I have done many things for my tarlov cyst pain. I also have a couple disc buldges, a lot of mild to moderate degenerative disease in my low back I also have cysts bilaterally at L2-L3 and the major one at L5-S1.

Cortizone injections in several places to try and reduce the swelling. Some sort of worked but not enough to put up with the side effects I get. Bloating, where none of my clothing fit three days after the injection or the feeling of the flu for a week after. The flu I could handle the bloating was horrid.

A nerve ablation this one sort of worked but only worked on one part of my pain, but it has given very long term results.

Medications nerotonin, Norco, tramadol, meloxicam. Not all at the same time.

The neurotonin was a disaster, weight gain like crazy, part water retention, part it made feel like I was starving all the time. Made my hands and feet into sausages. It turned my mind into mush at only 900mg a day. It was bad, wake up after hitting the snooze bar at least 4 times. Then have to stare in the bathroom mirror for an hour trying to figure out what I needed to do to get ready for work. 5 things that I have done everyday for years were just so hard to remember. And I lost words to the point I could not put a sentence together. I could not ask a co-worker to borrow a pen cause I could not think of the word pen, and it happened with every sentence I spoke. They told me give it time to fade back after three months I said enough, my husband had to tell the docs I was blithering idiot zombie and he wanted his wife back. Cause they did not believe me. Cause the Neurotonin was supposed to be answer to my pain. It did work to hide a tooth that rotted out but not for my back that well. I have declined Lyrica since its in the same family these drugs work well on me just not where we need it to.

Tramadol when I am working it does a pretty good job to mellow out the pressure pain in my low back I get from being on my feet all day. I am allowed one 50mg pill a day.

Norco works more to the degenerative pain than the cyst pain I am allowed 2 of the 325 a day. According to my pain doc they should last 8hrs each. Meloxicam is an anti-inflamatory for both the cysts and my degenerative pain.

None of these are extended release meds.

I have now been told by my local docs that my only option is a spinal cord stimulator and I refuse that idea since they have not explored any surgical options or even believe that there are surgical options for these cysts.

I am now looking at another doctor listed here that is in Seattle and I believe there is one down at UC Davis. Hope any of this information helps.