pain seems worse now after epidural

Hi Raine

Thanks for taking time out to reply

I have seen the surgeon who has advised surgery is only option and have been scheduled in for 1st May. Think that is pretty good going for the NHS!

Right now I would like to hear more of the success stories but I guess people mainly come on line for support when they are most in need and in pain.

Thanks again

hi

yes my girlfriend been going through this for a year now and still no luck yet all i can say is push if you are in pain.

if not rest at all cost as it can go back its self if you rest and take it easy

bye for now

m

Hi Stacey

As if by magic the update from Gdee was posted pretty much confirming what I wrote. Just don't expect too much. The fact is that your GP probably only refers a few patients a year to a neurosurgoen, so to him/her you are urgent. But the neurosurgeon probably gets 100+ referrals a year from GPs in the whole area and so has a different definition of what is urgent. The fact is of course that at that point everybody should be seen and treated urgently, but it doesn't happen and a long or longish wait is the norm. You could get lucky....the neurosurgeon could be your GPs very best friend, but unlikely.

I don't think it depends much on where you live, as you will see from others who post here. Look at it this way.....if you don't expect much but get your surgery inside three months then you will be pleasantly surprised!!! In the meantime, hopefully you will find a meds combination that really works for you. Different things work for different people, so don't be too put off if you need to try a few combinations. Don't be afraid to ask.

And in the meantime, you have all of us here to help you along the process!!

Best wishes

TFU

Hi Jubilee

Welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear that you're in such pain, it really is awful. I'm in exactly the same boat as you, since last November, same condition although I'm on a tablet called Gabapentin (it's what epileptics take but it is found to work effectively for nerve pain). I was prescribed it by a pain specialist and it does work, I'm on 1200mg per day.

I had a date for my op of the 9th April (open discectomy) but I changed hospitals to have a micro disctectomy with a spine specialist and I'm still waiting on an operation date but hopefully by June. I've got my pre-op this Friday.

I wish you all the luck in the world. Yes there are some who are really suffering right now but there are also success stories like Raine and another lady called Jules who comes on here. Gail is back at work too :D.

Positive thinking, although hard to do sometimes, I'm sure helps our condition and also our recovery afterwards.

Take care and take it easy

Love

Jude x

Hi Jubilee and welcome

Firstly I would say do not be put off by what u read on here or any other site

Its true, u will read more of the not so successful stories on here but its the one site I found where people give both sides of the story and not just everyone putting down the NHS or saying how bad the op was.

I Slipped my discs in 2005, and after I put off having the op eventually in 2007 after having nerve root injections which worked for a while I had an op. The sciatic pain was instantly gone, it was a relief to sit down and stand up with no pain, to shower without difficulty and to wake up and be pain free.

In December 2007 I felt something not right in my leg and back, I had aches and pains, not as bad as before but bad enough to go back to the hospital, I am now being told after another MRI I have a slipped disc ( new condition ) and/or it is scar tissue from the op.

I have had two nerve root injections since December and so far I have no pain in leg but still have pain in back. The injection is not to act as pain relief in the back, just the leg so it has done what it says on the tin.

As I always have said on here, I have no regrets in having the op ( or the injections ) and if I had to do it again, I would in a split second

Hope this helps, if not, someone else wrote it :-)

No Regrets Russ

Hi All,

What a weekend I've had, the pain :cry: in my back is getting more severe as the days go by. I went to see my Doctor last week and he gave me Oramorph to take in between my other meds and suggested that I try a TENS Machine. This hasn't worked as yet! I've got another appointment to see him today at 10 oclock. I'm getting a TENS Machine today so I'll give that a try fingers crossed.

I don't know how much more I can take, I had my last Op on 2nd January, surely I should be starting to recover now not having a relapse. If I had the energy I'd cry, I can't tell you how low I feel. When is it all going to end? Or is this a good as it gets (I hope not) I don't think I can live like this for the rest of my life. I feel I have nothing to keep me going apart from my kids and family who have been a godsend.

I'm sorry for moaning but if I don't get it off my chest, I'd go mad.

Bye for now

Angela x

I've just been reading everyone's posts regarding slipped discs..I've had back problems for a few years mainly exacerbated by gardening,lifting etc..had a bad episode xmas 06 after trying to carry a potted xmas tree on my own (never again!).Spent lots of cash on a chiropractor with no improvement..back eventually settled to manageable amounts of discomfort. My recent problem started on 29th February..had lower back pain around my coxycx which then turned into sciatica down my left leg (unusual for me as its always been in my right one)..this then progressed into completely numb left side of foot and weakness in left leg..

