April 10, 2025 • 33 mins
When Susan first felt pain in the back of her leg in 2018, she had no idea a tiny disc herniation would nearly destroy her life. After losing 100 pounds, the 34-year-old healthcare worker expected to feel better, not worse. Instead, she found herself unable to sit, sleep through the night, or live without constant agony from sciatic nerve pain.
Susan takes us through her 14-month journey of seeking help while fighting a healthcare system that initially dismissed her as "too young" for surgery. The pain became so unbearable that she contemplated suicide, revealing the profound mental health impact that chronic back pain can inflict. Though cortisone injections provided temporary relief, they became less effective over time, reinforcing her need for a more permanent solution.
Following her microdiscectomy, Susan experienced what many surgical patients do - continued pain that made her question whether the procedure had worked. But after eight weeks, something remarkable happened - the pain disappeared. Now five years post-surgery, she remains essentially pain-free and has transformed her life completely. A woman who once avoided the outdoors due to anxiety now kayaks, hikes challenging terrain, and embraces physical activities she never imagined possible.
This episode offers something critical for those considering or recovering from disc surgery: proof that long-term success is possible. Susan's powerful testimony reminds us not to let surgical statistics intimidate us - the 80% success rate represents real people who found their way back to living fully. If you're struggling with herniated disc pain or recovery, this conversation will restore your hope that life can indeed return, possibly better than before.
Was this episode helpful to you? If you would like to support my work on the show, you can buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/bedbackandbeyond
Have a positive story of recovery to tell? Head over to https://bedbackbeyond.com/share-your-story/ to apply.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I have a Reddit community called Microdesectomy.
I'm also in the FacebookMicrodesectomy community, so
people will watch the podcast.
But oftentimes I'm talking topeople who just had it done,
like eight months ago, and theykeep asking me we need long-term
success stories, so you wouldbe considered an amazing
long-term success story.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I am so glad and I never thought this day would
come.
And that's why I stay on thegroup, Because sometimes, like
I'm on the group and I'm like,do I really need to be here
anymore?
I'm not suffering.
But then I remember there's somany people out there that are
suffering and if I can give thema tiny bit of hope that I
didn't have back then, right,exactly, that's a good reason
(00:41):
for me to stay on the groupBefore we get into today's
episode, I do want to let youknow that we briefly touch on
eating disorders and we alsotalk about mental health and
suicidal thinking.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Welcome to Bed Back and Beyond, sharing positive
stories of recovery from seriousback or neck injury.
Your host is CK, a fellowchampion who draws on her own
experience with herniated discsurgery.
Join her as she talks withothers who have overcome the
physical and emotional trauma ofa painful injury and discover
(01:16):
for yourself how you can findhope and encouragement in
recovery.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Hi Susan.
Thank you so much for joiningme on this episode of Bed, back
and Beyond.
Before we dive into your injury, how about you tell us a little
bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, thanks so much for having me.
I'm so excited to be here.
So a little bit about myself.
I'm 40.
I live in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I work in healthcare.
I do mostly advanced careplanning with COPD patients.
I do some social worky stuff aswell, even though I'm not
actually a social worker.
Some of my hobbies are, like Ilove to read.
(01:53):
I'm obsessed with reading.
I do it all the time.
A lot of my hobbies aredifferent post-surgery than
pre-surgery, and what I like todo now is I like going kayaking
and hiking and swimming and anddoing all that kind of fun stuff
just being outside in nature.
That's my happy place.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm going to try not to derail the conversation about
reading Like what are yourfavorite kind of books?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
So I have just gotten okay.
I went to university for 12years and I forgot that you can
read for fun, yes, so I hadstopped reading for so long and
I just got back into it again afew months ago, and I'm obsessed
with fantasy and fantasyromance.
Yep, do you?
Have one book in particularthat's your favorite Right now.
(02:40):
I'm really into the A Court ofThorns and Roses series, so I'm
halfway through it.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I got two books left.
I haven't read any of those.
I see them on TikTok all thetime.
That's where I got it.
Yeah, yeah.
Now my listeners are probablytired of hearing this, but my
husband and I just celebratedour 20th wedding anniversary and
we went to Banff National Park.
Yeah, and I know that's on thetotal opposite side of Nova
Scotia.
It is, but I hear it'sbeautiful, oh, it's gorgeous.
(03:08):
But on my bucket list is StJohn Labrador, is that?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
It's St John's in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It's technically not inLabrador, it's in Newfoundland,
but in the province calledNewfoundland and Labrador.
Okay, but I, we're going toNewfoundland in June.
We will not see St John'sbecause we're going like the
ferry.
We're taking the ferry and itgoes on the other side of the
province, but St John's, I hear,is gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So you will love it.
So let's, because what peopletune in for is your back injury.
Yes, that of our interests,right?
So did you always have a backproblem, or did you some one day
just get hit with a back injury?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Oh, it happened so suddenly.
It seemed so like I wentthrough a weight loss journey
back in 2018 and I lost like ahundred pounds and you would
think after losing a hundredpounds, you would feel better.
And I started feeling worse andI got this pain.
In the back of my leg is whereI noticed it on my like, on my
(04:13):
upper leg, and I thought it feltin the beginning like a pulled
muscle and they were telling meoh, it's your hamstring.
It's like they were giving meall these kind of excuses of
what it could be.
And I went to a physiotherapit's your hamstring, it's like
they were giving me all thesekind of excuses of what it could
be.
And I went to a physiotherapistfor this hamstring whatever he
called it and she said that'snot what's wrong with you.
(04:34):
And I said, well, that's whatthe doctor says.
And he said, well, if that waswrong with you, this would hurt
really bad.
And she pushed into a part onmy butt and it didn't hurt.
And she said see, that's notwhat's wrong with you.
And she said it's your back.
And I was like that soundsinsane, because it's my leg and
I didn't know how it all workedat the time.
(04:55):
So, um, I went in for my thatwas around September and um,
they finally got me in for infor an MRI and they, um, they
realized that that's what it was.
So it built up like it.
It felt like it hit me suddenly, but it built up like where I
(05:18):
was thinking.
It was just a muscle problem inthe beginning.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Okay, what were you doing Something different for
the weight loss?
Just cardio the beginning, okay.
What were you doing somethingdifferent for the weight loss?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
just cardio, or were you doing weight lifting?
So when I lost all the weight.
I actually had an eatingdisorder and I was so that could
have actually triggered my backproblem because I was purging a
lot.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yes, okay, wow, well, thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, so then I've heard inCanada that the medical system
sometimes makes you wait a longtime.
Were you able to get your MRIvery quickly?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
It took me a couple months to get the MRI and I
believe I had it.
I can't remember when I had theMRI, but I got in February of
2019 to see the surgeon and Iwould have had the MRI probably
in November of that of 2018.
By the time I got in to see thesurgeon it was less than a year
(06:11):
before I had my surgery.
So some people I know they'vebeen on the wait list here for
years.
That wasn't my experience.
