Thank you all for posting your experiences. I had the L345 Laminectomy last October , 22. Plus supposedly a lot of arthritis removed. I was originally told I could go home that same day, I said no, as a veteran of multiple cancer surgeries I know the same day is a ridiculous idea, especially when I really had no one to help me 24/7.. It was a good thing because the second day after pt got me up to walk, I refused the day before, I was not leaving the ice packs. I got back from walking with the PT and I went into severe pain and sciatica pain I never felt,. I allowed them to give me morphine which for 30 years was on my NO list. I ended up staying 4 days due to critical low Potassium that no one looked at until after the surgery. Once I got home , I have to admit, I am pretty self sufficient and I was up and grocery shopping with my brother driving me by that Sunday, I defied the rules of lifting as there are times with my life single and business you have no choice, I work out daily on treadmill, 2 hours, Got permission 6 months after for a rowing machine,,,. The majority of my old pain was all but gone , even to the touch, Then one day boom , I am standing at my shop and the sciatica from my butt all the way to my right thigh was so severe I thought wth,,, That continued, and it was worse than before the surgery, . I was wearing heels to work and standing a lot at my Shop. Thhe sciatica contiued to be severe , along with severe pain in my spine, and a slew of other spinal areas.. Finally Called my surgeon, got a new MRI. well, he says I have a lot more arthritis,, ??? my interpretation of the MRI is that my scoliosis has shifted so far and continues that my organs are not where they are supposed to be ,. I opted to not have the scolisis repair of my spine rather a least invasive to get me out of pain,. As all of my disks from L1 to S1 are herniated and bulging,, I wondered why my Surgeon who is a neuro surgeon did not get rid of or fix more during the first surgery.. Now he says we will have to keep going up?? I decided to wait until after the Holidays and see him again to discuss this , and if another surgery is what it takes I will have no choice. To @ikcooley I have read your story and am sorry you have to go through all of this, having these infections is not just a pain but extremely dangerous to your life. perhaps a second opinion with another surgeon would help. I swore I would never touch my back, but when our quality of life is affected I had no choice,, Still can not walk in a store or on a road with out severe pain, but I can do my treadmill 2 hours on slight incline. Go figure. I am not sure spinal surgery is always a success, and not to be a downer, but my Mom had surgery quite a few years ago , Drs messed her up.. she wanted another surgery but no one in out city would touch her . So she went to El Paso to a spinal clinic there,, The Dr was a hack, left her on the table after 8 hours and tells my Dad , he will have to finish another time. She had another time with an Ortho local and although I believe the Drs did the right thing my Mom is lazy and did not do her PT and keep it up.. so today she is 81 watching the room spin from her bed at home because she allowed her self to lay in bed too long and atrophy., She has been a burden but I think I finally have her awake enough to get her into one of the top rehab hospitals here where they will force her to work to walk again, I can not express enough the importance of keeping your body parts moving despite the pain. I have seen what happens when you do not, too much.. I have always been very active I am not going down yet, despite my addiction to my heating pad every am for 2 hours to loosen up and make it to the shower, medical is less than par here so I try to learn as much about everything as I can. I wish you all the best and thank you for sharing your experiences, Jacquie.. Any all coping tips helps!!