2 weeks + 4 days - slow progress time

 

I think this is going to be a frustrating period for Nick. Although nothing is worse, progress is so slow and small that it's easy to overlook any improvements. He had problems getting to sleep again last night, so woke up late this morning. Most of the day has been spent lying down, although he has done his usual 3 sets of stretches and a few walks. We've increased the walking distance a little - walks today were 1.6 km and 1.4 km so far and he is planning on one more walk later this evening.

I wish that he was able to see his physio this week, but being between Christmas and New Year both his usual physios are on holiday so his next appointment is not for another four days. I feel that he is ready to be pushed a little, but I would prefer the physio to decide on the pushing rather than me.

He is still getting the strange sensation in his leg, but reading forums and other blogs this seems to be fairly common. I just have to stop worrying about it!

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2 weeks + 2 days post op + shopping

 

Well, we can conclude from today that shopping 2 weeks post a microdiscectomy is not a good idea. 30 minutes drive to the shops plus 10 minutes standing waiting for an assistant to be free (it is the first day of the post Christmas sales) plus 10 minutes to discuss/decide which laptop to buy left Nick actually sitting on the display units in a desperate attempt to relieve the increasing back pain. Fortunately it then took only 5 minutes to pay before making a hasty retreat back to the car and then to home. Equally fortunate was the fact this was at John Lewis, so no comments were made about a 6 ft 3 teenager sitting on the display units!

Pain not bad enough to require any painkillers and after lying flat on his back again he recovered, but I would definitely not recommend shopping.

Other than that, the usual 3 x stretches plus two further walks (we decided that the shopping trip counted as a walk) of 2 x 1 km and lots of lying down.

Steri strips are now off so we are massaging the wound twice a day with vitamin E oil which I know from my own extensive experience of scars will help the wound to heal quickly and neatly.

 

 

 

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2 weeks + 1 day post op

 

Well Nick managed the journey home, about 2 hours in a car, without a break. He felt very stiff afterwards and had a little pain in his leg so he went for a 1 km walk when we got back. Returned feeling better, so thumbs up to walking! This is so much improved from just two days ago when the same time in the car caused problems for him. He wants to go shopping tomorrow, so we are planning on leaving very early before it gets too busy in the post Christmas sales. Fingers crossed that it won't be too much for him.

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2 weeks post op - Christmas Day

2 weeks post op and it's Christmas Day!

 

Well we have managed to get through Christmas Day. A lot of lying down for Nick, together with the usual sets of stretches and walks (haven't been able to measure the walks but less than normal). No need for any painkillers yet (as at 8 pm) nor ice, and he has been able to sit through most of the meals.

Generally, Nick says he feels happy with progress and he's managing to be very patient. Plan to step up a little in a few days time once we are back home, but hoping that this progress continues.

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2nd week post op (days 8 to 13)

 

Will probably now keep one post for each week but will update it daily. Nick has settled into a routine and I suspect that not a huge amount will change over the next seven days. I'll put the latest day's comments at the top.

13 days post op

Made the mistake of doing too much today, not intentionally but simply because of what was happening. Firstly we had to get Nick up to my parents house - normally a 2 hour drive - which required him to sit for too long. We did stop twice but it was still a bit too much for him. Secondly we had a round of Christmas presents with my sisters and their kids. Nick 'reclined' on a sofa, but again it was too much. So he skipped joining in for supper, took a couple of paracetamol and had a rest on the floor. Felt better after about half an hour and managed to sit up to eat quickly but then went back to lying down.

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, is going to be quite a challenge for him!

12 days post op

Forgot to complete this! Nothing particularly exciting to report - three walks of 1.3 km, 1.1 km and 1 km, and three sets of physio stretches. Managed 10 minutes in the car too. Didn't use any ice. Feeling fine although still slightly concerned about the sensation in his leg.

11 days post op.

Slept well, waking up pretty late. Usual routine, 3 walks (1 km, 1.1 km and 0.7 km), 3 sets of stretches and ice after each. Slight pain in his leg, but generally looking mobile and flexible. Friend came over for a few hours and Nick coped fine this time.

 

10 days post op.

