Connect
← Return to Prednisone is like running UP a DOWN staircase
Discussion
Prednisone is like running UP a DOWN staircase
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jul 6 9:19pm | Replies (33)Comment receiving replies
My husband had spinal fusion surgery over 10years ago. He’s got about 6 inches of rods and pins in his lower back. He had 20 years of problems with his back that were attributed to his work where he did a lot of heavy lifting. They finally did an MRI and freaked out his back was so messed up! He has osteoarthritis also and recently was diagnosed with osteoporosis. The surgery took care of the sciatica pain, which was good. He can walk but not very far —his back will start hurting him . Before his surgery he was active, his job being a very physical one. He is trying physical therapy again and he says it helps, but our insurance only covers so much and we can’t afford out of pocket visits. So it kind of sucks. We had to get him an electric scooter to use if we are going to a special event, like taking our grandson to Disneyland!
I do massage his back for him using OTC Aspercreme and that seems to help his pain. He walks, he just can’t walk very far—frustrating for him.
Replies to "My husband had spinal fusion surgery over 10years ago. He’s got about 6 inches of rods..."
I was slated for an "urgent" lumbar spinal fusion 10 years ago for severe and acute onset radicular leg pain . The pain was accompanied by acute neurological changes to my right leg with foot drop. They did an emergency MRI which showed my lumbar spine was messed up. The spine surgeon said I needed a multilevel lumbar fusion because the nerve roots exiting my lumbar spine were being "crushed." I wasn't aware that I had a "bad back" ten years ago. My leg was hurting so much I would have signed any surgical consent form. I was thinking a leg amputation was a better idea.
Prednisone saved me in more ways then one. I had been on prednisone for 10 years by this time. The spine surgeon said I wasn't a good surgical candidate because of long term prednisone use. I think he was stalling for time when he wanted me to do a bone scan to see if I had enough solid bone in my spine to hold all the hardware that would be needed to fuse my spine. The bone scan reported "ample amounts of bone" with a t-score of +5. The spine surgeon said there was a lot of bone but it wasn't good bone.
After the bone scan the spine surgeon wanted an EMG/nerve conduction study (NCS) before proceeding with surgery. The surgeon anticipated that the EMG/NCS would be straightforward and it would "delineate the damage." I couldn't stand the pain any longer so I took 100 mg of prednisone before the EMG/NCS. Prednisone alleviated the pain and assured a surgical delay. An increased risk of infection and delayed healing was the main concern with that much prednisone.
Fortunately the EMG/NCS showed the situation wasn't as dire as it was believed. The nerve roots weren't being crushed after all, I had diffuse and severe peripheral neuropathy affecting my peroneal nerve which explained the foot drop. Otherwise my nerve conduction was relatively good considering I had severe spinal stenosis.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/foot-drop/symptoms-causes/syc-20372628#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20cause%20of,which%20may%20cause%20foot%20drop.
All this happened 10 years ago. Surgery was "recommended" but it could be delayed.
Ten years later, I still have foot drop but I think the neuropathy is improving. I'm off Prednisone so I'm not a poor surgical candidate anymore. I still see a spine surgeon on an annual basis. They are ready to fuse my lumbar spine whenever I'm ready. Our agreement was that pain would be the "deciding factor." However, I don't think I have enough pain to warrant surgery.
I still have severe spinal stenosis. A synovial cyst formed three years ago. I was off Actemra and was taking Prednisone again to relieve the pain. The surgeon said it wasn't about pain anymore. The synovial cyst was making my spinal canal smaller. My legs were getting weaker so I was given a rollator to keep me mobile.
I'm wondering if it would be advisable to have the lumbar fusion. I don't have a significant amount of pain when I'm on Actemra. Last year, the spine surgeon said the synovial cyst was probably caused by inflammation. The synovial cyst decreased in size after I restarted Actemra. I haven't seen the spine surgeon since then. I'm supposed to call when I am ready to do the lumbar fusion.
Connect
I can so relate to your husband's pain while walking. Does it hurt if he stands too long? It is very frustrating!