Two Weeks Post L5/S1 Laminectomy/Microdiscectomy Surgery

Officially hitting two weeks meant I had my follow up appointment with my doctor and I had my first day back at work. Week two had a dramatic improvement from week one; however, I’m still experiencing some mild sciatic pain and numbness.

Sciatic pain and symptoms:

Week 1 was quite rough with the nausea, and light headedness from surgery. This is where I got the biggest improvement in week 2. By Day 8, I wasn’t feeling nauseous or dizzy any more, and I was able to start standing for 30 minutes before getting light headed. When I spoke to my doctor at the 2 week check up, they mentioned that this is very normal and people at this stage normally are only able to stand 10-15 minutes.

My sciatic pain was pretty much the same as the end of week 1. I just felt a bit of mild pain in my glute when I went to sit or if I turned a little weird, and my calf and toes would get a bit numb and tingling if I pushed it too hard. The pain and discomfort is still manageable without any medications and it’s very mild compared the pain before.

Follow up appointment:

At my follow up appointment, I was able to speak with my doctor on how I was feeling and ask all my questions to make sure I hadn’t hurt anything more. They reassured me that the light headedness and nerve pain were still very normal - especially the lightheadedness worried me the most and it was VERY normal and expected because of how long I had just been in bed before surgery as well (3 months). In addition, they reassured me that nerves will take months to heal, and to just make sure it doesn’t get any worse.

I have to continue to not bend, lift or twist until my 6 week check up and cannot do any PT until 3 months. My doctor explained that the disc is still healing and will take 3 months for the disc to completely close up and firm up to reduce the risk of reherniation. While this sucks to hear and wait so long, I want to avoid reinjuring as much as possible and will trust the process. In the meantime, I can continue and am encouraged to walk as much as possible.

The last thing my doctor did was take the glue off my incision and clean up. It felt super uncomfortable and weird but they said I’d be able to take off my bandages soon and just have it heal in the open.

Going back to work:

My official two week mark was my first day back at work. I work from home at a desk job so it was an easy transition. I was lucky enough to be able to block my first day to allow for me to just catch up on messages and emails, and then be able to continue to work from my couch since I am still laying down for the majority of the day.

Exercises/Recovery:

This last week I kept up trying to walk 10minutes 3 times a day, and worked on being able to stand for longer periods of time. I still get a bit tired and a cramping calf if I walk too much but I can slowly feel myself getting stronger from week 1.