Managed to sleep fine last night, perhaps the extra evening walk helped. He tried sitting at a desk this afternoon for schoolwork, but only managed 20 minutes before he started to feel a little pain so he stopped for a rest before continuing. Managed a total of about 30 minutes. He's getting a little frustrated by this sensation in his leg - not pain, not sciatica just a sort of feeling. It's not getting worse, and might be dissapating a little so I'm not concerned about it yet.

Today's walks - 2 x 1 km and 1 x 0.5 km. Physio x 3. Ice after walks and stretches. Generally no pain and in good spirits.

 

9 days post op.


6 am. Nick woke up at 4 am and hasn't been able to sleep. Not pain, just being alert and not tired. He was so active before - even in the week pre op he was cycling 10 miles to/from school - and now he's doing nothing. Am going to have to find some way of tiring him that doesn't risk his recovery. In the meantime he has a book and a mug of hot chocolate.

9 pm. The usual routine today, except that he went for an extra walk this evening so total walks today have been 1 km, 1 km and 0.7 km. Reporting no pain but hamstrings and glutes still feel very tight. He's been trying out various ways of stretching his hamstrings but it hasn't been particularly effective. Has been doing quite a bit of schoolwork and says that he wants to try sitting up at a table tomorrow for his school work.

Although Christmas Day is only 5 days away he says that it doesn't feel like Christmas because he hasn't been at school with his friends for the pre-Christmas build up. So I got him to help me wrap up the presents this evening and tomorrow he's going to help me make the mince pies and chocolate logs.

 

8 days post op.

Looking good and in reasonable spirits. Managed two walks of 0.9 km and 0.5 km. Reporting very low to low levels of pain, pain being tight sensation in his hamstrings. Done three sets of physio exercises with ice afterwards and sat up for abut half an hour at supper (as well as for breakfast and lunch for about 15 minutes each). He was on his own for about 4 hours this afternoon but coped fine. Able to shower now without any problems.

 

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1 week post-op

Well, Nick is now one week post op. Where is he at?

- no sciatic pain (or numbness, tingling etc)

- can stand up straight again

- no surgery pain, or surgery complications, wound healing nicely

- very tight hamstrings and glutes

- can't bend forwards much, but can extend his back

- can walk about 1 km at a time, twice a day

- doing stretches three times a day

- applying ice after any of walk or stretches

- practicing sitting, but can only manage about 15 minutes at a time

- has seen his physio once, and will see again in 2 weeks (would have been one week but next week is Christmas)

- no longer taking any painkillers

- fairly happy with his progress, but needless to say there is still a lingering fear that problems aren't resolved yet

 

His daily routine is now stretch - walk - stretch - walk - stretch with sitting up for mealtimes. I've added a page showing the stretches he now doing, 1 week post op.

We also visited an Alexander Technique practitioner today. Not a huge success. He found it quite hard work, especially when sitting down and he's not convinced that he feels any better for it.

Just for the record, his walks today were 2 x 0.7 and 1 x 0.5, no painkillers

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6 days post-op

Not much to report from the morning. Nick woke up late ish after a good nights sleep. Showered, breakfast, stretches and ice. Took top dressing off, leaving steri-strips in place. Nick settled down to do some school work (lying on his back) while I went off to the shops. He found he was a bit unproductive doing the school work but feels better for having started it.

1 pm. Managed a good walk, 1 km in total, to our local bakery for lunch. Ice afterwards and now settled down to watch a film as we are both feeling tired. Reporting no pain at the moment.

7 pm. Just back from seeing the physio. Physio is happy with progress and result of the operation. Straight leg raise is about 40 deg but can't reach his knees yet. One of the physios was disappointed that he couldn't reach his knees yet, but the other was fine about it. Hamstrings and glutes very tight but back muscles fine. Worked on releasing the hamstrings and starting to mobilise his hips and pelvis. Removed the first two exercises from the basic stretches and added three - pelvic tilts, the clam and sit to stand. Also advised to start increasing sitting time.

 

 

Sitting for the journey there (about 20 mins in a car) did cause Nick to stiffen up noticeably but the journey back didn't have the same effect. Ice pack on return. Reporting no pain.

10 pm. Nothing inparticular to report since seeing the physio. Nick has continued to rest on the futon, sat up for supper and did a few stretches. Not reporting any pain so it looks like another day with no painkillers!

