlift, bad posture, bad form, disc bulge L5/S1, sciatica on the left leg. The worst pain I have ever got to feel.

Before I jump into the sciatica and the pain, here are a few lessons
- Eat well: do your research. Understand what you eat and how it impacts your body and brain. That also applies to drinking water.
- Supplements: yes but keep them to a minimum. I repeat, your macros and micros should come from real quality food.
- Exercise properly: Get a trained PT that will teach the right form, gives you the right tips and the right foundations for the rest of your life. I've done so much chest, yes, I was pumped but totally unbalanced with my back leading to bad posture, etc..
- Don't take shortcuts when exercising: it's easy to give up on the exercises you don't like or the one you are shit at. THESE are the ones you should be focusing on.
- For whoever reads this and want to add more tips, feel free to do so

Anyway, back to the sciatica and the bulge. In the next 2 weeks, I got the worst pain, couldn't walk, couldn't sneeze, anything would be a mission and a potential aggravation of my condition. Needless to say no more training AT ALL.

Went to physios, GP, Chiros, RMTs to relieve some of the pain and it's find for temp relief. I got discouraged from surgery because it's 'invasive'.

- Early 2012: Started to feel better but never been 100%. Always feeling the risk of the bulge and sciatica happening again. Have tried to go back to training but every single time, I relapsed into aggravation of the bulge.

- 2012-13-14: relatively pain free but also have to mention almost exercise free. Super frustrating to be 'disabled'

- After another relapse, finally got sick of it, managed to get MRI, see a Neuro-surgeon and yep, I'm eligible for surgery....FINALLY. It's something I should have done right away back in 2012. Should have never listened to everyone telling me to avoid surgery. As of today, I'm scheduled for Microdiscectomy in the next couple of months and can't wait.

One thing to know about the process.
1. You need to see a GP and be convincing enough to give you a MRI referral.
2. Schedule your MRI. More likely will have to wait about 6-12 months. Tips: some hospital have Cancellation waiting lists (ie: you get on that list and when someone cancel, they call you). That got me an appointment in about 4 weeks.
3. Once you have MRI, go back to the GP and you have to plead your case to see a surgeon. Same thing, it will take time to have an appointment (about 2 to 12 weeks). Because of the severity of my injury, I managed to see a Neuro-surgeon within 3 weeks.
4. When you see the specialist, be ready to answer some weird questions. They will test your mobility and the severity of the injury. Without nerve damage (my case), you fall into the non-emergency bucket and will be scheduled for surgery. For me, the waiting time is 3-6 months.

I'm now waiting and will make sure to share my experience as it happens.

At this stage, super excited to get it done and move back to recovery and training again.

Stay tuned.

[itsjayman02]

First of all,

I have to state that everyone is different and different things work for different individuals. As far as I am concerned, here is my story and I'll try to log as much of my experience here for other to follow.

Quick timeline first.

- Started training in 2008. was super skinny and decided to better myself with correct exercises, food, etc. (well, at least I thought so!)
- Trained religiously for a few years (always natural) to the exception of supplements. First rookie mistake, don't rely on supplement only. Your diet should bring you all the macros and micros. If not, you are not doing it right and all you'll do is exhaust your body real slowly. Supplements are called supplements for a reason.
- Trained about 5/6 times a week. Second rookie mistake, stop training upper body all the time! Of course, beginners want to see gain and want immediate impact. Having chest is easy, having a balanced and body that function is far more important.
- August 2011, after training legs one day, I went for back training the next. I was in a hurry, didn't want to stretch and the moment that changed my life until now happened....deadlift, bad posture, bad form, disc bulge L5/S1, sciatica on the left leg. The worst pain I have ever got to feel.

Before I jump into the sciatica and the pain, here are a few lessons
- Eat well: do your research. Understand what you eat and how it impacts your body and brain. That also applies to drinking water.
- Supplements: yes but keep them to a minimum. I repeat, your macros and micros should come from real quality food.
- Exercise properly: Get a trained PT that will teach the right form, gives you the right tips and the right foundations for the rest of your life. I've done so much chest, yes, I was pumped but totally unbalanced with my back leading to bad posture, etc..
- Don't take shortcuts when exercising: it's easy to give up on the exercises you don't like or the one you are shit at. THESE are the ones you should be focusing on.
- For whoever reads this and want to add more tips, feel free to do so

Anyway, back to the sciatica and the bulge. In the next 2 weeks, I got the worst pain, couldn't walk, couldn't sneeze, anything would be a mission and a potential aggravation of my condition. Needless to say no more training AT ALL.

