So how did a relatively healthy 34 year old end up needing back surgery? My thoughts are repeated improper baby lifting and poor nursing posture. If those are actually the reasons, or if it was years of poor posture and lifting, we'll never know.
I had similar leg/nerve pain in the same leg a few months prior to getting pregnant with Adam. It was very painful and seemed to affect me most going from a seated to standing position. Eventually without much fanfare it went away and I went through Adam's pregnancy feeling great and walking 3 miles a day.
I delivered in Atlanta, away from home, and set-up the room at my parent's house like the hospital bed... tons of pillows in-bed for nursing support. What I suspect really happened was that my back and legs weren't supported properly and my posture suffered, causing intense burning pain in my mid-back. I also found it pretty difficult to lower Adam into his crib (which was fairly high) and had more difficulty picking him up. My leg/nerve pain eventually flared up and I just figured this might be new mom stuff.
I went to my primary care doctor immediately upon repatriating back to the US and he referred me for physical therapy. PT is extraordinarily difficult to schedule when you have no one to care for your baby! At the time I could not seem to find any providers covered by my insurance that offered after-hours or weekend PT. Fast forward several months and I now realize I probably could have scheduled in-home PT through my insurance's home health benefit, but too little too late! In the two sessions I was able to go to around Christmastime the therapist struggled to find more than two exercises that relieved my pain and I was very discouraged and took an "I'll just tough it out" approach.
I did not keep up well with the exercises and eventually they became painful for me to perform. This led me to seek out an orthopedic surgeon (I actually ended up with a neurosurgeon at an orthopedic practice). I went through an MRI, which was crazy painful because I had to lie flat on my back and that posture was crazy uncomfortable. When it came time to get the results, the neuro said I could see him and that he would refer me to the pain mgt. doctor, or I could just go straight to the pain doc. The MRI revealed a bulging disc at L3-4 and a herniated disc below it at L4-5, putting intense pressure on a nerve causing the right leg pain.
I opted to go straight to the pain doc who performed steroid injections, as it was explained to me the damage was irreparable with PT or weight loss. The first injection was great - I felt 90-95% better within a few days and only had foot tingling as a remaining issue. Unfortunately the results only lasted 3 weeks. I waited 4 weeks and then had two additional injections (2 weeks apart), neither of which gave me much improvement. I went back to the pain doc and neuro and was told surgery was my only option. My neuro also chided me for not seeing him after the MRI as he likely wouldn't have even referred me to the pain doc upon viewing the films (as in, surgery was my only option).
At this stage I not only had debilitating leg pain that made it very difficult to carry Adam, but I now also had an awesome hunch. Instead of walking upright, my top half hunched over at a 45 degree angle to compensate for the leg pain. Now I had leg pain, a crazy hunch and new back pain. Sitting or laying on my side during the day was my only somewhat relief, but sleeping was a nightmare. I would be up 5-6x a night in horrible pain.
I went for a second opinion and found a neurosurgery practice that focused more on spinal nerve surgery (vs. sports medicine). I had the surgery two weeks ago and from what I can tell so far it is a big success! Leg pain... gone! Hunch... gone! Back pain... gone! I've had just a little bit of being uncomfortable sitting down due to where the surgery was performed. I am also dying for a real shower with my whole body involved! Just washing my hair involves taping a sandwich bag over the bandage, then Press-N-Seal, then I'm wearing a garbage bag like a poncho... it's a hot mess.
I would never wish this on anyone. I used to be able to warm up through the pain and stiffness with a walk in the mornings and do better throughout the day. Then I only was comfortable walking with the stroller or a shopping cart in front of me. Then the walks stopped having that "warm up" effect and I had to quit walking. A few weeks before the surgery I ran an errand without the baby and had to walk unsupported from a gas pump to the convenience store... it was terribly embarrassing.
I feel so fortunate that the surgery has immediately put me back to normal. I'm back to walking daily and my only limitation is lifting, which is a big one. Nothing over a jug of milk for 4 weeks and nothing over 20 lbs. for 2 months beyond that. I'm hoping I get the all clear to lift Adam (who is around 23 lbs.) at the 4 week mark, though. Kevin has been a huge help and we've been fortunate to use a benefit from his employer that allows 20 days of emergency in-home childcare. It's a big strange to hang out while someone else does most of the playing with my kiddo but we've got a great caregiver that gives him lots of snuggles and kisses.
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