I was sore for a year, 14months, something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And when the surgeon saw the MRI, did he say, yep,
surgery right away, or did youhave to do physical therapy?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
first.
So here, like your generalpractitioner has to refer you to
a surgeon, he wasn't referringme to anybody until, like, I had
to do physio I had to do.
Well, I guess I didn't have todo, but like we tried
medications like very, veryheavy narcotics.
(06:47):
I was on for quite a while.
I went through the pain clinicand that actually had a
five-year wait list and becauseI knew them, they skipped me
ahead.
So like I did that kind ofguiltily, but I was in so much
pain that I was desperate.
So I did that and by the time Igot to the neurosurgeon I had
(07:10):
just told, like my doctor saidyou're too young, they're not
going to do it, you're not acandidate.
And I'm like I don't care whatyou say, let him tell me that or
her tell me that.
And I said just put my namethrough and then they can reject
me.
And so he said whatever.
And he put me through.
And immediately when he saw mehe did a couple maneuvers in his
(07:32):
office or whatever, and he saidyou're a perfect candidate.
Immediately he accepted me andput me on the wait list for the
surgery.
And do you?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
happen to know the millimeter measurement of your
herniation?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Oh, what did they remove?
Oh, four.
Maybe it wasn't a, I don'tthink it was a big one, but it
was small but, mighty.
It did a job on me.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, I always say.
I see people post their MRIsonline and some of them these
huge bulbous things pushing intothe spine and mine looked like
a little thumbprint.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yes, Mine was small when they, when I asked that
after the surgery, when I wokeup I was like how much did you
take out?
And they're like not much, butit was enough to do.
And I will say I do have a lotof sensory issues and stuff like
that and I have a very low paintolerance.
So maybe my situation wouldn'thave hurt as much for some
people but I'm not some peopleon me and it hurt for me.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So Right right, You'll have to judge based on
you.
It's really hard to compareyourself to other people.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Especially on the forums.
Now, you said it started inyour leg, was I had the drop
foot and everything like that,so it was affecting everything
in that leg by the time they didthis surgery?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Okay, no, like urinary retention or anything
like that, though Like the redflags, no.
So you said you saw aneurosurgeon, right, yes, yeah,
was that based on what thedoctor referred you to, or did
you have the option betweenneuro versus ortho?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I didn't really have an option.
I don't recall I mean it's beena while I don't recall having
an option, but I think he justput me through to a neurosurgeon
.
But once I started talking topeople on the forums I was I'm
sure they both could have done agood job.
But I really was happy to havea neurosurgeon who's familiar
with all those nerves and stuffin there and yeah, so how old
would you have been during theinjury?
So 2018, I would have been 34.
(09:42):
And by the time I had thesurgery, I was 35.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's nice to hear them say you're too young, isn't
it?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I know.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I know I love it.
Young, isn't it?
I know I know I love it.
I think I was 40 or 41 in 2019.
There was a young man in mychurch who had gotten surgery
the year before and he was 20something.
So I kept saying, look, the 20year olds get it too.
It's not just because I'm 40.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And I see on the forums all the time like people
saying their 17 year old isgoing in for surgery and I'm
like why did they think I wastoo young?
Like yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I let's see.
I went to the emergency roomand they didn't even do an MRI.
In the emergency room they said, you know, they just.
And they didn't give menarcotics, they just gave me
prednisone like a steroid, solike a three day high dose, and
then they said go see a backpain specialist.
And that took me two weeks toget into him and he did all the
(10:42):
stand up on your toes reallyfast that lay on your back, let
me lift your leg.
And of course I'm like, andhe's the one who ordered an MRI,
so it still was like anothertwo weeks before I could get the
MRI.
And then we went.
Did you try a cortisoneinjection at all?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
It was.
I think it was a cortisoneinjection.
So basically what it ended upbeing was he would give me an
injection almost right by mytailbone because it was a lower
it was L5S1 and it was reallylow where he went in, and he did
it about every six weeks untilI had my surgery and I know
(11:17):
you're only supposed to get itlike how many times a year?
Yeah, three times, I think Igot it five or six, but if he
hadn't done it for me, I wouldnot have survived for my surgery
because I was like, literallyat that time I was suicidal
because of the pain I couldn'ttake it yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Was it x-ray guided or was it just the localized?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
cortisone it was, I believe he used an ultrasound
machine.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I had one of those and it worked for a couple of
days.
You know, they numb you first,so that's always feels great.
And then it wore off.
And then, like two weeks later,I tripped going up to the steps
.
I didn't fall, but I kicked mybad leg out and it just brought
my pain right back to likenormal.
That's awful, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So then I was like I'm getting surgery, yeah, yeah.
And and really I knew this waskind of tidying me over until I
could get the surgery because assoon as they agreed to give me
the surgery, I'm like yeah, I'mdoing it, because the shots
would like the first one lastedmaybe like eight weeks, then the
next one lasted seven weeks,then six weeks, so it wasn't as
(12:24):
effective as I went on, right,and I know like if I was still
having to get them now, thatprobably wouldn't be working.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
So that was something I knew about cortisone
injections was that you can onlyget so many in your lifetime
before they become lesseffective for you.
And I was thinking well, I'm 40.
I don't want to.
You know, use up my reserve nowbefore I even hit like 65 or 70
.
Who?
Speaker 2 (12:47):
knows what else I'll need it for yeah, I didn't know
that actually Like like that.
Yeah, I didn't know thatactually Like that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, I didn't know it had like a lifetime limit.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
That's interesting.
Hopefully I didn't go throughmine yet.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So did you have any reservations about surgery, or
were you like, just get me underthe knife?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
They tried like with the whole.
They gave me the statistics.
You know 5% come out worse, 15%, nothing's wrong, yes, and that
kind of thing.
They tried to talk.
I was terrified to go intosurgery, by the way.
I was terrified but I was sodesperate that I would have done
anything.
I was in the hospital in.
(13:29):
I was living in anotherprovince at the time, like I had
moved there.
I only lived there for 14months.
I was in the hospital there andI literally begged them to
drive me to the hospital in NovaScotia where I was living and
that's where my referral was tonot miss my surgery.
And they ended up dischargingme like a day before my surgery.
(13:52):
So I was able to go, but like Iwas absolutely desperate to get
it, Were you able to work atall or were you strictly
homebound during all this?
So that's interesting.
So when it first started and Iwas living in Nova Scotia, I had
a job.
I was working at anon-for-profit youth homeless
(14:14):
organization.
I ended up having to like I hadto get rid of my car because I
couldn't get in my car anymoreand they had a van that they
lent me my work.
They had this like huge vanthat they lent me.
Well, until I could get my SUV,I ended up every single day
because I I couldn't sit forlong, I couldn't lay down for
(14:39):
long.
In fact I had to wake myself upevery half an hour throughout
the night or else I couldn't getup in the morning.
Um, so I hadn't.
The only thing that I could dowas stand.
So I ended up going down tothis cafe at the bottom of the
street.
I would take my work computerand work from there and I would
stand there for eight hours aday at their tall table that
(15:01):
they had, and I would just staythere every single day.
