The main thing is to get a good physical therapist and listen to them. And a good Doc of course!

I went through it last year. I used absolutely nothing during recovery. I had 2 level. You’ll more than likely be laid up for a good 2 weeks with minimal activity. If you don’t have a recliner I’d look into it cause I couldn’t lay in a bed for 2 weeks or so. Ain’t gonna lie it was rough but I did it without any pain meds cause I’ve had problems in the past..... I was out of the gym for 3 months post surgery and took it easy several months getting back into it. Also there was no pt afterwards there’s just not much you can do. There is some minor stretching you can do like head turns but that’s about it. I was in a hard brace for 8 weeks. If you got any other questions hit me up.