Went to physios, GP, Chiros, RMTs to relieve some of the pain and it's find for temp relief. I got discouraged from surgery because it's 'invasive'.

- Early 2012: Started to feel better but never been 100%. Always feeling the risk of the bulge and sciatica happening again. Have tried to go back to training but every single time, I relapsed into aggravation of the bulge.

- 2012-13-14: relatively pain free but also have to mention almost exercise free. Super frustrating to be 'disabled'

- After another relapse, finally got sick of it, managed to get MRI, see a Neuro-surgeon and yep, I'm eligible for surgery....FINALLY. It's something I should have done right away back in 2012. Should have never listened to everyone telling me to avoid surgery. As of today, I'm scheduled for Microdiscectomy in the next couple of months and can't wait.

One thing to know about the process.
1. You need to see a GP and be convincing enough to give you a MRI referral.
2. Schedule your MRI. More likely will have to wait about 6-12 months. Tips: some hospital have Cancellation waiting lists (ie: you get on that list and when someone cancel, they call you). That got me an appointment in about 4 weeks.
3. Once you have MRI, go back to the GP and you have to plead your case to see a surgeon. Same thing, it will take time to have an appointment (about 2 to 12 weeks). Because of the severity of my injury, I managed to see a Neuro-surgeon within 3 weeks.
4. When you see the specialist, be ready to answer some weird questions. They will test your mobility and the severity of the injury. Without nerve damage (my case), you fall into the non-emergency bucket and will be scheduled for surgery. For me, the waiting time is 3-6 months.

I'm now waiting and will make sure to share my experience as it happens.

At this stage, super excited to get it done and move back to recovery and training again.

Stay tuned.

I had my lumbar disc prolapse 14 years ago when i was 34 yrs young.

L5 S1 nerve root.

I will stay tuned and hopefully provide you with some guidance on your recovery!!

[lovbyts]

Yup, sounds all to familiar except I did mine repeatedly carrying 4x12' 5/8" sheedrock, 2 at a time. Wind caught it while I was walking through the mud and twisted after being compressed for months doing it over and over. Felt/heard L3/L4 pop and then pinched multiple time a day for weeks where I would fall and have to wait and try to adjust it back int place.

Like your after a lot of time off it got better but never 100% 20 years it slowly get worse until I could not walk or stand more than 15 minutes max and like you finally had surgery.

Surgery was great relief. 99% but I failed to do PT or get back in the gym and I was far out of shape.

2 years later I ruptured L5/S1 and it was 10x worse than the 1st time. It didnt matter what I did. I could not stand for more than 30 seconds and was in SEVERE pain the whole time and then would practically pass out. No amount of vicodine or morphine pills helped, only helped me sleep a few hours at a time. I couldnt even sit, only lay on the floor for 2 weeks until I had surgery and was 85% better.

I'm up to 90%+ now. I dont take the back for granted anymore.

Best of luck. Take it slow and dont give up.

[tonyd]

Yup, sounds all to familiar except I did mine repeatedly carrying 4x12' 5/8" sheedrock, 2 at a time. Wind caught it while I was walking through the mud and twisted after being compressed for months doing it over and over. Felt/heard L3/L4 pop and then pinched multiple time a day for weeks where I would fall and have to wait and try to adjust it back int place.

Like your after a lot of time off it got better but never 100% 20 years it slowly get worse until I could not walk or stand more than 15 minutes max and like you finally had surgery.

Surgery was great relief. 99% but I failed to do PT or get back in the gym and I was far out of shape.

2 years later I ruptured L5/S1 and it was 10x worse than the 1st time. It didnt matter what I did. I could not stand for more than 30 seconds and was in SEVERE pain the whole time and then would practically pass out. No amount of vicodine or morphine pills helped, only helped me sleep a few hours at a time. I couldnt even sit, only lay on the floor for 2 weeks until I had surgery and was 85% better.

I'm up to 90%+ now. I dont take the back for granted anymore.

