[Hopeless]

Hi DJ928,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I know exactly how you feel. I spent years going through very similar situations. At one point, I was sent to an orthopedic doctor that wanted to operate on my lumbar spine and I declined as I knew THAT was not the source of my leg pain. Anatomy 101 was enough to know that. It was not radiculopathy. (I do have spinal issues, both thoracic and lumbar but they have nothing to do with the MP.)

So you have bilateral MP? Have you tried any conservative treatments other than taking Lyrica? Physical therapy? Lidoderm pain patches? TENS unit? The injections are painless and very beneficial to some with MP.

Another option is radio frequency ablation of the LFCN, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Surgery is a last resort.

You may want to find a good pain mgt. clinic with a board certified anesthesiologist for treatment.

Don't give up. Help is out there. It may be elusive but I finally found help after decades. After 35 years, I found my pain mgt. doc.

And if you do get the injections, don't give up if they do not work on the first or second try. Sometimes it takes several before you will get relief. If the compression remains, so does the MP, but the symptoms can be reduced. It is not a one shot cure all by any means for someone that has an 8 year duration. The only time I have ever heard of a first and only injection resulting in no return of MP symptoms has been in acute cases of short duration.

The trick is to find the right doctor. Don't give up.