Fusion Recovery & Leg Pain

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HI All :wave:

Tomorrow...I am using a cane and sometimes a walker. The walker really helps when I am trying to get up and down. I have had the nurabness since my last surgery and it did not improve any with this one, so the neuro says that most of it is probably permanent. I will just have to wait and see if it comes back.

Cowboy....I am sorry for all your pain. I sure hope it gets better real soon. I will be praying for you, just as I do everyone here. :angel:

Good night everyone
yawn.gif

I hope you all have a pain free and restful night :)
Janice

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April 14, 2003 - Emergency hemilaminectomy on the L5 S1. One nerve almost severed in two by herniated disc, two nerves adhered together because of inflammation, neuro reattaches the nerve and coats the other two with silicone. 5 hour surgery instead of 1 1/2. Permanent nerve damage. Loss of feeling on back of left leg and outside of left foot.

July 2003 - 3 month visit to neurosurgeon. He orders an MRI because he thinks the disc has reherniated.

July 29, 2003 - disc has reherniated. Surgery scheduled. POLAR with cage, rod and screws. Neuro won't take bone from my hip, he will use the bone from my vertebrae, but he will take marrow from my hip.

August 13, 2003 - Fusion Surgery - POLAR - nurabness in left leg..still lots of pain
 
Hello Everyone,

I had sciatica right leg pain prior to my PLIF on levels L4/L5/S1. After surgery that pain was gone. A couple of weeks later it had returned in my right leg. I went for follow up with neuro surgeon. He told me that he doesn't think it is the sciatica but their may be a problem with a muscle. Well, two days later pain started in my left leg. Never once did my left leg give me any pain prior to surgery. The stiffness in the morning is unbelievable. I cannot move my left leg without tugging on it first. At first I was doing pretty good with walking as that is what is needed to become stronger after this surgery. My neuro wont let me start PT yet as he wants to keep an eye on my pain. Sometimes when I am walking I feel as if I could easily fall. I am not sure if this is weakness of not. I am starting to move around so slow again. I had such pain the other day that I told my husband that I he might have to take my walker back out. I was hoping that I put that away for good. As of right know I am using my quad cane. My legs are very cramped and tight. Has anyone else had this problem with their legs during fusion recovery?

Any replies with be greatly appreciated!!!!!



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Lurabar MRI 10/02
Lurabar Lordosis
L5-S1 disc herniation with moderate thecal sac deformity.
L4-5 disc desiccation with bulge which results in mild thecal sac deformity and mild bilateral foraminal stenosis.
L2-3 disc desiccation with Schmorl
 
Hey, I geuss the reason my orthopedic doctor didnt find the ddd before now is because I did not have a MRI, my slppage in my lower back could be seen really well in my exrays.But my thing is that I really did try to get myself of the pain meRAB but I just could not go to work and support my family or do anything without constant severe pain durring the time I stopped my pain med. so thats why after 2 weeks in bed I went back to my orthopedic doctor and told him my situation about not being able to work and being bedridden for the last 2 weeks and I was very up front about the fact that the time release med(oxycontin) allowed me to go back to work for a few hours a day (lifting nothing!! and no bending) and play with my 2 yr. old daughter some!So he had no problem putting me back on it and the percocet, Im just worried about talking to my pain doc again since I told him that twice I did take one more pill than prescribed(wich now is my prescribed dose) and that I flushed my pills and stopped without talking to him first.The bottom line is Im in alot of pain, even while taking the oxys,and I made a mistake litening to other folks in my family telling me that I didnt need to be taking that so called "bad stuff"( the oxycontin) because right now I must go to work or loose my insurance and everything else I have worked for over the years!! If the oxycontin will help me deal with my pain to a level I can get out of bed and work a little then thats what I need to take right now but even taking these oxys, sooner or later something is gonna have to be done because I need to go back to work full time and there is NO WAY I can just deal with this amount of pain the rest of my life! You're right, the pain docs dont like us telling them what to prescribe cause it is kinda like telling them how to do thier job but I dont what he will do since my ortho doc has put me back on the oxycontin and percocet and Wellbutrin, because now I am taking more oxycontin than I was before(prescribed 4 a day) and I am so so worried what will happen if he says he will not continue my oxy since I have been back on them for a little over a month and I know if I stop right now I'll be back out of work and be sick like before from stopping them all at once? Just worried right now, alot!!! I have been praying about this every night also, I know Im the one who messed up by stopping like I did before, so I pray he will be understanding, if not I will call my orthopedic doctor back and ask him to continue to help me since he knows my pain and condition and told me I need another surgery in a few months, but dont worry WE PLAN to get a second opinion soon!Just want to have some peace of mind right now knowing I can continue to go to work and help my wife pay our bills!!We are almost BROKE from me missing work most of this year!!
 
