11 weeks post-op - very positive vibes

Well, we are all feeling a lot more positive this week! Nick has managed full days at school and he has been back on court a few times. He also says that he feels like he is improving, which is fantastic.

11 weeks post op summary

• School. Managing full days at school, although he does feel sore by the end of the day and needs to lie down when he gets home.
• Tennis. Doing gentle hitting for about 20 minutes once every two/three days. Feels general muscle ache afterwards but nothing worse. Coach commented today that Nick is moving much better post microdiscectomy compared to post nerve decompression.
• Physio exercises. No change on the 9 weeks programme except we have added bridging back in. His pelvic tilts are definitely improving.
• Sports massage. Had another this week and although tougher this time it still seemed to help, though not as much as the previous occasion.
• Muscles. Muscles not feeling tight.
• Sciatic pain. Not getting any :-)
• Sitting. Not brilliant, but managing lessons at school.
• Posture. Improving, especially when he's not thinking about it. Interesting psychological point there.
• Straight leg raise. Same - 60 degrees one side, 90 degrees other.
• Emotions. Much, much better. Seems more like his former self - positive, motivated, cheerful and generally much better.

So, you can see why I started with 'feeling a lot more positive'. I am now starting to look forward to improvements, rather than worrying about any lack of improvements.

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10 weeks post-op: ups & downs

10 weeks post op and I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure where Nick is at. This week has had it's ups and downs, some improvements and some setbacks....

• Last week he managed three half days at school and then the half term break started. On the positive side, it felt like he was managing greater chunks of time at school, and by the end of the week he managed a double lesson without having to get up in the middle. On the other hand, he still needs to lie down at break, lunch and free periods and he didn't manage a full day.
• He had a school trip to the theatre one evening for his GCSE controlled assessment - 2 hours and 20 minutes including the interval. When he got home he seemed OK - certainly a lot better than I was expecting and he didn't want a painkiller. But the next morning he was absolutely exhausted and didn't make it into school until lunchtime. But at least he made it.
• Sitting - still a problem, but he hasn't done much in the last few days as he is taking the half-term break as an opportunity to rest as much as possible
• Posture - generally good except when in pain
• Straight leg raise, about 60 degrees on one side, 90 degrees on the other
• Exercise - not doing much. Doing his physio exercises (same as last week) but focusing on his pelvic tilts. He thinks that they are getting easier, but he's not sure. I'm doing a lot of hamstring stretches with him.
• Tennis. His physio said that he could try some gentle hitting, max 15 mins every 2 to 3 days. He hit against the wall in our garden yesterday and said that it felt OK. He was a little stiff in unexpected places afterwards, but the stiffness seems to have gone today so I suspect just a case of waking up some muscles.
• Sciatic pain - not routinely mentioning any. A little reoccurrence when stretching his hamstrings out fully.
• Buttock pain - seems to gone completely, at last.
• Bending forwards. No change and he is getting increasingly frustrated by this. I noticed that when he bends over with his knees bent then he is quite lopsided. When I took the photo below he swore to me that he was even, and didn't believe otherwise until I showed him the photo.

 

• Sports massage. Is loving them. And coped much better with school the day afterwards. Next one tomorrow.

Emotionally. Tricky this one! He sort of lost the plot a little over the last few days and ended up doing pretty much not much at all other than lying on the floor. In the end I lost my temper with him and that seems to have jolted him out of it and today he has been back to doing his exercise with gusto. And he has resumed his school work too. I felt pretty crap, but I knew that he needed it.

Overall, if I am being honest both Nick and I are a bit concerned that he has not improved more. We both keep being told that it will take a long time but sometimes I wonder if we are clutching at straws when we see an improvement. And I spend a lot of my time trying to stop myself worrying about it. But it's not easy! I keep deciding to book an appointment with our GP, but then I don't as I wonder whether we are just being impatient. I am beginning to try and find out where he should be at at 3 months post op as we are nearly there and 3 months seems like a long time.

