Medical Help/question For All Back Pain Veterans

[81150 CAFB]

Had a visit with my private neuro last week at the 6 week post op period following L4-L5 fusion. I still have considerable lower back pain...doctor said it was still normal at this time. The only thing that is bothering us is that I still have severe left side butt pain. The pain occurs mainly when I sit for more then about 30 minutes. The pain is almost rythmic and is like being stabbed in the butt. Once the pain begins to flair up like this there is no instant relief by standing/walking etc... Once it hits it seems to take a toll on the rest of my lower back. My doctor stated that there is a big enough opening and removal of disk at this level that there shouldn't be any nerve compression. He hopes that it will go away with time-thinking that it is bruised. He also stated that this may just be inheirent in the nerve now after the two surguries in the last 4 months. My leg pain that was occuring prior to surgery is gone, but I still have some loss of sensation in both legs. This entire episode began last April with severe pain in my butt. After two surguries I am still left with this same pain and it is very difficult to sit.

I guess my question to all of the back pain veterans is do any of you just have the sciatic pain only in the butt and not radiating down the leg? This has me concerned.

Any help or info is appreciated.

81150

[Pete53]

Bump

[Testvet]

Had a visit with my private neuro last week at the 6 week post op period following L4-L5 fusion. I still have considerable lower back pain...doctor said it was still normal at this time. The only thing that is bothering us is that I still have severe left side butt pain. The pain occurs mainly when I sit for more then about 30 minutes. The pain is almost rythmic and is like being stabbed in the butt. Once the pain begins to flair up like this there is no instant relief by standing/walking etc... Once it hits it seems to take a toll on the rest of my lower back. My doctor stated that there is a big enough opening and removal of disk at this level that there shouldn't be any nerve compression. He hopes that it will go away with time-thinking that it is bruised. He also stated that this may just be inheirent in the nerve now after the two surguries in the last 4 months. My leg pain that was occuring prior to surgery is gone, but I still have some loss of sensation in both legs. This entire episode began last April with severe pain in my butt. After two surguries I am still left with this same pain and it is very difficult to sit.

I guess my question to all of the back pain veterans is do any of you just have the sciatic pain only in the butt and not radiating down the leg? This has me concerned.

Any help or info is appreciated.

81150

he doctors all "hope" the pain disappears but in some of us it never does, sciatica is the mother of all pain some days it is worse than others I have been dealing with it since 1992 in Dec 2002 they put me on a steady diet of percocet all it does is dull the pain so I don't want to reip someone's throat out I wish I could tell you something better but this is all I have known since injuring my back L5/S1 and now I am up to L3/S1 and the docs refuse to operate due to my cardiac condition I am a medicate only patient for all problems and getting pain syndrome SC secondary to a SC medical issue is a whole new fight....

[Vync]

81150,

I can sympathize with how you are feeling. My L4-L5 and L5-S1 are shot. Been denied SC several times, but will be getting an IMO very soon so I can try again.

The pain really depends on what I do. At work, I sit all day long. If I don't get up and move around at least hourly then I am totally screwed. After sitting about 30 minutes, I get crampy and uncomfortable, but gets worse as the day progresses. It tends to initially feel like I am being stabbed in the butt, but as it gets worse, I feel as if someone stabbed me around L5-S1 with a giant sword. Eventually, it will radiate and start shooting down my legs. Tylenol 3's/4's and muscle relaxers keep my pain somewhat manageable, but I can definitely tell when they wear off. Test vet is right on target.

You might want to talk with your doc about having a pain block. It's a 50/50 crap shoot on whether you will get any relief and how long it will last. My goal is to defer surgery as long as possible.

[Papa]

CAFB. most of my pain is constant in the right butt area, but I do get pain running down my right leg, mostly at the thigh level and into my groin area. I have also had scatica on my left side also. My back was injured years ago during a baseballl game when a large man rammed me his head and shoulder into my lower back. THe AF doctor basically told me to man-up, took no x-rays, no exam, just zero mediacl care. I have been in traction, braces, PT, back school, etc. Recently, I have had three injection in my spine, and another one to block the nerves, but none has helped. I go back tomarrow to see the doctor again. Do not do what I did and stop your claim like I did. I think my brain is in traction sometimes. I did put in a claim on my back several years ago and it was denied because the VA said that I did not hurt my back in the service. The DAV was no help at all. However, I did recover my military records and it took me about 5 minutes to locate the paper work showing that I was hurt in the service. I had lost my military and other medical records in the 2002 flood here in San Antonio.

Papa

[81150 CAFB]

The pain is unbearable when it hits. I somtimes actually yelp/make noise in public because it will come on so strong and suddenly. I just started some PT today and maybe it will help. I had a nerve block about two months ago and it seemed to work on my butt down to big toe pain, but still have the butt pain. I am worried that this might be a damaged nerve. I thought it might be the pirfineles (sp?) syndrome, but have tried to duplicate the pain with some diagnostic stretching that did not work. It just seems weird to only have it in the left butt and not down the leg. Who knows, with my luck with the back surguries the leg pain will come back with time. I am still on short term disability for three more weeks. I can not even imagine sitting at a desk for 8 hours. At least I should eventually be service connected for my back since I have the records of my surgery at the same site while in the Air Force.

All I can tell you about surgery Vsync is that I had a diskectomy in 1989 while I was in the Air Force and it lasted 20 years. My doc at the time said that I will always have problems. Looks like it finally caught up to my at the old age of 40. How can you even make it through work? Just thinking about it hurts. My commute is around an hour and I think that would kill me if I even made it through the day.

[81150 CAFB]

Testvet - I am sorry to hear that you have been dealing with it for such a long time. Hopefully mine us just bruised and will eventually heal. I don't even like to think about if it doesn't.

Thanks for your reply.

81150