Nerve pain 5 weeks post of L4-S1 Fusion

teteri66

Welcome to the board. Sounds like you did pretty much everything guaranteed to aggravate the sciatic nerve post fusion. You may have tissue surrounding the nerve that is inflamed and pushing into the nerve, or the nerve itself may be inflamed, irritated or in the process of scarring.

Hopefully if you drastically reduce your activity, the nerve will gradually recover. Try icing the area. The doctor may want to give you an ESI or a round of prednisone if he feels swelling is the issue.

It is common to develop the same nerve pain post surgery if not vigilant. Hope it is just a temporary set back!

LadyWriter1968

[QUOTE=johnsonra33;5402109]I had a lumbar fusion at my L4-S1, almost 5 weeks ago. Everything was great for 2.5 weeks. I left the hospital after two days, was walking 1-1.5 miles a day after a week, wasn't taking any pain medicine 3 days post op. On the third week post op my sister had a baby, I was in a car, at the hospital, sitting up for 1-2 hours at a time, holding the baby, helping change her...I did this for nearly the whole third week. Going into the fourth week I started feeling my old sciatic pain in my right leg return. It's a little above my knee , behind my knee, and into my calf and ankle.

Do you think I simply over did it and now things are inflamed? Is it normal to feel the same nerve pain I had before surgery? I see my doctor in a week and will talk to him then. At my two week appt he did an X-ray and said things look great. I'm just nervous this sciatica won't go away.

Thanks for your input and help![/QUOTE] Hi there, I also have sciatic back pain, had it for years, it comes for a few weeks and goes again. never had an operation for this, I think the operation from what I gather is a bit hit and miss. Spoken to those who had it and they say it didnt help or it was worse after, one person said it was better. I just exercise and it can come and go whenever it feels like doing so. Its very painful and I know how you feel and how we just have to live with it as its life long condition. I am trying to drop weight to help it, but even weight drops dont happen over night and its months off dieting etc. and then keeping it off is the next challenge. Thats if you are overweight as I am a bit. I went to hospital the last weekend as it was painful and got pins needles in foot for the doctor to check me out.