 

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5 days post op

4.30 pm. I haven't been at home today so my husband has been looking after Nick. All seems to have gone well. He's followed our daily routine of stretches, walk, stretches with ice afterwards. He's due to go for a walk in half an hour and a thunderstorm has just started, but Nick says he still wants to walk so I guess that's good news. No painkillers taken so far. Still lying on the floor. Pretty chirpy and happy.

5.30 pm. Just found the piece of paper which Nick has been using to record his day on. Just for the record....Stretches 9.45 am, walk 1 pm (0.6 km), stretches 3 pm and just done another walk 5 pm (1 km).

7.30 pm. Did stretches at 7pm, had supper and then did the washing up (bit unlucky for him that he can stand enough to do the washing up!). He's started to talk about doing some school work tomorrow so I'm thinking that he must be feeling better, or possibly very bored.

10.30 pm. Am very pleased that Nick has got through today with no painkillers. My other son was saying, again, how amazing it is to see him standing properly again. Just really hopeful that this great progress continues.

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4 days post-op

Shower day!

After a bit of an unsettled night (couldn't sleep, not due to pain but just feeling alert) Nick was up at 9.30 am. Feeling 'not bad' and no pain. Breakfast and a set of physio stretches.

10.30 am. Enjoyed a shower. Dressing half came off, so I re-dressed it. Scar looks worse in the photo than in reality. A little light bleeding but generally healing well and clean, with no bruising...

 

11.15 am. Out for a walk which seemed fine. Walked about 0.8 km with no pain afterwards. Ice spray and lying on his back. Waiting for his friends to arrive and pretty cheerful. He's starting to wonder when he'll be able to play tennis again.

6 pm. Nick has had a lovely afternoon with his friends. Managed another set of physio stretches followed by an ice pack (1.20 pm), although I found that I had to supervise the stretches as he had a tendency to rush them. And another walk (4 pm) covering 0.6 km followed by an ice-pack.

By the time his friends had left he was very tired and felt a little pain and elected to lie face down with an ice pack on his back. He says his back and buttocks 'just feel really tight' so he's trying some stretches to see if they help.

Stretches helped a little but he also wanted some paracetamol (2 x 500 mg) and also tried going for a brief walk (0.4 km). Says it's not really pain as such, but a sort of strong pins and needles type sensation in his buttocks and leg. Applied more ice spray after the walk and will see how it goes.

8 pm. Pain sensation has gone and he is feeling happier about it all. Lying down reading.

11.30 pm. Well, I'm off to bed. Nick catching up with the football on TV and looking much happier. Not reporting any pain so I'm hopefully that he manages a decent night's sleep.

Overall, an interesting day. I hadn't appreciated how tiring it would be for him to have friends over, but he was so happy to see them I think it was worthwhile.

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3 days post op

10 am. Nick gets up saying that he feels good and had a reasonable nights sleep. Quick check of the wound (without moving the dressing) shows that all the bruising around the wound has gone. Does a set of physio exercises and reports a little pain in his thigh which he first felt on doing the full leg extension. We suspect it is his hamstring pulling a little.

1 pm. I had to get to Sainsburys and unfortunately, due to road works and heavy traffic didn't get back until 12.30 pm. Nick looking rather miserable and reporting some back pain to the left of his wound. Says he just wants to sleep. Put on some ice-spray which seems to help and he is now snoozing. He turned down the offer of paracetamol. Conclusion - it's pretty miserable being left on your own when in pain. It's also pouring down with rain and the prospect of a walk is not appealing.

1.30 pm. Well, we braved the rain and got soaked! Nick wanted to walk more but actually managed about 0.5 km which is similar to yesterday. Felt pretty tired afterwards, so we had lunch and then decided to watch a film. He lay on his back with a pillow under his bum and extra head support. Also took 2 x 500 mg paracetamol.

3.30 pm. Had a break from the film to do physio stretches. Reports a little pain, some in his leg. Looking a little more cheerful.

5 pm. Film finished and Nick wanted to go for a walk, so off we went. He comfortably managed 0.8 km and is pretty cheerful. Ice spray afterwards. Lying on his back seems to be the best position so far today.

