u/Old-Independence7323

Hey yall,

Today was my (27F) official first day back climbing! I’m 6 months post-op after having a microdiscectomy on my left L4/L5 to treat a herniated disc with nerve impingement. Still dealing with residual numbness in my foot and toes but I’ve been in PT working my butt off since June. I did my usual PT warm up to focus on core engagement and stability then hit the wall. I strictly focused on VBs and V0s and my goal was to climb for 30 mins. Tbh those 30 mins were HARDDDDD, mainly bc my body forgot all the movement and technique I’d spent a year learning pre-op. I had fun and did not experience any nerve pain!!

Ideally, I’d really prefer to top rope only instead of boulder, but my belay partner is temporarily unavailable. I did down climb all the routes and stopped when my fear of heights/safe falling/reherniation kicked in. I’m still in PT rebuilding my body’s tolerance to jumping so it’s not something I’m comfortable with yet.

DISCLAIMER: this conversation does NOT apply to anyone who is within the first 12 weeks of recovery after their surgery. Please adhere to the advice of your medical provider and/or physical therapist. Everyone’s body is different and reacts differently to certain movements!

Hot take: I’m 26F and 4.5 months out from my L4/L5 MD. My neuro and PT have both encouraged me to slowly return to the sports of my choosing (weightlifting, yoga, running, and rock climbing). While I have not yet returned to running or rock climbing, I have slowly returned to v light weightlifting and yoga in the last few weeks. Contrary to popular belief on this forum, I don’t think movements like deadlifts, squats, forward bends, or twists should be avoided in the long term. I think it’s important to build up to these movements over the course of our recovery journeys because they improve the health of our spines in the long term.

Am I saying we should all deadlift 265# and perform crazy intense yoga poses? No! But I believe cutting out these movements entirely is a mistake. Doing so will not only reinforce the anxiety/fear that we all hold for reherniation, but it will also reinforce the physical “guarding” our muscles hold. This will make it harder for our spines and bodies to adapt to every day movements because we’ll be decreasing our strength, flexibility and range of motion. If that decrease continues to build over time, it could make it more likely to reherniate as we grow older.

It’s also important to meet our bodies where they’re at and accept that practicing our sports may look different from now on. I would rather enjoy a yoga class with more modifications/accessibility blocks or weightlifting with alternative variations of squat and deadlift exercises than live without them. I may not ever return to barbell variations, but maybe a kettlebell squat or a dumbbell deadlift could be incorporated into my routine. At the end of the day, maintaining healthy spines in the long term also requires us to maintain strong and flexible bodies that can handle the needs of our daily lives for the rest of our time on this planet. I think avoiding certain movements is in direct opposition to that goal.

Hi everyone!

Today I did my first in-person vinyasa yoga class since my surgery 4.5 months ago. It felt pretty good. I modified most of the poses to my level of mobility/strength. There was only one pose I couldn’t do at all (malasana), but I was surprised at how much I could comfortably do overall! I’m very stiff in my shoulders and back. All the core work I’ve been doing in PT has def paid off because the core exercises we did in yoga today felt easy in comparison. I’m looking forward to returning to yoga twice a week now. Hope this helps people have hope for their own recoveries!

Hi yall,

I’m 26F and had my L4/L5 microdiscectomy on 4/28/2026. My insurance is United Healthcare.

I got prior authorization approval for my MD, but I got a letter this week saying UHC is denying the amniotic membrane graft they put into my back during the surgery. According to them, “the records from my provider do not show that the product (the membrane) is shown to help heal your surgery.” Now the surgery center’s parent company is trying to come after me for $22,800, which is woefully unaffordable for me right now. I already paid the surgery center a $1,600 for charges related to the amniotic membrane graft on the date of my surgery.

To make things more frustrating, the surgery center I went to permanently closed last month, so I reached out to the records dept today for a copy of all my medical and billing records.

My surgeon recommended I don’t pay the $22.8k so the bill gets sent to collections (which does not affect my credit apparently...?). He said I can also write a letter to the parent company explaining that I already paid the surgery center $1.6k for the amniotic membrane, and they already received approval from UHC for my surgery procedure, so I should not be held responsible for their facility charges.

I just feel so confused and lost abt the whole process. Do I appeal my insurance company’s determination letter, or do I sent a letter to the surgery center’s parent company disputing payment? Or both? Or do I ignore both? I’ve never had a claim denied by my insurance before.

