3 weeks

I am now officially 3 weeks out from my disc replacement surgery, half way to the magical 6 week mark which will allow me to resume some light aerobic activities until 12 weeks, at which point, the bone should be firmly attached to the artificial disc.

I'm falling into a routine of a 1.5 mile walk in the morning, a longer 50 - 60 minute walk after lunch and another 1.5 mile walk in the evening.  Sometimes I break the midday walk in half and lay out by the lake near my house and read for an hour or two just for something to do before I walk home.  I'm following each walk with some gentle hamstring stretches using a rope to raise my leg in front of me with my knee locked while laying on my back.  I then pump my foot while doing the stretch to help move the sciatic nerve through the channel to help keep it mobile and to keep adhesions from forming on the nerve.  I think I may have some scar tissue starting to form along the right nerve root (Mr. Boeree mentioned that it looked like there was a small amount as a result from my first surgery) and I'm hoping that I can keep it at bay with the stretching.  It is not too bad at this point, I only notice it when I do a straight leg raise and my leg extends past the point it would during a normal walking stride.  It is a bit painful when I do the stretch, I really feel it in my hip area.  I'm trying to find a balance of productive stretching, without taking things too far.  I think it is helping, as in just a couple days I can notice a small change in how far I can stretch my leg before the hip pain starts.

I have an evaluation with a physical therapist on Friday before I start pool therapy which I'm looking forward to for something other than just walking to do.

I've resumed taking ibuprofen and I've found that taking it with a larger amount of food (think meal or small meal instead of snack) seems to be helping a bit with the stomach upset.  I'm still planning on taking breaks if the stomach upset comes back.

Other than that, so far so good.  I don't get any pain when laying on my side in bed, no spasms, and not much other pain at this activity level.  I'm still of course being very careful with my movements at this point.  I can sit for about an hour before I get any discomfort, and even then it is very small and I stop more out of concern for interrupting the bone growth than for the discomfort.  I've gone out for dinner a couple of times with friends and it works really well to get a high table which is much easier to stand up and take a break from sitting.