7 pm. Final physio stretches for the day followed by ice spray. Says he has no pain :-)

10 pm. Nick has headed off to bed. He's turned down the offer of any paracetamol again, and says he has only very very little pain, possibly in his back. He is very pleased that we have found a comfortable way for him to lie on his back, and is wondering whether the leg pain was actually due to him lying on his side.

He has some friends coming round tomorrow to see him, which he is really looking forward to. He also wants to try having a shower - not a bad idea given that he hasn't had one for two days!

For my part, I reckon it's best not to leave him on his own for too long. It's not easy being in pain, and it's even worse if you are alone. I feel really sorry for those who have to cope with this on their own - it must be really tough.

Let's hope that his progress continues tomorrow.

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2 days post-op

9.30 am

Nick seems to have had a good nights sleep and got up about 9 am saying that he felt good. Certainy had a smile on his face, which he didn't have the night before. Went straight in to a full set of physio stretches - we had read that straight after waking up is a good time to do them as your muscles are warm and relaxed.

Managed to sit up for a light breakfast - he's really focusing on sitting up straight now but, likes us all, finds he keeps forgetting and reverts to a slight slouch. Slight dull back ache around the wound area, so 2x 200g Nurofen and an ice-pack for 20 minutes. Back to lying on the floor, although he prefers lying on his side to avoid irritating the wound. Switches sides about every 20 mins.

Note about ice-packs. Buy several, as they need time to re-freeze and you are likely to need ice before they have re-frozen. Also, try to find really slim ones (we found the Boots hot/cold sports compress the best) so that you can lie on them without it forcing your back up.

10.30 am. Just discovered that a thin cushion under Nick's bum takes the pressure off his lower back and helps him to lie on his back in less pain :-)

11 am. Out for a short walk, managed 893 steps (about 0.4 km). We've devised a clever route plan. Starting from home, he walks 20 yards up the road then turns round and walks back. If he feels OK, he sets off again in the opposite direction, again for 20 yards before returning home. If he feels OK, he sets off again. Etc. This way he can walk a fair distance overall but is never more than 20 yards from home should it start to hurt. This works better than one's instinct of walking until it hurts, and then realising that you have to walk the same distance again to get home and hence overdoing it.

Some wound pain after the walk so more ice spray. Nick's saying that the nurofen isn't helping at all so trying paracetamol this time - 2 x 500 mg. He's trying to have a snooze now.

12.30 pm. Didn't manage to snooze much and by 12.30 decided to do another round of physio stretches, followed by ice spray for 20 mins. Pain only when moves, so perhaps paracetamol is working better than nurofen. Slight frustration that the best position to alleviate pain is lying on his front, but then he can't do anything at all and gets fed up!

4 pm. Further ice spray at 2.15 pm and then another walk at 3.15 pm. Managed a little more this time (about 0.6 km) and Nick said it felt better. Only has a low level of back pain. More ice-spray on return and now has settled down to watch a James Bond film!

5.45 pm. Another set of physio exercises followed by ice spray. Reporting 'very low' levels of pain. Keeping fingers crossed it stays that way. Have now added a page on this blog showing these physio exercises that he's been doing.

10.45 pm. Not much changed since my last post. Nick managed to sit up for supper without issue but did head back to the futon pretty quickly. More ice spray around 9 pm. Slight back pain before going to bed, and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to sleep well so 2 x 500 g paracetamol before bedtime.

Overall not a bad day, and both of us relieved no sudden increase in pain like last night. Ice spray definitely his preferred method of cooling his back because you can cover a greater area and he doesn't have to worry about keeping a pack in place. We seem to have developed a routine of stretching, walking, stretching, walking and a final stretching session coupled with applying ice every 1.5 hours. Hoping that the progress keeps up.

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1 day post-op

8.20 am. Arrive at the hospital. Nick awake and fairly chirpy. Didn't have a great night, 'not bad' says Nick. Difficult getting to sleep and had a few painkillers to cope with wound pain. Wound hurts when knocked or pressed against, which is tricky when you are lying all the time! Healthy appetite and has enjoyed breakfast. Taken a couple of ibuprofen. Expecting physio to visit after breakfast.

