myspine
01-22-2005, 11:35 AM
:wave: Hi everyone
I have been on the back pain board for a while and read posts here to
My History lami/disc 95, lami/disc 99, fusion with hardware 04, exploratory and lami at 2 levels last week all lumbar . Meds Elavil, topamax. Bextra, Hydrocodone, Robaxin, ..Did well after the fusion til 2 mos post op then started with horrible hip and thigh pain, never had the pain prior to fusion.. The pain got worse to the point I barely could walk without limping . I had ESI shots, Nerve blocks,Medial branch blocks, Facet joint block, and then even had the injections threated specifically to the neves themselves to try and pinpoint what was goin on. I had releif from A group of injects but only for 2 hours that was the facet block and medial block . Following that I had exploratory surgery for poss hardware removal. After surgery started he said the hardware looked so good but I had stenosis at l3 and l5 so did a lami in hopes to relsove this very strange pain. If this did not work then may have to try the SCS. Well it has been 9 days and I am afraid the pain is still there. I do not know what to do. I am in my early 30 's with 3 kids and work full time. I went back to work this week but do I try the SCS. I take all those meds with very little relief , but the SCS seems extreme. HELP I can not seem to understand where this pain is from and how to make it go away. I feel like a pill factory and yet I CAN NOT function at all without taking meds and even taking all that it is very painful. Any advice. Oh and I also have a herniated C6-7 disc to boot , that happened last spring just getting the boys dressed. I have had that injected 3 times and PT 2 different rounds with no result. I have read most of ya'll 's stories and would appreciate any input.
Thanks in advance. ;)
shelley
I have been on the back pain board for a while and read posts here to
My History lami/disc 95, lami/disc 99, fusion with hardware 04, exploratory and lami at 2 levels last week all lumbar . Meds Elavil, topamax. Bextra, Hydrocodone, Robaxin, ..Did well after the fusion til 2 mos post op then started with horrible hip and thigh pain, never had the pain prior to fusion.. The pain got worse to the point I barely could walk without limping . I had ESI shots, Nerve blocks,Medial branch blocks, Facet joint block, and then even had the injections threated specifically to the neves themselves to try and pinpoint what was goin on. I had releif from A group of injects but only for 2 hours that was the facet block and medial block . Following that I had exploratory surgery for poss hardware removal. After surgery started he said the hardware looked so good but I had stenosis at l3 and l5 so did a lami in hopes to relsove this very strange pain. If this did not work then may have to try the SCS. Well it has been 9 days and I am afraid the pain is still there. I do not know what to do. I am in my early 30 's with 3 kids and work full time. I went back to work this week but do I try the SCS. I take all those meds with very little relief , but the SCS seems extreme. HELP I can not seem to understand where this pain is from and how to make it go away. I feel like a pill factory and yet I CAN NOT function at all without taking meds and even taking all that it is very painful. Any advice. Oh and I also have a herniated C6-7 disc to boot , that happened last spring just getting the boys dressed. I have had that injected 3 times and PT 2 different rounds with no result. I have read most of ya'll 's stories and would appreciate any input.
Thanks in advance. ;)
shelley
Sponsor
Shoreline
01-22-2005, 01:35 PM
Hi Shelly, Slow things down a bit. IT's it hasn't even bee 2 eeks since surgery, althogh you would think if stenosis was causing the hip and leg pain then the lami or would have eleviated the compression, The didn't doa foiminotomy, where they drill out the outlets ib the facets to make room? The branch block helping and minimal relief from the facet blocks, may have simply been a a poor facet injections, Not quite the right spot, whatever. The medial blocks tell them whether the pain is from the facet joints and with a positive reul;t from the medial block, It seems you should have gotten more relief from tem the facet blocks, unless they missed the actual nerve, or used a SA anesthetic rather than a LA one like marcaine that could have produced 8012 hours o relief.
Personally , I think I would step back , outside of the present group of docs and maybe try anther facet block as a test to see f you might benefit from something longer lasting before you have the SCS. The SCS is jus a tool, lik any other method to help with pain, It's not a cure all and only being 10 days post op, It is too early to worry to condemn you to a life of pain, It may take some time for the nerve to regenerate and things to settle down if you hd a major impingement that went untreated for several years or even months.
Thy have done what I would expect, but the SCS is a bit son. I also think with you being in pain, you need to focus on recover from this surgery. You can start PT right way after a lami, umlike a fusion. But knowing what could be the long term outlook, I would focus on now, what are you doing today to maske yur back better, working can't be helping, PT can be.
I understand financial problems and having children, but yo don't want to creat a lifetime proble frm not being able to saty out a few more weeks.
They do evry procedure you mentioned, other than surgery at the clinic I go to, but they also use stroonger long acting meds, But your still fresh post op and prescribing SA meds s more apropriate for post op pain. Did you know 30% of post fusion patients complain of hip pain from the bone being harvestd from the Iliac crest for the fusion. Just a thought.
There could also be muscle in such spasm or contracture they are piulling on nerves and causing the problem. Periformis syndrome is extremely painful. It's a small muscle between the glute max and glute min and the nerve passes through and if the muscle contracts, you get major leg and butt cheek pain. Acupressure helps, styretching helps and a good doc with a needle that does trigger point injections, just injecting the specific muscle with a long acting topical like Marcaine and an anti-inflamatory agent. They are also using Botox for the same reason. I would consult with another group ofn PM docs that do these interventional procedure. I have really found that any doc can learn the needle placement, but these types of injections and blocks still require a doc has that touch. Just like some Choripractors are good and some a happy to hear a crunch.