Then I got another job in theneighboring province of New
Brunswick and I went there and Iwas working in healthcare, in
the hospital, and at that time Ihad my injection.
So I was doing okay.
But then I got sick withsomething else, Like I had some
mental health issues and I endedup in the hospital.
(15:22):
So that was an interestingturnaround.
So I wasn't working at thatpoint but, it wasn't because of
my back, so you mentioned thatyou were suicidal.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
before waiting for the surgery, did you reach out
for any kind of health, mentalhealth help, or how did you help
yourself with that?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I I cannot say enough about how horrible the mental
health system is in thisprovince.
It is something that they needto work on, and it's been like
I've had mental health issuesand I've been struggling since I
was three and they haven't doneanything for me.
(16:05):
So when I when I went with this, um, the worst part was one
night I went to the hospitalwith a bag of pills and I had
every intention of using them.
Wow, and they told me that theywould deal with my body out in
the parking lot when I was done.
Um, they had no idea how tohelp me.
(16:28):
They they had no idea.
They sent me away every singletime.
So I am still alive today, notbecause of the mental health
system here.
It's awful.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, did you have family support around you?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I had my my dad was sick at the time.
My family is supportive as muchas they can be, but where my
dad was sick, my mom, um waskind of focused on that.
Actually, the the person thatsaved my life that night was um.
My pastor came and he um tookme back to his house where, with
(17:07):
him and his wife and um, Istayed with them for like a week
or two I can't even rememberhow long until I was able to be
safe enough to leave.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
I'm glad that was a safe spot for you.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Yeah, me too.
I wouldn't be alive, I don't I?
I a hundred percent believe Iwouldn't be alive if he hadn't
been there that night.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, I don't think people realize people who
haven't herniated a disc have noidea how debilitating the pain
is.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
No, nobody understands, nobody gets it,
unless they've lived with it.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, and when your back is infected you can't do it
.
It affects your entire life.
It does definitely leads canlead to a very dark time.
I'm so thankful that you hadthat support.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, me too, me too, and and I had some really
lovely friends around that timeand when I look back I'm like
I'll still say to them sometimeslike I'm so thankful that you
stuck with me, because it was adark time and I was bringing
people into a very dark place.
Yeah, and the fact that theystuck by me through that um six
(18:12):
volumes.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I didn't recognize myself, I think for a year after
after the surgery.
It took a year to recoveremotionally from it.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Absolutely, absolutely and to be.
I was terrified of my own bodyafter the surgery Right, when it
did take.
It took me eight weeks to losethe pain after the surgery.
Like I didn't think the surgeryworked.
The surgery Right, and it didtake.
It took me eight weeks to losethe pain after the surgery, like
I didn't think the surgeryworked at first, right and um.
So once the pain subsided, Iwas terrified of myself.
I was terrified of doinganything, thinking I was going
(18:44):
to re-trigger it.
Now I'll do anything, almostbut um, but I don't always have
that fear, but I'll still like,if, if I feel a twinge in the
back, I still like is thishappening again?
Yeah, so it's like it does takea long time to recover from it.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yes, your surgery?
Was it in and out same day ordid you have to stay a couple of
nights?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, it was it?
It in and out same day, or didyou have to stay a couple nights
?
Yeah, it was.
It was in and out that day.
Like I went in in the morningand I didn't wake up, like I
don't think they were worried,but I didn't wake up as quick as
they thought, so I went in forthe surgery at like nine o'clock
and I left that night at aroundseven.
I lived three hours away fromthe hospital, so I stayed with a
(19:32):
friend overnight and the nextmorning I was on my way back.
Somebody drove you home.
You didn't drive yourself,right?
No, I didn't drive myself.
Somebody drove my car and yeah,yeah, Did you?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
did you just recline back on the drive home, or did
you?
I reclined?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
back heavily and I, yeah, I was heavily, heavily
medicated on the way home.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
I was sleeping and yeah, so my surgery was supposed
to be in and out same day, uh,you know, and I think they had
told my husband 45 minutes to anhour.
And then, uh, when they went in, they found that my disc was
actually glued to the spinalcord with scar tissue, um, so it
took much longer and theydidn't get it all.
(20:11):
So I still have like a chunk ofthe herniated disc on my on my
nerves just kind of sittingthere still.
Yes, but my husband, you know,was sitting in the patient
family waiting room watchingother people come and go and you
know the doctors come.
Oh, you went, fine, you canleave.
And then my doctor finally cameout.
(20:32):
I forget, I think it might havebeen three hours, if I remember
, and my husband is a pastor, sohe kind of he has experience
with waiting people, with peopleat the hospital.
So my doctor came up to him andsays, can we go into the
conference room?
And my husband said his visionwent into tunnel vision because
he's like I knew what that meant.
(20:54):
I feel so bad for him when Ithink about it, but I just I
took a long time to wake up fromanesthesia, so they were like
she's not waking up, she's fine,and I always feel guilty for my
, my poor husband.
So did you end up stayingovernight?
I had to stay for three nightsthree nights.
Yeah, because there is a tear inthe door so I was leaking the
(21:16):
spinal fluid.
So they did a blood patch, andso I had to lay on my back flat
for three nights.
I wasn't allowed to get up andthen, on a, so it was Wednesday
and then on Saturday they had tolike slowly raise my bed every
hour until I could finally situp straight.
Oh my gosh, what a process itwas.
(21:38):
Yeah, and I had to put acatheter in.
I don't know if I mentionedthat before.
That was not fun.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
No, I had many a patient.
I was a chaplain when I workedin the hospital and.
I've been next to many bedswith catheters and they are not
fun as far as I can tell.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
So you got home okay, without a problem.
That's great.
So were you home alone or didyou have somebody staying with
you during your recovery?
Speaker 2 (22:02):
No, I was by myself.
Um and um, yeah, like nobody.
When I moved to New Brunswick,nobody lived there.
Um, all of my friends and myfamily were back in Nova Scotia.
So once they got me home, um,they ended up leaving and people
checked in on me, but um, likeby phone.
(22:22):
But um, yeah, I was, I was bymyself, just me and my four at
the time kitties, and yeah, so Imean even that like I was
taking care of them.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
So it was like, and I'm sure you did you have the no
bending, lifting and twistingrestrictions, did I?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
follow it as much as I could, but I still had to dig
out the cat litter and stuff,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
So what kind of things did you do to make living
a little easier while you werein those restrictions?
Speaker 2 (22:55):
After the surgery yeah, I had, like so, one of my
really good friends who stuckwith me during that.
She is an occupationaltherapist, so she got me
equipped with, like, one ofthose claws that reaches down
and, um, an extra long pooperscooper for the litter box, so
it was all set to go for thatkind of stuff.
Um, I was really good at notlike, um of like not lifting
(23:20):
things and and and like, justlike not carrying too much.
Um, I learned how to like Istill got close to the floor but
I squatted, squatted, so Iwouldn't, yeah, so I I mean I
still do that.
I'm not ever bending like anormal person again.