10.30 am. Spoken to surgeon who is happy with Nick's progress. Also seen physio which has proven really helpful. Have a list of very basic and gentle stretches for him to do 3 times a day and had a good discussion about when to see his normal physio again. Nick's recommended to start gentle, short walks as soon as possible. Nick reporting that he can sit straight without pain :-) and they checked that he can walk upstairs. Having a shower here at the hospital after which they will replace his dressing and then he can go home!

Dressing and steri-strips came off in the shower so we've had our first glance of the wound.

11.30 am and Nick's back home! We have some extra painkillers in case his wound starts to hurt, but he is pain free at the moment :-) He's set up on the futon on the living room floor with his laptop and bag of food to his side. When he stands up he can now stand straight and suddenly seems taller than before.

 

1.30 pm. Managed to sit up at dining table for a quick lunch, although he said it was tiring on his back muscles. Full set of physio stretches followed by ice on back for 20 mins (using an exercise band to hold in place as he is is lying on his side to avoid pressure on the wound).

2.30 pm. Short 10 minute walk (approx 0.5 km) followed by ice-pack and 2 x nurofen. Slight back ache. Measured height - 1.5 cms taller than pre-surgery!

5 pm. Full set of physio stretches followed by Deep Freeze ice-spray. Spray easier to use, but only lasted about 10 minutes so reapplied after 10 mins. Some mild dull back ache around the wound. Nick finds most comfortable position is lying on his side.

We are both learning that you need to use a timer/stopwatch etc to remind us when next activity is, otherwise you just lose track of time.

6.30 pm. More ice spray. A little bit of back pain around the wound but not enough to require any painkillers.

9.30 pm. Had a bit of a set back this evening. All was going well - little pain, managed to sit up for supper and was pretty happy about life until about 8.30 pm. Wound started to hurt so we put an ice pack on and waited 20 mins. But the pain worsened and Nick described the sensation as if the wound was ripping apart. Indeed, it had started to bleed again.

So, took a Diydrocodeine and Nick has been lying face down (lying on back hurts too much) since then. He's feeling very miserable indeed. Shame, cos today had been going so well.

10.20 pm. Diydrocodeine has had desired effect and Nick's pain has greatly reduced. Gone to bed now, hopeful that he will manage a good nights sleep.

I think that today we have been amazed at the impact the surgery has had. We expected a reduction in sciatic pain, but there has been a huge impact on his 'structural' or biomechanics as well. He can now stand properly, he looks as flexible as you would expect a teenager to be and he walks normally. I hadn't realised the impact that the hernia had had on these. He says that he feels 'freed'. The pain this evening is surgery pain and I am sure it will disapate over the next few days.

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Operation Day!

7.20. At the hospital waiting to see the nurse. Operation booked for 8 am. Nick feeling thirsty and tired.

8.15. Seen nurse, anaethetist and surgeon. Looks like going into theatre 9 ish.

9.45. Nick went in at 9.30 am. Am told op takes about 30 mins, so I should be called down to recovery soon!

10.50. Still not back and working hard not to start worrying.

11 am. Surgeon came up to say all has gone well. Took longer than expected as Nick's disc is still very soft and 'like rubber' and so hard to remove. Nerve is now definitely not compressed at all. Not much disc left so he says he would be surprised if there is a re-hernia. Nick can expect relief from the sciatica very quickly, but to expect some residual back pain initially.

11.30 am. Went down to recovery. Nick very very groggy but otherwise fine. Reports some mild back pain, but basically he's still asleep. Taken back to his room.

12 pm. Another visit from the surgeon to check on Nick, who is now a little more alert but is still dozing on and off. Drinking a lot.

1.30 pm. Bit more pain so taken some painkillers. Wound has bled a fair bit but I gather that is normal. He's beginning to get a bit hungry.

2.45 pm. Both Nick and I slept for an hour. Nick has managed to get out of bed but says that standing tall and straight feels strange! No pain and sounding much more chirpy. Eating well.

5 pm. After a few chirpy hours and plenty to drink Nick is tired again and has fallen asleep. He reports no pain at all, and no sciatica but that may be due to the drugs still flowing through him.