I am a practice nurse in a local surgery and the doctors sent me home and gave me naproxen.. Pain got worse and had terrible spasms down my leg..after ringing and speaking to the gp twice they gave me tramadol and eventually sent me to the local cottage hospital to see the Muskulo-skeletal team..(basically a local GP with a special interest in MSK) he said I had all the symptoms of a prolapsed disc and suggested an MRI.

Seeing as by now I was taking Tramadol and Naproxen and they were only taking the edge off he referred me physio for traction & an epidural pain block.That was 2 weeks ago and I've heard nothing. I'm a little fed up cos I can't drive for the pain caused by pressing the pedals and the general driving position, I'm walking the dog (slowly) every day and I'm plodding around the house all day..I've knocked the tramadol off today cos i'm sick of feeling sick and unsurprisingly the pains got worse...AAAHHHH..

Has anyone had any experience of the pain blocks..and does anyone know if my foot will ever return to normal..my reflexes are absent on the base of my foot and I can't raise said foot off the ground on its own atall.. I don't go on my tiptoes alot but it would be nice to feel like I'm functioning normally again!! Being a member of the surgery team does not do you any favours I can tell you I had to almost beg for a referral!!

Hi Angela,

I am so sorry to hear that you are suffering like this. I wish there was something I could do to help you. With a bit of luck the TENS machine will make a difference. I've never used one and I'd be interested to hear about how often etc you get wired up.

At the risk of asking a ridiculous question (maybe it's my memory that failing me here!!!) but have you had another MRI since your latest surgery on 2 Janaury??? It seems to me that if you haven't maybe that would be a good idea. Something needs to be done to help you and maybe an MRI would show what is wrong. I know recovery from surgery is slow, but it is supposed to be progressive!! I would be as worried as you are if it were me. I think that we are all finely tuned into our bodies and instinctively we know when all is not well, even if we don't know why??

Could you try ringing the Consultant to get an appointment?? It's all very well your GP dishing out meds like they are going out of fashion, but they are never going to cure the underlying problem. You need answers, and fast!!! It isn't normal for the pain to get worse and worse. If all else fails, I'd just turn up at A&E. Apart from anything you must be totally exhausted by now. It's what we are always saying here though isn't it, if you don't bang on doors, nothing gets done. But you shouldn't have to be fighting to get help, they should be doing all they can for you. Maybe I'm just an idealist!!!

Keep your chin up Angela.

Best wishes

TFU

Angela love

Oh my goodness!!! What has the consultant said since you went at 10am?

Hope he has a better idea of what is happening to you. Please make sure you have told him everything, including how you feel.

I too get in the 'black' state of mind quite frequently, but i hold the hope that however long it takes, I will get to some kind of normality. Like you the pain blinds me at times and I feel like I am looking down a never ending tunnel with no light at the end. My family like yours I hope, are a tower of strength and do their best to keep me going. I find a damn good crying session and pouring my heart out regularly helps me release those feelings you seem to be getting. :shock: :?

Dont know about you, but I find it very hard to comprehend that one day I could do things, and now I cant. I take strength in the fact that some people out there are told they will never walk etc again - and they fight it , andthey end up being able to walk etc. Please dont give up Angela, fight it hard, dont let it beat you.

I try so hard not to let this and serious depression beat me on a daily basis. You can to. you are a fighter. This will NOT be forever.

Jessica

Hello

There are quite a few people on here who can inform you about pain blaock injections etc. I can only go off you foot problems.

I have had 3 surjuries since January for disc problems and am left in a mess. Before my 1st surjury I had symptoms like you in right leg, and before paralysis set in, my right foot was like yours. After all these surjuries my right foot never came back, and I have sever nerve problems to whole of right leg.

My foot has no feeling now still and it will never come back I have been told as the nerves are so badly damaged. After 2nd surjury I had to you a foot leg splint to help me walk as I couldnt lift my foot on its own. Luckily that has come back after the 3rd surjury, but like I said, no feeling at all.

Pester and pester the GPs, that seems to be the only way you get things done these days. Hopefully, if the siatic nerve isnt too damaged, you foot should return to normal with physio. But you must pester them constantly.

Jessica :D

Hi Angela

Have you got this sorted out yet?