Hey there, I had a spinal fusion 4 months ago and I am still in alot of pain!! Right after my surgery I did have severe pain in my left leg, and my big toe was nurab for over a month but finally I got the feeling back. Anyway my doctor refered me to a pain managment doctor and he had me on oxycontin 20 mg 3 times a day. took those for like a month and I kpt hearing so many horror stories about the oxycontin so one fine day I decided to stop taking it and flushed what I had left.Well that was not a smart move because I went in some withdrawal feelings and had to go back to my pain doc and explain that I had stopped and flushed what I had left, he asked how many I had been taking, I told him I had taken 4 on three diferent days instead of the 3 prescribed so I think that made him a little mad so he gave me a catapres patch to help with the w/d feelings.So after stopping the oxycontin I could not even get out of bed without crazy severe pain in my lower back and both legs(the back of my legs)but I did not take ant meRAB for 2 weeks but I could not go back to work either, just lay on a heating pad! So I finally called my ortho sergeon and explained all the pain so he ordered a discagram and It hurt sooo bad because twice the doc hit my nerves and that increased my leg pain 10 times worse, no joke!! So the next day I went to his office for the results and it turned out the three discs, above where I had the fusion, were all degenerative and one being hurniated!! He said the leg pain should subside in a few days but I told him that I had tried stopping all my pain meRAB but I was in so much severe pain that I had been out of work for almost three weeks and that I must go back or loose my job and my medical insurance so he put me back on the oxycontin 3 times a day and I went back to work.Well after a week the oxys helped my back pain somewhat but was not helping my severe leg pain so he told me to start taking 4 oxys a day and percocet 6 times a day and for the NERVE PAIN IN MY LEG he prescribed me Wellbutrin, Im gonna pick it up tommorrow.He also told me to start going back to my pain doc on septeraber 4th, dont know what to say to him since I was in his offics a month ago having withdrawals from stopping the oxys by myself, and when I see him It will be time to refil my oxys, so what do I tell him?? My ortho doctor had metioned a epidural injection, but I really dont want any more poking in my back because every time I let them poke on me with needles it increases my pain alot! But if he doesnt refill my oxy I will be back out of work and probably loose my job! And If I do have the injections will they usually let you continue your meRAB untill you can see if they help? Also after the discagram my ortho doc said after my fusion heals I need to have another surgery in order to fix the 3 bad discs but that he would have to go in from my front side because of all the roRAB and screws allready in my back! So I will let you know what the Wellbutrin does for my leg pain, cause mine is sooo bad I have fell twice cause my legs just buckled when I stood up cause the pain was OVERWHELMING!!! So please tell me about what you think I should say to my pain doc so I can continue my time release pain meRAB??And tell me about the injections and did you have to take any pain meRAB durring the time youhad them, and did they help your pain any? sorry so long!!
 
Cowboy,

I am glad that you are still out there, Sorry to hear that you are in so much pain still.

Yes I still took my pain meRAB after having my ESI'S I would not have been able to make it thru it if I did not. The ESI'S did not control my pain, They work for a lot of people. I was just not one of those. When I had my first ESI there was a guy there that told me he had great pain releif for over 6mos. It had made the fear decline so I let them try. Well needless to say after 4 ESI's I said no more.

Just recently I have gone from having back pain and right buttock/leg pain and decrease in feeling to having it also in my left leg now. What changed was that after my WC stopped my PT I was working out myself at home. I over did it and I did take a fall when I was out walking my legs just buckled. Now the pain is well over 10++ daily. I am still waiting on my WC to authorize a PM doc or a stimultor .
I have been off work now since 7/02.. my boss says that I will have some sort of job when I come back, but right now does not give me much hope. I have lost my life insurance, medical insurance, (Except for WC coverage) and all of the other binnies from my work.

If you have not tried a ESI I would give it a try. You are suppose to feel relief I think within 4-10 days afterwarRAB. Who knows you could be the lucky one and it might work for you.

Have you tried Neurotin, my doc tried me on it, the pharmacy says it works great for severe pain and nerve damamge. It was to strong for me, made me loopy, than sent me into a deep depression. So after a few weeks I thru it out. There is a pain clinic in SD, I heard about it last year my WC said no to sending me there. It is a whole town surrounding it, they are suppose to being doing really good work there. I am going to call my friend that went there and see if I could get some more informtion . What I was told was you go there and spend 2 weeks. There is a whole team of doctors, they are all family, they have a way to isolate the pain and to find the best treatment plan. Most people that leave there are pain free for years. I am at that point that I will try anything to have some relief.