 

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9 weeks post op

Two main aspects to the last week...

1. Nick is gradually increasing how many lessons at school he can make in a day, and
2. Working on improving his pelvic mobility.

Our weekly summary.....

• Sitting. Can make it through a double lesson (1 hr 20 mins) but gets up in the middle to loosen his back. Doesn't enjoy the double periods and really they are still a struggle for him but he is managing them
• Standing. As before, stands well when not in pain but tilts his pelvis when in pain
• Finds lying down the only really effective way to alleviate pain. Still needs quite a lot of lying down time to recover. Is now lying on his front propped up on his elbows as part of his physio exercises which he seems to like
• Muscles - Nick says that they don't feel tight any more so it looks like all that stretching has finally paid off!
• Bending forwards. Still not great, about a quarter of the way down his shin but he is trying not to focus on this in favour of focusing on improvements elsewhere
• Physio exercises - see new 9 week post op tab. Now working on pelvic mobility
• Has asked for another sports massage as he found it really helped
• Emotionally - says 'Don't feel too bad', and he seems generally more cheerful

Schooling

Has managed three full days and one half day. He was ill with a 'mini-flu' type thing on the fifth day. So missing some classes and only just about keeping up but this is an improvement overall. The downside of the extra time at school is that he spends more time in pain, which results on poor posture, and it can be hard for him to do his physio exercises. He now gets up at 6 am to do a set before he leaves - not easy for a teenager!

Pelvic tilting

His physio felt that Nick needed to correct his posture, and in particular his tendency to tilt his pelvis when in pain. However, Nick finds it really hard to do pelvic tilts, so he is having to learn how to do them. See tab on 9 weeks post op exercises. Hard work getting him to do them often enough (they're just not cool for a teenage boy).

Nick is the taller one on the left. For this photo he is trying to stand straight but is still tilting his pelvis. The other boy is my older son, one year older than Nick - he does a lot of strength and conditioning work as he is rower so perhaps not a very fair comparison for Nick!

Emotionally

Nick seems much more calm and settled now. It's possible that being back at school helps to distract him from his back, plus he gets to see all his friends again which cheers him up. But he is really looking forward to the half term break next week so that he can rest more plus have more time to do his physio exercises more often.

 

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8 weeks post-op - tough times

This last week seems to have felt like really hard work, for both Nick and myself.

Nick has found it very tough trying to get back to school, constantly trying but not managing. And every time he does make it to a lesson he ends up with more work to do whilst having to recover from making the lesson in the first place. He admitted to me that he had considered stopping school completely, which is extraordinary for him because he has always been completely determined to complete his schooling.

He was in school for a full day yesterday, which we now realise was a bit too soon. He was absolutely shattered afterwards and consequently needed a lie-in the next morning.

He is also still worried that something is not right, or at least that he is not progressing as much as he should be. His physio was re-iterating to him yesterday that it will take time because his nerve was compressed for so long. Also, Nick was using how far forwards he could bend as an indicator of progress. The physio discouraged this, pointing out that other aspects may be improving (eg how long he can sit) so he shouldn't focus on just one indicator.

He's had the start of a couple of flare-ups, but each time we have managed to divert it by rest or Diazepam. Each time it has been sitting that has caused the problem.

People are now starting to ask when he'll be starting to play tennis again - well meant questions but for someone who struggles to sit yet alone run it doesn't really help being asked when he can play tennis!

His year group at school are going through various activities designed to help them plan university/career paths which is creating another cause of anxiety for him. Hardly surprisingly he can't contemplate careers when all he has ever wanted to do was to play tennis and that's something he can't do at the moment.

Overall, this is where he is at...