So, um, I got, I got through itpretty good and, um, like I, I
(23:48):
recovered well and quickly fromthe surgery itself.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
You said it took you about eight weeks to be
pain-free.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
It took me about eight weeks to be pain-free, and
so there was a period therewhere I was again like losing my
mind because I and and I wentback at one point to the pain
doctor that I was seeing and herefused to give me the injection
because I had the surgery and Ilost my mind, like lost it.
(24:21):
I ended up leaving and like, oh, I don't even want to think
about that day.
That was a bad one, like I felthopeless and helpless because I
thought that I needed thatinjection.
He wouldn't give it to me, okay, and I didn't realize that I
(24:45):
was at the end of this waitinggame where the pain was going to
disappear.
I thought the surgery didn'twork, yeah, so um, um, but from
the surgery itself, even likebefore the pain went away, like
I was healing really well, likewith the incision and stuff that
all healed really well.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So many people go into the surgery not realizing
that, like the two week mark andthen the four to six week mark,
is going to be a pain flare,and I'm sure the large majority
of us think our surgery failed.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Yeah, yeah, and I see so many people on the forums
that will say stuff like youknow, I just had my surgery,
like two days ago, and I'm inpain.
I'm like, yes, yes, you are andyou probably will be for
another two months, but don'tlet that take away your hope,
because I haven't had pain nowsince, well, like January of 29,
(25:37):
.
Well, like January of 29, 20,20, 20 January 2020.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Did you do physical therapy?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
after surgery.
I didn't, and I know people arerecommended to do it, but I've
always been really lazy withphysio, like I've needed physio,
like a bunch of times.
I did go to physio prior tosurgery, yeah, and I didn't go
after, and I don't really have agood excuse for that.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I'm one of those people that as soon as I hit my
goal with something, I stoppeddoing it.
Yeah, I did physical therapyfor the prescribed amount of
weeks post-surgery and then feltbetter, so I stopped doing the
physical therapy.
Hi Tiberius, oh, he physicaltherapy.
Hi Tiberius, oh, he's cute.
He's one of my two beagles thatpulled me backwards and made me
(26:28):
get back surgery.
Oh, but he's beautiful.
Thank you.
So I did the physical therapylike I was supposed to, and then
I stopped doing it and then,maybe a year later after the
surgery, I noticed my hipmuscles would start killing me
(26:50):
when I would go on walks, when Iwould walk the dog.
Uh, so I put myself back intophysical therapy and it turns
out that I had just, in my mind,gone back to guarding and not
moving my body like I wassupposed to be.
And then your muscles get weak.
Yeah, so I was real thankfulfor physical therapy.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
but I'm lazy.
That's really interesting and Idefinitely I like I definitely
don't recommend that people takethe route that that I took,
like without doing physiotherapy.
Like I really do think itbenefits so many people.
Like yeah, it's funny in a notso funny way, but I became so
(27:32):
much more active after that.
I feel like I was able tostrengthen my body and just
doing like so much more.
I've done more activity in thepast five years than I've done
in the 35 that preceded it, likewhat.
Um, so, like I was, I had aperiod because, like I mentioned
, I had some mental healthissues.
I had a period of like 10 yearswhere I didn't leave the house
(27:54):
and, um, that went from like age18 to 28.
And so I basically did nothingduring that time but sit at home
on the internet.
Even before that, when I was akid, like I was scared of my own
shadow there.
I didn't do anything.
But since then I've started thekayaking.
I only just started doing thata couple of years ago and I love
(28:16):
it.
I've started doing these hikesthat I would.
I was scared of bugs so muchthat I would not go out in the
woods and somehow I'm not like,I still get like sometimes, but
I'm not that scared of themanymore.
So I'll go out and hike andlike there was one hill that I
scaled down and had to pullmyself up with a rope and I was
(28:39):
like I couldn't have done that.
There's no way I would havedone that, like six years ago.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That's great.
I'm a camper, I love hiking andcamping.
My husband and I will canoewhen we get the chance.
We don't get to do it as muchas we'd like, but that's one of
the things I say on my video.
Like you'll get back to doingyour stuff, you'll get back to
camping.
I swear.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yes, life comes back, and that's the good thing about
surgery.
And and that's why, when peoplesay like, oh, I'm so scared of
surgery, I'm like it was thebest decision I ever ever made.
And it's not for everybody, butif you've got no other way to
get rid of the pain, it might befor you, and my life is a
million times better since I'vedone it.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Life comes back.
Yeah, do you still get sciaticflares?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I don't, nope, nope, never.
I had one about two months agowhere I started feeling this
thing in the back of my leg andI thought maybe it was maybe
like I was sitting too much withmy books.
Like you know, I was readingtoo much and it went away.
So I don't know what it was,but it went away.
I don't think it was sciaticaand I haven't had any flare up
since that, two week after thisor eight weeks after the surgery
(29:55):
.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
That's great.
So I have a Reddit communitycommunity called micro disectomy
.
I'm also in the facebook microdisectomy uh community so people
are will watch the podcast.
But oftentimes I'm talking topeople who just had it done,
like eight months ago, and theykeep asking me we need long-term
success stories, so you wouldbe considered an amazing
(30:16):
long-term success story.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
I am so glad and I never thought this day would
come.
And that's why I stay on thegroup, because sometimes, like,
I'm on the group and I'm like,do I really need to be here
anymore?
I'm not suffering.
But then I remember there's somany people out there that are
suffering and if I can give thema tiny bit of hope that I
didn't have back then, right,exactly, that's a good reason
(30:38):
for me to stay on the group.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I get so many personal messages.
I do the right Reddit and I dotick tocks, which is difficult.
I don't do any tick tock dancesbut I'll do videos on there.
Yeah, Tons of personal messagespeople saying did I, did I ruin
my surgery?
Is this normal?
Like, yeah, you're, you'll getpelvic pain, all kinds of weird
(31:02):
stuff.
Yeah, so is there anything thatyou would love to impart to
someone who may be about to getsurgery or, um, thinking about
surgery, that you think theyshould, uh, should know, Like
I'm just a like, do it like, gothrough it because it saved my
life.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Like, I'm just a like , do it like, go through it
because it saved my life.
And if you're in that much pain, don't let the statistics scare
you off, because a 20% chanceis a lot smaller than the 80%
chance that it is going to workRight, and people are scared of
that 20%, the five and the 15,you know 5% that you're going to
be worse than 15, that it'sgoing to do nothing.
(31:39):
Well, like, don't let thosestatistics scare you off,
because it is so, so worth it.
Um, I wouldn't have a liferight now if it wasn't for
surgery.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Right, and have you found any mental health
resources since the surgery thatyou think would be helpful?
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Well, it's interesting.
Um, this isn't really asolution for anybody else, but
um, I got my mental health helpwhen I moved to New Brunswick
and, um, it's funny that thepeople in New Brunswick say that
their mental health systemsucks, but um, when I compare it
(32:19):
to what I was given my wholelife here, it was so much better
.
So I'm still seen by doctors inNew Brunswick.
