Just my guess - former back surgery patient and also retired RN: First it has been 17 days. The first WEEK you say you hurt. That would be normal as no matter the size of your incision, there is still the fact that you have an incision through skin and fat and muscle. There were retractors being used to pull back around the incision to give better surgical exposure. Excuse the graphics but some digging and puling went on. You likely have been in a position your body was unaccustomed to. So you’re body is feeling stressed and sore with good reason. Your muscles may be having spasms in response. Very common. You have normal postop soft tissue swelling which creates more pressure. That’s week 1. Now you are into Week 2. The swelling is likely decreasing a bit. You are sleeping in the most comfortable position you can find and maybe that is helpful plus being home helps. You can nap and sleep and eat as you want instead of a hospital routine and hopefully don’t feel quite as groggy from anesthesia after effects. That was Week 2. Which is a total of 14 days. So now you are writing this 3 days later than 2 weeks. You are hurting more again. My question is, what are you doing differently? Are you awake more? Walking about more? Stairs more? Are you following ALL instructions regarding bending, lifting, stretching? I hope so! Many of the patients who came back for second surgeries did NOT follow postop instructions to the letter! Think about your pain. Is it exactly like it was preop regarding pattern of pain? Where? What type of pain? Numbness or tingling? If things truly get WORSE, or you lose bladder or bowel control, significant weaknesses in a leg (i.e. can’t bear weight), call your surgeon office at once and/or go to Urgent Care or ER. Otherwise, maybe scribble a few notes daily to keep track of your activities and see how you feel at your office visit. I assume you have already had staples or stitches removed?