Has anyone had a Microdisectomy?

[AnnaNonamus]

I have had agonizing back pain in my lumbar region for several years now- first I associated it with my C-Spine arthritis and over compensating. But, the doctor did new x-rays and said no, I have arthritis in my lumbar.

Treatment was pain shots, and PT, but unlike my neck, shots have never done much for my L-spine.

About a year ago, I started having pain in my left leg's bursa- diagnosis was bursistis with shots and PT. The pain goes away for about 3 weeks, then comes back.

Two weeks ago, they sent me in for an MRI, since my last ones were about 3 years ago, and none since I was DX with arthritis in my lumbar.

Turns out, I have a 50% partially herniated disc that protrudes to the left (could be what's causing the bursitis), so I was referred to a surgeon.

The surgeon specializes in Microdisectomy, which is why my doctor referred me to him specifically, vs doing a full disectomy.

I see the surgeon on the 9th of Sept. I go to Disney on the 20th of October- I refuse to change that around, I've been saving for almost a year so I could afford to take my girls for their first visit (they'll be 11 and 17, the 11yo is ASD, which carries it's own complications for the trip).

My questions I guess are this-

If you have had one, would you recommend trying to squeeze it in before the trip? If so, what would the cut off be- 3-4 weeks before?

Did it help your pain?

How much post surgery pain was there? I can't take strong narcotics, they make me lose my lunch. What I take now is the strongest I've ever taken, and if I don't have a full stomache, and lay down for 20 minutes prior to taking it, it's not pretty.

Another question- the thought of walking all day every day makes me want to pass out. I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney. But the lower back pain... that makes me very scared of how much I'll enjoy the trip. I've never used a cane or a wheel chair, but I'm very seriously considering renting an ECV for at least the last half of the trip.

Has anyone with similar issues used an EVC without having ever needed one before? Did it help?

My back hates walking, but I'll be honest- if I'm sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time, there's pain from that as well, so I'd have to be a "Sit, walk, sit, walk, sit, walk" kind of person even if I had an EVC, but at least then we would still be able to get our time in the park in, vs having to stop everything when I need a break


Suggestions? Thoughts? Some miracle treatment to get me through to Disney??

 

[eyesing4u]

I have had two microdiscectomies. Each took a good 8-12 weeks of recovery. Your doctor will prescribe physical therapy which helps but a trip to WDW will most likely set your recovery back. Have they tried the epidural steroid injections? Those may hold you over until after your planned trip.

 

[Gracie09]

Dh has had this procedure. We took a trip a couple months before and it was horrible. He was in so much pain neither of us enjoyed it very much. He was on major medication to make it through the day. He had a hard time sleeping. It was horrible.
Recovery from his surgery took 8-10 weeks. That was to feel semi-normal and get off the high pain medication. The first few weeks he was very limited in activity - walking on a treadmill on the lowest setting was all he could handle. He eventually had pt several times a week. He wasn't allowed to drive for about 8 weeks or until he was off the narcotics. And then only short distances.
Honestly I would consider postponing. If I knew then what I knew now I wouldn't have gone on that trip and would have scheduled his surgery ASAP.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

If you really insist on going:

- Put the surgery off until after the trip. Yes, you may be in more pain that way, but if you push too soon after surgery, you run the risk of causing the surgery to fail. I've watched this happen with a friend who had a lumbar microdisectomy and then pushed too hard, too soon after surgery. While she hasn't needed more surgery yet, it's back on the table. The nurses, PTs, and doctors were all so impressed with her progress, but that did turn to "you should have been more cautious".

- Consider renting either an ECV or a wheelchair. I'd normally say an ECV alternating with parking and walking or having someone else do some of the driving, but it sounds to me like you're going only with kids under 18 and they cannot drive a rental ECV. You could use a manual wheelchair as a combination of a walker or to sit in. If your 17 year-old is big enough to help push you, that's great and you can also probably do some propelling with your feet. Whether you rent a wheelchair or ECV, I suggest renting from offsite. It's substantially less expensive and then you'll have the mobility device wherever you are, not just in the parks.

- Plan in breaks. You can lie down in First Aid for a while if you need to, but can't make it all the way back to where you're staying. I don't know how long you're traveling, but it may be worth planning some late starts or half days or even days just at the resort.