6 pm. Supper arrives. Have you ever tried eating canelloni whilst lying completely horizontal? But, great discovery - can sit at almost 45 degrees with leg straight! That's the first time in almost 12 months. Still no pain reports and to his delight there is football on TV.

8 pm. Have left Nick looking comfortable and pretty chirpy, watching football with my husband, so I can get home for some rest.

Overall today seems to have gone well so I should be able to sleep better tonight.

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1 day pre-op

Nick back at school today - off last week with a stinking cold. Spent much of the day finding teachers to organise logistics for getting his work during his recovery period. The school and his teachers have been fantastic and a huge help so I think we're covered.

When he returns to school next term, 4 weeks post op, he'll be sitting his mock GCSEs so I spent some time today reviewing his exam timetable. Am worried about him sitting for 1/2/3 exams a day so soon after the operation, so have been emailing school to see if we can re-jig his timetable a little. Spread them out a little so he doesn't have to sit for too long on any one day.

The day has been spent on more pre-op preparations. Not sure how people manage this day if they themselves are having an MD - I'm exhausted and fully fit! Some things covered...

- final food shop. Snacks/fruit/bottles of water (small with sports cap) for Nick, plus some pasta tubs etc for us both whilst in hospital. Plus made sure plenty of food for the rest of the family as I know I will be too pre-occupied with Nick to cook over the next few days

- call to friend to see if she can be my emergency dog walker in case I get held up at the hospital

- fill out hospital forms

- bring down futon mattress and spare duvet and pillows into living room

- pack bag for hospital, for me, and make sure Nick does his

A stack of other minor things, and am bound to have forgotten something. Guess I'll find out what tomorrow.

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Pre-op MRI Scan

Pre-op MRI scan, showing disc hernia at L5/S1

 

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2 days pre-op

Nick on good form. Off to watch his football team play a league match, armed with a chair to sit on and well wrapped up to keep warm.

Continuing pre-op preparations. Main ones so far....

 

- ordered a bed table so that he can use his laptop whilst lying flat

- liaising with school re how he will catch up on school work

- pre-booking appointments with his physio for post-op rehab

- checking first aid kit for Deep Freeze, Deep Heat, Steri-strips, paddings, vitamin E oil, ibuprofen, paracetamol etc

- putting together a list of basic stretches for the period between op and seeing his physio

- bought a pedometer so he can monitor his walking progress

- bringing together books for him to read

- trying to clear my own to do list and emails

- working out how to update the blog through my iPad!

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Brief history

15 months ago, aged 14, Nick started to have leg and back pain. As a keen tennis player, it was diagnosed as a muscular problem due to not stretching enough. So for the following few months he religiously performed a series of physio stretches several times a day (glutes, hamstrings, quads, piriformis etc).

The pain didn’t improve, and 3 months later his GP referred him to first an osteo and then a neurosurgeon. It took the neurosurgeon about 60 seconds to diagnose a herniated disc, and it was confirmed in an MRI the next day.

By this stage Nick was losing sensation in his foot, had reduced reflexes in his leg, had severe sciatica and couldn’t sit or stand for more than about 15 minutes without pain. He had difficulty bending forward, and could only reach his knees. These problems made life at school a nightmare for him.

10 months ago he had nerve decompression surgery to relieve the pressure on his sciatic nerve. Initially the situation improved, but very quickly (a matter of weeks) his original problems came back. He regularly saw his physio and tried to keep fit by swimming and cycling. However, his nerve was severely tethered and no amount of work seemed to release it.

3 months ago he tried a steroid injection in his spine to reduce the inflammation. He had relief for about a day, but beyond that it had limited effect.

1 month ago it was decided that the only option left for him was a micro-discectomy. By this stage he could not stand, sit, walk or even lie without pain.

This is where he is at today. He takes painkillers three times a day just to carry out his day to day activities. Remember he is only 15 years old! I hope this blog will help anyone else in a similar situation.

Intro

In a few days time my 15 year old son, Nick, will be having a microdiscectomy to help with a L5/S1 herniated disc. Having spent the last 12 months trying to find out about disc hernias in teenagers, without much luck, I hope to publish regular updates to this blog to help anyone else out there in a similar situation. If you are reading this because you/your child has a disc hernia I wish you luck and hope that this blog will help you. Rosey