Hi yall,

Just need to get this off my chest, I’ve got a long history of body image issues. I relapsed in July, and at my lowest (sickest) weight I was 146lbs (for reference, I’m 5’2”). It’s pretty fucked up, but I was happy bc I started regaining confidence in my appearance after years of being overweight (160lbs). I felt like I could recognize myself in the mirror again. It’s been a month and a half of methimazole, and I’m currently weighing 155lbs. I can tell I’m losing confidence in my appearance again and returning to unhealthy eating habits as a weigh of coping. I’m really exhausted of dealing with the roller coaster of weight fluctuations that come with my disease and how it impacts my mental health. My weight loss goal is 145lbs so to be so close to reaching that goal, despite being sick, made me feel proud. I’ve tried to lose weight while in remission and either it took me forever to lose 5 lbs, or it came back altogether. I know this isn’t permanent and I can return to remission again, but right now in the moment it’s hard. I loathe my reflection every time I’m in front of the mirror. And I feel like I can’t even blame the methimazole entirely bc this past week or two I’ve just been eating junk. I want to feel like myself again and not so disconnected from the image I see of myself…

Edit: I do as much physical therapy exercises at the gym as I can tolerate while recovering from spine surgery. So, I have to walk a fine line between increasing my body’s tolerance to exercise vs pushing too hard and risking re-injury.

Hi everyone,

I’m in the midst of treating my 2nd relapse of Grave’s Disease & hyperthyroidism. Currently taking 20mg methimazole for 5 days/wk and 30mg for 2 days/wk. This is the second adjustment to my meds since I relapsed in June-July. I was in remission for 6 months before my 2nd relapse. Yesterday I had a follow up with my endo and we were discussing what the endgame is for me. He said the goal is to return to remission, but if I relapse a 3rd time then we’ll have to talk abt RAI and TT.

I don’t think I could do RAI because I live in a studio apt with my bf and pets, and tbh it kinda feels like a half-measure IMO. I’m not eager to rush into another surgery (still recovering from spine surgery in April). What scares me the most abt TT is the threat to my vocal cords.

I’ve been singing since I was 4 yo, it’s my most pure expression of my self. I’ve been in choirs in elementary and middle school, I even attended an after-school choir program at a music school for 2 years. I usually sing alt/rock/pop punk. My singing has already taken a hit since my diagnosis. The thought of losing my ability to sing, temporarily or permanently, shakes me to my core. I don’t know how I could handle losing my sense of self again so soon. Does anyone have any support?

Hi yall,

Newbie here (26F). I started climbing at my local Touchstone in 2024 after my bf introduced me and I fell in love. I’ve been an avid weightlifter, runner, and yogi, but this was something entirely new.

Up until Aug 2025. I herniated my L4/L5 severely and ended up needing an endoscopic microdiscectomy on 4/28/2026. One CSF leak and weeks of PT later, I’ve finally been cleared to ease into the gym and yoga. My gym workouts are still my physical therapy exercises, but we’re slowly adding light weights and/or gym equipment. This week I’m also practicing assisted pull-ups and lat pull downs to mimic climbing.

My physical therapist told me to practice these exercises for at least 2 more weeks before seeing how top rope feels. The thought alone gets me hyped up! Still nowhere near bouldering and frankly I’m not sure I’ll ever want to return to it, but I definitely do miss the plastic rocks 😌

Hi yall!

I’m (26F) on vacation at almost 4 months post-op. Wanted to share some of my wins during my recovery so far. With the exception of my flights, I’ve only had mild (1-2/10) nerve activation/pain. My gabapentin has been helping to mitigate/resolve this issue. I’m also navigating a relapse of my Grave’s Disease with appropriate meds.