Acupuncture is the same way. Anyone can learn where to stick a needle, But to feel the muscle and understand anatomy just takes something extra. I have had great blocks and trigger point injections and useless ones. Some docs will pepper an area with multi shots and others go deep right to the source and numb it witch can sometimes end the contracture and be currative.
I think your too soon post op and you need to focus on your recovery, not be at work in pain , unable to position or lay down and stabalize. Anyone would be miserable given the same history and time line.
Talk to your boss, do what you need to do, tell your boss and self that If I don't do right now, I could end with no options bt long acting opaites down the road.
Good luck, Dave
Personally , I think I would step back , outside of the present group of docs and maybe try anther facet block as a test to see f you might benefit from something longer lasting before you have the SCS. The SCS is jus a tool, lik any other method to help with pain, It's not a cure all and only being 10 days post op, It is too early to worry to condemn you to a life of pain, It may take some time for the nerve to regenerate and things to settle down if you hd a major impingement that went untreated for several years or even months.
Thy have done what I would expect, but the SCS is a bit son. I also think with you being in pain, you need to focus on recover from this surgery. You can start PT right way after a lami, umlike a fusion. But knowing what could be the long term outlook, I would focus on now, what are you doing today to maske yur back better, working can't be helping, PT can be.
I understand financial problems and having children, but yo don't want to creat a lifetime proble frm not being able to saty out a few more weeks.
They do evry procedure you mentioned, other than surgery at the clinic I go to, but they also use stroonger long acting meds, But your still fresh post op and prescribing SA meds s more apropriate for post op pain. Did you know 30% of post fusion patients complain of hip pain from the bone being harvestd from the Iliac crest for the fusion. Just a thought.
There could also be muscle in such spasm or contracture they are piulling on nerves and causing the problem. Periformis syndrome is extremely painful. It's a small muscle between the glute max and glute min and the nerve passes through and if the muscle contracts, you get major leg and butt cheek pain. Acupressure helps, styretching helps and a good doc with a needle that does trigger point injections, just injecting the specific muscle with a long acting topical like Marcaine and an anti-inflamatory agent. They are also using Botox for the same reason. I would consult with another group ofn PM docs that do these interventional procedure. I have really found that any doc can learn the needle placement, but these types of injections and blocks still require a doc has that touch. Just like some Choripractors are good and some a happy to hear a crunch.
Acupuncture is the same way. Anyone can learn where to stick a needle, But to feel the muscle and understand anatomy just takes something extra. I have had great blocks and trigger point injections and useless ones. Some docs will pepper an area with multi shots and others go deep right to the source and numb it witch can sometimes end the contracture and be currative.
I think your too soon post op and you need to focus on your recovery, not be at work in pain , unable to position or lay down and stabalize. Anyone would be miserable given the same history and time line.
Talk to your boss, do what you need to do, tell your boss and self that If I don't do right now, I could end with no options bt long acting opaites down the road.
Good luck, Dave
myspine
01-22-2005, 02:15 PM
Hi Dave Thanks for the reply,
Yes they did drill out they outlets too. You know I was in my very early 20 when I started having problems back then the doctors said I was to young to do any thing invasive so the lami's were done = the result of 12 years of nerve impingement and damage to the left leg . So you know the routine .....Many docs won't touch you after another doc has surgically touched you so I went outside of my area after spending my entire 20's miserable and found this surgeon who could not believe these other doctors said I would just have to live with how I was and he agreed to take over my care. He does do spine revision and was one of the researchers of the ADR , so when i have this top doc puzzled it makes me wonder .....what is wrong with me!!!!! I have never had any other health problems ..i have been in the health care field for 13 years and am starting to see myself as one of those patients that never goes away LOL :D My last round of injections my doc made sure that a specific anes. doc was used because he wanted it perfect. I feel he is making sure no stone is left unturned...I told them in Oct when I started getting this thigh and hip pain itwas def not anything l had , had before.(oh no bone harvest it was BMP) I am very nervous because the symptoms still here like before last weeks surgery except I do have more feeling in my foot :) I have spent 12 years with so much pain this is not new to me..it is very old and tiring ..I guess I was just hopeful that it might finally go away and I would have somewhat of a normal life i certainly do not know when the last time was that I felt like that was...like I know many of you can relate too.
Thanks again ;)
shelley
Yes they did drill out they outlets too. You know I was in my very early 20 when I started having problems back then the doctors said I was to young to do any thing invasive so the lami's were done = the result of 12 years of nerve impingement and damage to the left leg . So you know the routine .....Many docs won't touch you after another doc has surgically touched you so I went outside of my area after spending my entire 20's miserable and found this surgeon who could not believe these other doctors said I would just have to live with how I was and he agreed to take over my care. He does do spine revision and was one of the researchers of the ADR , so when i have this top doc puzzled it makes me wonder .....what is wrong with me!!!!! I have never had any other health problems ..i have been in the health care field for 13 years and am starting to see myself as one of those patients that never goes away LOL :D My last round of injections my doc made sure that a specific anes. doc was used because he wanted it perfect. I feel he is making sure no stone is left unturned...I told them in Oct when I started getting this thigh and hip pain itwas def not anything l had , had before.(oh no bone harvest it was BMP) I am very nervous because the symptoms still here like before last weeks surgery except I do have more feeling in my foot :) I have spent 12 years with so much pain this is not new to me..it is very old and tiring ..I guess I was just hopeful that it might finally go away and I would have somewhat of a normal life i certainly do not know when the last time was that I felt like that was...like I know many of you can relate too.
Thanks again ;)
shelley