For that reason they haven'tlet me go and yeah, so there's
not really much I can say.
I've just been very blessedduring that time period that I
spent in New Brunswick.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
That's great, susan.
I really appreciate you takingthe time out of your schedule to
share your story with us.
I know it's going to be verybeneficial for a lot of people
to listen and see.
Yes, there are long-termsuccess stories.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Well, thank you so much for having me here.
I'm very honored that you askedme to come and, um, if my story
can help anybody out there,it's a blessing to me.
It really is, definitely.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
And if you are a listener and you have a positive
story of recovery that youwould like to share, head to my
website, bedbackbeyondcom andclick share your story.
I'd love to include your voiceon the show, susan, once again,
thank you so much, thank you.
So I have a Reddit community called Microdesectomy.
I'm also in the FacebookMicrodesectomy community, so
people will watch the podcast.
But oftentimes I'm talking topeople who just had it done,
like eight months ago, and theykeep asking me we need long-term
success stories, so you wouldbe considered an amazing
long-term success story.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I am so glad and I never thought this day would
come.
And that's why I stay on thegroup, Because sometimes, like
I'm on the group and I'm like,do I really need to be here
anymore?
I'm not suffering.
But then I remember there's somany people out there that are
suffering and if I can give thema tiny bit of hope that I
didn't have back then, right,exactly, that's a good reason
(00:41):
for me to stay on the groupBefore we get into today's
episode, I do want to let youknow that we briefly touch on
eating disorders and we alsotalk about mental health and
suicidal thinking.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Welcome to Bed Back and Beyond, sharing positive
stories of recovery from seriousback or neck injury.
Your host is CK, a fellowchampion who draws on her own
experience with herniated discsurgery.
Join her as she talks withothers who have overcome the
physical and emotional trauma ofa painful injury and discover
(01:16):
for yourself how you can findhope and encouragement in
recovery.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Hi Susan.
Thank you so much for joiningme on this episode of Bed, back
and Beyond.
Before we dive into your injury, how about you tell us a little
bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, thanks so much for having me.
I'm so excited to be here.
So a little bit about myself.
I'm 40.
I live in Nova Scotia, Canada.
I work in healthcare.
I do mostly advanced careplanning with COPD patients.
I do some social worky stuff aswell, even though I'm not
actually a social worker.
Some of my hobbies are, like Ilove to read.
(01:53):
I'm obsessed with reading.
I do it all the time.
A lot of my hobbies aredifferent post-surgery than
pre-surgery, and what I like todo now is I like going kayaking
and hiking and swimming and anddoing all that kind of fun stuff
just being outside in nature.
That's my happy place.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm going to try not to derail the conversation about
reading Like what are yourfavorite kind of books?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
So I have just gotten okay.
I went to university for 12years and I forgot that you can
read for fun, yes, so I hadstopped reading for so long and
I just got back into it again afew months ago, and I'm obsessed
with fantasy and fantasyromance.
Yep, do you?
Have one book in particularthat's your favorite Right now.
(02:40):
I'm really into the A Court ofThorns and Roses series, so I'm
halfway through it.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I got two books left.
I haven't read any of those.
I see them on TikTok all thetime.
That's where I got it.
Yeah, yeah.
Now my listeners are probablytired of hearing this, but my
husband and I just celebratedour 20th wedding anniversary and
we went to Banff National Park.
Yeah, and I know that's on thetotal opposite side of Nova
Scotia.
It is, but I hear it'sbeautiful, oh, it's gorgeous.
(03:08):
But on my bucket list is StJohn Labrador, is that?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
It's St John's in Newfoundland and Labrador.
It's technically not inLabrador, it's in Newfoundland,
but in the province calledNewfoundland and Labrador.
Okay, but I, we're going toNewfoundland in June.
We will not see St John'sbecause we're going like the
ferry.
We're taking the ferry and itgoes on the other side of the
province, but St John's, I hear,is gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
So you will love it.
So let's, because what peopletune in for is your back injury.
Yes, that of our interests,right?
So did you always have a backproblem, or did you some one day
just get hit with a back injury?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Oh, it happened so suddenly.
It seemed so like I wentthrough a weight loss journey
back in 2018 and I lost like ahundred pounds and you would
think after losing a hundredpounds, you would feel better.
And I started feeling worse andI got this pain.
In the back of my leg is whereI noticed it on my like, on my
(04:13):
upper leg, and I thought it feltin the beginning like a pulled
muscle and they were telling meoh, it's your hamstring.
It's like they were giving meall these kind of excuses of
what it could be.
And I went to a physiotherapit's your hamstring, it's like
they were giving me all thesekind of excuses of what it could
be.
And I went to a physiotherapistfor this hamstring whatever he
called it and she said that'snot what's wrong with you.
(04:34):
And I said, well, that's whatthe doctor says.
And he said, well, if that waswrong with you, this would hurt
really bad.
And she pushed into a part onmy butt and it didn't hurt.
And she said see, that's notwhat's wrong with you.
And she said it's your back.
And I was like that soundsinsane, because it's my leg and
I didn't know how it all workedat the time.
(04:55):
So, um, I went in for my thatwas around September and um,
they finally got me in for infor an MRI and they, um, they
realized that that's what it was.
So it built up like it.
It felt like it hit me suddenly, but it built up like where I
(05:18):
was thinking.
It was just a muscle problem inthe beginning.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Okay, what were you doing Something different for
the weight loss?
Just cardio the beginning, okay.
What were you doing somethingdifferent for the weight loss?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
just cardio, or were you doing weight lifting?
So when I lost all the weight.
I actually had an eatingdisorder and I was so that could
have actually triggered my backproblem because I was purging a
lot.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yes, okay, wow, well, thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, so then I've heard inCanada that the medical system
sometimes makes you wait a longtime.
Were you able to get your MRIvery quickly?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
It took me a couple months to get the MRI and I
believe I had it.
I can't remember when I had theMRI, but I got in February of
2019 to see the surgeon and Iwould have had the MRI probably
in November of that of 2018.
By the time I got in to see thesurgeon it was less than a year
(06:11):
before I had my surgery.
So some people I know they'vebeen on the wait list here for
years.
That wasn't my experience.
I was sore for a year, 14months, something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And when the surgeon saw the MRI, did he say, yep,
surgery right away, or did youhave to do physical therapy?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
first.
So here, like your generalpractitioner has to refer you to
a surgeon, he wasn't referringme to anybody until, like, I had
to do physio I had to do.
Well, I guess I didn't have todo, but like we tried
medications like very, veryheavy narcotics.
(06:47):
I was on for quite a while.
I went through the pain clinicand that actually had a
five-year wait list and becauseI knew them, they skipped me
ahead.
So like I did that kind ofguiltily, but I was in so much
pain that I was desperate.
So I did that and by the time Igot to the neurosurgeon I had
(07:10):
just told, like my doctor saidyou're too young, they're not
going to do it, you're not acandidate.
And I'm like I don't care whatyou say, let him tell me that or
her tell me that.