• Can sit for about an hour at a time before his upper back starts to ache and he feels stiff
• Generally standing and walking properly unless pain has kicked in, when he then tends to lean forwards
• Only once taken any pain meds this week, and that was after sitting for too long
• Still needing to lie down a lot
• Finds gentle stationary cycling helps to mobilise his back
• Muscles - generally he says his muscles feel looser... hamstrings slightly, glutes fine, calves slightly. New last night at the physio was that his QL is tight
• Tried a sports massage last night, focusing on his QLs, glutes and hamstrings. Also being taught to breathe better to help relax. Comment re sports massage - yes, seems to have helped
• Emotionally, fragile. Ups and downs. Sometimes very worried about it all, sometimes pretty calm
• Schooling - tricky but slowly managing to sit through some lessons. Took an iPad into school yesterday so that he could type lying down. Double lessons still a bit of a nightmare for him
• Some of his physio exercises trigger pain on occasions so he tends to mix and match what he does, avoiding those that are painful. No new exercises added this week to his 7 week routine

Each evening we plan out the next day. I then email school and his teachers to let them know when Nick is hoping to be in and I keep my fingers crossed that he'll wake up the next morning feeling ready for it. It does make it hard for me to get much done as I never know in advance when I will be needed to take/collect him to/from school but we have found that planning more than one day in advance just doesn't work.

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7 weeks post op

This last week has been spent focusing on two things...firstly getting Nick back into schooling, and secondly improving his strength and flexibility.

Schooling

Last week Nick sat most of his exams at home. As his lessons were being used to go over the exams we decided that it was better for him to stay at home and sit his before going back into school. So far he has managed all but one exam. We started with the shortest first and ended with the longest since he still finds it difficult to sit for long.

On Thursday he went into school for two lessons and on Friday he managed three. Then on Monday he managed a whole morning, although he had to come home earlier than planned as he had quite a lot of pain. The pain was effecting his posture so we decided it was time to rest rather than to push through the pain. A couple of ibuprofen and a three hour lie down and he was OK. He also saw his physio and she was happy that the pain was just temporary.

Today he managed a morning of school but he rested for two lessons (which were free lessons). He did however manage a double period without adverse effect.

So overall, managing some return to school. It's slow progress, but there is progress.

Strength and flexibility

Nick is still a little bit frustrated by his lack of flexibility. Some days are better than others. Generally he can reach half way down his calves. He says his calves are feeling a bit looser but hamstrings are still very tight. Glutes a bit looser.

He's also working on strength - see 7 weeks exercise tab - but we haven't really tested to see if there is any change.

Generally not much change from 6 weeks post op. Straight leg raise slightly better (50/55 degrees), possibly some buttock pain (he's not sure) and he can sit for longer. Can now sit on the floor with his legs out straight which he says he couldn't do before.

 

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6 weeks post-op review

Nick is now 6 weeks post-op, and today he saw his surgeon for his follow up appointment. He also saw his physio yesterday.

This is where Nick is at....

• Occasionally a little sciatic pain in his calf and thigh
• No lower back pain
• A little upper back ache when he sits for a long time (maybe stiffness?)
• Able to sit for about an hour at a time
• Bending forwards. Sometimes reaches about half way down his calf, sometimes he can only reach his knees. Update as writing this - Nick has just been able to reach three quarters down his calf!
• Sitting straight leg raise - to virtually horizontal
• Lying straight leg raise - about 50 degrees
• Very tight hamstrings, glutes and calf muscles
• Not taking any pain medication or muscle relaxants. Finishing off his course of anti-inflammatories
• Doing the 6 weeks post-op exercises which now includes some strengthening work, along with lots of stretching
• Not been able to go back to school yet as today was the first time he could sit for as long as an hour
• Managing to sit some of his mock exams at home
• Emotionally, prior to our visit to the surgeon he was a little worried about progress, however the surgeon has put his mind at rest

The surgeon was completely comfortable with Nick's progress. Specifically...

