Update- 3 Days after Surgery

The last few days have been difficult, which is why I haven't written. I believe I am through the worst of it, now on to healing.

Day of surgery- It was a rough night before and I hardly slept. All the fear and anxiety was gone. I really was at my wits end with the pain and I was ready for the surgery. They let me continue taking pain medication until the morning of the surgery. We arrived at 6am just as I was told to, even though surgery wasn't until 1pm. Two of my pastors came in to pray over me before I went under the knife. It's kind of a blur as I was able to finally get some sleep during the morning. They stuck me with an IV to get some fluids in me. Surgery started at 1pm and I believe I was in my room by about 5:30. I really didn't want to be alone and my prayers were answered by a steady stream of visitors for the evening. That first night was so hard. I had to keep getting up every hour or so to pee. It was frustrating because the pain was excruciating and it was incredibly difficult to move. The nurses were gracious and sweet every time I called for help or drugs. They gave me both pains shots and Percoset steadily through the night. But, alas, I made it through that first night.

Day 1- The surgeon came in to see me bright and early. I believe it was about 7am when he told me I was going home. I asked to stay. He said NOPE. I couldn't see how I was going to be able to make it without help. The pain was INTENSE. But, he told me going home was the best thing for me, that I wasn't sick, I was injured. I couldn't see that it was the best thing, but I was also under the impression they were going to kick me out between 9am and 12pm. I was also told I couldn't shower until after my next appointment, in a WEEK! Yikes! They hooked me up with this no rinse soap and a shower cap that you put in the microwave and massage your hair into- pretty handy stuff. Anyways, the nurse came in later and told me it would be sometime after 2pm when they gave me my last dose of antibiotic through the IV. By the time I left the hospital well after 3, I was glad I was leaving. I could already tell a small difference in how I was feeling. Every movement hurt, sometimes even breathing. The nurse also drilled movement into my head. It was important that I keep moving throughout the day because it would be easy for blood clots to form. Moving was automatic because I kept having to pee like every hour and a half. Every time I get up to pee, I make it a point to walk around for as long as I can, about 5-10 minutes. O need help getting up and laying back down. I've been taking some serious laxatives because the pain meds have well, backed my system up. I haven't had much of an appetite, but I ate. Sleep came in about hour and a half increments, even through the night as well as taking a steady stream of percoset.

Day 2- Pain seemed to be easing a little, but still taking the meds steadily. I still needed a lot of help getting up and moving around. I continued to walk. Everything is still really difficult, but compared to what I was feeling before, this truly is temporary, so I am completely thankful. I am starting to freak out because I am still "backed up" since Sunday. In addition to the pain in my back, I now have pain in my abdomen. It was completely uncomfortable as my belly felt like it was beginning to swell. My room mate is a nurse and she reassured me to keep drinking water and tea while continuing to take a laxative. I only ate one meal and drank 3 Ensures because I was afraid to really put any more solid food in me. I slept a little during the day and about 4 straight hours during the night.

Day 3- Pain has eased some more and I'm able to stretch out the doses. I discover I am still walking completely crooked- quite a sight to see I tell you. My right hip sticks out and I walk weird. So, to try and compensate, I started pushing on my hip as I walk, hoping to retrain my body as best I can before I can get back into therapy. Oh and yes, I took drastic measures with the backup and it produced the intended results. Relief was achieved, which made me feel better all around. My core aches as I try to walk and while getting up and down. Sleep still evades me as you can tell by me writing this after midnight. I started refusing help getting up today and I feel good about it. It's difficult, but worth it.

I think that's it for now. I should be able to do short updates on a daily basis from now on.

Night before the cutting

I'm going to make this short tonight. I've got just about everything ready for tomorrow. Mom came over and made dinner. It was delicious- salad, turkey meatloaf and rosemary potatoes. She and Ryan have helped me get things together.

I went to church today and made it about half-way through before I was in too much pain and had to head to the car where I could recline. The pastors and several people prayed for me, for which I am so thankful. Having encouraging people around, supporting you and praying for you in such a time has been an incredible blessing.

I am ready. It's been a peaceful evening. I will let you all know as soon as I can how the surgery went. Thank you for all your prayers and wonderful words of encouragement.

