In late May of 2015, I distinctly remember laying on the floor of my condo watching Youtube videos on my iphone. I was in a lot of pain and couldn’t really move without horrible nerve shocks shooting down my right leg into my ankle. And while I lay there I just kept watching self published videos of people recovering from a discectomy. These videos gave me some comfort in knowing that surgery could stop the excruciating Sciatic pain I was enduring. So, I would like to thank these five people who took the time to tell their story of overcoming herniated disc pain through surgery.
Jacob Shelley:
Jake had a L5/S1 discectomy on his right disc bulge. He shares why he chose surgery and the situation and symptoms leading up to it. Like many he tried several different treatments (chiro, massage, decompression, epidural) which gave temporary relief but eventually opted for a discectomy.
Day 1
2 Month
6 month
Susan Kaye:
Very few people have the commitment to do follow up videos yet Susan posts her 5-day, 12-day, 1 month, 1 year progress. This provides the rest of us with a recovery timeline that’s both informative and encouraging. Nice longitudinal research Susan!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPqwMGpLQmjSXhJ7YwRnztw
Christopher Gibson:
In this three-part video, Christopher gives some great practical advice on how to sleep and stay comfortable pre and post surgery. Please check with your doctor before taking any of the medication Chris mentions. Here’s a link to the Tempurpedic pillow he suggests using to keep your head propped up for good circulation and the Knee pillow for leg support.
Dave
Dave’s story is similar to mine. Very active throughout his life then one day …whamo! He stood up and was hit with severe pain down his leg. It turned out to be a ruptured disc that was pinching a nerve. This all sounds very familiar including the treatments he tried before surgery (epidurals, steroids, painkillers etc).
Dave was thankful that people had made discectomy recovery videos on Youtube so that he could see what he was in for. Like Susan Kaye, he created a series of post surgery videos so that we could chart his progress.
Day 1
Day 10
Day 22
4 Months
Dan Dobi
Let’s end on a fun one. Errr…not that back surgery is fun, it’s just that Dan is a popular blogger and he manages to capture the daily struggle of recovering from a microdiscectomy in a light-hearted way.
Day 1
Week 1
Week 4
4 Months