 

• he felt that Nick was likely to experience a little sciatic pain because the nerve is healing and was compressed for such a long time prior to his operation (about 15 months)
• Nick should not worry about experiencing occasional pain. If necessary he should take some painkillers, but unless the pain continues for as long as a week some pain is not a concern
• Nick will need to push through some pain in order to continue progressing
• Nick should try to keep as mobile as possible - to continue walking and doing his physio exercises
• Nick should try to return to school, probably on a gradual basis initially, to avoid getting left behind
• Nick needs to keep a long term view, and not just focus on each day at a time, as he will have good days and bad days - it’s the long term progress that is important

Overall, the surgeon was completely relaxed about Nick's progress, which I think was the main factor in re-assuring Nick. Nick was noticeably happier and more relaxed afterwards, which in itself was lovely to see.

And I have coined a new phrase - 'surgeons think in months, physios in weeks and patients in days'. I think this reflects the differing perspectives that each have and helps both Nick and me to remember to look beyond each day.

 

And I have added in his 6 weeks post-op exercises in a new tab.

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5 weeks + 2 days - school?

Over the last two days Nick has tried going into school for a short time. Yesterday he went in for a 45 minute meeting, and today he sat a 1 hour exam.

Yesterday wasn't a great success. Although he managed to sit through the meeting, he was very stiff afterwards and had a little sciatic pain in his leg. He was also exhausted, and it took him several hours of lying down to return to 'normal'.

He faired slightly better today, possibly because he was able to stand up and stretch after 30 minutes, but he was again stiff with a little sciatic pain. I also noticed that then when he met his friends in the corridor he unintentionally leant forwards and started to stand incorrectly. This was probably because he is so tall (6 ft 3") but possibly also out of habit. I mentioned it to him on the way home, and he agreed and also decided that he needed to focus on standing properly.

After talking to school we have decided that Nick is not ready to return to normal school life. In fact, most of next week will be spent going through the exams, and as Nick hasn't sat them yet we decided it would better for him to stay at home and gradually work his way through the exams. He may need to go in for a few lessons towards the end of the week, but we'll decide on that nearer the time.

Overall, he seems to be doing OK. We just need to be careful not to overdo anything, especially sitting.

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5 weeks post-op summary

Nick is now 5 weeks post-op. Generally he feels he is doing quite well, fairly positive about it all. Not taking any painkillers or muscle relaxants, just continuing his course of anti-inflammatories. This is where he is at....

 

• Stands tall and straight
• Sitting - haven't really tested recently. Can do about 30 minutes - will be trying a 45 minute session at school tomorrow
• Bending forwards. Can reach past his knees, about 2 inches.
• Describes a hamstring tightness as the reason for being unable to bend further (rather than sciatica)
• Sciatica - occasionally has a little sciatic pain in his calf
• Buttock pain/ache seems to have gone
• Doing the 4 weeks post-op exercise routine
• Finds swimming a bit tricky, can trigger mild sciatica
• Schoolwork. Doing some at home but finds he gets very tired. Doing most of it lying down. Hoping to do a GCSE at school on Friday
• Currently trying to plan how he can return to school, whilst still doing physio stretches and not over-doing it and causing a flare-up.

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4 weeks + 5 days post op. 1 step back, 2 steps forwards

One step back, two steps forward

Nick visited the physio again this evening. To his delight he seems to be better now than he was pre his flare-up. His straight leg raise is now about 50 degrees and he can reach about two inches below his knees. He has no sciatica, even when she raises his leg. He does have incredibly tight hamstrings and it is this tightness, rather than sciatic pain, that prevents him raising his leg further. We regard this as good news, because we know that we can loosen his hamstrings.

He has some additional exercises - see page '4 weeks (post flare-up) exercises' and is back to a little cycling and some swimming. He is beginning to think about how he will cope when he goes back to school which we are hoping he will do next week. So tomorrow I need to start talking to the school again about his return.

So, it looks like he took one step back but two steps forwards.

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4 weeks + 3 days

Over the last two days Nick has sort of oscillated between no pain (yesterday) and a little buttock pain (today). He's not taking any painkillers or muscle relaxants, just the anti-inflammatories which were a 10 day course. Yesterday he said that, with the exception of bending forwards, he had no pain at all which he was absolutely delighted about. It's the first time in the last 15 months that he has been pain-free.

