help! Anyone had a microdiscectomy?

sorry, never even heard of it, but im sure someone will have, just wanted to say welcome to hukd, so welcome x

hi tovy

have you looked on web -

http://www.neurosurgeon.co.uk/pages/micro1c.htm

hope all goes well for you

It's a really common op. My brother had it done last year at Musgrove park in Taunton and was up walking the next day.

Good luck, I'm sure all will be fine.

I know someone who had this done and she was up and about fairly quickly, it's made such a difference in her life and she said it was well worth it! She said that swimming really helped her recuperation and got her back muscles into shape which will help keep the spine well-aligned and preventing further problems in the future.

Best of luck with the Op and hope that the recuperation goes well!

Thank you so much for your replies, its nice to have replies from real people and who it has worked for! I know 2 people who have had it done and it has not worked for either of them, so it does not fill me with much confidence.
Also I have been of work quite a few times with my back problem, and felt as though my manager did not believe me, until I told her the results from the MRI scan and told her I needed the op. I always feel guilty staying off work, but sitting at a desk all day is just so painful!

When you go back to work get your Occ Health department to assess your chair, they have to give you a suitable one by law, as this is a major problem with office workers. You are also entitled to time off (paid) for physio too

I already have quite a good chair at work, I have had to see an OH doctor who assessed me, and along with all my other problems and drugs (legal) that I take, he said something about being classed as a disability for the time I have had off? But I am unsure of what is meant by that, and I never thought to ask at the time, as my brain is a bit pickeled at the moment!

Hi,

Just wanted to say that I had slipped disc 4 years ago, after spending a small fortune on chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists and acupuncture, I thought I would end up in pain for the rest of my life.

By fluke I had an indian head massage at my local college, the lady who was doing it said to my, your shoulder is out. I asked her how she knew and she told me she was a sports therapists. Decided I'd give her a go and she is AMAZING. What she told me was that because my back has been out of alignment for so long all my muscles carry my bones incorrectly so by massage she re-trains the muscles to hold me correctly so that my bones will realign (hope that makes sense). Because i'd been walking bent over my back was out of alignment and so to was my shoulder. Once she'd corrected my shoulder the pain was literally halved as there was less pressure on my lower back.

When she has been on holiday I been seen by 2 of her colleagues and they were both rubbish so now I will only ever see her. I go once a month to ensure that I don't have any flare-ups and touch would have been pain free for 18 months now. The cost of each 45 minute session of massage (which is absolutely heaven and pain free)... the costly sum of £23! She also told me something no-one else told me to do.... use ice or frozen gel compresses when i'm in the pain. Swelling causes pain and cold decreases it and therefore the pain decreases too. Heat makes it worse! Im up in the northwest if you want her number.

Good luck with your op if you go for it.

I also had a slipped disc about 4 years ago. I had my first partial discectomy after about a year and a half which, unfortunately did not do the trick. Had my second one in May last year which, thankfully, finally did the trick. Both operations lasted about 4 and half hours but was up and about the following day, though still in pain. Think they recommended about 3or 4 months off work after.
Hope it goes well for you!

And now in agony as I went back to work after 3 weeks and think I pulled it further out! Am now waiting for another scan to see what I have done?
The pain is just as bad as before and have been like this for nearly 2 years!
Doc said if diskectamy didn't work then they may be able to remove it fully and fuse spine but now he is saying not sure he can do anything else and I am really worried!
Have been on legal drugs for so long but now BP gone sky high and heart playing up so waiting for ECG next week too! (Im under 40).
Hopefully there will be something they can do as I am a tad too young to be like this ie hardly able to walk or even turn over in bed without screaming!!
I have heard of people who have had total disc out and they are fine so here's hoping and good luck as I know how painful it is!

Good luck with it...

OMG!
I am worried about ging back to work too soon too, been off for a while now, and my wages are likely to go down to half, I only have my daughter, who can sometimes be really nice, but most of the time a stroppy teenager to help me, but I find I am very reliant on her.
I am going on holiday on saturday, looks like it will be a sunlounger and wine holiday, which is quite upsetting as I like to be active, I have a massive craving to go to the gym!

You say about having an ECG, well.... another problem, my boyfriend has commented on how my lips look a funny colour, really pale, almost blue, but I think I have been to the doctors too many times lately and i dont want them to think i am a hypochondriac, as I can only notice a slight change in colour?!

I am too young for all this too at 34, I walk around worse than a really old lady! And when I do walk it aint very far! I just keep randomly falling too, my legs just sometimes give way!
I cant wait to be back up and active again, but I dont want to place too much hope on the op!!

If you have gone funny colour please go see your doc as you can't do it from a box!!
I only asked him if my meds were sending me dizzy so thats when he decided to check BP and heart and good job me finks so don't worry about seeing doc too much that is what they are hear for or if you really don't want to go ring that NHS helpline and see what they say! I rang it once for my mate who was having pain in her heart and they sent a car to check her out!!!
What would your family do if they lost you coz you are too scared to see doc again?
Let me know how you get on, if your still around!!!!
Good luck xxx