- averaged 15k steps daily
- travelled from CA to Vegas, Vegas to Nashville and still had energy to explore downtown Nashville the same night
- survived the excruciating humidity + heat while enjoying a stadium concert on Thursday
- sat in a car for 1.5 hours one-way to Kentucky with no pain
- hiked in Mammoth Cave national park, only needing breaks to monitor HR and get a breather from the humidity

Honorable mention: fought heat stroke by the time the concert ended, walked across the pedestrian bridge, and kept myself upright long enough to take a shower. You know it’s unbearably hot when the lead singer is lying down on stage chugging Gatorade in between songs 🥵🫪

Hi yall! 3.75 months post-op (15 weeks) and I just had a very long day of travel. Flew from SF->Vegas then from Vegas->Nashville for vacation. It’s my first travel day since my surgery and I’m happy to report that it went pretty well! I had some nerve pain/burning when I got to SFO and during my second flight. Thankfully I brought my meds as a precaution and had my gabapentin available. I told the stewardesses about my situation and they were cool with me walking up and down the aisle when we could take our seatbelts off (this was a GODSEND). Shoutout to the passenger in my row’s aisle seat who was kind enough to let me out every time. He was so accommodating and understanding 🥹 I also got a lumbar pillow per my neurosurgeon’s recommendation and this also helped a lot. I even explored downtown Nashville once we landed! 13.5K steps total today. My feet are killing me at the end of the day, but no nerve pain anymore.

Do the casters SecretLab markets for their chairs also work for the desks? Or do you have to get 3rd party ones that specifically fit the SecretLab desks?

Sorry, I’m new to all of this tech/SecretLab stuff 😅 but if the SecretLab casters also work for their desks then I will order them for my bf’s present. Our apt is small so the ability to move and lock furniture as needed is a huge plus.

Hi everyone 👋

New to this channel. I (26F) recently purchased my bf (26F) the Magnus Pro desk with dual arms, cable mngmt, PC mount, desk riser and headphone hanger. I also got the Jinx mat and matching accessories bc that’s his favorite character of all time.

I decided to get this present for him for 3 reasons: (1) he took care of me after I injured my spine, went through almost a year of PT/dr’s appts/flare ups, then through spine surgery and post-op; (2) he committed to go to undergrad while working full-time, his first day is in Oct; and (3) he’s a first-gen college student so I’m really proud of him taking this giant leap. He also grew up poor and always buys things used so a SecretLab desk is basically a pipe dream.

His current desk is abysmally small and he hates it. It barely fits his PC and monitors, let alone his keyboard or anything else he wants on there. So I decided this would be a good time to get him an upgrade. He’s also v into tech and wants to become an engineer. Do you think he’ll like it? Will I accidentally kill him from the shock when it gets delivered?! It’s expected to deliver around 09/30, but the closer it gets to that date the more anxious I’m getting 😅

PS - I am not tech savvy at all, but I’m v good at listening to him ramble abt tech. When he randomly mentioned this brand last year, I jumped on the website and tried to learn as much as I could.

UPDATE: I also preordered the heavy duty lockable casters. Our apt is tiny so being able to rearrange furniture as needed is a huge plus.

Hi yall,

I (26F) recently relapsed with my Graves Disease 2 weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been taking 40mg methimazole every day and 25mg atenolol. I’m also recovering from spine surgery and doing my PT every day. Because of that, I’ve been trying to lose weight to take the load off of my spine. I’m 5’2”. My starting weight was 160lbs, and I felt very uncomfortable at that weight. When my Graves’ disease relapsed, I dropped to 146lbs. I know losing almost 15lbs in a month is very unhealthy and dangerous, but part of me was elated with my progress because I haven’t been able to lose that much weight in so long.

That was 10 days ago, and I currently weigh 150.2 lbs this morning. I’m disappointed, even though I’m well aware that methimazole will cause me to gain weight. I’ve been very careful about my diet and doing my PT every day, yet I’ve still gained weight. I don’t want to gain anymore weight. I really don’t want to return to 160lbs or even higher, but I know it’s out of my control right now. My endo just told me to watch my carbs, which felt more like fear mongering than actual nutrition advice. Right now im eating a very strict 2,000 calorie diet with moderate protein, as recommended by my neurosurgeon to aid in post-op recovery and muscle regrowth. I also have a long history of weight changes and body dysmorphia, so this is very triggering and my confidence has decreased since I’ve been steadily gaining weight. Can anyone share some support?

Hi yall,

New to this channel but not new to Graves Disease. Originally diagnosed in 2024, treated with varying dosages of methimazole from 2025 and ended in remission Dec 2025. My Graves Disease relapsed a few weeks ago any my levels are higher than they were the first round.

T4F is at 7, TSH RFX is <0.005, creatinine is 0.44, BUN/creatinine ratio is 34, bilirubin is 1.5, ALT is 38, immunoglobulin is 7.41, TBII is 12.3, T4 is >24.9, and T3 is 584.

