runner's surgery blog, L4/5, 2008

[runner]

Phylly, we are back.
No pilates. Do the phonophoresis treatment and then no exercises or walking until 24 hours later. Did some straight leg raises and pelvic tilts on Monday. Walked today about one mile or so.
Not exactly putting in six to eight mile runs. Hah Hah.

[runner]

Doing some late night typing. I am getting sleepy but am winding down with some little laptp fun.
Went to a cardiovascular symposioum (heart) today, and have had a change in symptoms. In San Francisco, I would occassionally get a "sleepy" right foot and then it would go away and I had pain with sitting, but not awful.

This week, I went to back-to-school at the high school (walked), drove 35 minutes to Irvine and sat for one hour doing interview, and drove back, went to PT, and drove kids to practice. Then on Thursday, attended PT.

Today (Friday) went to syposoum but my right foot's plantar fascia was hurting while I was sitting. I got up to walk as much as possible during the symposium also because I am having a bit of back pain while sitting. Anyway, was standing for a while after seminar ended and then drove home, which was more than an hour drive and hit the Friday night traffic a bit.
So my right foot goes almost all numb and my right leg (up shins, knees, thigh and hamstring/glute) is also numb but not as much as foot. I thought I might have to get off the freeway and stamp my foot around a bit but I just concentrated on driving instead and wanted to get home as soon as possible. My left foot whidh I don't need to drive was the one that was just tingling and not like that.

I have never had my foot fall asleep like that when driving and it scared me a bit. I was a bit of a heavy foot--called "lead foot" when I was driving. `
So I iced my back as usual when I got back and my foot did wake up when I got out of my car although my glute remained numb.

This morning, my legs are tingling and my feet just while I am laying in bed. So a gradual increase of symptoms over the past week.

So what do you think? I have already been told that I have a micro tear in one of my other discs.


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[runner]

Update:

Looks like I am okay. Despite the tingling and numbness in my feet and legs, and radiculopathy (sciatica), I have been given the okay to start a work program in physical therapy.

I love backs, they are so darn confusing. I increased my Gabapentin (Neurotin) dose as the doc directed. I am now on 300 mg four times a day and can go up to six times a day if I need it and can tolerate it. I'll see how four times a day pans out.
Still, the side effects seem to be water retention and weight gain. I have lost six pounds since I got back on the gabapentin and initially gained weight, but that is not without a lot of effort on my part to eat more healthy and less.

Saturday, marks my seventh-month anniversary since surgery at L4/5. Yah--OOO.

When I was at the doctor's, I could get past my knees but still cannot touch my toes. I can really feel the mobility with the disc. I like the idea that I can get past my knees. Progress. Still cannot put shoes on normally. A lot of people probably have this problem post-op with stiff muscles that don't work quite the same as before surgery.

Still happy and grateful that I was able to get the surgery despite the insurance hell and such.

I am able to do some of this 'giving back stuff' now and able to so far stay off the narcotic pain meds so I can drive and do things. I am volunteering at a bone marrow drive tomorrow (Saturday) that a friend of mine has coordinated. There will be drives at several fire stations simultaneously and hopefully we will sign up several people and help save lives.

Keeping the faith and making progress.
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[runner]

The bone marrow drive went well. I went to one fire station in a private community and ended up at another because that fire station didn't know anything about the drive.
We signed up eight people for the national marrow list.
At other firestations in the OC, other people signed up. So not too bad. My friend Gina is pleased but she continues to fight for better awareness of what signing up on the national registry means. Gina lost her son last November to a dreadful genetic disease called ALD.
In the past weeks, I have met a few people who were actually lucky enough to be picked, gave their marrow, and saved a life.
We back people might not yet be able to sign up. I found I was not since I have had back surgery in the past two years. But when i am elgible, I am signing up (70% of the time, the procedure is done through a plasma phoresis process where stem cells are filtered out of the blood and there is no hip puncture involved).
You can learn more at National Marrow Donor Program.

On to other matters, the lovely sciatica continues to hang on. Often, I sit down on a chair and have to get up because one leg or the other falls asleep. My feet also go numb when I walk. Sitting with my legs under me or trying to sit on the floor brings on the same effect. I recertified for my ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) certificate on Thursday and also did my regular CPR thing and we were doing CPR on dummies on the floor and I was inwardly aware of my feet and legs tingling and numb. Seems like some nerve impingement is going on. It is getting a bit tiring and old.

