Thigh nerve damage, numbness, muscle weakness

[CHRIS WBS]

Paula,

You did not have big curves at all. My most recent x-ray measured my thoracic at 55º and lumbar at 80º and even now I can’t say I’m in pain. It’s more fatigue that I feel and my standing endurance is becoming more and more limited. I’m always amazed when I hear of people with much smaller curves who experience so much pain. My surgeon is proposing posterior fusion of T9 to the sacrum and doing some osteotemies. He feels he can avoid an anterior surgery and correct my curve into the 40s, and I feel comfortable with that. I’d be a bit more nervous if a surgeon said he could bring my big curve into the 10-20 º range. I think that would put me at greater risk for neurological injury. I hope that the nerve damage you have experienced will prove to be temporary.

Chris

[Pips]

Hi Paula

I have almost identical symptoms to you.

I am now just over 2 years post op and I can honestly say hat things have improved a long way from where they were. I am still taking Gabapentin, but down from 2400 mg per day to just 600 and there are days when I feel I could cope with less.

The lifting the thigh thing is still not good, but sometimes I can manage to get up a step with my left leg leading whereas at your stage I definitely could not.

I think maybe these kind of complications are more to be expected with people in my position as I have spina bifida but I guess we all have to be patient in these cases. I think I am probably still improving, albeit rather slower than I might hope...!

Good luck ...

[misspaula]

Hi there,
I've just edited my signature. I made a mistake on the levels, I'm fused T5 to the sacrum, not T3.

I've just been to another Physio and he said that after walking around all my life with progressive curves and then being suddenly shifted to almost straight those nerves that were shortened are of course going to protest when they are stretched...nerves hate being stretched apparently.

He is confident with exercises and time, things will improve.

I take 1200mg of Gabapentin daily at the moment and will continue until I see the Surgeon for my next checkup.

Good luck to us all!

[abhbarry]

Thank you so much for this thread. I am sorry we are all going through leg nerve damage stuff, but it has been really helpful to hear other people's experiences. I am still taking Gabapentin too - I think maybe I should raise my dose since I had originally started tapering it down and am in huge amounts of pain. Yes, my PT also said that we don't realize how much our body has to adjust post-op having been used to being curved for so many years. Our nerves do funny things.

Best of luck to everyone,
Anya

[misspaula]

Geez Anya

That's lousey still being in such pain 10 months down the track. Can't you go to your local Doctor and increase the dosage of the Gabapentin? Do you take anything other than Gabapentin? My Doctor was keen to get me off the Oxycontin but not the Gabapentin.

Don't be a hero, you can't heal and do the exercises and move about like you need to do if you're in pain.

I'm not in any great pain anymore. The front of my thigh feels just like it's sunburnt, my main problem with the leg is the muscle weakness. And I get the usual aches and tightness in my back and a feeling at the tip of my tailbone like I'm sitting on one of the screws!

Thinking of us all

Paula