Hi Chris, I'm 56 and had a percutaneous (sp?) disectomy and lower lombar lamenectomy done in 1987. I took two to three months out before doing anything to strenous, except for mounting my bike on a trainer and riding for about 20 minutes a night for a few weeks until confident to take the bike out for a real ride; I hate "riding" in doors. Caveats to these surgeries, don't plan on doing any heavy lifting, and if you have to, use your legs. Every few years my back locks up after doing too much yard work or doing something stupid like lifting a heavy, and I mean a large, potted plant off our cedar deck. When this happens, I make a beeline to the doc for muscle relaxers and pain killers, which I take for a few days, and I'm back in action. Again, this only happens once every so often, like every 4 to 5 years.
Yeah, I was concerned about having the surgery, but the sciatica is gone and I have to be careful lifting. As for bicycling, I commute to work on my Atlantis pretty much every day. And last year I rode a bunch of 100Ks and the Seattle Century without any discomfort. But, I gave a lot of attention to bicycle fit, and that's where keeping the seat just below the handle bars comes into play. Stay away from an aggressive, racer riding position. It'll kill your back. So, it's all doable. Initially you have to be patient and let your back heal, and start a low-level riding regimen (check with your PT about this), and above all else, be very conscious of how you do things with your back. -Steve DeMont Seattle On Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:28:15 PM UTC-7, zrainryder wrote: > > Greetings all, > > I want try my luck with this vast knowledge bank... > > I have been suffering from sciatica for the last 5 years. I had a > couple of epidurals and that helped and little else. > I have no problem when sitting down or riding. I have ridden several > centuries this year and am otherwise healthy. When I have had to > stand for more than a minute, the pain kicks in. > > Last week I had a foraminotomy and a laminectomy. I feel like I've > been reborn! No more waking up and reaching for the tylenol. > Now I'm going stir crazy from not riding my bike. Of course I don't > want to screw up a successful surgery, but I'm in agony waiting and > waiting. > > Any thoughts as to when the earliest sensible time to get back in the > saddle? > > By the way, my health provider did everything to discourage me from > getting this procedure. Shame on them! I feel I suffered needlessly > for at least 4 years from listening to bad advise. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/19c_BBfCSP8J. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