Goodnight,

Michelle

1 day left to surgery

I've just been resting and trying to stay as comfortable as possible today. I am looking forward to the surgery. I am ready to start getting better. I'm a "get up and go" kind of girl and I've been pretty much flat on my back for about 7 weeks now. It has definitely worn on me and zapped my creativity.

I did some research today about what to eat before and after surgery. I found a great article at http://surgery.about.com/od/aftersurgery/ss/EatAfterSurgery.htm. I've decided to go the soup and salad route for dinner tomorrow. I've been told to finish eating dinner by 6pm and stop drinking by midnight. From that point on, I will only be able to sip enough water to get my medicine down.

Thank God I don't have to stop taking the pain medication. I start to feel the pain surge about an hour and a half to two hours before I'm supposed to take my next dose as it is.

I'm told I will be able to walk Tuesday and that walking daily will be a part of the rehab. I'm looking forward to it...and I'm actually looking forward to going back to work...who would have thought!!!

The nervousness has left and I'm just ready to move forward. It has been a very long journey to get to this place. I've learned a lot about myself and have made some significant steps emotionally and spiritually during this time. There is always growth in the difficult times, if we allow it. I'm hoping I've learned all the lessons I've needed to learn from this so I don't circle back around.

Well, back to resting I go. Thank you for all your prayers. :)

Michelle

2 Days Til Surgery- Details, details, details...

It's been a mostly groggy day. It was a better day as far as pain goes, but I ended up taking them about an hour ahead of when I should have trying to stay ahead of the pain. It definitely made for a more comfortable day, but I've felt like a space cadet.

The pre-op nurse called me today to remind me of surgery (like I would forget???!) or maybe it was more to make sure I hadn't chickened out. So, I found out that I'm just going to be chillin in pre-op til they are ready to roll for surgery. I hope I can just fall asleep...I really am hoping to just sleep through most of Monday and Tuesday. Again, the nurse was so sweet. I hope they realize just how much that has helped to put me at ease about this upcoming experience.

More details being taken care of. I emailed my sister a big old list of stuff. I hope it wasn't overwhelming, I was lucid and just started writing a bunch of details. lol So, mom is going to stay with me Saturday night, during the surgery and most of the day on Tuesday. I'm incredibly thankful for her. One of my pastors is coming to pray over me Monday morning at the hospital. My roommate (who happens to be a nurse) will be around Tuesday and Thursday to assist. I can't tell you how much it helps to know people are going to be with me.

My chirpractor called today. She reassured me that surgery was the right choice for my case. She also told me that two women who had seen me come in for treatment and saw how much pain I was in, had been asking about me and let her know that they've been praying for me. I was blown away that people who don't me from Adam, put me on their prayer list. There have been many people praying for me during this time and especially over this surgery. I am so thankful for each and every person who's been praying for me. This has been a stressful time and I absolutely believe in the power of prayer!

Alrighty, it's been a day. I'm ready to be better! 2 more days til I'm cut open, fixed and in the healing kind of pain followed by physical therapy as the pain and discomfort that I've been stuck in for so long begins to dissolved day by day...Praise God relief is coming!

3 Days to Surgery

Getting closer to surgery. I try not to think about it, mainly because the thought of being cut open makes me completely nauseous. I can't even watch fake surgeries on TV. I'm sharing my experience because I wondered what happened leading up to surgery and afterward. I figured if I was wondering, there were other people that wondered, so here I share... Anyways, today I had my pre-op appointment. Mom got me there right on time, but I eneded up hanging out in the waiting room in a wheelchair until the pre-op office opened. A wheelchair is quite a handy contraption, especially when you have become accustomed to clinging to walls with all your might to make it down a hall.

After the usual paperwork, they did a bit of poking and a bit of prodding. The usual temperature and blood pressure followed by the withdrawal... I couldn't even look as the nurse stuck me to draw blood. The sight of blood seriously makes me ill. I've never had an EKG before, but I've had one now. It took longer to put the sticky things on me and clip me up than it did to run the test. Then they rolled me into the x-ray room for a standing chest x-ray. It would have been fine, except that standing quickly becomes excruciating. Everyone at the hospital was really great and that certainly helped me feel at ease about returning Monday. A friend arranged a ride home for me from one of her room mates, so I got to meet a great person and have some good conversation on the ride home. I love getting to meet new people and hear their stories.

