Hi All!
I am new to this forum, but thought I would give it a try....It was discovered I had a Tarlov Cyst back in 2005/2006 time frame and I was in the process of working on a diagnosis/treatment plan, but was derailed when I fell down my stairs and shatted my right leg in 2007. It took about 3 years and 7 surgeries to recover from the incident and be able to walk again. My pain doctor decided to close her practice and sold my records to another doctor, who treated me as drug seeking from day 1. My pain was controlled with the previous doctor (massive arthritis with the leg injury and horrible sciatica from the cyst), but the new doctor decided they didn't like what I was taking and didn't think it was "reasonable", so they reduced before getting tests done to make sure it was the right move. After the reduction I could hardly walk and so they sent me for an MRI. The Tarlov cyst wasn't reported on the new MRI report, so it was back to the lectures about how I will feel better when the drugs are gone from my system and that my horrible sciatic pain is all in my head. I had to go to my primary care and pull a previous MRI report from 7 yrs ago and take to my "understanding" pain doctor. They then called the MRI place and asked if the Tarlov cyst showed up on the MRI and the technician said "Well, yes but we didn't think to mention it since they don't cause sciatica pain". Good thing this was all second hand and I didn't have a blunt object!

So, I went to a neurosurgeon (Dr. Kaibara) and he told me that "they" don't do anything with Tarlov's and that it's not causing my severe sciatic leg pain and that the feeling like someone is stabbing my tailbone is probably coming from somewhere else. His suggestion was injections.....I am now trying to find someone who can do the injections, but I am very frustrated.....

Does anyone have a good doctor in AZ that will actually *help* patients? The pain pills I am on now at best help keep the moderate pain to a level that is still constant, but will allow me to concentrate at work, but on the bad days barely keep me from ripping off the heads of those in my family that I love dearly.

I could sure use some advice and direction!

Thank you!
-K