Suggest treatment for pain after undergoing microdiscectomy
Patient: I am a 35 yr old man who had l4 l5 microdiscectomy on March 3rd. After the surgery the pain that once haunted me daily had been greatly reduced. Still I had pain and was on pain meds til about mid April. I have been doing pt since mid March and it s very painful. I still do pt and it still hurts a lot. I also find myself in great pain when not doing physical therapy, some days I can t even do my home exercises. When I told my orthopedic dr bout my pain he said I should be ok without the pain meds and I wish it were so. I just want to get better and if I can t always do the exercises that will help me how can I? What do I do? Doctor: Hello!Thank you for asking on HCM!Regarding your concern, I would explain that physiotherapy is really helpful in such cases. But sometimes chronic back pain is persistent despite surgery and physiotherapy. That is why I would recommend starting low doses of amytriptiline or gabapentine for the pain. These drugs can help against chronic back and nerve pain. They should be taken for at least 3-6 months, in order to have the desired effects. Hope to have been helpful!Kind regards, Dr. Aida