And I said just put my namethrough and then they can reject
me.
And so he said whatever.
And he put me through.
And immediately when he saw mehe did a couple maneuvers in his
(07:32):
office or whatever, and he saidyou're a perfect candidate.
Immediately he accepted me andput me on the wait list for the
surgery.
And do you?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
happen to know the millimeter measurement of your
herniation?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Oh, what did they remove?
Oh, four.
Maybe it wasn't a, I don'tthink it was a big one, but it
was small but, mighty.
It did a job on me.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, I always say.
I see people post their MRIsonline and some of them these
huge bulbous things pushing intothe spine and mine looked like
a little thumbprint.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yes, Mine was small when they, when I asked that
after the surgery, when I wokeup I was like how much did you
take out?
And they're like not much, butit was enough to do.
And I will say I do have a lotof sensory issues and stuff like
that and I have a very low paintolerance.
So maybe my situation wouldn'thave hurt as much for some
people but I'm not some peopleon me and it hurt for me.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So Right right, You'll have to judge based on
you.
It's really hard to compareyourself to other people.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Especially on the forums.
Now, you said it started inyour leg, was I had the drop
foot and everything like that,so it was affecting everything
in that leg by the time they didthis surgery?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Okay, no, like urinary retention or anything
like that, though Like the redflags, no.
So you said you saw aneurosurgeon, right, yes, yeah,
was that based on what thedoctor referred you to, or did
you have the option betweenneuro versus ortho?
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I didn't really have an option.
I don't recall I mean it's beena while I don't recall having
an option, but I think he justput me through to a neurosurgeon
.
But once I started talking topeople on the forums I was I'm
sure they both could have done agood job.
But I really was happy to havea neurosurgeon who's familiar
with all those nerves and stuffin there and yeah, so how old
would you have been during theinjury?
So 2018, I would have been 34.
(09:42):
And by the time I had thesurgery, I was 35.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
It's nice to hear them say you're too young, isn't
it?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I know.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I know I love it.
Young, isn't it?
I know I know I love it.
I think I was 40 or 41 in 2019.
There was a young man in mychurch who had gotten surgery
the year before and he was 20something.
So I kept saying, look, the 20year olds get it too.
It's not just because I'm 40.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And I see on the forums all the time like people
saying their 17 year old isgoing in for surgery and I'm
like why did they think I wastoo young?
Like yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I let's see.
I went to the emergency roomand they didn't even do an MRI.
In the emergency room they said, you know, they just.
And they didn't give menarcotics, they just gave me
prednisone like a steroid, solike a three day high dose, and
then they said go see a backpain specialist.
And that took me two weeks toget into him and he did all the
(10:42):
stand up on your toes reallyfast that lay on your back, let
me lift your leg.
And of course I'm like, andhe's the one who ordered an MRI,
so it still was like anothertwo weeks before I could get the
MRI.
And then we went.
Did you try a cortisoneinjection at all?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
It was.
I think it was a cortisoneinjection.
So basically what it ended upbeing was he would give me an
injection almost right by mytailbone because it was a lower
it was L5S1 and it was reallylow where he went in, and he did
it about every six weeks untilI had my surgery and I know
(11:17):
you're only supposed to get itlike how many times a year?
Yeah, three times, I think Igot it five or six, but if he
hadn't done it for me, I wouldnot have survived for my surgery
because I was like, literallyat that time I was suicidal
because of the pain I couldn'ttake it yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Was it x-ray guided or was it just the localized?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
cortisone it was, I believe he used an ultrasound
machine.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I had one of those and it worked for a couple of
days.
You know, they numb you first,so that's always feels great.
And then it wore off.
And then, like two weeks later,I tripped going up to the steps
.
I didn't fall, but I kicked mybad leg out and it just brought
my pain right back to likenormal.
That's awful, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So then I was like I'm getting surgery, yeah, yeah.
And and really I knew this waskind of tidying me over until I
could get the surgery because assoon as they agreed to give me
the surgery, I'm like yeah, I'mdoing it, because the shots
would like the first one lastedmaybe like eight weeks, then the
next one lasted seven weeks,then six weeks, so it wasn't as
(12:24):
effective as I went on, right,and I know like if I was still
having to get them now, thatprobably wouldn't be working.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
So that was something I knew about cortisone
injections was that you can onlyget so many in your lifetime
before they become lesseffective for you.
And I was thinking well, I'm 40.
I don't want to.
You know, use up my reserve nowbefore I even hit like 65 or 70
.
Who?
Speaker 2 (12:47):
knows what else I'll need it for yeah, I didn't know
that actually Like like that.
Yeah, I didn't know thatactually Like that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, I didn't know it had like a lifetime limit.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
That's interesting.
Hopefully I didn't go throughmine yet.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So did you have any reservations about surgery, or
were you like, just get me underthe knife?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
They tried like with the whole.
They gave me the statistics.
You know 5% come out worse, 15%, nothing's wrong, yes, and that
kind of thing.
They tried to talk.
I was terrified to go intosurgery, by the way.
I was terrified but I was sodesperate that I would have done
anything.
I was in the hospital in.
(13:29):
I was living in anotherprovince at the time, like I had
moved there.
I only lived there for 14months.
I was in the hospital there andI literally begged them to
drive me to the hospital in NovaScotia where I was living and
that's where my referral was tonot miss my surgery.
And they ended up dischargingme like a day before my surgery.
(13:52):
So I was able to go, but like Iwas absolutely desperate to get
it, Were you able to work atall or were you strictly
homebound during all this?
So that's interesting.
So when it first started and Iwas living in Nova Scotia, I had
a job.
I was working at anon-for-profit youth homeless
(14:14):
organization.
I ended up having to like I hadto get rid of my car because I
couldn't get in my car anymoreand they had a van that they
lent me my work.
They had this like huge vanthat they lent me.
Well, until I could get my SUV,I ended up every single day
because I I couldn't sit forlong, I couldn't lay down for
(14:39):
long.
In fact I had to wake myself upevery half an hour throughout
the night or else I couldn't getup in the morning.
Um, so I hadn't.
The only thing that I could dowas stand.
So I ended up going down tothis cafe at the bottom of the
street.
I would take my work computerand work from there and I would
stand there for eight hours aday at their tall table that
(15:01):
they had, and I would just staythere every single day.
Then I got another job in theneighboring province of New
Brunswick and I went there and Iwas working in healthcare, in
the hospital, and at that time Ihad my injection.
So I was doing okay.
But then I got sick withsomething else, Like I had some
mental health issues and I endedup in the hospital.
(15:22):
So that was an interestingturnaround.
So I wasn't working at thatpoint but, it wasn't because of
my back, so you mentioned thatyou were suicidal.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
before waiting for the surgery, did you reach out
for any kind of health, mentalhealth help, or how did you help
yourself with that?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I I cannot say enough about how horrible the mental
health system is in thisprovince.
It is something that they needto work on, and it's been like
I've had mental health issuesand I've been struggling since I
was three and they haven't doneanything for me.
