Microdiscectomy Recovery

Microdiscectomy recovery.
As you may have read in earlier posts, I suffered a pretty serious disc herniation in my lumbar spine. Conservative treatments didn’t provide relief. I tried physical therapy, chiropractic, TENS, ultrasound, therapeutic lasers, heat, icing, waiting, massage and finally epidural steroid injections. Nothing could help the debilitating pain going down the leg. Conventional pain killers don’t seem to help nerve pain. When something is pressing on that sciatic nerve, there is nothing that will relieve the pain. There is no way to convey what the pain is like. I could use words to describe the pain, but nothing can translate the non-stop crippling pain. This type of pain affects your whole system–spiritual, emotional and physical. Think of people you know that are in this kind of pain. They can’t concentrate, they are emotional and vulnerable. Think about attending a really loud concert and then it never ending..in fact going on for months and you can’t get relief from the loud sound. Maybe that describes it.
In either case, I opted for the microdiscectomy. Immediate relief from that crazy pain. I wondered what surgery pain was going to be like. It’s nothing compared to crippling sciatic pain. For those who are about to have the procedure and are worried about the surgery pain like I was, you will be given some pain killer to make it through the first few days. Just take the pain killer. You’ll just feel a little sore. But it’s a totally manageable pain with specific boundaries. You’ll be stiff for a couple weeks but everyday..I mean every day brings measurable relief.
There will be some aches and pains here and there that resemble the sciatic pain–mostly in the evening when you’re tired, but it goes away quickly. Any doctor will tell you it could take weeks if not months for the nerve to heal from the trauma of being pressed on for so long and then getting freed up during surgery. Don’t worry about it. It will take weeks to get back to normal. No bending, lifting or twisting for 6 weeks and restrictions on how much you can lift etc. Every doctor will have a different recommendation or approach, but it’s best to take it really slow and just walk for the first few weeks.
Recovery will take time and you will need help. The worse part is having patience because you won’t be able to do things for awhile and battling feelings of loneliness and helplessness. Just keep thinking about when you’ll be up and running better than ever!

Here’s what I’ve been taking to speed up healing based on research and some common sense:
Collagen powder mixed with frozen fruit 1 to 2 times per day
Zinc
Vitamin A
Vitamin D3
Vitamin K
Emergen C (has vitamins and minerals besides vitamin C)
Vitamin C
Lysine
Proline
Glycine
Hyaluronic acid
Glucosamine/Chondroitin Sulfate/MSM combo
Theanine (to help with mood)
Ginger
Turmeric
Bone Broth
Liver
Grapeseed extract with CoQ10
B complex vitamin
Digestive Enzymes
Probiotics
Colostrum
Grass Fed dairy
Cod Liver and Cod Liver Oil

Now obviously I can’t have all of this everyday, but I’m taking as much as possible.

Beautiful Thinking is important

It’s important to be aware of your habitual thoughts. Images in the mind can trigger a cocktail of chemicals into your bloodstream. As mentioned in the e-book, ‘Beautiful Thinking’, some women will release oxytocin if they think about a hungry and crying baby. It triggers an instinct to nurse. Growth hormone release has been linked with positive emotions. The other day, I realized that the opposite must also be true. If we imagine bad things happening (the typical worry wort) we must be flooding our systems with bad chemicals. If we become addicted to imagining the worst outcome or brooding over what happened or what could have happened, it’s like having a diet heavy in junk food..or worse. We depress our immune systems with chronic bad thoughts.
How simple it is to simply choose to have some positive thoughts..daydream! It will extend your life. Create happy thoughts like you would take vitamins. Our bodies create the chemicals and tonics we need. We don’t have to get substances from the outside. The Beautiful Thinking ebook may seem very simple or very obvious, however it’s probably the single most important thing you can do for great health and to stay young.
Do we really need to age or are we ‘hypnotized’ into believing we have to get old a certain way? Interesting thoughts to ponder. In the meantime, take some time to send your cells and organs some beautiful mental images.

Everyone Needs a Daily Nudge

Sometimes you need to be your own cheerleader, coach or best friend. This site DailyNudge aims to help you do just that.

Great Tool for Personal Transformation and Transendence
Great Tool for Personal Transformation and Transendence
You can configure daily or regular electronic reminders or nudges to be sent to your inbox or your cell phone. How is this helpful? Send yourself encouraging messages to stay on track for your goals. It’s amazing how we easily drift to autopilot during the day and our minds and emotions drift to our comfortable patterns. This is great if your normal patterns work for you..that is if you naturally believe you are healthy, happy, successful, wealthy, etc. However, if like many of us, you are a work in progress, then you need some cheerleading and coaching. Send yourself a personal message at 2pm, for example, to remember to relax, center and be mindful. It could be anything like eating better, visualizing a goal, smiling, or something more mundane like file that TPS report. The best thing is it’s free and I feel it’s a great tool.