On 05/13/2013 I underwent minimally invasive surgery to remove a synovial cyst that was wrapping around and pressing against my right sciatic nerve root. The doctor was able to remove all of the cyst, thankfully, because this means less chance of it coming back. He was also able to decompress most of my nerves that were already compressed because of the cyst. Surgery lasted a little over 2 hours and I was sent home the same day.
Weird, I know. Spinal surgery done and sent home the very same day only mere hours after having someone cut you open and dig around inside your spinal area to remove a cyst and decompress nerves is a scary thing...to a degree. It also gives me a sense of wonder and amazement of how far we've come in medical science over the past 30 years or so.
I say that because 30 years ago, I would still be in the hospital with a probably near foot long incision instead of a mere 2 inch incision along my spine, and I'd probably have lost use of my legs, at least temporarily until all the swelling went down.
But that's not how things happened. I have a very small incision to worry about healing up properly, along with a whole lot of swelling and I can feel, literally FEEL how swollen my poor decompressed nerves are. They hurt, they burn, they tingle, with every movement they are irritated. I can't even sit up straight or lean forward like I used to, I'm in this constant half upright, half leaned forward position because that's what's most comfortable for me right now.
And my bedroom is on the second level of our home. Stairs are assholes at this point. You wanna know why? Because with every step, every shift of my hips, every movement of my leg in any manner causes extreme shooting pains down my right leg.
That right sciatic nerve is beyond irritated, it's friggin angry at this point. I can't move my neck too much, was told not to since it may cause undue irritation to my nerves in my low back and may even cause permanent nerve damage if I do too much repetitive motion with my head.
I am not allowed to lift or carry anything over 5 lbs, this would include both my children because they both weigh over 20 lbs a piece. A gallon of milk is almost out of the question, I tried, it hurt but I did it. I won't be doing it again anytime soon, that's for sure.
I went on my first outing out of the house today to run some errands for my girls, they needed their WIC stuff and I needed my anti-anxiety meds so my mother took me and my oldest daughter out. Walking around the store was slow going and painful with every step. Reaching for things was completely out of the question so I needed help there and I couldn't even try to lift the two gallons of milk to put them in the cart because I had already done too much and my nerves hurt bad.
We then ventured to the pharmacy where I had to go inside and walk to the back of the store so I could get my prescription since their drive-thru was backed up and I really needed to get home. That was also a mistake, walking through yet another store was not something I should have done but I did it anyway.
And now I'm regretting it. All of it. I got home and helped carry groceries in (stupid idea), went upstairs to help my husband clean our room up a bit (another stupid idea), started laundry by myself (really stupid idea) and then I picked up my daughter by her arm and lifted her to my mother so she could get her butt changed (really really stupid idea).
So now I'm sitting here, in regret, hurting quite a bit from things that could have been avoided but I'm not one of those people who can just sit back idly and do nothing while there are things that need to be done around me. I have to help. I feel compelled to help. It's like I have no choice in the matter. And I feel terrible when I can't help. Really terrible. Like a useless lump that is just sitting in the chair doing nothing being lazy even though that's not the case at all, that's how I feel.
So aside from not following my discharge instructions to an exact "T", I've been pretty much lounging around in my pajamas since Tuesday evening, in excruciating pain, trying to find a comfortable position (which is a joke because there isn't one) and basically doing nothing.
Then my body and Mother Nature throw me a curve ball to add to my misery. I started my monthly cycle the same day of surgery and then while eating some of my famous homemade popcorn last night, half of my left front molar broke off. *sigh* I just can't win.
Surprisingly, my tooth isn't painful. This means that either A) My nerve died off ages ago which is a likely possibility considering the amount of trouble I've had with it in the past or B) It will become painful eventually and then it's going to hurt like a mofo til I get it pulled or capped.
I have no money right now to get my tooth pulled. I have no dentist in the area who will take my state insurance. So I just have to live with a broken tooth for a while.
All of this going on and there are still other things that need to be done and I can't do them yet because I can't drive myself and I can't pick up my kids and I can't ask my mother to drive me all over gods creation, I can't bend in the middle without excruciating pain in my hips and leg, can't twist, can't pick things up off the floor, can't stand to do dishes. I even needed help taking a shower last night because it hurt too much to put my arms over my head to wash my hair.
It's a long tough road of recovery ahead. I was told between 6 and 9 weeks for full recovery. I see my neurosurgeon next week Wednesday, the day after my birthday actually, to see if he'll finally clear me for driving and make sure my incision is healing well.
I'll keep you all updated on my progress and try to post more often. I realize I've been slacking lately and I do apologize but I have had many many things on my mind as of late and my blog just got pushed to the back of my mind, is all. Now that this surgery is all over with I hope to get back on track with all of my writing and blogging. Thanks folks for sticking by me and being patient with me.
I truly appreciate it. You all are phenomenal people and I'm glad to count you as my fans. :)
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