[mhueycpa]

Hello Forum,

Hope all is well. I have been on here for some time now and have enjoyed the benefit of the information provided by users related to being a CPA (exam, lifestyle, work, etc.) Now I come again looking for different info. I had recently had surgery done for herniated disc at L4/L5. Did anyone else have this surgery done? If so, how long was it before you could return to work? I feel like I’ll get better information here as most/all of us are accountants and probably sit for most of the day, which after having lower back surgery is really a no-no. Thank you all for your input in advance

THE 300 CLUB WILL DO JUST FINE!

[MaLoTu]

What did your doctor recommend? I knew someone who had some sort of reconstruction on their back and was out for about a month. I don't think it was a full recovery, just when they were able to do the basics required at work again.

I hope that you have a speedy recovery!

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[mhueycpa]

Surgeon hasn't actually given me a time frame yet. Nurses said it could be 6months for a full recovery, i've seen videos online of other people who had the same procedure and they were able to go back after 4-6weeks. We'll see what the surgeon says on my first post op visit. Thank you for the well wishes.

THE 300 CLUB WILL DO JUST FINE!

[Panthers87]

What type did you have? I had an L5/S1 Micrdiscectomy this past year and am feeling a lot better. Had terrible nerve pain in my back and leg for around 2.5 years before I decided to go under the knife. I went back to school 2 weeks later, but I was still feeling a bit under the weather. First couple of weeks are pretty tough, but just make sure you are walking as much as possible.

Biggest difficulty with going back to work will be sitting for extended periods of time. For the first couple of weeks I was only supposed to sit for 30 minute intervals. It will be a case by case basis in terms of how long until you can get back to work, but I can't stress enough to take your time and to not return until you're ready.

[mhueycpa]

I had the same procedure but on L5 S1 and L4. Also, It wasn't minimally invasive. I had terrible pain that wasn't getting better with conservative treatment, for a few months, started having other symptoms that required emergency surgery. Pain and other symptoms have eased, only have pain from incension site really. Just trying to avoid doing anything to make it herniated again avoiding BLT at all cost. Walking as much as possible too. Problem is I've used most of my paid time off from work dealing with the conservative treatments that I worry about not being able to work for several weeks and thus not being paid. I was told to look into st disability depending on recovery time, but this is still something I have to look into. Thank you.

THE 300 CLUB WILL DO JUST FINE!

[mhueycpa]

If I may inquire, how long was it before u returned to work? We're u able to go back full time? Did you have to get up and work around every few minutes? I sure the surgeon will go over this stuf with me, but I'm just also looking for cases to get a better picture of what it's really like to heal and get back to regular functions.

THE 300 CLUB WILL DO JUST FINE!

[Panthers87]

I was a full time student at the time so I didn't have to go back to work thankfully. I went back to school 9 days later but honestly that was pushing it. I usually had around 3 hours of class per day, and I would try to get up and walk around every 30 minutes. The rest of the day was either spend walking around, laying in my bed, or sitting on a comfortable chair. Like you said, focus on making sure to not bend, lift, or twist, as those are the most common ways to reherniate it. You have to remember though, its a case by case basis and its very hard to plan your recovery based on the experiences of another person.

[Panthers87]

If you have any other questions let me know though…I'm just starting to feel around 100% and it really was one of the best choices I have ever made.

[Texan_176]

About 3 years ago I did something very stupid and lifted a heavy object. I had terrible pain in all of my back for about 2 weeks but it gradually went away. Then in just hit me like someone stuck a knife in my spine one day. I freaked out but my doctor kept giving me muscle relaxers when it was something much more serious. The pain stopped so I went back to normal life for about 2 years when all of a sudden I had this intense burning pain on the outside edge of my left leg from the mid thigh to the ankle. I saw a chiropractor and physical therapist for weeks. They thought it was a muscular problem and did everything from electro-stimulation/heat packs to massage using this tool that looks like a butter knife to push on muscles and break up fibers within. This helped with the symptoms but I was not improving.

The pain was constant and was unbearable. I had trouble just being able to think about anything else so I went to see an orthopedic surgeon on my own. X-rays showed nothing wrong but an MRI revealed L3 L4 and L5 as being shot. It was L5 herniation that was pushing on the nerve root and causing the pain in my leg. This surgeon said unless I got to a point it was intolerable he did not want to operate. His last resort operation was disc removal of all 3 and fusing the spine with rods/screws. He just told me to keep doing PT and core building exercises.

I did not get better so I just got the word out and asked everyone I could if they knew of a doctor that was a specialist in this sort of thing. When I took REG my leg was on fire with pain. I was close to a nervous breakdown at that point. I finally found another doctor who looked at my MRI and said he too would operate as a last resort but he would do minimally invasive surgery and just remove the part of the disc pushing on the nerve instead of total disc removal. He gave me a 5 day steroid pack and a low dose anti-inflammatory drug. I immediately got relief and 99% of the time live pain free. It will sometimes come back to a 4 out of 10 pain level in my leg but will go away within 20 minutes or so. I also sometimes feel numbness or tingling in my left foot but this is rare.

I'm glad the people who had surgery are doing better. Please share your story and experience. I'm in my late 30s and will probably face a surgery at some point in my life. Right now I just take it easy and avoid lifting, practice good body mechanics, etc.

If I had known what I know now I would not be where I am with this problem. Anyone who reads this thread:

NEVER LIFT ANYTHING YOU REMOTELY CONSIDER TO BE HEAVY.

If you go on a trip somewhere tip the porters well and have them handle your bags. With large/heavy furniture hire movers to do it for you. etc etc

The cost to do that sort of thing is nothing compared to the misery your life becomes with chronic pain.

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