discectomy l4/l5 s1
 

I had a discectomy of my l4/l5 disc. I was hurt at work in March and went for an MRI in May. They found an annular tear with some sort of abutting the nerve.
I couldn't work any more in June, it was too painful.
I just had the surgery September 10th, but the issue is I think the pain I'm having now is more than what it was before the surgery.

I remember in PT that when I was first tested the therapist would have me sit in a chair and she would put her hands over my knees and have me try and lift my knees. It was painful on my right side always, but I could do it.
Now I can't do it at all on my right side. I can do it just fine on my left side with minimal pain if any at all.

If I happen to bend at my knees to pick something much needed up off the ground...I guess I must be opening something up because when I stand again and get moving again...my left side hurts down to my knee.

My right side hurts all the time..it feels better to drag my right leg rather than lift it to walk.
My big toe hurts more to move it.
Sometimes it feels like someone dumped hot cigarette ashes on me and other times it's a different kind of feeling like dropped a bunch of forks on my leg when I'm walking. I can't lay on my back at all even in a recliner...it hurts.

Meds I was on before surgery Gabapentin...taken off due to migraines...
Tried Lyrica...hair loss-taken off
Tried the other one too can't remember...but didn't work either.
So, went to pain management dr...was on hydrocodone, and thru my family doctor I was on Savella because unfortunately I also have Fibromyalgia.

According to the MRI I also have disc dessication in my T10 and T11 which catches occassionally when my upper back is overcompensating...well who am I kidding...not occassionally like all the time....and the dessication was also in my the L4/L5 which possibly contributed to the tear...bulge.
I take Topomax...no bad symptoms.
I was re-prescribed Gabapentin and decided to deal with the migraines if it helped, but I can't tell if it's helping because I'm in so much pain...even taking some steroids, but would have liked a shot of them to help...
I've read alot of stuff about inflammation can cause the other side to act up because they had to lift the nerves and all that.

The doctor said he only did a partial discectomy removing whatever pieces were broken off...is that what he was supposed to do?
Do I have nerve damage?
I mean did he make me worse?
Even as I type this I'm trying to get comfortable and I have the hot tinglies in my left leg as well as some in my right leg.
I even still get some numbness in my right leg, but not the calf...on the front part to the left side of the bone.

Somebody offer me some sort of advice besides asking the doctor. I'm hoping you have something similar you can tell me, besides I'm crazy.

You're not crazy. Surgery can fix the mechanical, but often comes short when it comes to fixing pain. What I think you may have (and I'll leave it to you to research and decide for yourself, because we're not doctors), is Failed Back Syndrome (a.k.a. Failed Back Surgery Syndrome).

failed back surgery syndrome statistics

Doc

Why does the neurosurgeon say its normal then? Today they called me and tod me its all normal for my type of surgery and to just give it time.

HI YA Realtalk9877
 

I also have had problems for many years at L4-5 also S1 I too had a discectomy I lived for 20 something years with a ruptured disk at L4-5 then I finally couldn't take the pain anymore.

Had my first surgery in 2009 took me about 6 months total to get back to what I considered good enough to go back to work.

Long story short I had a so called redo of L4-5 again in 2011 due to a injury from falling from the top step of my tractor trailer.

Since then I have not been normal I live with pain such as you with my left leg feeling like it is a dead weight some day are better than others.Some days I have sharp shooting pains from lower lumbar all the way down to my toes. Done the meds for many years now.
Pain management doc suggested a scs device because I'm not a surgical candidate anymore seeing I never recovered fully from my last surgery.

Couple of weeks ago my surgeon that is going to do the trail for the scs labeled my problem Failed back syndrome (My trial is the 23rd of this month.) Hopefully it will bring a lot of relief for me.

So my suggestion is as Dr.Smith said I would do some reasearch and see if you fit into any of the categories of F.B.S.

I really hope you can find some answers soon and relief also.
Remember we all are here and are glad you found us hopefully some of the veterans here can help you a little more in your quest for answers and guidance in the right direction.

I know they have been so helpful with me :winky:

Mea culpa. I didn't realize you're only a week out of surgery; I thought it had been a year or more. My bad. :o

It may be normal. In the process of freeing entrapped nerves, they've been bruised—badly. They cut (wounded) you with sharp instruments, and messed around with stuff that isn't meant (by nature) to be moved, messed with, or cut. Healing on the inside takes much longer than the incision.

If he didn't give you a timeline, IMO he should have. Ask for one next time you interact, but try to be flexible/patient. Everyone is different and heals at different rates.

recovery time discectomy

Doc

So, just recently...I'm while I'm trying to sleep I'm having this terrible crampy feeling in my right leg where the sharp pains use to be...all the way down to my foot and toe...
No matter what side I lay on...definately not my back...it won't go away and the pain pill only made it tolerable.
I took a muscle relaxer and still tolerable.
I mean I almost went to the ER because it was that bad, but the ER here in my town is terrible so I'd have to ride to the one in another town which is much better and treats you better.
I don't know what to do. There is no releif. It kind of started yesterday, but tonight is the worst part of it and it woke me up at 430 straight out of my sleep...I mean it was already a light pain as it was, but when I woke it was like someone slammed that cramp into me.

How do people deal with this. I'm already on hydro's...15s..

Many of us now on NT use the new magnesium lotion by Morton's.

It is available at WalMart for a very low price. (I hope it remains at $5.98)...

It helps magnesium get into muscles and nerves and relaxes the muscles so the cramping stops. It is really really effective.

Here is the website:
http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-h...-epsom-lotion/

It is also available on Amazon for a bit more $$.

You can also soak in epsom salts in a tub of lukewarm water,
but the lotion is much more convenient. We use it for nerve pain, and stiff muscles here in this house.

I personally think it is miraculous....it works so well for me.;)

Would you describe it as being like a charley horse?
Did you perchance try gentle—progressing toward vigorus—massage?

Just speculating in hopes of a clue.... I'm thinking it could be something like a leftover/phantom pain from what you used to experience due to the muscles & nerves being used to that pain stimulation, and recreating it now that it's gone—kind of like neuromuscular "withdrawal" (maybe not the right term/word for it).

It may also be myofascial in nature/origin.

Not being able to feel it ourselves, the best we can do is guess.

Hope you find a remedy/solution,and hopefully it will diminish as you heal.

Doc

Hi realtalk
 

I just wanted to add, that you need more time to heal. Doc Smith was right, the surgery itself, can repair, but your nerves have sustained some shock. I think with time and good PT down the road, you are going to be doing much better. I took 6 months or more to really feel the benefit from my own surgery. I hope you feel better soon. ginnie:grouphug:

No, it's by no means anything like a charlie horse.
I experienced a small amount of it before the surgery, but this is extreme. This is not letting up. I am even trying to walk and that seems to make it worse.
Sometimes, if I walk too far I get numbness too. I don't know what to do. The pain is just out of this world.
Everything is not what the book or the dr's say...I mean come on, it's not every day you can wiggle your big toe and hurt the middle of your back or touch one of your staples and send a pain down your other leg.

This mess is affecting all areas of my life and it's an understatement to say it's super annoying.