He's being very cautious about not over-doing it. He's doing the 1 week post-op exercises and a little walking, but that is all. This slight buttock pain (more a sort of ache) is annoying - we just can't work out what triggers it. Although it doesn't worry him hugely, I can see that it niggles at him. Oh well, just have to be patient I guess.

He does seem to be sleeping again OK now which is a relief as I am sure being exhausted can't help with coping with it all.

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4 weeks + 1 day - over the flare-up!

Phew, Nick seems to have got over the flare-up. He can stand and sit properly again, has virtually no pain (just a little sensation in his calf), needed no painkillers today and is generally back to his normal pre flare-up self. He has been incredibly cautious today re exercise, basically just a couple of short walks and the basic physio stretches but he says that he wants to start re-introducing the 1 week post-op exercises tomorrow.

 

He tried a little gentle swimming in a hydro pool yesterday but found that it triggered a little pain in his calf so will wait until next week before going again. Mind you, his idea of 'gentle' was 100 lengths - admittedly it's a very small pool - which was a bit more than I was envisaging!

 

I'll give him one last diazepam tonight to help him sleep but I am hopeful that he is back on the road to recovery.

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4 weeks post-op summary

This is Nick at 4 weeks post-op.
In the last few days has had what seems to be a flare-up. Still monitoring it closely and because of the flare-up he is now really cautious of over-doing it. Just prior to this flare-up he was doing really well...

Pre his flare-up....

• Could sit about 20 minutes then again if he had a brief walk in between
• Could reach just below his knees
• Could stand up straight and walk correctly
• No problems with surgery wound
• Was off painkillers and no need for ice/heat
• Some residual pain in his calf and buttock
• Doing the three weeks post op exercise routine, including some cycling

Post his flare-up....

• Taking anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants
• Back to the 'basic physio stretches' only
• Walking about 1 km gently
• Sleeping a lot - probably because of the muscle relaxants
• Can still reach below his knees
• Can stand properly, although could manage this only once he started taking the muscle relaxants/anti-inflammatories. Before the meds and in peak flare-up he could no longer stand or sit
• We've ditched taking his exams for the moment until we are over this flare-up.

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4 weeks post op

So, Nick's now at 4 weeks post op. A few days ago I was anticipating a very different 'this is where he is at' type post than what you are getting! For the moment I am going to update during the day to see how this flare up is developing. Hopefully by the end of the day I will manage a proper 4 week summary.

 

10 am. We were up early to see Nick's GP. Not looking too bad, some pain but clearly very worried about it all. The doctor has helped us with a pain management plan for flare ups consisting of a 10 day course of anti-inflammatories (diclofenac), some muscle relaxants (diazepam) for the next few days and some painkillers (codydramol) to use when he needs. Also gave him some anti-bacterial cream and anti-fungal spray for his tummy button. We talked about longer term neuropathic medication but decided to manage this flare up first.

Nick currently curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle on his back (says that feels really nice) waiting for meds to kick in. Says he is feeling a bit better than yesterday which is hopeful. We have decided to ditch doing his mock exams, although he will need to go into school tomorrow for a French GCSE listening paper which being a public exam has to be done at school. Hopefully meds will have started to take effect by then.

11 am. Nick fast asleep. Very pleased - probably the best thing for him at the moment.

1.15 pm. Nick's just had some lunch and is looking so much better. Before lunch he was a bit groggy but after a bite to eat he began to perk up. Joking, laughing and generally happier. Very little pain, and did some very basic and gentle exercises (from just post op days) without problem. Can stand straight again. However, he doesn't want to overdo it so is back on the futon resting.

School called to say that they have arranged for him to do his GCSE exams later so he doesn't have to go in tomorrow after all. The teacher in charge of exams has had a micro-discectomy himself so genuinely understands what Nick is going through. Very helpful! Fingers crossed that all will keep on improving.