(16:05):
So when I when I went with this, um, the worst part was one
night I went to the hospitalwith a bag of pills and I had
every intention of using them.
Wow, and they told me that theywould deal with my body out in
the parking lot when I was done.
Um, they had no idea how tohelp me.
(16:28):
They they had no idea.
They sent me away every singletime.
So I am still alive today, notbecause of the mental health
system here.
It's awful.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, did you have family support around you?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
I had my my dad was sick at the time.
My family is supportive as muchas they can be, but where my
dad was sick, my mom, um waskind of focused on that.
Actually, the the person thatsaved my life that night was um.
My pastor came and he um tookme back to his house where, with
(17:07):
him and his wife and um, Istayed with them for like a week
or two I can't even rememberhow long until I was able to be
safe enough to leave.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
I'm glad that was a safe spot for you.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Yeah, me too.
I wouldn't be alive, I don't I?
I a hundred percent believe Iwouldn't be alive if he hadn't
been there that night.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah, I don't think people realize people who
haven't herniated a disc have noidea how debilitating the pain
is.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
No, nobody understands, nobody gets it,
unless they've lived with it.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, and when your back is infected you can't do it
.
It affects your entire life.
It does definitely leads canlead to a very dark time.
I'm so thankful that you hadthat support.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, me too, me too, and and I had some really
lovely friends around that timeand when I look back I'm like
I'll still say to them sometimeslike I'm so thankful that you
stuck with me, because it was adark time and I was bringing
people into a very dark place.
Yeah, and the fact that theystuck by me through that um six
(18:12):
volumes.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I didn't recognize myself, I think for a year after
after the surgery.
It took a year to recoveremotionally from it.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Absolutely, absolutely and to be.
I was terrified of my own bodyafter the surgery Right, when it
did take.
It took me eight weeks to losethe pain after the surgery.
Like I didn't think the surgeryworked.
The surgery Right, and it didtake.
It took me eight weeks to losethe pain after the surgery, like
I didn't think the surgeryworked at first, right and um.
So once the pain subsided, Iwas terrified of myself.
I was terrified of doinganything, thinking I was going
(18:44):
to re-trigger it.
Now I'll do anything, almostbut um, but I don't always have
that fear, but I'll still like,if, if I feel a twinge in the
back, I still like is thishappening again?
Yeah, so it's like it does takea long time to recover from it.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yes, your surgery?
Was it in and out same day ordid you have to stay a couple of
nights?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, it was it?
It in and out same day, or didyou have to stay a couple nights
?
Yeah, it was.
It was in and out that day.
Like I went in in the morningand I didn't wake up, like I
don't think they were worried,but I didn't wake up as quick as
they thought, so I went in forthe surgery at like nine o'clock
and I left that night at aroundseven.
I lived three hours away fromthe hospital, so I stayed with a
(19:32):
friend overnight and the nextmorning I was on my way back.
Somebody drove you home.
You didn't drive yourself,right?
No, I didn't drive myself.
Somebody drove my car and yeah,yeah, Did you?
Speaker 1 (19:43):
did you just recline back on the drive home, or did
you?
I reclined?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
back heavily and I, yeah, I was heavily, heavily
medicated on the way home.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
I was sleeping and yeah, so my surgery was supposed
to be in and out same day, uh,you know, and I think they had
told my husband 45 minutes to anhour.
And then, uh, when they went in, they found that my disc was
actually glued to the spinalcord with scar tissue, um, so it
took much longer and theydidn't get it all.
(20:11):
So I still have like a chunk ofthe herniated disc on my on my
nerves just kind of sittingthere still.
Yes, but my husband, you know,was sitting in the patient
family waiting room watchingother people come and go and you
know the doctors come.
Oh, you went, fine, you canleave.
And then my doctor finally cameout.
(20:32):
I forget, I think it might havebeen three hours, if I remember
, and my husband is a pastor, sohe kind of he has experience
with waiting people, with peopleat the hospital.
So my doctor came up to him andsays, can we go into the
conference room?
And my husband said his visionwent into tunnel vision because
he's like I knew what that meant.
(20:54):
I feel so bad for him when Ithink about it, but I just I
took a long time to wake up fromanesthesia, so they were like
she's not waking up, she's fine,and I always feel guilty for my
, my poor husband.
So did you end up stayingovernight?
I had to stay for three nightsthree nights.
Yeah, because there is a tear inthe door so I was leaking the
(21:16):
spinal fluid.
So they did a blood patch, andso I had to lay on my back flat
for three nights.
I wasn't allowed to get up andthen, on a, so it was Wednesday
and then on Saturday they had tolike slowly raise my bed every
hour until I could finally situp straight.
Oh my gosh, what a process itwas.
(21:38):
Yeah, and I had to put acatheter in.
I don't know if I mentionedthat before.
That was not fun.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
No, I had many a patient.
I was a chaplain when I workedin the hospital and.
I've been next to many bedswith catheters and they are not
fun as far as I can tell.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
So you got home okay, without a problem.
That's great.
So were you home alone or didyou have somebody staying with
you during your recovery?
Speaker 2 (22:02):
No, I was by myself.
Um and um, yeah, like nobody.
When I moved to New Brunswick,nobody lived there.
Um, all of my friends and myfamily were back in Nova Scotia.
So once they got me home, um,they ended up leaving and people
checked in on me, but um, likeby phone.
(22:22):
But um, yeah, I was, I was bymyself, just me and my four at
the time kitties, and yeah, so Imean even that like I was
taking care of them.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
So it was like, and I'm sure you did you have the no
bending, lifting and twistingrestrictions, did I?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
follow it as much as I could, but I still had to dig
out the cat litter and stuff,yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
So what kind of things did you do to make living
a little easier while you werein those restrictions?
Speaker 2 (22:55):
After the surgery yeah, I had, like so, one of my
really good friends who stuckwith me during that.
She is an occupationaltherapist, so she got me
equipped with, like, one ofthose claws that reaches down
and, um, an extra long pooperscooper for the litter box, so
it was all set to go for thatkind of stuff.
Um, I was really good at notlike, um of like not lifting
(23:20):
things and and and like, justlike not carrying too much.
Um, I learned how to like Istill got close to the floor but
I squatted, squatted, so Iwouldn't, yeah, so I I mean I
still do that.
I'm not ever bending like anormal person again.
So, um, I got, I got through itpretty good and, um, like I, I
(23:48):
recovered well and quickly fromthe surgery itself.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
You said it took you about eight weeks to be
pain-free.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
It took me about eight weeks to be pain-free, and
so there was a period therewhere I was again like losing my
mind because I and and I wentback at one point to the pain
doctor that I was seeing and herefused to give me the injection
because I had the surgery and Ilost my mind, like lost it.
(24:21):
I ended up leaving and like, oh, I don't even want to think
about that day.
That was a bad one, like I felthopeless and helpless because I
thought that I needed thatinjection.
He wouldn't give it to me, okay, and I didn't realize that I
(24:45):
was at the end of this waitinggame where the pain was going to
disappear.
