r/Microdiscectomy

hi all!!! i’m 22 and have always dealt with sciatica pain but about 5 months ago i took a hour and a half drive and i guess that did me in, lol, i’ve been dealing with constant pain down my left leg since then and numbness, along with constant pain in my lower back.
i did physical therapy, pain meds, etc, and i’m finally scheduled for a l4-5 and l5-s1 microdiscectomy october 15th!

i’m just wondering if it will make a massive difference or not? i was a really social and outgoing person before my back injury and it’s been really hard going through all this pain. i’ve tried to stay positive despite it but i cant help but feel like i become a more negative person everyday
i feel like no one around me truly gets it, literally all i do is manage to go to work and lay around in pain around my house, i sleep in pain i wake up in pain and i’m really just hoping that my surgery offers me some relief so i was just wondering about others recovery post surgery and if they eventually got to a more pain free life.
thanks!

It’s been 10 years I been dealing with my compressed nerve the first time it happened I was working out it basically crippled me and I couldn’t walk or stand up the sharp nerve pain I felt down my foot was unbearable! From the first year to now 10 years later .. the pain isn’t as bad but .. I feel it everyday on the side of my foot .. especially when I walk for a long time my mri shows l5 S1 is compressed with fragment , I lost muscle in my right calf due to this I can’t stand on my tippy toes …. I finally decided to do something about and get this surgery done I learned to live with this pain but I no longer want to live like this .. especially the older I’m getting , it’s better to do this now then in my 60s I’m 46 .. and I’m hoping the nerve pain goes away ..once’s the pressure is removed I understand I might never get my muscle bakc on my calf but my main reason to do the surgery is to remove that nerve pain I feel every day .. how realistic is it to go away? .. i can walk but the calf is weak and my balance on the calf is not great .. I still have somewhat of muscle that contracts but not much . As I said I learned to live with this nerve pain and I’ no longer what to anymore .. I can cry when I think about this …. Is it worth Doing the surgery ? I believe it’s better to remove that fragment pushing on the nerve regardless.. for long term health and issues .. sorry for the long story.. I’m just at a lost and want to finally get better .. any suggestions or similar stories would help a lot .. I’m sure this group can understand what I’m going through .. because unless you had this pain nobody understands me .. lol. It’s crazy .. thanks to everyone in advance for reading this ..

I suffer with bad right sided sciatica since last July. Had surgery late June so around 3.5 months post op and still have sciatica everyday. Feeling really discouraged as it seems a lot of peoples experience is waking up pain free. For those that didn’t… how long did it take you to be pain free?

Hi! im after hopefully a bit of reassurance

I had l5/s1 discectomy 8 weeks ago. Since I woke up from the op I’ve had ZERO pain it’s been amazing. I’ve been so careful. I’m still off work, haven’t lifted my toddler at all, I’ve always had help at home and have been lucky.

Anyway. Ive had a cough since Monday. put on steroids for my asthma but have been coughing evenings nights and mornings. I also had physio in the NHS on Wednesday. but I woke up Friday with back pain. it was constant but not severe, and worsened when I coughed. Then on Saturday, by the afternoon, the back pain went but I’ve had a horrible heaviness in my hamstring (my awful awful sciatica pre op was hamstring). it’s worse when I stand up from sitting etc. it’s not painful it’s just a horrible heaviness. but I’m so so worried, is this a sign of reherniation?

I thought it was from the coughing but now I’m wondering if it’s from my first physio session.

i feel so worried and deflated 💔

Hi Guys, I have sciatica that happened 9 years ago due to L4/5 major compression and L3/4 too. I used to have multiple relapses, this time 3 months ago I had a similar pain and this time in right leg. Doctor told me to lose weight as this time it was my weight causing load on my weak spine. Im 31F and weight around 81.5kg (July 2026) Height 5’6 ( Now 77.3 kg with home diet). I have been asked to lose and reach to 60 😅
I was on bed rest for 3 months and used conservative approach as suggested by my doctor. It worked however 9 days ago out of no where I had terrible pain because I stepped out of my house in my Car for grocery shopping, didnt lift anything but this activity was new for my body since 3 months of bed rest and basic home walking of 30-45 mins. I had continuous pain and eventually doctor suggested to take epidural & I took one 5 days ago. It was scary but did give me relief, with ofcourse some discomfort (cant expect 100% no pain)

I am looking for some positive success stories of epidural injection and what steps you took further to avoid the surgery? What all dos and donts to follow?

PS - I was suggested Microdisectomy by a few doctors (spine) but my OG doctor suggested to take epidural as a next stop and see or else we go for surgery.

I’m 25F and currently three months post-discectomy and laminectomy. I started physiotherapy about two weeks ago.
Around one month after surgery, I began experiencing back pain, which has persisted ever since. Thankfully, I no longer have any pain in my legs, but I’m still dealing with significant lower back pain.
I’ve been managing without painkillers, but the pain is becoming difficult to handle. Initially, my doctor prescribed pain medication, but now says that this pain is part of the recovery process.
The pain is particularly bad at night when I try to change sleeping positions or get out of bed. Every morning, before I can get up, I need to do some gentle exercises, including leg rolls, pelvic tilts, cushion presses, and glute bridges. I then walk for about 15 minutes. These exercises help reduce my pain from around 7/10 to 4/10, allowing me to continue with my daily activities.
However, the persistent lower back pain is still affecting my quality of life, and I’m wondering whether this is normal at three months post-op.
Has anyone else experienced something similar after a discectomy and laminectomy? If so, how long did it take for your back pain to improve? I’d really appreciate hearing about your recovery experiences.