Who has come back after back surgery?

L5 S1 surgery here approximately 20 years ago.  So much for shoveling snow in the northeast US.  Had surgery almost the next day as I had foot drop and sciatic pain so badly I could barely stand or walk.

Three or four days in the hospital and then 6-8 weeks at home.  ( how does the toilet get so high)

Back to the gym and abs abs abs, swimming and more abs.

I am usually as good as new, but it did take and continues to take constant  attention to movements such as sneezing or slipping to protect myself.  One jerk type movement and I am hobbling again for a week.

Oh yeah, keep in mind that I am 58 years old.  Even though I am very active and physical, time does take it's toll.

My doctor gave me the choice of a life syle change or the calculated risk of surgery.  I chose calculation.

Good luck, and get a second opinion.

I had a severely ruptured L5/S1 with both vertebra fractured.  Parachuting accident.  I had a lamenectomy 14 years ago.  I was told that I would never play golf nor would I be able to run.  I had a very slow rehab, I would push myself too hard and suffer a set-back, recover, repeat, for about two years.  I found yoga and started strengthening my core and stretching my hamstrings.  I got back into swimming about 3 years ago.  Really enjoyed it, but got bored.  Found a used bike, started to ride, had some discomfort in the low back, but took it real slow, and knew from previous experience to build the muscles before you push them.  Got a crazy idea that I might be able to run.  Started walking.  10 minutes, 20 minutes, mix in 1 minute of running.  Built up slowly.  Worked on form.  Found this website and started the "couch to sprint" program.  Did my first sprint last July.  Continued to train over the winter.  40 pounds lost.  Did an Olympic in May.  Repeated the sprint and took 10 minutes off my time.  Next Olympic in four weeks!

What I've learned: take it SLOW.  Build the muscles before you push them.  You're only competing against yourself and what you did the day before.  Weight loss is your best therapy.

Oh, and I play about two rounds of golf a week and I have a single digit handicap.  Eff you docs!

I herniated L4/L5 had surgery about 15 years ago after I had foot drop. I was in pain daily for about 10 years after surgery. It wasn't until I lost weight, got in shape that my back pain went away. After surgery I didn't have PT as we had twins, couldn't find PT that took our insurance and my doc didn't push it much...big mistake.

I have done ~50 tris including 3 IMS, road races, bike races, cyclocross racing and more.

My back acts up maybe once every 1-1.5 years but on a daily basis it doesn't bother me.

Cancer in 2007 and 2008 back surgery. L4/L5 crushed and repaired and it took 6 months or so and i was able to do what i want. One thing is i waited to long on the surgery because now the nerves are some what damage, three toes are numb all the time. I feel blessed to be able to do sports at all. God Bless.

I had mine in 2001. 

I had L4 bulge, rupture, then come detatched, not really sure of the timeframe. I'm very sure, though, that in the Summer of 2001 the free-floating fragment lodged itself against one of the nerves in the spinan column and it got my attention, instantly.

So I started looking for solutions - and I will say that it's a bit of a race against the clock. In my case, insurance (and being scared as hell of surgery) dictated that I try anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, acupuncture, chiropractor, painkillers, cortisone before surgery, in that order.  Bottom line...six months into knowing something was f*ed up, I wasn't any better, was addicted to painkillers, and still couldn't tie my own shoes. 

Fast forward: I ended up having surgery. They took 60% of L4 out, basically moving the muscle, carving a plug out of my spine, reaching in with tweezers and snagging the offending disc, putting the plug back in, and sending me home. While he was in there, he made sure that the remaining 40% was structurally sound, which it was. If it wasn't, he would have put a titanium cage on it, then and there. I knew that was a potential outcome of the surgery. 

Recovery was about 1 week basically lying around, then 4-6 weeks of limited use. The biggest limitation I had was not being able to lift anything. Like anything.  It took a full 6 weeks before I could put my briefcase in the overhead compartment of an airplane. But there's good news about the recovery - it's all about pain management. The doc explained to me that no matter what I did during recovery, I really couldn't cause more structural damage to the spine - it would just hurt like hell and delay the date at which the pain would be present...he was right. FYI, If the surgeon had put the cage in the recovery would have been much more significant...1-2 months laying around, lots of PT, and basically out of commission for 6 months to a year.

The only advice I can give in terms of making choices is to get the best advice you can, and a number of opinions, and do it quickly.  There is a cost to letting the condition continue, including uneven wear on joints from an altered gait, muscle atrophe and weakening, yada, yada.

I was lucky; I got a referral to Dr. Paul Maurer in Rochester, NY...he did Ted Turner's hemilaminectomy, among others.  The guy only operates on 3% of the people he sees; he's conservative, and he's real.  He inspires confidence like no other medical professional I've met.  He gave real expectations, and it turned out EXACTLY like he laid it out.  Find YOUR Dr. Maurer, if you haven't already. And you're in PA, you might actually be able to see Maurer himself. He's a rockstar.

Epilogue: I had the surgery in May 2001; I did my first post-surgery tri in August. Then a lot more stuff...7+ marathons, 10+half marathons, trail runs, a few centuries, and a bunch of sprints and oly's, racquetball and volleyball leagues, and a few corporate softball games later, I'm still structurally sound. I work out very consistently, with a big focus on every aspect of the core...back, obliques, abs. Gotta keep the muscular cage around the spine strong.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me (or post) if you have other questions. Glad to share.  

I suffered from spondylolethesis and had back surgery in January 2009 at age 51 (fusion of S1 and L5, lamenectomy on both sides). I decided on surgery after two years of PT, Chiro, accupuncture, and epidurals failed to alleviate the pain and sciatica. While my surgeon was fairly confident that I could return to an active lifestyle post-surgery, my "second opinion" surgeon told me flat out that I would never run again. I went with the first.

Recovery was 4 days in the hospital, one month at home. After 6 weeks I was pool running. By May I was doing some light jogging and biking. It took about a year to get the fitness back to where I was before, but the best part is the pain is almost completely gone. Although I took 2009 off from tri's, I came back last year and did my first Oly.

Although the first few weeks post-surgery were very painful, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Good luck to you!