J
jewelhound
Guest
Hi everyone:
I had a microdiscectomy/laminotomy/foraminotomy on L5 in June 2010 after 4 years of on and off sciatica down the left leg which had become unbearable. The procedure worked beautifully - no leg pain any more, just some back pain which mostly resolved over several weeks. I was left with nurabness in the 4th and small toe of the left foot which I was told may resolve in a year or not at all. This is not really a problem, only feels weird when barefoot.
Unfortunately, in October while caring for a relative who had undergone shoulder replacement surgery I overdid lifting and restressed the area. This time the sciatica pain went down the right leg, as well as pain/burning in the front of both quadriceps (with some weakness, which has resolved), shooting pains down the shins and some pelvic pain. I have existing herniation with rupture at L4 and a big herniation at L3, they have given me very mild problems in the past (some pelvic symptoms, "buzzing" over left knee). They never persisted so I never paid much attention. Now it seems my back burns/hurts a lot of the time, and the pelvic/front of the leg things are much more frequent. The right sided sciatica is truly intermittent, not at all as bad as the initial left sided symptoms were.
My orthopedic surgeon put me on Medrol dosepack and told me to take Aleve (up to 4 per day) for a few weeks. This helped a bit, but once I went off the Aleve the symptoms returned. He said maybe to try PT or epidural steroiRAB if it still bugs me after Thanksgiving. I can't take Aleve forever - I have GERD and some esophageal erosion from taking so much Advil during my original sciatica
My questions are: has anyone had L3/L4 herniations that have resolved on their own, or is there more of a reason to have another microdiscectomy on one or both of these disks because of the possibility of cauda equina (which is frightening). Is it possible that the L5 still had some fragments that moved over to the right side, or more likely that I herniated again? Would epidural steroiRAB help or ? My fear is that the longer I wait the more I risk nerve damage.....have any of you had experience with this? The doctor didn't seem in a rush to give me another MRI, which I know would be definitive.
I have never started a thread on this board, only responded to other threaRAB. Everyone has been so informative and supportive that I'm hoping you can help me with this. Thank you.
I had a microdiscectomy/laminotomy/foraminotomy on L5 in June 2010 after 4 years of on and off sciatica down the left leg which had become unbearable. The procedure worked beautifully - no leg pain any more, just some back pain which mostly resolved over several weeks. I was left with nurabness in the 4th and small toe of the left foot which I was told may resolve in a year or not at all. This is not really a problem, only feels weird when barefoot.
Unfortunately, in October while caring for a relative who had undergone shoulder replacement surgery I overdid lifting and restressed the area. This time the sciatica pain went down the right leg, as well as pain/burning in the front of both quadriceps (with some weakness, which has resolved), shooting pains down the shins and some pelvic pain. I have existing herniation with rupture at L4 and a big herniation at L3, they have given me very mild problems in the past (some pelvic symptoms, "buzzing" over left knee). They never persisted so I never paid much attention. Now it seems my back burns/hurts a lot of the time, and the pelvic/front of the leg things are much more frequent. The right sided sciatica is truly intermittent, not at all as bad as the initial left sided symptoms were.
My orthopedic surgeon put me on Medrol dosepack and told me to take Aleve (up to 4 per day) for a few weeks. This helped a bit, but once I went off the Aleve the symptoms returned. He said maybe to try PT or epidural steroiRAB if it still bugs me after Thanksgiving. I can't take Aleve forever - I have GERD and some esophageal erosion from taking so much Advil during my original sciatica
My questions are: has anyone had L3/L4 herniations that have resolved on their own, or is there more of a reason to have another microdiscectomy on one or both of these disks because of the possibility of cauda equina (which is frightening). Is it possible that the L5 still had some fragments that moved over to the right side, or more likely that I herniated again? Would epidural steroiRAB help or ? My fear is that the longer I wait the more I risk nerve damage.....have any of you had experience with this? The doctor didn't seem in a rush to give me another MRI, which I know would be definitive.
I have never started a thread on this board, only responded to other threaRAB. Everyone has been so informative and supportive that I'm hoping you can help me with this. Thank you.