Regards

Lin

Patient Admin

Hi Melbi,

Thanks for the email.

Hi Lin,

No I haven't got it sorted yet, I'm waiting for the email tomorrow from PUK to confirm Activation of my Password/Username etc.

Cheers

Angela

Hi Bagpuss,

Sorry to hear about your situation....I lost my ankle reflex too and had numbness in my left foot with a ruptured L5/S1 disc..physio actually made it worse but the feeling in my foot has mostly returned folowing surgery (now 6 months post-op). I too am a nurse (Community Mental Health) and could not drive due to the pain and being on huge doses of Morphine (as well as not being able to dress myself), so I understand the impact it has on your work. Do you have access to Occupational Health? They may be able to support you in accessing the help/treatment you need asnd support you with what you need/help at work. Good luck with it all and keep us posted :D

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi Bagpuss,

Sorry to hear that you have succumbed to this awful thing called a prolapsed disc. I know the pain can be unbearable.

Again I can only really write about the numbness issue. I have been plagued by numbness in my leg and foot both pre and post surgery. Surgery such as microdiscectomy is good for relieving leg pain but unfortunately the chances of recovering from the numbness is all a bit hit and miss. One of the criteria, is how long the affected nerve has been compressed. Another is how badly? The numbness may never recover post surgery at worse, or will only recover very, very slowly (think months to 1 + year) if it will at all. In that respect it is still early days for both me and Jess because long term nobody really knows what our final outcome will be. Which is a little frustrating because if you have gone to all of the bother of being operated on (I have had two, and Jess has had three), then what you really want to know is will it work.

Personally I was never offered a pain block injection and wouldn't really want one anyway. It just delays the inevitable. If you need surgery, you need surgery. And in the meantime you are unlikely to be on a surgery list whilst they \"wait and see\". That said, prolapsed discs do heal up on their own sometimes so there is no need to rush for surgery and the injection could keep the pain at bay in the meantime. The best thing is to get the MRI done. At least then you will know where you stand.

I do have to say though that if you are a practice nurse in a GP surgery and get no favours in the NHS waiting game that sux!! I thought all jobs had perks!!! At least I guess when it comes to medical procedures you are going to be better informed than most of us here....personally I have had to spend hours and hours researching on the internet. The hospital don't like this though....so I told them....maybe if you didn't leave patients with severe chronic pain to their own devices for months on end we wouldn't need to!!!!

Keep us posted. Hopefully it won't be too much of a rough ride through the system!!!

Best wishes

TFU

Hi Jubilee and Welcome to the Forum :D

I sustained a ruptured disc in Feb 2007 and had an open plan discectomy L5/S1 on 1st Nov2007. It has been successful :magic:

I am not limited in anything I want and need to do apart from driving long distances...when I drove 1.5 each way journey in Feb was a bit sore for a few days afterwards and not really needed to do a long drive since, but I'm sure this would have improved since Feb.

I returned to work in Feb this year, I work as a Community Mental Health Nurse, so lots of driving, in and out of the car, which is fine. I also have 2 kids ages 10 and 5 so it's great to be able to do the usual \"mummy\" things with them..the guilt was awful when I was limited with what I was able to do with them.

Although I'm not on any pain meds, I still get the odd ache in my left leg and minor sensation changes which come and go but this is all part of the recovery process which can take anything up to 18 months post-op. I have had physio post-op as I was experiencing sciatica down both legs so the surgeon referred me. This has gone very well and I have recently completed a core-stability programme with physio....Now I have to walk as much as I can, swimming is also good and do my physio which takes about an hour a day....but can reduce these down to 3 times a week in approx 2 months.

I am so glad I had the op as I now have my life back as it was before the disc \"went\" and if I had to have the op again I would (like Russ says..no regrets). I have also been very fortunate with the care and treatment I have received from my wonderful GP (who has since retired ) to the hospital care and physio...and I don't think I'm biased as I work for the NHS...in fact I think it probably makes me more critical ( they say nurses make the worst patients lol :roll: )

The help and support I have received on the Forum has been invaluable especially from Russ who was really supportive pre-op when I was ready to cancel it..and he really helped me to stay positive..it's also good at this point to be able to give something back and try to support others going through similar experiences. You might like to take a look at the post op blog I did on here which I started in Nov 07..but is probably a few pages back by now. Goos luck with it all Jubilee...I hope it all goes well for you and keep us posted.

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D