Sciatica attack 11 months fusion post-op

[Cakedec]

I am 11 months post-op from my spinal fusion last summer (L5-T5) and had a terrible sciatica attack last weekend which took me to the hospital ER for the extreme pain. The only thing I did that I know of to bring it on was walk my dogs for 2 blocks, although I had been doing that about every couple days for several months!

There was extreme pain across the right side of my lower back. Those joints leading to the hip were extremely inflamed. It felt like a knife was stuck into me there and my hip/leg felt like someone had tied a rope around it and was hanging me by it. This was even worse than the post-surgical fusion pain or childbirth!!!

I used ice but they had to give me a shot of dilaudin and some valium and vicodin to keep from crying and going nuts. Now, a week later, it has calmed down but is still there to flare up if I stay on my feet more than a few minutes. My right leg stills aches, feels pinched. I called my ortho surgeon to follow up with, but can't get in until July 3.

So far in the past when this has bothered me w ith milder episodes, he has just sent me to physical therapy. Of course, in 4-6 weeks I feel better, but I suspect I would anyways just because it has healed. Then, a couple of months later, it reoccurs. I do stretches and exercises at home that they have given me.

Has anyone else post-op had problems with sciatica and /or sacro-iliac joint pain? Any suggestions?

Deb

age 48
posterior surgery 7/24/06
for T72, L77 curves

[Cina2005]

Pre-admiison stuff

I have a pre-admission day this Wednesday and i was just wondering what actually happens?
I was never told the exact dates of the surgery but was told it would be 4-6 weeks away.
Any help or information will be taken in

[Houston Curves]

First thing to do is CALL them and get your surgery date. I would definitely require that they tell you...

Ann

[CHRIS WBS]

Deb,

Are you sure what you are experiencing is sciatica, or possibly a post-surgical complication? I just came across this article in today’s paper.

People with sciatica felt better faster with surgery
U.S. News & World Report
Surgery early on to treat sciatica relieves pain more quickly than nonsurgical treatments, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
But almost all people with sciatica had recovered completely a year later, whether they had surgery or not.
Sciatica, pain that radiates down the back into one leg, is caused by a protruding disk in the lower spinal column that presses on the sciatic nerve. It can feel like a bad leg cramp that lasts for weeks, or like “pins and needles.” It’s very common; about 5 in 1,000 adults get sciatica each year.
Researchers led by Wilco Peul at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands randomly assigned 283 patients who had severe sciatica to either surgery or prolonged nonsurgical treatment, with surgery if necessary.
The researchers found that 95 percent of the people in the study felt better after a year, whether they had surgery or not. But the 125 people who had early surgery to remove the herniated disk reported feeling better twice as fast as the nonsurgery group. During that time, they reported less back and leg pain and less disability. Thus the major benefit of surgery is having faster relief from the pain of sciatica.
Of the 142 patients assigned to conservative treatment, which included pain medication such as ibuprofen and physical therapy, 55 underwent surgery during the first year because of pain. All told, 89 percent of the early-surgery and 39 percent of the conservative treatment group had back surgery with the year. A little less than 2 percent of surgical patients suffered complications; all recovered.
People are most likely to get sciatica in their 30s to 50s, and 80 percent to 90 percent get better over time, without surgery. Most recover on their own within three months. This new study emphasizes that people who want to postpone surgery won’t reduce their chances for a complete recovery in a year, while those who feel they can’t cope with the pain can justify surgery as a method to reduce recovery time.

Chris

[Cakedec]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the article. It may be the L5 disk which he left in bothering me. When I'm standing, sometimes I get pain streaks going through my tailbone. My leg does feel like it has a bad leg cramp.

When I see the dr. this time, I'm going to impress on him how serious and disabling this is and that I don't want to be brushed aside again. The x-rays they do don't show anything. Isn't there some test which shows if there is a problem with the disk?

Deb

[Shari]

Hi Deb,

I hope that your Doctor finds your problem soon.

I was just wondering if you have returned to cake decorating? I know that's a hard job.

The 7 times I tried to go back to work caused me problems.

Shari

[Joan50]

post op 8 months - herniated disc

I am now 8 months post op and have so much pain still. I take hydrocodone (vicodin) every 5-6 hours still. Now I have this herniated disc on the first disc below the fusion. They are going to do steriod injections on the disc to reduce pain and swelling. The anti-inflamitory medication helped at first but not any more. I have been back to work full time since around March but now I am retired and looking for a less stressful job. The doctor says the pain is typical and to give it a year for the muscles and nerves to settle down.

I am really tired of waiting for the year to be up. I do sleep all night now. I do my physcial therapy exercises at home and try to swim once or twice a week and do water exercises. Still the pain, stiffness, tightness, pins and needles in the fused area.

Trying to hang in there,
Joan