Pain after fusion

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mznell

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Schragie ~

I did check out the dermatome charts and was wondering about that. Did you have pain on the front of your thighs and did it go away? I had a terrible episode in the middle of the night last night that felt like my leg was in a vise and it just kept getting tighter and tighter. Nothing helped.

The sciatic pain I had for 3 years prior to surgery would vanish the minute I sat down. This pain just continues to hurt...and sometimes hurts more when I am lying down or sitting. Now I am noticing pain in my left leg as well. If it weren't for this, I would feel pretty great!;)
 
I'm 5 weeks out from a PLIF at L4-5 (decompression L3-5) and overall I think I'm doing pretty well.

About two weeks ago I began having pain on the FRONT side of my thighs, totally different from the sciatic pain I had the previous 3 years. I'm basiclly just venting...but it is annoying. If I had the same pain I think I could deal with it better...but it is annoying to go through all this and end up with a brand-new series of pain in new location that is every bit as bad as the old pains and the result is the same: it is almost impossible to walk. GRRRRRR!!!

And then the doc says "Everything looks fine...." You all know the drill. :(
 
Mom,
this is my second surgery - last one 7 weeks ago, and i have new pain too. I had never before had front leg/tigh pain, now I have it!
Dr said that this is quiet normal at this point since it can take up to a year or even 2 for the nerves to heal. They hurt all over, many new places, but hopefully it will get better for you,for me and many-many others!!!!

Best wishes on your recovery!
 
((((((((HUGS)))))))))) I can feel your pain. I will be lifting you both up in prayer.
 
Hi MM:

I've had pain in the fronts of my legs for years, both before and after surgery, so don't go by me. It comes on only when I'm sitting and is more a throbbing pain than a vise-like pain.

Post-surgery, though, I had weird burning spots on my ankles that never hurt before. It hurt to even put socks on. Yes, they mostly passed after about a month or so, but I was very worried about them.

Are you doing anything that could be causing an increase in pain, like exercising, walking a lot, driving, etc? YOu may find that you feel good and overdo it a little, which could cause a flare up for a few days.

Feel better, dearie!

Schragie-girl
 
Thanks, MM. I had the thigh pain both prior to and after and L5-S1 fusion so I keep thinking it's the disc above. I don't want to admit to myself that I have problems with the levels above (L2-L4) because they are only "minor" bulges right now. Oh, the tricks we play on ourselves! :)

How is your pain today?
 
Hey MM:

Have you ever checked dermatome maps online? They show the relationship between nerves and the sensory feelings throughout your body. I checked out one for front leg/thigh pain (because I get that as well) and saw that it corresponRAB to L2 to L4. So, since you had decompression starting at L3, I think this could explain the new thigh pain. That doesn't mean it won't pass, but it's just a little explanation. Oh, the nerve of those nerves! ;) Good luck with your recovery and remeraber to listen to your body but don't let it drive you crazy. I remeraber having several new pains that were so intense I kept calling my doc -- but they did pass.

Schragie-girl
 
I'm sorry :(. I'm really hoping the new pain in your thigh has somehow been brought on by surgery and will go away soon. I will be praying for you :).
 
I get the front of the thigh pain when I lay back in bed on my back with my legs bent over two pillows and the laptop resting on my knees. Do you have problems with L4?
 
My pain in my right leg is about the same from day to day. There are a couple times each day where it feels like a vise is turning on my thigh, squeezing more and more tightly, then other times it just hurts. Sometimes it changes location a bit.

When I complained about this at my 3 week appointment, my doc ordered x-rays and a MRI. They showed everything was in its proper place, nothing appeared amiss. He said the MRI showed a small area of "fluid" that could be blood or whatever that didn't totally drain out...and that my body would eventually reabsorb it, and that could be causing the pain. Or, the other option was the femoral nerve getting roughed up during surgery--which I think sounRAB more likely. Here too he assumes it will calm down and the pain will evenually go away...

