- Joined
- Jun 28, 2018
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- 1,437
I hope it's ok that I'm piggybackinging onto this thread. I had a microdiscectomy on Dec. 16. I don't have much, if any, pain right now but I'm also barely moving around my low back. No bending, lifting, or twisting for another two weeks. Can't lift anything more than ten pounds. Laying low from the gym for the time being and really only walking.
I had l5-s1 discectomy w/laminotomy. The neuro said that he saw "nerve tethering" when he opened me up, which I'd never heard of and still can't find any info on (only am seeing info for "tethered spine" which I don't have). Anyway, first neuro told me in 2019 I'd be good to go for an ALIF but only after I had kids if that was part of my future. I saw him again in 2022 and he's like, "nah, let's wait five to ten years". That seemed weird to me. The only reason given was that if we started now w/a fusion he believed I'd be back in his office every few years doing more fusion. I decided to get a second opinion. The second neuro suggested Microdiscectomy and believed I'd be a good candidate due to my age and being fairly healthy. Very close friend of mine had one and is doing well. He's an Olympic lifter and is backsquatting 450lbs at a bodyweight of 150 lbs. FWIW, I never suffered terrible leg pain; only a few times and at that point the back pain was really bad and I couldn't put weight on my leg for a whole weekend & couldn't sleep b/c I was so uncomfortable.
I decided to go through with it on Dec. 16. Insurance covered all of it. I mostly had incisional pain only, which lasted all of three days. I won't really know though if it was successful for at least few months until I get active again in the gym and on the wrestling mat. If I can wrestle again and lift heavy, that's great. If I can wrestle but still have to lay off heavy squats and DLs, I'd still be thrilled. I'd settle for being able to wrestle a few times a week and being able to do light Bar Squats and Deadlifts and not have pain for days after. That'd make me very happy. Last few years I've been relying on deep bodyweight squats and even that would aggravate my back to a noticeable degree.
I had l5-s1 discectomy w/laminotomy. The neuro said that he saw "nerve tethering" when he opened me up, which I'd never heard of and still can't find any info on (only am seeing info for "tethered spine" which I don't have). Anyway, first neuro told me in 2019 I'd be good to go for an ALIF but only after I had kids if that was part of my future. I saw him again in 2022 and he's like, "nah, let's wait five to ten years". That seemed weird to me. The only reason given was that if we started now w/a fusion he believed I'd be back in his office every few years doing more fusion. I decided to get a second opinion. The second neuro suggested Microdiscectomy and believed I'd be a good candidate due to my age and being fairly healthy. Very close friend of mine had one and is doing well. He's an Olympic lifter and is backsquatting 450lbs at a bodyweight of 150 lbs. FWIW, I never suffered terrible leg pain; only a few times and at that point the back pain was really bad and I couldn't put weight on my leg for a whole weekend & couldn't sleep b/c I was so uncomfortable.
I decided to go through with it on Dec. 16. Insurance covered all of it. I mostly had incisional pain only, which lasted all of three days. I won't really know though if it was successful for at least few months until I get active again in the gym and on the wrestling mat. If I can wrestle again and lift heavy, that's great. If I can wrestle but still have to lay off heavy squats and DLs, I'd still be thrilled. I'd settle for being able to wrestle a few times a week and being able to do light Bar Squats and Deadlifts and not have pain for days after. That'd make me very happy. Last few years I've been relying on deep bodyweight squats and even that would aggravate my back to a noticeable degree.