6.30 pm. Nick is still feeling a whole lot better. Very little pain (not taken any more painkillers since this morning) and more cheerful. He's gone for a couple of short gentle walks and done more stretches as he is concerned that he doesn't get stiff lying down so much. Still likes to lie on the hot water bottle!

He's decided not to take any painkillers tonight, just the anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants. The downside of taking a stack of meds in one go is that you can't tell which one is having the right effect, so the plan is to drop the painkillers first and see if he is still doing OK.

Fingers crossed - looking like this was just a flare up.

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3 weeks + 6 days - shitty day

We've had a pretty shitty day today....

1 am. Nick wakes me up. He's in a lot of pain (buttocks), very upset and can't sleep. Desperately worried about this new pain. Took 1 x 30 mg Dihydrocodeine which after a while kicked in and he managed to get to sleep. Before going to bed he couldn't stand up straight which had upset me - he looked like his pre-op days which was depressing.

10 am. Nick wakes up and not looking or feeling too bad. Walks into the kitchen standing properly and walking tall - huge relief. Perhaps last night was just a temporary glitch. Cancel the planned trip to hydro pool for swimming because his tummy button is looking very infected.

11 am. Starts his first mock GCSE. We've planned out the day with basically cycles of sit - walk - sit - walk - exercise - rest. Each sit is doing his exam paper with an expected finish time of 3 ish.

Buttock pain gets steadily worse and he gets stiffer and stiffer. By the third cycle when he gets back from the walk he collapses on the floor by the door. Virtually in tears, unable to lift himself up to sitting and certainly can't stand. Abandon exam paper, another Dihyrocodeine.

Crawls to living room and rests on futon. Can't find a pain-free position at all.

5 pm. Visit to physio. His lower back had shifted a bit and muscles gone into spasm. Strangely can bend forward but can't stand straight. Lots of massage on lower back and calf. Advised that this may just be a flare up, and to rest with a warm pad on back. Revert back to the 1 week post-op stretches only. If no improvement in next 24-48 hours to contact surgeon again.

So, at time of writing (7. 30 pm) feeling pretty miserable and uncertain what is going on.

10.15 pm update. Took a couple of paracetamol and now looking a bit happier. Just praying that he manages to sleep tonight.

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3 weeks + 5 days - something happening

Something's happening but we are not quite sure what....

Straight off this morning Nick found it painful to lie on the floor with his legs out straight, but at the same time he was saying that his back felt looser and more flexible when standing. So rather than persist with his stretches he went for a short walk. Came back feeling a lot better, and could then lie down and do his stretches. The pain had been in his buttocks, and he described it like pulling a muscle (and as a sports person he does know what that feels like). Not sciatic and nothing in his back and no more than the normal slight ache in his calf.

During the day he followed his three week post op routine. In the afternoon he ended up lying on his bedroom floor (only because he couldn't be bothered to carry his school books downstairs to the living room). When he got up to do some lunges he had the pain in his buttock back again. So again, went for a walk which helped but the pain was still there. Lay down flat on his back and after about 20 minutes realised that he could stretch his legs out again.

We concluded that it felt more muscular than a nerve issue so I massaged some Deep Heat in to see if that would help. His glutes were very tight and massaging them resulted in some pain in his buttocks and calf. But at the time of writing this he seems fine again.

He's seeing his physio tomorrow so with any luck she might be able to shed some light on this. The only other thing that has happened is that he has what looks like an infected tummy button, but I can't see how that could be connected to his micro-discectomy!

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3 weeks + 3 days

 

Yesterday was a bit of a washout for Nick's new routine. We started off well, but at 11 am there was a fatal accident outside our house and being the first on the scene it took me a few hours before I was free again. Both Nick and I found the whole incident very distressing and neither of us felt like doing exercises. Fortunately one of Nick's friends come over in the afternoon, which both cheered him up and distracted him from the police activity going on outside. Overall he only managed a few exercises and one short walk.