My PT put in for a home TENs unit through a script from my doc and so if insurance will pay for that, I can use it at home.
I used a portable one at PT so I could do more exercise. The reasoning is that i do more exercise, i loose more weight, I get stronger abs and back muscles and that translates into a more stable back.
I was allowed to do seven minutes on the eliptical trainer. Not much, considering in the not so distant past, I was able to run for an hour (this was before back pain and back surgery).

There is nothing worse (well, not really, but it seems like it) than a person who is used to high intensity exercise, not being able to exercise like that. I mean one mile walks do not cut if for me. But they seem to be the amount that is tolerated by my back currently.

I haven't had the charley horses in my calves lately but this morning at 4:45 one hit and out of bed I sprung. Seems to be a common problem after disc surgery. Sure woke me up and my husband.

Well that's the update.

[runner]

There is always tomarrow!!

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I am glad the drive went well. As for the sciatica I think it is great that you are able to plow the road ahead and work through the discomfort. I understand the frustration with exercise. I am waiting for the follow up next month to get some great PT going. Been power walking .75 miles in 15 minutes however that is not enough. I hope the TENS unit is approved! Keep making those forward strides.

Paul
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MVA on 20AUG07 at work
L4/L5 Annular Tear
One failed epidural 12OCT08
Discogram 10FEB08
ADR Prodisc L 10JUN08

[runner]

Runner:

It sounds like you are making steady progress. I am sure that you will be able to return to your active lifestyle in time. This is a butt kicking surgery that takes time to heal from. I'm glad the Charlie Horses have subsided some. We laughed about that sudden flying out of bed syndrome but it sure is difficult when you are going through it.

Keep hanging in there and let us know how things are progressing.

Terry Newton
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1980 ruptured L4-L5
1988 ruptured SI-L5
1990 ruptured C5-C6
1994 ruptured C6-C7
1995 Hemi-Laminectomy C5-C6, C6-C7 Mayo Clinic
Bicycle Accident 2004
MRI, EMG, Facet Injections, Epidural Blocks, Lumbar Discogram.
Stenum Hospital Surgery November 4, 2006
Prestige Disc C5-C6, C6-C7
Maverick Disc S1-L5, L4-L5

[runner]

Terry,

I don't know if I would say I am making progress. At least, the back pain isn't so bad. It scares me that I can point to two incidences where I felt very sharp back pain and then I had return of sciatica one week later.
I have decided that if things are not better by next Monday, that I will call my doc. I don't think I made it clear to him that my legs are numb or tingling most of the time. I don't have to sit to have my right foot fall asleep, it does that when I go for a walk. I often stamp my foot against the ground because it falls alseep when I am standing in the kitchen.
These are not symptoms I had before the sciatica returned. I had minor tingling before in my lower legs and had no sciatica.

I have a very intuitive sense of what happens physically. Meaning when I was taking care of patients on units, I often had a feeling that a patient might go south. I learned to listen to that sense and it helped my work.
I also have found I have that same sense about what happens to my body. I know when something is wrong; like I thought something was wrong when I first had the "extreme" backpain in 2007 and was being told repeatedly I just had a muscle strain.

Some muscle strain.

Now, I don't particularly like treatments or visits to doctors, but I cannot ignore how I feel. As much as I try to reason things away or think things are getting better, the fact is that I now have more severe sciatica than I had before surgery and the radiculopathy is much worse.
I just need to find out if this is the normal healing process or something else. Hopefully, it is just normal.

Right now I am kind of slouching back on the couch and typing with my laptop on a pillow. I have numbness, tingling or burning in both feet and shins and I have sciatica in my right leg despite taking my Gabapentin over an hour ago. The top of my feet feel cold right now and the right side of my back hurts. I have only been in this position for a few minutes. I know I cannot lie down all the time so I alternate positions.
I feel that my L4/5 disc is good. I do have increased flexiblility but I am limited in PT on how much i can do. I feel like what i do is very little. I have been an athlete all my life and miss being in shape.

Well, enough doomsday talk. Too many morose thoughts. My daughter had a play rehearsal today and I was in charge of the dinner to feed the kids. I was told I needed to feed 40 people. I made baked Ziti and it went over well. It was cool to see those teenagers scarfing down food. I mean I used to eat that way when I was 126 pounds and had the metabolism of a tiger. This is something I would not have been able to do before surgery since I was in too much back pain.
So it is nice to be able to cook and cook for 40 people, LOL.