Best of Luck

VPG
 
Hi There :wave:

I had fusion on L5 S1 12 days ago. I am having leg pain also, but it's not quite like yours. When my legs hurt it is like a very severe throbbing, mostly in the calves of my leg. The neuro says it is just the nerves "waking up" and that they are "angry" at being disturbed during surgery. :eek: I have no feeling down the back of my left leg and outside of my left foot. But, I had no feeling there before my surgery either. It's probably permanent nerve damage, so says my neuro. I am hoping the pain will get better with time. :)

Cowboy, if I were you, I would just be honest with the doc and tell him how severe your pain is. Although, I know sometimes us with back problems are labeled as "drug seekers" and that's so unfair. :mad: I have hurt so bad since my fusion that I actually shook with the pain. I think everyone that calls us "drug seekers" neeRAB to have one day of pain like we must endure EVERY day
bang.gif


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April 14, 2003 - Emergency hemilaminectomy on the L5 S1. One nerve almost severed in two by herniated disc, two nerves adhered together because of inflammation, neuro reattaches the nerve and coats the other two with silicone. 5 hour surgery instead of 1 1/2. Permanent nerve damage. Loss of feeling on back of left leg and outside of left foot.

July 2003 - 3 month visit to neurosurgeon. He orders an MRI because he thinks the disc has reherniated.

July 29, 2003 - disc has reherniated. Surgery scheduled. POLAR with cage, rod and screws. Neuro won't take bone from my hip, he will use the bone from my vertebrae, but he will take marrow from my hip.

August 13, 2003 - Fusion Surgery - POLAR - nurabness in left leg..still lots of pain
 
Hey I called my orthopedic doctor today and told them I needed a refill on my percocet.Well the lady that answered the phone more than made me madd, and mean madd!She said whos your doctor, and I told her, she then said did you just have surgery, and I said no, its been 4 months ago, and she then said well what are you being treated for because we just dont keep handing out that kind of med. I said hey, I just saw the doc last week and he knows what Im taking, then I said I also take oxycontin 4 times a day and I think she feel out of her chair because she made a noise of disgust when I told her that. My thing is, those ladys just work in the office, there are no nurses there, so what gives her the right to question my meRAB. and what Im being treated for?? That should be between me and my doctor, right? :mad:
 
Hello Rlcowboy,

Thank You for replying to my post. I was beginning to think that nobody was going to answer. Not long ago I had read your post on your disocgram and had replied to it. Okay here is my story:

Before I had my first epidural, I had experienced lower back pain for many years. Sometimes it was crippling. My back would go out for no apparent reason. So upon finally getting health insurance, I agreered to whatever my neuro and pain management doctor suggested. They are brother and sister in the same office. All of my lurabar epidurals were done in the doctor's office. My first epidural put me in bed for three days. That was the beginning of my right leg pain. My second one almost made me faint and elevated my blood pressure. I was in bed for a week after that. So at this point I was debating the third as the previous ones gave no pain relief only increased pain. They told me sometimes it takes all three injections for it to work. What a fool I was. So I agreered to the third and this one also did not give any pain relief. And yes I was in bed for several days again. Then I started noticing that I had back pain every darn day. Some days were worse than others but it was their constantly. As for my leg it to got worse. But it did not hurt everyday. I had more night pain with it and just some cramping during the day. However I did notice that I was starting to trip a lot, which sometimes was very erabarrassing. My surgeon then gave me the option on which to fix, meaning my lurabar or cervical as they both needed surgery. Upon deciding on my back his office scheduled the ultimate DISCOGRAM. I remeraber reading of all the pain you went through during and after it. I had basically the same results with my discogram. I cried through out the whole procedure. They had accidentally hit a nerve while performing the procedure. The doctor had told me sometimes this can happen especially with patients that have stenosis. I screamed and tried to jump off the table. They actually had to hold me down. The pain went straight down my right leg and I thought I was going to die. Well, I think they are hiding something, because from that day on my leg pain doubled. I understand that nerves can repair themselves but sometimes they don't. I think he added insult to injury. During my recovery of the discogram I had to call my neuro office for stronger pain meRAB. They called in a script immediately and they also called in a script for a quad cane. I never used a cane prior to that test. Now, they had tested three disc's because of my MRI results. I had herniation, bulging, disc deformity, stenosis and DDD. The results were that only two of them were causing my pain. One of them caused my every day pain and the other caused the pain when my back would go out. The last one did not cause me pain and that was the disc with the DDD. So I was told that I would need a two level fusion.