It's been a rather painful day. I'm not sure why some days seem to be better than others, but today was a bad one. The meds just didn't seem to work today, but I had a few moments of relief. I was home alone most of the day, so I just layed quiet on the couch, texting a few people, made a couple phone calls and checked my facebook a bit where people have been leaving me such encouraging messages.

I am so thankful for the friends and family that are praying for me. It's been a huge step for me to reach out asking for help- what a great experience and what an awesome response! People sometimes just don't know what you need until you tell them! What a novel idea! Let people know you are in need and give them the opportunity to give. More on this later...

Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep. Hopefully I'll feel a little better tomorrow and can write with a bit more wit. :-p

Four Days Til Surgery

I have decided to chronicle my experience with a herniated disk after realizing just how many people it affects. My hope is that in sharing my experiences, I can bring encouragement to others who suffer with this same issue. In four days I head into surgery for a microdiscectomy- there is a much longer term which I will share tomorrow as I cannot reach the paperwork from my current location...the couch.

First, let me tell you about me. I am a generally healthy 34 year old woman. My biggest issue is my weight. Since I don't want to share my weight here (maybe in a later blog) but for now, I'm a size 18, but I plan to release 60 pounds after this surgery to get my body in line. Anyways, I don't have any other major health issues. My blood pressure and blood sugar are just fine. I will be getting my cholesterol checked soon though.

I had sciatic pain off and on for years. If you have never experienced sciatic pain, it is a horrible pain that goes from your butt cheek down your leg. If you have experienced it, you KNOW just how horrid the pain can be! I cannot say where or when it exactly started. It would come and go, spasming for a week or two, then going away. Ibuprophen usually took the edge off enough for me to function, except for a few particular occassions, one of which was while I was moving from Texas to Florida. However, in May of this year, I had an episode that just didn't want to go away. I was taking crazy amounts of ibuprophen trying to keep it at bay thinking it was just going to go away like usual. I didn't even realize how much time had passed.

At the beginning of August, it suddently became excruciating. I had to leave work early to go to the doctor. She put me on an anti-inflammatory and mild pain medication. I stayed home the next day and attempted to work the following day. I made it until noon when I could no longer stand the pain. I haven't been back to work since. I cannot sit in a chair nor can I walk more than the length of a room without holding onto something.

About a week or so into the ordeal, working with my chiropractor and after trying 3 different types of medication, including a steroid pack, my doctor told me to head to the ER if the medication didn't work. I did. I was put on percoset and valium. Finally something to take the edge off, but then I was so foggy I couldn't even read while couch-ridden. I got in to see my primary doctor again who finally understood the amount of pain I'm in. They could see on the x-rays that I had a compressed disk. She then referred me to get an MRI, to get a steroid shot in my spine and to a physical therapist. After the MRI, I was diagnosed with a herniated disk at L4-L5.

In the past six weeks, I have worked with my chiropractor, my primary care physician, a rehab doctor, a pain management doctor, a physical therapist as well as a water therapist. I have been on more medications than I can count as they have attempted to find something to dull the pain and get the swelling down in my spine. I have had 2 steroid shots and no real relief in pain. I am able to walk more upright thanks to the therapy, but the pain is not subsiding. So, last week I was referred to a neurosurgeon.

I was told I would not have the consulation until next Thursday and surgery would most likely be late October. You have no idea how disheartened I was to feel so close and yet so far from relief!! But, thanks to the prayers of my friends and family and the persistance of my roommate, I was able to get in to see the surgeon Tuesday (we just showed up and pleaded my case!) and they recognized the severity of my situation. I am heading into surgery on Monday for a microdiscectomy. Surgery is the last thing I wanted to do, but my life is completely on hold and my income is running out. Something had to give!!

One of the greatest things that happened this week was a phone conversation with my big sister in Texas, Margaret. She had faith for me when I was struggling. She prayed with me and encouraged me. The morning I was sitting at the surgeon's office waiting and praying to be seen, she was texting me encouraging scriptures. They were just what I needed to encourage me to keep moving forward and not accept the painful state that I've been stuck in for 6 plus weeks.

I will keep you updated as I move closer to the surgery and then post as I go through the recovery process. Keep me in your prayers. I pray that in some way, through these posts, I am able to encourage you through whatever struggle you are facing, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. There is an end to everything we go through. It is all temporary. Breathe. Thank God for being able to take one more breath, even if that's all you can find the strength to do today. Tomorrow I will tell you how I came to let go of control.

Michelle