reherniated 10 weeks post op l4/l5 md laminectomy
hey... how yall doin...
my 27f recovery was going perfect. had surgery on 6/2. 0 pain, no symtpoms, everything was looking up. i felt back to normal and was getting ready to go back to work. doing my pt, being more active but still careful, all of that.
8/11. my cat stealth barfed on the carpet and when i got up from my desk to close the blinds i stepped in it, immediately picked my foot up and stumbled, and felt like i got struck by lightning all down my left leg and my calf/foot went numb. knew immediately it was cooked, but i tried to be optimistic at first. ended up in the er two days later and nothing even touched the pain. they were pumping me full of meds to my gills and no dice. the mri was torture and i had to remind myself i need to breathe to be alive. was given a 15 day pred taper and gabapentin which i will be titrating up to 1800mg.
heres the first mri before my surgery:
\*\* TECHNIQUE \*\*:
MR images of the lumbar spine acquired without intravenous contrast.
COMPARISON: None available.
\*\* FINDINGS \*\*:
NUMBERING: Last fully formed disc space is designated L5-S1.
SPINAL CORD: Normal conus. Conus terminates at the L1 level.
DISCS: L3-4 and L4-5 disc desiccation.
BONES: Vertebral body height and alignment are normal. Marrow signal is normal.
SOFT TISSUES: Normal.
T12-L1: No central canal stenosis or neural foraminal stenosis.
L1-L2: No central canal stenosis or neural foraminal stenosis.
L2-L3: No central canal stenosis or neural foraminal stenosis.
L3-L4: Annular fissure, bulging disc, and focal central disc protrusion in combination with congenitally short pedicles result in mild central canal stenosis. No neural foraminal stenosis.
L4-L5: Intervertebral disc height loss. Large central disc extrusion completely effaces the thecal sac resulting in severe central canal stenosis. No neural foraminal stenosis.
L5-S1: Facet hypertrophy with facet joint effusions. Prominent epidural fat.
OTHER: None.
heres the one i just got:
MRI LUMBAR SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST
\*\* HISTORY \*\*:
27 years old, lumbar radiculopathy
\*\* TECHNIQUE \*\*:
MR images of the lumbar spine acquired without intravenous contrast.
COMPARISON: MRs 6/1/2026, 5/22/2026
\*\* FINDINGS \*\*:
NUMBERING: Last fully formed disc space is designated L5-S1.
SPINAL CORD: Normal conus. Conus terminates at the T12-L1 level.
DISCS: Disc desiccation at L3-4 and L4-5.
BONES: Normal vertebral alignment. Normal vertebral body height. Marrow signal is normal.
Postoperative changes from interval left laminectomy at L4-5.
SOFT TISSUES: Postoperative changes in the paraspinal soft tissues at L4-5.
T12-L1: No canal or foraminal stenosis.
L1-L2: No canal or foraminal stenosis.
L2-L3: No canal or foraminal stenosis.
L3-L4: No canal or foraminal stenosis.
L4-L5: Disc space narrowing with a small symmetric disc bulge. Interval postoperative changes from microdiscectomy. There is a 1.5 x 0.9 x 1.5 cm soft tissue focus in the central and left canal, arising from the disc space. This is most consistent with a residual or recurrent disc herniation. Results in moderate-to-severe canal stenosis
L5-S1: No canal or foraminal stenosis.
OTHER: None.
my surgeon said he wants to avoid a second surgery if pt and esi can manage my symptoms since resorption is possible and according to the mri my nerve isnt being compressed. and if i need a 2nd surgery, it might have to be a fusion. i have a trip coming up in mid september anyways i dont want to miss, since i had to cancel my honeymoon for my surgery in june, so i really want the nonsurgical measures to work.
now, here's my problem. my pain/discomfort is like 10% off being back to pre surgery levels and getting worse over time. i can walk for 30 seconds max. i cant lay in any position, i can only sit if i am leaning HARD forward and to the right. sleep is barely possible, maybe 3 hours a night. and my symptoms are getting worse every night. i cant brush my hair without laying down, and writing in pain the whole while. im not a crier but i cry uncontrollably from the pain and frustration of being back here. im not able to dress without help, im not able to hold myself upright to even microwave myself anything to eat, let alone grab things from the fridge. i have been in contact with my surgeon and pt and pcp about this since the reherniation occurred. the er doctor prescribed me pred and gabapentin and told me that pmr would contact me about lesi. also taking 1000mg tylenol every 6 hours as directed by the er doc. ice was making the nerve pain worse so i was using heat, but my nerves are so borked the warmth started feeling like ice, so i stopped. relying on menthol patches now to at least provide some distracting sensation from the leg-in-a-meatgrinder feeling. but im worried thst my herniation has progressed since the mri on friday.
i was also referred for a lesi so i'm trying to fast track that as much as i can on my end, but im honestly skeptical. it wasnt even a consideration last time since my herniation was so severe, and even though i know that this reherniation isnt as mechanically severe im still not sure it will provide meaningful relief.
basically, i'm willing to go the nonsurgical route but im doubtful... i'm on day 4 of taking 60mg of prednisone and my suffering just keeps increasing. im trying to get up and move but i csnt really tolerate it, i have to collapse onto my bed and just force myself to breathe.
does anyone have any experience with a similar situation? i know its pretty early in my reherniation to feel like its hopeless but being totally unaffected by dilaudid and toradol and the prednisone not providing any relief is really disheartening. nothing helps, theres no position i can be in that eases it to the point where im not still feeling shooting pain. i dont have any ces symptoms so its not an emergency yet but idk if i can live like this again. i did it before, but that wasnt really living.