- Consider how you feel about being separated from your daughters. The 17 year old is old enough to spend time alone in the parks. I can't tell if she's old enough to bring her younger sister with her (or if that's a feasible suggestion), but as much as this is supposed to be a family vacation, it may be something to consider for days or times when you're not up to hauling around.

- Consider your physical ability to take care of your kids while away and in pain. You mention that your younger daughter has an ASD and I can't tell if that's going to be something that will be physically hard for you to deal with. While it's great if your daughters get along and can hang out together, you don't want to depend on your older daughter for physical control or have her feel like she's babysitting. Having her as the physical control just plain isn't appropriate in terms of relationship with her sister and if she feels like she's having to babysit there are going to be so many other levels of resentment and anger (both with you and her sister) that it could cause some real problems further down the road.

Practical honest advice:

I agree with the others that if there's any chance you can postpone your trip, you really should. WDW resorts (and other hotels) are often very accommodating about moving reservations due to health issues. Even if there's a "no transfer" clause somewhere many places, including many airlines, will actually reschedule when you explain the circumstances. If you happen to already have trip insurance, that would likely also be valid in this case. If you don't have it now, there's no point in purchasing it since the disk issue is now pre-existing so would be very hard to get covered.

One thing is that WDW is not only magical if you first go as a kid. I went once when I was 12 and didn't go again until almost 10 years later. The trips I've had as an adult have been actually more magical than that first trip. Some of that is because I'm the only Disney person in my immediate family so going with friends means I've been with people who are more exited than my family ever was, but I also honestly have gotten far more out of the parks as an adult. I know that's not true for everyone, but I don't want you to feel like you're ruining things for your daughters if they don't get to go when they're under 18. I'd think it would likely be much more fun for everyone to put off the trip to next spring and have it as a celebration after you've recovered from the surgery. You'll be in less pain and few months of delay is not going to change how much fun they have. Even a year wouldn't change that.

 

[niftywench]

Each person's recovery is different, I had three discs removed and my cervical spine fused in August 2011. It was three months before I could drive properly, and i tried to go back to my old job but my pain has been really hard on me. I don't take any painkillers but have had some relief from PT and chiro as well as regular exercise and rest. I'm going on my first post surgery trip in a couple of weeks and nervous about how I will be able to handle it but have some great footwear and I will be kind to myself and rest when i need to. the pain i lived with before my surgery was a different kind of pain, also it cause my arms to be 90% numb all the time and have full use of them now.
Good luck, and please contact me if you have any other questions, I'm very happy to help!

 

[stitchlovestink]

I have had two microdiscectomies. Each took a good 8-12 weeks of recovery. Your doctor will prescribe physical therapy which helps but a trip to WDW will most likely set your recovery back. Have they tried the epidural steroid injections? Those may hold you over until after your planned trip.

I have also had two microdiscectomies and I was NOT sent to PT post operatively either time. I had four procedures done...not just the discectomy, but PT isn't always a given and isn't always in the best interest of the patient's recovery!

My biggest and best advice.....research your surgeon!!! What is his complication rate???? I would also suggest using an ortho spine specialist over a neurosurgeon.

OP! Feel free to PM me if you would like me to give you more detailed reasons as to why I say these things.... I am speaking from first hand experiences of my own, not a spouse.... but what I went thru myself. It was an experience unlike any other!!!!

Biggest thing to remember in your recovery!!! Watch your BLTs!!! Bending, Lifting (less than a gallon of milk which is 8lbs), Twisting!!! You can reherniate very easily! Technically Even by sneezing too hard!

 

[Gracie09]

Op I don't know if you are still reading this but I asked dh (who had this procedure after a disastrous trip to dw) and his advice is get it done now and postpone your trip. If you try to power through you will not enjoy it as you will be in too much pain. He reminded me that he use to come back to the room, change into his bathing suit to go hit the hot tub while I put dd to bed and then when he returned take a pain pill and collapse on the bed unable to move.
After his surgery he was limited not just on driving but also flying for several weeks. He had a strict pt/exercise regimine and could not walk very far very fast.
He also said look for a neurosurgeon who specializes in spines. His doctor pretty much only does this surgery. He former patients now are cleared to sky dive of they want (as is dh but that's not happening anytime soon). If you want a complete recovery you can't push it the first year.
Good luck