Chronic l-5-s1radiculopathy bilaterally

[BACKPAIN13]

I have had a fusion in l4 -l5-s1. I am having pain in both legs in the buttocks and radiates into legs and right toe. I have muscle spasm that are in the lower thorasic area. I dont know why i still have the pain i thought the fusion would correct the symthoms that were first brought to the neuro attention. I have a wonderfull doctor . I have also had the screws removed. I dont find i am better but actually worse. I have spasm that will make you scream your head off. I will see my doctor in a month . I recently had a emg and mri and the emg was hell. I hope i never have to go through that again. I have not worked in two and a half years. Will i be able to return to work? Some days i cant even get out of bed. I am on pain meRAB and muscle relaxers which help some but i hate being in lala land.what will help me? What can i do to get better. I have a family. Children that need me i sometimes cry because i want to get better but nothing seems to help. Any suggestion? What is actually happening to me.? If someone can help me with these answers i would love to hear from you. I have enjoyed reading all of the replies. I dont feel alone any more. Thanks for all of you who share your heart. May god bless each of you.

 

[ibake&pray]

I'm sorry you have been having such issues. Nerve pain is no fun.

You didn't say when you had your fusion so it's a little hard to address some of the issues. What you do need to realise is that when you have a fusion the nerves are moved and then replaced. Nerves don't like to be touched, much less moved. As a result they swell and flare up.That' what is causing the spasms that you have.

I live with those just about every day...or I should say night as I am on a cycle where they are flaring during the night. I call then cahrlie horses, but they can't be fixed by taking potassium like normal ones can. So far I have had at least two and often every hours from the time I go to bed until morning. I can only releave the pain by staning on the balls of my foots on the tile floor. Miserable, really miserable. this has been going on for the past three weeks and I'm getting tired of losing sleep as I putin +40 hours a week at work.

I too, have had the emg. Non fun, is it. But it is one of the only sure ways to see if you have nerve damage. I have significant permanent damage in my left leg and moderate damage in my good right leg. There are meRAB that your doctor can give you for the nerve pain. Nuerontin, Topomax, Lyrica. Of course they all have their own side effects, and you will need to balance the good they do with the side effects. But they are worth trying as the relief from nerve pain is such a blessing.

One of the best things that you can do to help yourself is to walk walk walk. Walking helps the blood flow around the surgical area helping it heal. It helps to strengthen your musles and it gets you up and moving. I had a clamshell type brace I had to wear and I would walk around the block pushing the wheelchair with my hubyb behind me. It wore me out, but it sure helped.

You should be able to go back to work.But it will require perseverance on your part. I am back at work. I had a three level fusion done-lower lurabar. The day after the surgery my back broke about the fusion. The PT got me up to walk for a week, twice a day because she didn't believe me that something was wrong and my surgeon was out of town. But this time the pain was so unbearable that I thought I was losing my mind. We took an xray- he told me he had good news and bad news. The good news was that I wasn't loosing my mind. I was justified all the pain I was having. The bad news was that my back was broken and needed more surgery. I am now fused from T9-sacrum. I spent a month in a rehab facility. The day I was discharged they discovered that I had a blood clot that went from my calf to my groin and was throwing clots into both lungs. 60% of these clots are found on the autopsy table. I was just lucky. I was suppose to be out of work for 3-5 weeks. It was 5 months. But I am back at work. I have therapy twice a week. It's been 5 years. I still don't have full use of my left leg, but I can walk without a walker or cane most of the time.

It's a matter of perseverage. Three were days that I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. You can chose to rule the pain or let the pain rule you. I chose the former...and it has been a struggle. My surgeon told me that I will live with some degree of pain the rest of my life. I see a PM doc every other month for meRAB. I adore him, but hate the meRAB, but I've learned to live with them. My only other option would be to be chewing on wood sticks to counteract the pain!

Once again without know when you had your surgery it's hard to answer, but water therapy is a good starting point. It helps to releave the pain and stiffness. I went for a month and was glad that I did. After water therapy comes PT. They can help get you back going again. They work on muscle strength and your mobility. this usually doesn't start for awhile.

I hope that you find some relief. Go back to your doctor if you need to. He should have the answers to your emg if nothing else....

 

[kwmillie]

I am so sorry that you are suffering so much, but you probably have the same thing that I do "FAil Back Surgery Syndrome". It just means that the fusion failed and that we are going to live in pain for the rest of our lives........... I know, I know, not good, but it gets better eventually.
You need to try different things for your pain, currently I am doing mild yoga and walking. I walk with a cane, so I don't walk too fast or very long distances, but any walking is better than no walking at all.
I've tried Accupunture and Biofeedback and they both helped me out, so you need to check those 2 out.It also sounRAB like you pain is not been treated correctly. If you were in the right medications, you would be able to get out of bed and enjoy your family more, so have a talk with your Doctor and let him know that the medications are not working and that you need help./

If you have a lot of nerve pain, talk to your pain management Doctor about a spinal cord stimulator (SCS). I had an SCS installed in June of 08 and that was a blessing for me! The nerve pain is taken care of by this little device and my quality of life became better and better as soon as I got it installed.

Hun, is not easy to be in pain, but there are several things out in the market that can help. Talk to your Doctor and let him know how you feel, if he is a compassionate and competent Doctor, he will give you other alternatives to the ones that you are using now. Take care and I hope that you get better soon.