Do they ever do these surgeries where everything goes perfectly, the patient goes home, recovers, and everything is fine? No new nerve pain?? So far, I haven't heard of it happening!!:mad:
 
Hi MM:

I want to believe that people have fusion surgeries and everything goes swimmingly and they never suffer pain again...but realistically, I wonder whether that could ever be true. I don't mean to be a downer, and I'm confident that your pains will pass since you are only a short time out from your surgery, but one thing I've had to face for myself is that I'm not going to be 100% pain-free. That doesn't mean you can't be 80% pain-free or 90% pain-free. (Or 99% pain free? :))

In other news, and to give you some hope, I had a cervical 2-level fusion 9 years ago and my neck is doing just fine. Beyond the medical issues, so much of recovery depenRAB on your physical fitness prior to surgery, the work you do in physical therapy after your surgery, and the modifications you make in your life going forward to take care of yourself and your back.

Hang in there, have some patience, take your pain meRAB, and give yourself the space and time to recover. Use the boarRAB as you have been to vent and share your concerns. I hope that in a few months you can do a search of your posts here and say "Wow -- look how far I've come!"

Okay, that's my pep talk of the day! I'm doing it for you as much as I am for myself ;)

Schragie-girl
 
Hey All:

Not to hog the post, but I have a bulging disc at L4-5. I guess that explains the front of thigh pain too, come to think of it, no? Also have facet osteoarthritis at that level, but I thought that was more of a back/hip pain thing. Does anyone know if that causes front of the thigh pain too?

Lisa
 
Thanks, Schragie.

I guess we all need pep talks! I am only 5 1/2 weeks out and I am optimistic that this new pain will eventually go away. I haven't started PT yet, and won't for several weeks.

Hope you have a good day. The sun is out here and we're not supposed to have our next foot of snow until Sunday.:cool:
 
My fusion was at L4-5 and I never had any pain in the front of my thighs prior to my surgery. L4 does run down the outer outside of the leg on most people. I thought the front (topside) of the thighs was relatd to L3 or even L2.

I don't know anything about the arthritis. Sorry. :(
 
I was experiencing severe upper thigh (front of leg) pain along with other pains in my back at the T3,T4 level before surgery 2 weeks ago. Right after surgery my thigh pain disappeared completely. I was very impressed.....but not for too long! Since the surgery to remove pieces of broken vertabrae that were compressing my spinal cord at T3,T4, I now have new pain similar to what other posters are talking about. I now hove severe, crushing pain in my chest and my back at the surgical level and some other vice-like pain around my lower ribs and abdomen that comes and goes. Things got so bad that yesterday I ended up having to return to the hospital, go through the emergency room, to see the spine fellow on call. They took xrays and confirmed that all the hardware was in place and that nothing new or unusual showed up on the films. The doc explained it to me like this: Before the surgery I had swelling and compression at one part of my body. Once they removed the fragments the swelling went down in that area but increaesd in new areas because of all the damage that is done by slicing through nerves and muscle and tissue. Because I have new swelling, I'm going to be experiencing pain in new areas and that this is normal. Until all the swelling is gone and the nerve endings have a chance to heal, I will probably be faced with all different kinRAB of discomfort. My surgeon told me that my old symptoms can come back as well, depending on the way things mend, but that it really takes a full year before someone can say that all the healing is done and that things aren't going to get better than they are right now. So, I'm happy to find out that nothing has changed since the fusion on January 30th, but I wasn't prepared to have to face new, and just as severe, pains during my recovery. I've never experienced this degree of pain post-operatively before and I've had more than 10 spine surgeries involving fusions and re-fusions. Memere (K'Mac)
 
Hi eveyone, Just thought i'd vent my 2 cents worth! MY ANKLES ARE KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 4 1/2 weeks post op, and hoping it's temporary nerve pain. My legs and back have a dull burning ache also. When I went in I had only back pain so it is depressing to end up with pain somewhere else. Overall I do think I am getting better and that it will just take a long time. I hope PT will help but I don't even want to start that for quite a while. I wish the weather would get better because walking seems to help and I prefer to do it outside. It was nice to read all the posts today. Hope wveryone has a great evening. I found that a glass of wine really complements my percocet when I really hurt, but don't tell anyone I said that. I know, I know, thats a big no-no.......................;)Debbie
 
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