I thought the surgery didn'twork, yeah, so um, um, but from
the surgery itself, even likebefore the pain went away, like
I was healing really well, likewith the incision and stuff that
all healed really well.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
So many people go into the surgery not realizing
that, like the two week mark andthen the four to six week mark,
is going to be a pain flare,and I'm sure the large majority
of us think our surgery failed.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Yeah, yeah, and I see so many people on the forums
that will say stuff like youknow, I just had my surgery,
like two days ago, and I'm inpain.
I'm like, yes, yes, you are andyou probably will be for
another two months, but don'tlet that take away your hope,
because I haven't had pain nowsince, well, like January of 29,
(25:37):
.
Well, like January of 29, 20,20, 20 January 2020.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Did you do physical therapy?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
after surgery.
I didn't, and I know people arerecommended to do it, but I've
always been really lazy withphysio, like I've needed physio,
like a bunch of times.
I did go to physio prior tosurgery, yeah, and I didn't go
after, and I don't really have agood excuse for that.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I'm one of those people that as soon as I hit my
goal with something, I stoppeddoing it.
Yeah, I did physical therapyfor the prescribed amount of
weeks post-surgery and then feltbetter, so I stopped doing the
physical therapy.
Hi Tiberius, oh, he physicaltherapy.
Hi Tiberius, oh, he's cute.
He's one of my two beagles thatpulled me backwards and made me
(26:28):
get back surgery.
Oh, but he's beautiful.
Thank you.
So I did the physical therapylike I was supposed to, and then
I stopped doing it and then,maybe a year later after the
surgery, I noticed my hipmuscles would start killing me
(26:50):
when I would go on walks, when Iwould walk the dog.
Uh, so I put myself back intophysical therapy and it turns
out that I had just, in my mind,gone back to guarding and not
moving my body like I wassupposed to be.
And then your muscles get weak.
Yeah, so I was real thankfulfor physical therapy.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
but I'm lazy.
That's really interesting and Idefinitely I like I definitely
don't recommend that people takethe route that that I took,
like without doing physiotherapy.
Like I really do think itbenefits so many people.
Like yeah, it's funny in a notso funny way, but I became so
(27:32):
much more active after that.
I feel like I was able tostrengthen my body and just
doing like so much more.
I've done more activity in thepast five years than I've done
in the 35 that preceded it, likewhat.
Um, so, like I was, I had aperiod because, like I mentioned
, I had some mental healthissues.
I had a period of like 10 yearswhere I didn't leave the house
(27:54):
and, um, that went from like age18 to 28.
And so I basically did nothingduring that time but sit at home
on the internet.
Even before that, when I was akid, like I was scared of my own
shadow there.
I didn't do anything.
But since then I've started thekayaking.
I only just started doing thata couple of years ago and I love
(28:16):
it.
I've started doing these hikesthat I would.
I was scared of bugs so muchthat I would not go out in the
woods and somehow I'm not like,I still get like sometimes, but
I'm not that scared of themanymore.
So I'll go out and hike andlike there was one hill that I
scaled down and had to pullmyself up with a rope and I was
(28:39):
like I couldn't have done that.
There's no way I would havedone that, like six years ago.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
That's great.
I'm a camper, I love hiking andcamping.
My husband and I will canoewhen we get the chance.
We don't get to do it as muchas we'd like, but that's one of
the things I say on my video.
Like you'll get back to doingyour stuff, you'll get back to
camping.
I swear.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yes, life comes back, and that's the good thing about
surgery.
And and that's why, when peoplesay like, oh, I'm so scared of
surgery, I'm like it was thebest decision I ever ever made.
And it's not for everybody, butif you've got no other way to
get rid of the pain, it might befor you, and my life is a
million times better since I'vedone it.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Life comes back.
Yeah, do you still get sciaticflares?
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I don't, nope, nope, never.
I had one about two months agowhere I started feeling this
thing in the back of my leg andI thought maybe it was maybe
like I was sitting too much withmy books.
Like you know, I was readingtoo much and it went away.
So I don't know what it was,but it went away.
I don't think it was sciaticaand I haven't had any flare up
since that, two week after thisor eight weeks after the surgery
(29:55):
.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
That's great.
So I have a Reddit communitycommunity called micro disectomy
.
I'm also in the facebook microdisectomy uh community so people
are will watch the podcast.
But oftentimes I'm talking topeople who just had it done,
like eight months ago, and theykeep asking me we need long-term
success stories, so you wouldbe considered an amazing
(30:16):
long-term success story.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
I am so glad and I never thought this day would
come.
And that's why I stay on thegroup, because sometimes, like,
I'm on the group and I'm like,do I really need to be here
anymore?
I'm not suffering.
But then I remember there's somany people out there that are
suffering and if I can give thema tiny bit of hope that I
didn't have back then, right,exactly, that's a good reason
(30:38):
for me to stay on the group.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I get so many personal messages.
I do the right Reddit and I dotick tocks, which is difficult.
I don't do any tick tock dancesbut I'll do videos on there.
Yeah, Tons of personal messagespeople saying did I, did I ruin
my surgery?
Is this normal?
Like, yeah, you're, you'll getpelvic pain, all kinds of weird
(31:02):
stuff.
Yeah, so is there anything thatyou would love to impart to
someone who may be about to getsurgery or, um, thinking about
surgery, that you think theyshould, uh, should know, Like
I'm just a like, do it like, gothrough it because it saved my
life.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Like, I'm just a like , do it like, go through it
because it saved my life.
And if you're in that much pain, don't let the statistics scare
you off, because a 20% chanceis a lot smaller than the 80%
chance that it is going to workRight, and people are scared of
that 20%, the five and the 15,you know 5% that you're going to
be worse than 15, that it'sgoing to do nothing.
(31:39):
Well, like, don't let thosestatistics scare you off,
because it is so, so worth it.
Um, I wouldn't have a liferight now if it wasn't for
surgery.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Right, and have you found any mental health
resources since the surgery thatyou think would be helpful?
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Well, it's interesting.
Um, this isn't really asolution for anybody else, but
um, I got my mental health helpwhen I moved to New Brunswick
and, um, it's funny that thepeople in New Brunswick say that
their mental health systemsucks, but um, when I compare it
(32:19):
to what I was given my wholelife here, it was so much better
.
So I'm still seen by doctors inNew Brunswick.
For that reason they haven'tlet me go and yeah, so there's
not really much I can say.
I've just been very blessedduring that time period that I
spent in New Brunswick.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
That's great, susan.
I really appreciate you takingthe time out of your schedule to
share your story with us.
I know it's going to be verybeneficial for a lot of people
to listen and see.
Yes, there are long-termsuccess stories.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Well, thank you so much for having me here.
I'm very honored that you askedme to come and, um, if my story
can help anybody out there,it's a blessing to me.
It really is, definitely.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
And if you are a listener and you have a positive
story of recovery that youwould like to share, head to my
website, bedbackbeyondcom andclick share your story.
I'd love to include your voiceon the show, susan, once again,
thank you so much, thank you.
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