Firstly to all, sorry for the slackness in replies i didn't know there had been posts and questions! , please forgive me, ok now to answer you , no worries about posting my story i hope it gives you encouragement and please don't be scared! , we are all here with you and will support you! , i to was very active throughout my life till the pain got to much for me and i had the op (i to sky dived, played football and scuba dived) the first few days after the op i thought i had done the wrong thing, the pain was so intense and i felt like a 90 year old man!...lol...(the first time i stood up after the op i passed out from the pain, but then again i was on no pain meds at all due to a reaction to them)but ignore those thoughts!, you will get better quickly and you will do all those things you love to do again , trust me , just give it time, be patient, one month out of your life to let your body heal and get better is a small price to pay for a life going forward of pain free trouble if you do things right (ie listen to your body take it easy and lots of walking!, walk walk walk until your body says rest , you will know what this means when the time comes and start small at first , my first walk was only 5 meters) ok its nearly my one year anniversary this 23rd dec!..woohoo! and i feel great, i'm playing sport,sky diving and scuba diving and running without pain, honestly this op. changed my life my friends, i'm happy, getting a girlfriend now would be the icing on the cake...lol...but otherwise i'm great, no loss of flexibility, i can still touch my toes (i think crossing the 30 year mark in my life has more to do with losing that now than anything..lol) sciatica has completely gone, no stiffness of muscles after doing exercise, i can lift things without trouble, i can stand up straight after sitting in a chair for more than 30 mins straight without having to place my hands on my lower back to right myself ( do these things sounds familiar ??) no numbness in my legs and i can stand for 3 hours straight watching a concert with getting sciatica (could never do that before, had to squat down every 30 mins or so to relieve the nerve pain) , ok thats enough blabbing from me, hope this helps and please keep me updated mate! i'll be thinking of you

Michael