Best of luck. Take it slow and dont give up.

wow, sounds like it's been a long and bumpy ride for you! Thanks for sharing your experience and will definitely learn a few things from it. What tips would you give for pre and post surgery?

I have heard post-surgery is a key time to do things right, particularly when it comes to not lifting anything more than 15-20lbs (my girl will get a nice workout during that time) and ensuring regular long walks plus physio.

At the moment, I'm doing as much core workout as I possibly can and a lot of stretching (within an intensity and range that won't aggravate it) to ensure I'm building a strong base when surgery comes.

Now waiting for a call, THE call!

[lovbyts]

Well first thing is if it's not ruptured I would put off surgery as long as possible even though my first surgery on L3 & L4 it was also only heriated but like I said I could only stand about 15 minutes max. That being said if I had really tried I still might have been able to recover without surgery.

If I had to do it again #1 I would use I a lot and properly when it was aggravated, sciatic nerve pinching and pain shooting down the leg or even when it just hurts. Dont use heat. The heat rubs are OK sometimes but not actual heat especially the first 72 hrs. Ice on 20-30 minutes continually and then off for 20-30 minutes. Repeat at least 3x in a row and at least 3x a day. I have found this to work better than most pain pills or anti inflammatory.

I would do more PT and light weight training. Make sure to concentrate on core muscle and DONT over do it trying to get strong to fast or lift to much. Take your time, months or even years to build it up.

I would also start a good regiment of MSN and glucosimine. Also try out an inversion table. 15 minutes before bed to relieve the pressure and give it a chance to heal. Do NOT do any inverted situps on the inversion table, only hang and you dont need to go 180 deg or hang straight up side down. 120 deg is good or a little more.

Oh and I would also give TB-500 a try. Yes it really can help.

Doing an inverted sit up is how I Ruptured my L5/S1. I was out of shape, 2 years after my surgery on L3 & L4 almost to the day, hadnt worked out in years. Went on vacation for about a month and over did it in many ways and my back was killing me. Got up at 3am and decided to do the inversion table that had been sitting under my bed for 3+ years. Set it up, got on it and about 30 seconds later did a couple of inverted sit ups and POP! OMG that hurt. Went back to upright and Wow that hurt a lot more. Tried to bend over to release my feet and almost passed out 3 times from the pain. FINALLY got my feet out and laid on the floor for about 15 minutes. Made my way to the kitchen and got an ice pack and laid on it for about 20 minutes. Actually felt a little better but far from good. Decided to go out and sit in the hot tub for a while. Fvckn stupid decision. Almost passed out once I sat in the tub and I mean damn near blacked out and drown. Pulled myself over the edge and passed out on the deck outside in the cold for a few minutes then crawled into the house and stayed on the floor. Tried the ice pack again but it didnt help much anymore. Grabbed a few of my vicodine to try to help with the pain and that didnt do much.

Biggest mistake was I had my mom take me to my doctors office who did my 1st surgery but I could not get out of the car to go up to his office so I had her take me to the ER. Big mistake. They would do nothing for me. I was hoping for some strong pain meds. They got mad at me for laying on the floor even when I tried to explain I could not sit without passing out. Waste of time. Went to my doctors the next day and he scheduled surgery.

If your disk is ruptured you dont have much choice. If it's only herniated there is a chance it can heal. My L5/S1 being ruptured was So much worse than being herniated I cant hardly explain it except if it had not gotten better there is no way I would still be here by choice.

After the surgery I knew I had no choice but to get my butt back into the gym and back in shape or I would be in a wheelchair soon. I had lost most of my muscle in my legs. I had chicken legs for the 1st time in my life and no calves. I could not even lift my heals off the floor after the surgery trying to go up on the balls of my feet. It took a couple months of PT before I could walk on the balls of my feet.

Now when my back starts to get sore I go for the ice right away and 90% of the time it fixes the sciatic nerve pain. If that wont work then I ask the doctor for prednisone but still use ice also.

[tonyd]

Just thought id provide an update after months of silence and well, not much happening to be honest.

Still waiting for surgery. From i heard, it should be around jan or feb so about 8 weeks from now. Been pretty serious with doing some physio work in the meantime.

Next week, im going for steroid injection in the problematic region to get rid of the lingering leg pain so ill provide an update for sure.