I was confused when I read your post. I couldn't understand how your doctor did not see any signs of DDD in your MRI prior to your fusion. If I were you I would also get a second opinion before agreeing to another fusion surgery. Have you ever thought of seeing a neuro surgeon? I could not handle another at this point. I already told my doctor I am never get my cervical fused. Also your post kinda scared me because you had to have a discogram done 4 months after your fusion. I am really hoping that my neuro does not tell me that because I will have to tell him no freakin way. He will then get angry with me but, so be it. I really hope that you have not injured your recovery on your fusion with your falls. I pray that you did not. I myself am so afraid of falling do to this leg pain.

I also seen another subject on the boarRAB concerning diabetes after epidurals. Well, in the middle of my ESI'S I also developed high glucose. I had to change my diet and my primary doctor has ordered more blood work for Tuesday. My sister Is a MA and she lent me a blood sugar machine to keep an eye on it. One time I had a reading of 199 which is not good.

OK, as for meRAB I was taking oxycontin and norco after surgery. I was a walking zorabie and always dizzy. After staples came out they put me on percoset only. I ran out of them and had to call the doctor's. The percoset worked for me but they cannot call that med into the pharmacy. So then I was put back on norco. Then the dizziness returned. At my next visit they put me back on ES Vicodin. They told me to try and only take three a day. I still have so much pain but I will not take more than prescribed. I am so afraid of addiction. I have heard of Wellbutrin, but I thought that was an antidepressant and was also prescribed to quit smoking. It may have other uses that I am unaware of. Prior to surgery I was on Zyban to quit smoking.

If I were you I would be completely honest with the pain management doctor. Explain your pain in detail and make them listen. They usually ask what your pain is on a scale of 1 - 10. I can tell you that they do not like to hear if you have taken more meRAB than prescribed. Also I don't believe they can abruptly stop oxycontin as you have to be weaned off of that medication. You can tell them what pain medication's have worked for you and what have not. It is best to let them make the decision on your prescription. They don't like to be told on what to prescribe as I guess that is like telling them how to do their job. I think percoset worked best for me and I told them that but they prescribed be Vicodin. I also think they are educated in looking for signs of addiction. So I do what they say and if something does not work I will tell them on my next visit as I go to pain management every month. I really hope that they prescribe you what is needed to keep your pain levels low.

Okay this post is turning into a book, so I think I better end it.
I do wish you the best of luck and keep me posted...

Take Care.

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Lurabar MRI 10/02
Lurabar Lordosis
L5-S1 disc herniation with moderate thecal sac deformity.
L4-5 disc desiccation with bulge which results in mild thecal sac deformity and mild bilateral foraminal stenosis.
L2-3 disc desiccation with Schmorl
 
Martha, this thread is 7 years old. I doubt that any of these folks are still around. Look at the date in the upper left before you respond to an old post.....:o
 
Hello Taglady,

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear of your leg pain. You are only 12 days post op so maybe it just is to soon for relief. I do hope that in time that your pain eases up. That is awful with your nurabness down back of leg and foot. I pray that it is not permanent. You must have so much difficulty walking after your fusion do to the nurabness. Please be very careful. Are you still using a walker or a cane? I hope that you have something for balance. As you probably already read rlcowboy has taken two falls during his recovery.

I understand you recovery pain all to well. I also had an episode of shaking do to the horrible pain. My husband got real worried and thought I was having a seizure of some sort. I do wish that you have a successful recovery with less pain.

Take Care.
 
I just want to comment on the pain after fussion surgery. Mine was cervical fusion. My nerves had been compressed for many years. Around a week after the surgery the nerve pain down my arms was so bad I was crying. The doctor explained....when the nerves are compressed for a long time, then are released, they go into a sort of "electrical shock". I was put on liquid codiene and tylenol, 8000 mgs a day! I had to take two different pills at night to sleep. By two months after surgery I was down to 600mgs a day of tylenol and completely off the meRAB by 5 months after surgery.
Take the pain med! Your nerves need time to recover...vit B helps that process.
Good Luck,
Martha
Philippines
 
Just curious, which areas were fused. Also what prompted you to have surgery (nurabness in hanRAB...)
thank you.
dmsand
 
reply to "Martha" (mepa49) (if still around) her message said..."I just want to comment on the pain after fussion surgery. Mine was cervical fusion. My nerves had been compressed for many years. Around a week after the surgery the nerve pain down my arms was so bad I was crying. The doctor explained....when the nerves are compressed for a long time, then are released, they go into a sort of "electrical shock". I was put on liquid codiene and tylenol, 8000 mgs a day! I had to take two different pills at night to sleep. By two months after surgery I was down to 600mgs a day of tylenol and completely off the meRAB by 5 months after surgery.
Take the pain med! Your nerves need time to recover...vit B helps that process.
Good Luck,
Martha
Philippines

My Question........................
I was curious what areas were fused and what prompted you to have surgery (nurabness in hanRAB...).
Thank you.
dmsand
 
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