2012 may not have turned out the way the Mayans had predicted, but it did represent the year I lost six months to illness and recovery. Well, technically, the six months spanned from Oct 2012 to Mar 2013, but you get the drift.

I’d been battling an increasing amount of lower back pain for a while, but each time it would go away after rest and exercise. A new regime of the McKenzie method was showing promising results, but the pain kept recurring in greater intensity and frequency than ever before. Until, one day, I went to bed and couldn’t get up the next morning.

Then came a series of explorations of finding out my options (ranging from steroids to ozone injections to yet another surgery), and attempts at trying out everything from EFT to cranio-sacral therapy.  Finally, what worked for me was electro-acupuncture and auriculotherapy at the hands of a gifted individual (God bless you, Dr. Mistry!). Of course, weeks of rest and rehabilitation would have to follow. But I was on my way to recovery…

I’d written about my experience with back surgery, many years ago, in a post that shared my learnings; it my way of informing those who were considering the surgical option of what would be in store for them. This post continues where that one left off.

Here are the lessons I learned from my second slipped disc:

• Surgery does not always work and may not be necessary in most cases (Google “failed back syndrome” to know more!)
• Acupuncture does work, if you find someone who knows what they are doing (easier said than done)
• There is no alternative to an intensive, customised physiotherapy routine for your back, which you will have to commit to forever
• There are degrees and degrees of slipped disc – don’t compare your’s with folks whose symptoms are not comparable
• Every case is unique – only a good practitioner will know enough to give you a good prognosis
• There are no shortcuts to the time your body takes to heal – and it can heal from some pretty nasty stuff
• When you experience excruciating pain, it is very difficult to maintain a sense of optimism, and yet even more important that you do so
• Whatever treatment path you decide to adopt, learn about it, find out its limitations, and try it out for a reasonable time frame before switching to something else
• You may very well have to make some “lifestyle” changes to aid and sustain your recovery
• And, finally, as you go through the recovery process, you’re going to need help – a lot of it

If my experience is anything to go by, it’s safe to say that one can recover from almost any thing.

I started with not being able to sit up for more than a minute, and now I travel out of town several times a month, put in a full day at work each day, commute on the killer roads of Mumbai and, having lost 10 kilos, look fitter and walk faster than ever before!