Servere leg pain

Hi Paul

The usual things to try before surgery are

- physio 

- anti-epilepsy drugs like Lyrica or Neurontin

- a steroid injection into the epidural space to reduce inflammation of the affected nerves

I have had symptoms for a while you should go for the third one first as it is most likely to actually help the nerves. They are usually reasonably quick to get on the NHS.

What has the consultant that saw your MRI said?

 

totaly simpathize with you. just had my 2 nd op 9 weeks ago . my first op was an emergency DDD. my second spinal fusion. sadly for me the injections didnt work , infact both made me rather poorley spending 5 days in hospital. if you suffer from high blood pressure i would do some home work , it may make yhings worse.

my 2nd op was done at a private hospital via the nhs , i asked my doc to send me there as was been plamed of by the nhs hospital. the neurosurgen is fab . am still on the road to recovery so early days . but you have the right to be treated where u want and the nhs foot the bill. my friend s getting her op at same hospital she s only waited 2 month from start to finish. mine was about 6 as i have other health issues. good luck

 

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you're suffering. Pain medication wise nothing worked for Sciatica and foot drop for me apart from Pregabalin (Lyrica) but that was only prescribed once I'd been in hospital and seen the Neurologist but it might be worth asking your doctor about in the short term. I've had three nerve root block injections and only one of them worked only for a couple of weeks but they do work for some people so it's worth a try.

It sounds like you may need to see a Neurosurgeon to evaluate your MRI. They will want you to show that you've tried all conservative treatments first before considering operating. I was sent around the houses pretty pointlessly until I ended up in hospital repeatedly.

The pain is the worst, I can't think of anthing else like it even childbirth lol! You have my sympathy as I truely understand where you are coming from.

Good luck

Helen

Hi Paul

There are plenty of things to try yet so don't give up.

The steroid injections (if they work) are better than a pain killer. They counteract the inflammation that is causing the pain. The problem is that the nerve bundle that handles all the senses and movement in your leg is itself inflamed, right near where it exits the spinal column and heads down to the leg itself. 

Because the nerve is being pushed around by the disc, it is inflamed. Nerves are very delicate so it doesn't take much. And as the nerve gets inflamed it gets swollen, so even more contact with the disc as there is no room. The inflammation causes the nerve to tell your brain "pain". As that nerve is responsible for sensation in the leg, that's where you feel the pain, even though the problem is not in your leg .

So a steroid injection is there to fight the inflammation. That should reduce the swelling, reduce the inflammation and the so reduce painful feelings.

But, if you don't fix the fact that the disc is pressing on the nerve then the problem will come back. Could be in weeks or could be months, but it will come back. But it buys you time.

So that is where physio, or worst case, surgery come in.

Hth

Michael