i need some encouragement

hi buds

to keep it brief back in oct 2023 i bulged a disc between my L4-L5 plates and was hospitalized for a few days. since then i’ve been doing PT twice a week and got an epidural steroid shot in november.

most days i can only handle 2k steps till i start feeling pain. its demoralizing because i’m only 22! i want to be out and about. this weekend i was proud of myself because for 3 days i walked 4k-5k steps a day. it was tolerable pain till yesterday; i flexed my left leg weird or something and pinched my nerve. pain shot through me for a flash and since then my back has felt sore and inflamed.

i cant help but feel like i’m not recovering fast enough. i started PT in june of 2023 and upped it after i injured my back. im icing the area, using my heating pad, doing my PT stretches at home, even taking my as needed oxycodone and this flare up is still kicking my butt. i feel like i failed.

my bf says to be patient with myself since its only been 4 months since the inital injury but im desperate to be able to walk/stand for more than an hour. i want to feel healthy again :( i’m also feeling despair about being in constant pain.