Numbness after L4/L5 microdiscectomy- tell me it goes away??

Brain and nerves
1

Hello,

My name is Michelle. I am a RN and I have had years of low back pain with a history of herniated

discs from L3-S1. These symptoms would aggravate me from time to time but, being a nurse, with a

familial history of arthritis I thought it was just par for the course. Until three months ago when i

developed sciatica pain down my left leg and it was present every day, and it ruined my summer.

I couldn't walk without pain, bend without pain and basically was bed ridden and depressed all

summer. I am healthy, took NO meds up to this point and I was always a pretty active person. I finally

decided to have the surgery. On Monday 09/30/13 I had a microdiscectomy and was pleasantly

surprised with how easy it was to go home the next day. My pain was minimal, honestly, I do not

think I even needed the Oxycodone, it wasn't that bad. However, I did need the Valium, I noticed

the incision was sore in the am and was happy to have the Valium. By day 3 post op, I was off all

of the narcotic meds and only taking ibuprofen and tylenol (valium at night). Day 5, I was walking, no numbness, no tingling, doing fine... Until I coughed. I literally re herniated from a cough and ended

up back in the hospital undergoing a second round of emergency surgery to remove the extruded

disc. I now have numbness in my left foot and toes that I am so sad about. I have read and read on

line and all that I have heard is that it very rarely goes away, yet the surgeon says it will? Who do I

believe? And how long does it take? I just want my life back (much like everyone here) so, any

information you can provide me with would be very much appreciated. I'm still not having any pain to speak of so, for those of you worried about post op pain, it's really really not bad at all!

(In my opinion of course). Thank you all for any responses.

Michelle

2

Hi Michelle,

I can't help you with post-operative numbness, however it was interesting to read about your condition and immediate post-operative recovery; I am presently awaiting a "surgical decision" having had my summer completely ruined by a similar numbness, (brought on by sciatica following problems with my lower back), and constant/permanent pins and needles in my right foot - people just don't 'get' not only how excrutiatingly difficult this condition is to live with, but how it effects our day to day lives - for instance I need help in washing my feet, cutting toenails, putting on socks, and even stepping into pants/trousers

I wish you well in your recovery; I hope to have my surgical decision soon

3

Hi Michelle 

I had a discectomy on 9/2, on L4 L5. Two days after surgery I was in worse pain than before . At some point I had reherniated that same disc and a large chunk became lodged between the bone and spinal cord . I had a 2nd surgery on 9/23.

It is now 9/28 and I have pain in my left ankle and the top of my left foot . Oddly enough , the outside of my foot and ankle are very numb but the pain (along with pins and needle feeling ) is coming from the inside out.

I see that your post is from 12 months ago...but I was wondering how things turned out for you. Are you still in pain? And what about the numbness ?

Pam

4

hi there

I had a discetomy April 13 L5/S1, unfortunately i had some improvment but did have that problem with my left leg after surgery.

unfortunately after much asking I was referred back to Consultant and they found I had a cyst and inflammation bth sides of spine.

i then had revision decommpression & posterior L5/S1 instrumental stabilisation in July this year and I now have pain in right leg and burning sensation in big toe. It was a 5hr op and I have got rods and screws in my back now but still in lot of pain epecially in mornings.

still on Tramadol which is now 20 mths

5

Michelle-

had an L5/S1 Discectomy in October 2012 - and still have numbness in my left foot ( pinkie toe and 2 next to it ) as well as left calf "odd feeling".  Very frustrating.  Had to EMG's and was told nerve was still active but regenerates slowly.  I'm beginning to doubt ever having more improvement.  Trying to treat it as the new normal.  I do run but it is "normal / numb / normal / numb.  as I said - really frustrating.  Hope gong better for you.

6

i have the same problem 2 1/2 yrs later.left 2 toes numb on left foot ,twitching in my calf and muscle spasm in my thigh,I hope and pray that eventually it goes away.DJ

7

I'm in the same boat as you kinda I had discectomy of my L5/S1 and right after the surgery my out side of my left foot small toe and next toe numbness along with my calf everywhere I look seems to be a normal outcome temporarily. How did your outcome to now turn out?

8

Hello All,

I just wanted to give you an update. The numbness on the bottom of my foot has NOT resolved. I still have spasmodic pain around d the incision site. Standing for long periods of time is painful, like muscle pain. However, the sciatica pain is gone and that is what was debilitating for me. I agree that this numbness is the new normal for me. And I just live life happy to have no sciatica pain. I take zero mediation except occasionally I'll take an Advil or a muscle relaxer. I wish you all the best of luck in your recovery.

