Should I have more testing done?

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10sox

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My L5 disc herniated 2x in two years resulting in two discectomy (sp?) surgeries. The last surgery was Oct 07. My surgeon said it was the largest herniated disc he has seen in his 30 year career. My right buttock, groin area, and down the back of my right thigh is still pretty nurab and the pain radiates down those areas. I have had 3 MRI's since and all show no compression of the nerve root. L4 and L5 have small buldging, and one tear, but nothing that should be causing the amount of pain I am in every day.

I have had no further tests besides the MRI's (which show nothing). I went for a second opinion to a spinal surgeon who specializes in the back (fellowship trained). He agrees with my original neurosurgeon and says unfortunately the herniation was so large that I now have nerve damage. He tells me I am too young for a fusion (age 35) and that won't even guarantee pain relief. He sent me off to the pain managment doctor who I am under the care of now.

He has me on a couple drugs to help manage the pain, but I need to get an adjustment or something because the pain in not being managed. PM doctor says I am a good candidate for Spinal Stimulator and gave me literature on that.

But I wonder if I should be having more tests to really figure out where this pain is coming from. It feels deep within my right buttock (the area of the nurabness) and radiates down the leg. It is sooo painful.

Thanks for reading this.
 
I had a fusion (L4-5) on 9th. While I am very much better, I developed a new pain about a day after the surgery that I still have. It prevents me from walking very far. I decided I wanted to find out the cause of this pain, so I am having a diagnostic esi and I am going to have a nerve conduction test and an emg to see how much nerve damage I may have and where. Then I'll decide how or even if I want to proceed.

I also go to acupuncture once a week. The woman who does it raised 5 kiRAB and then went to school to learn Chinese medicine and acupuncture. She has a lot of information about lots of topics, including nutrition, etc, also teaches dance and tai chi. Anyway, she was telling me today that most nerves can be regenerated, at least to some extent. So in addition to everything else I'm doing, I am going to start a diet that is primarily low-fat proteins, vegetables and some fruits and take additional Vitamin E which helps with nerve regeneration. At your age, I would think that you could have some nerve regeneration too, if it isn't being impinged or irritated so that it's in a state of inflammation all the time.

I'm a big believer in getting different opinions from a variety of well-qualified specialists. I wouldn't take one guy's opinion alone. Obviously I don't know what all is wrong with your back, but from what you describe, I should think that you can find some treatments that will improve your situation.

I would ask your doc about getting a nerve conduction test and emg. MRIs do not show that much about the condition of the nerves. When I saw a PM doc yesterday, for the first time, I told him I had peripheral neuropathy in both feet and as a result it was hard to tell if the nurabness was from that or from my back issues. He immediately asked if I'd had these studies done and if not, how did I know I had neuropathy? I realized this "diagnosis" had gone into my permanent health recorRAB just because one doc one time told me that's what I had...and I just kept repeating it as though it were fact! So now, 6 years later, we're going to run the tests to see what the cause of my foot nurabness actually is. No one had ever bothered to ask me about it before, even though sometimes they would look rather quizically at me, like it didn't make sense.

Could you describe what you mean by "nurabness?" I gather you can still use your legs, right? I'd like to know more about your symptoms.....
And, regarding investigating further, I'd say "Go for it!!"
 
I have seen my original doctor who performed both surgeries. He is a Neurosurgeon. I then went for a second opinion to a Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in the spine and is fellowship trained. They both agreed that it is nerve damage based on the size of the last herniation. I am now under the care of a Pain Management Doctor.
 
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