I’ve been on meds for 2 weeks now. 40mg methimazole every day, 25mg atenolol every day, and I took prednisone for the first week only. I think the atenolol is working bc my heart doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode out of my chest anymore. My anxiety, fatigue, irritability/rage are still extremely high though. I’m also having trouble concentrating at work bc I’m dealing with this and recovery from spine surgery. I know it takes at least 4-6 weeks for the meds to do their thing, but having to just suck it up and try to get by in the meantime fucking sucks. I’m tired of being tired all the time. I’m tired of putting in so much effort to recover and show up for work as I’m expected, and it still not being enough. I’m tired of living in a body that’s trying to kill me. My psychiatrist wants to wait to see how these meds affect my anxiety, but I’m starting to feel depressed from surviving life this past year.

Hey yall,

Made a post earlier today abt how it my was first day commuting to the office since surgery. Update: I was sitting/standing in 45 min increments for the morning with no pain, just stiffness. Went for a walk during lunch bc my back was stiff. Came back from my walk and my back was still stiff so I did some v light back stretches from PT to try to alleviate the stiffness. The lower part of my thoracic ended up seizing up super tight/crampy with achy pain. I took a cyclobenzaprine but by then I was already having an anxiety attack so I came home early 🥲 no radiating pain, no stabbing pain, so far as I can tell no weakness. Now I’m terrified I reherniated. Can someone pls offer some reassurance?

First day back in the office!! I’ve been WFH for the last 10 weeks and today’s finally the day. I’m 12 weeks post-op and it’s my first day commuting via public transit into SF. I’m nervous for the commute and long hours of sitting/standing at my desk. I’m taking my muscle relaxer and gabapentin just in case. Hopefully it’s not too terrible today 🥲

So we all know that andarna’s magic is different and rare. Unlike everything ever seen elsewhere in the universe. We know Violet has a second signet aka dreamwalking but my theory is:

What if Andarna doesn’t channel power from the ground or sky? What if Andarna and the other irids are the third source of power?

What if irids have the authority/control to choose what power to channel? Andarna’s magic thus far has felt weak and untrained, but never imprecise. What if irids give riders the ability to access pure, unfettered magic from the source?

Violet can still talk to her dragons in Unnbriel and the other isles because she still has access to pure magic through Andarna. Violet and Andarna desperate for more time to save her friends or stay alive at the end of FW = stopping time. Violet and Andarna filled with rage in Unnbriel bc of unanswered questions abt her parents, childhood, and the gods = channeling lightning. Violet and Andarna constantly searching for clarity throughout the entire series = dreamwalking. The irids got mad at Andarna for giving Violet something far more dangerous than lightning. Xaden said nobody can shield when they sleep, meaning no one can withhold or obscure the truth from a dream walker.

What if that’s the reason the venin want Violet so bad? So they can have access to power at the source for all eternity? So long as they don’t drain enough to kill the irids, they can study and farm them for as long as they live. All the dragons we’ve heard of so far have died in battle. At the very least they live for hundreds or thousands of years. Are they eternal?

And we already know the dragons are lying about their names, but they’re clearly also lying about second signets. What if regular dragons (non-irids) are capable of giving any rider a second signet in a time of great need?

Hello everyone,

I (26F) just had my second follow-up appt with my neurosurgeon at my 12 week post-op mark. I had an endoscopic MD done on my left L4/L5. The appt went surprisingly well! No more spinal fluid leak symptoms, got cleared to go swimming, and I’ll be doing more PT until December. I have very mild aches and pains (0.5-1/10) if I sit for a long time, but that’s about it. Sometimes in PT, I’ll have nerve pain as if it’s being pulled taut. I’m still working on bodyweight exercises and trying to walk as much as possible. I have not returned to my sports (running, weightlifting, yoga, rock climbing) but I understand that good spine health, strength and stability take precedence. I feel hopeful about my recovery and I really hope it keeps improving in the long term.

Hi everyone,

I just took a shower and applied lotion on my body like I usually do. I applied it on my back without thinking and now I’m feeling super anxious that I did something I wasn’t supposed to. I just have a scar on my back now but I am terrified of doing something wrong and causing myself more pain and suffering. My biggest anxiety fear right now is that I somehow cause an infection by putting lotion on my scar (I know, sounds silly). I won’t see my surgeon until my 12wk mark. I don’t have any pain or discomfort right now besides mentally. Can anyone offer some kind words and/or reassurance?