9

Thank you, for the quick response I guess I know what to look forward to. Are you able to run and walk fine with the numbness

10

Hi there... Yes, I can run. I do feel the numbness but it's more annoying than anything. I can feel it the most in the water. It feels like I'm stepping on something. But, it's not painful, just annoying. It becomes a mind over matter thing. You'll be fine, I'm certain of it. Good luck

11

Hi all,

Just an update since my previous post - I had a discectomy/decompression of L4/L5 in May 2014; post op, the sciatic pin has pretty much all gone, however I do have almost constant/permanent paraesthesia (pins & needle/numbness) in my right foot - I have just had a follow-up with my consultant (which should have been in June 2015, but we won't go there!) and he has decided that I should have an MRI "to see what is happening in my back" as he put it - I've just had the MRI, and now waiting for the follow-up; the paraesthesia has a detrimental effect on my life, in that when walking, it is almost as if I have an elephant foot, in that there is very little control of my right foot, it gives me no 'leverage' and it feels as if I'm just 'thumping' that foot into the ground, rather than it help me walking - additionally, I have severe pain in my calf muscles after walking for no more than about 30-50 metres - hopefully, this MRI scan will come up with some answers, some of which may be beneficial to me

Will keep you posted as and when 

12

Good luck! Sometimes scar tissue can do that... Sometimes it's more disc herniation. Let's hope for a diagnosis that will provide you with some options for a better quality of life!

Keep us posted.

Michelle

13

Hello I'm in the same boat was given gabapentin and naproxen for the calf and outside toe. How r u coming along what does the doctor tell you?

14

Hello did you have surgery prior? I just had a discectomy l5s1 and those are the symptoms post surgery for me ? What does your doctor say?

15

Hello, I wouldn't bother with the gabapentin unless you're in pain (nerve pain)... I don't really have nerve pain. I have nerve damage, I can't feel the bottom of parts of my left foot. And my back is still painful but it's not nerve pain, it's musculosketal (muscle pain). Gabapentin doesn't do much for that. You'd be better off with muscle relaxers (like flexeril and ibuprofen and the application of heat). You should do exercises that gently build your core strength and stretching like yoga. Other than that there aren't many options.

I do hope you find what works for you!

Good luck!

16

I to have similar no feeling bottom of left foot the pain I have is in my calf as I walk because of the loss of feeling in the bottom of my foot I cant push off using the front of my foot therefore it puts a strain on my calf which has loss almost complete muscle. Has your calf been affect in anyway?

17

sounds like I should follow up with doc again.  wonder if there is scar tissue

 

18

Definitely follow up with your doc. Ask about scar tissue and how they treat that??

19

Hi Michelle,

I had a microdiscectomy back in December 21, 2015 right before my 18th birthday ( today marks the 4 month post surgery mark ). I still have pain running down my right leg ( upper glut and in my calf muscle ). Before the surgery I have had the disc pinching on my nerve for nearly 10 months.... It ruined my summer and I couldn't do what most of my friends were doing... My parents were too scared that something would go wrong with the surgery, so we tried Physical Therapy for about 2-3 months. My pain was getting worse and worse. After alot of convincing I got my parents to allow me to get the surgery ( No regrets at all ). I would rate my pain before my surgery as 9/10 and now after my surgery I rate it as 5/10. I can't even remember how it feels to have no pain... It is constant and doesn't go away ( I feel better when I lie down on my back or stomach ).. I feel better when I sleep on the ground rather than on my, what used to be comfortable, bed.... I am starting to lose hope on ever feeling better... Everytime I walk I have pain in my upper right glut ( everytime I extend my right foot ) and sometimes it goes down my right leg to my calf.... I still can't bend down without a massive amount of pain running down my right leg... I can't even sit down for longer than 15 minutes because I start to have a lot of pain in my calf... How are you feeling now? Is there pain when you extend your foot? From 1-10 how good do you feel? ( rate 1-10 before and after the surgery please) Thanks for your time and I hope your numbness goes away!

20

Hi Michelle,

I also had microdiscectomy on L4/L5, back in August 2015.

This was after months of going through the usual pain relief and physio route, but fortunately, I was finally referred for an MRI scan, as my leg and back pain wouldn't go away. Following the MRI I was admitted to have an emergency case and underwent an operation to remove some of the offending disc, I was told it was a wonder I could even walk and if the operation wasn't performed straight away, I risked living the rest of my life wheelchair bound.

The operation did relieve my leg pain immediately and I was up and about within hours of the operation, but it did leave me with more numbness in the toes in my left foot than before, plus the middle toes in my right foot were now a bit numb, when previously this wasn't the case, but things were a definite improvement on how I felt before the operation.

I was told by the Consultant that this numbness should go away over time, however, the numbness has unfortunately got worse and the heel on my left foot is now also painful as well as being numb and the numbness has moved up my calf, so that walking any distance has become an issue, as my foot feels a bit like a lump of wood. I think this has also created a problem with my left leg, as I am putting too much pressure on my joints, making my knee and ankle swell.

I had an appointment with the Consultant, with I think a view to discharging me from his care, but I told the consultant things were still not right, fortunately he somewhat reluctantly agreed that I should have a second MRI scan, which looked very much like the first one I had and proved that the disc was still putting a lot of pressure on my spinal chord.

I was given a pre operation appointment, thinking that with this happening, I should soon be on the operating table again, to get this sorted out once and for all, unfortunately, I was way off the mark with my thoughts on how soon an operation would take place, when the operations booking woman told me that it would be 6 months before another operation. I then decided to go private, with a different consultant and this has speeded things up considerably, as my operation will take place in the next couple of weeks. 

Hopefully, this time it will be a complete success, although my new consultant tells me it's now only an 80% success rate for a second operation (first operation I was told it was 90% success rate).

I have to say that, on reflection, I’m glad I had the original operation, as I am definitely better for it and I would advise anyone with a similar problem to go for it, but hopefully, that wouldn’t involve having to go through a second operation.