 

Today was much better. Nick carried out all of his new activities (see tab on 3 week post op exercises) except a swim. And to our delighted he was able to reach below his knees today for the first time! He did need to rest between activities and he says that he thinks the key is to be patient, but none the less this is, finally, a visible improvement. Yippee!!

 

I have added a page of his new exercises routine.

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3 weeks + 1 day post-op. Physio visit.

 

Nick went back to see the physio today. Generally happy with progress but did re-iterate that this will take some time. The main issues are twofold. Firstly his nerve is still tethered somewhere, which is why he still cannot get beyond about 40 degrees in the straight leg raise or bend forwards to touch his toes (with his knees straight). Secondly, a lot of his other muscles have tightened up, eg his hamstrings, glutes etc as a result of his limited movement for such a long time.

So, she is stepping up his activity levels. Nick felt ready for this too so is happy with the idea. The main extra activities are

• Cycling, but starting off with only a few minutes and gradually building up and avoiding hills or bumpy roads. Nick will start off indoors until he can manage a reasonable amount of time.
• Lunges, for 2-3 minutes
• Bridge with a stability ball, holding for 10 seconds, 10 times over
• Wobble board balance. Total of 20 minutes a day. Nick struggled just to stand still, but once he can manage that to try squats
• Standing hamstring stretches for 2-3 minutes at a time
• Sitting. To limit to 20 minutes, then walk, then resume sitting (rather than sitting until it hurts)
• Swimming. He can start swimming lengths if he wants to.

He is to continue his walking. For his existing '1 week post-op' stretches, to continue any which he feels are working for him. He's decided to continue the clam and the sit to stand.

Nick also tried out the cross trainer but found that it caused pain in his calf, plus we don't have access to one at home so we decided to leave it out.


Overall, the physio felt that Nick should be reducing the amount of time he spends lying down so we've decided that he should follow a rotation of the above to keep him moving. Not great news for his exam revision!


Will get a page up tomorrow summarising the three weeks post op routine with a few photos.


 

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3 weeks post-op

 

Nick is now 3 weeks post-op. Most of his day is still spent lying on the floor, interspersed with stretches (3 x day) and walks (3 x day) but overall this is where he is at....

• Slight pain in his calf. He's not sure whether this is sciatic or not and he is struggling to describe it. Not causing him a lot of concern though, and we are hoping it is just the nerve recovering.
• Tight muscle ache in his thigh - describes it as like a very tight muscle being slightly stretched
• Bending - may have been able to touch his knees today. Not checking regularly so not too sure. He feels there is some improvement.
• Walking - managing approx one mile (1.6 km) three times a day. Walks slightly stiffly but still hugely better than before the op. Getting rather board of the local area so occasionally we drive a few minutes to a different park.
• Sitting - can manage 35 minutes at a time but can feel himself tightening up and it might be inducing the calf pain. Has to concentrate on sitting straight. He is practicing sitting up at a table because he has exams to sit in a weeks time, and a return to school in three weeks time.
• Car journeys - has managed a couple of long journeys (about 2 hours) but each caused a fair amount of pain and/or stiffness so we wouldn't recommend car journeys at this stage.
• Sleeping - generally sleeping OK but sometimes feels too alert to sleep.
• Concentrating - difficulties concentrating for long, school work taking a lot longer than normal.
• No problems with the surgery wound but sometimes feels the need for some ice as it feels like it's bruised (no visible sign of bruising). Massaging vitamin E oil into it twice a day.
• Painkillers - not needing any at the moment.
• Hamstrings and glutes - still feel tight, not much change
• Physio/stretches - doing three sets a day. Feels ready for further physio and current stretches take less time to complete now.
• Emotionally - 'not worried but don't feel everything is fantastic yet'. Starting to talk about when and how he will be able to return to playing tennis.

 

 

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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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