Recovery timeline normal?
I am a 28yo F that had MD of L5S1 on April 16th (I'm day 3 post op). My recovery so far seems to be much worse than what others have described. Going into surgery i had had ongoing terrible sciatic pain for about 8 months, not responding well to my 3 steroid injections or 6months of PT. I was very eager to get the surgery done. But I feel I've been doing poorly so far in recovery, especially since I'm fit and was very active before
Day 0: surgery at noon, only took about an hour. I barely remember the day other than extreme pain. I needed multiple types of IV opioids and muscle relaxers. I had to be admitted since I couldn't really get myself up.
Day 1: they wanted to discharge me in the morning but I wasn't able to void (urinary retention). I needed multiple catheters throughout the day and developed a yeast infection. Pain was just as bad in the morning but by the evening I was able to walk a little with a walker (~100steps) and pee again. Pain went down and I could stop iV opioids. The opioids in general make me extremely groggy, itchy, and dizzy but my pain is either a 3/10 when ive settled into a position or 8/10 when I have to move.
Day 2: I made it home and fell asleep a lot. Slept 12h at night and needed a nap after every walk. Each walk is about 300 steps and i managed about 5 of them. Still need a walker and my pain is around a 6 while walking. Few twinges of the nerve, but almost all my pain has been incisional and from the muscles seizing around it. I skipped 2 of my opioids (one a night, one midday) otherwise taking them every 4h. My appetite is very supressed and I struggle to eat even 1200calories
Day 3: very similar to day 2. Trying to walk a little longer and we are experimenting with reducing opioids by cutting them in half rather than skipping doses. Its making the side effects less problematic. Still having a hard time eating.
My husband and mom are the ones helping me and they keep trying to encourage me to skip opioids and do more walking, eat more, be more independent. They make me nervous that I'm sleeping too much because I feel like I still need 30minute naps every few hours. My brain fog is still really there and I have a lot more pain than I expected. Are they being reasonable in expecting that I should be trying to sit to eat meals if lying down is more comfortable? Should I still be needing them to make my meals and help me up?
I feel like I was sold that the pain would be minor and I'd be back to myself by the end of the 2nd week. I feel like a zombie that struggled with basic tasks