6 Different Back pain problems.

@danny5
Have they recommended surgery to decompress your lumbar spine and remove the cyst? Pain management does not address the mechanical stress on your spinal cord and/or nerve roots and injury/damage. It is temporary relief and does not address the root cause of the pain. Have you seen a neurologist or EMG/nerve conduction testing specialist?

@danny5
P.S. I have many spine issues and had cervical and lumbar surgeries (need another cervical spine surgery in a couple months). My pain/weakness/numbness from lower back down to my feet (neurogenic claudication) was relieved after surgery. It was a painful surgery but I needed my spinal cord and nerve roots decompressed to address the pain and spinal cord/nerve root injury. The spinal injections for pain no longer worked for me so I moved forward with surgery and have no regrets.

Keep in mind that any pain relief will be temporary and may not address your numbness/weakness symptoms.

@dlydailyhope, the surgery comes after the test run. that's if that helps first. they're not going to remove the cyst. i do see my Neurologist on the 25th of Feb.

dlydailyhope, yes they discussed that with me. but if there is any chance of relief than i'll take it. it will be better than nothing.

My back problems are almost as extensive as yours. I think you are on the right track; I tried many things in search of resolution. I think of it as a process, sometimes things work for a while then stop and I tried something else. I have had extensive ablation, surgery, PT, acupuncture, massage and surgery. Since 2001, my symptoms and limitations have increased. In 2012, I became inoperable, and my Doc offered me the choice of spine stimulation, or a morphine pump. I chose morphine because my research showed three people, I knew who had received them were not happy with them. Next year will be my third morphine pump implanted, and I have great regard for the engineer who created them. You have to be active in your own recovery, I just read an article about Verti Flex by Boston Scientific this advance could keep you walking. Have a positive attitude, I know how hard it is, but at the end of the day it is your pain and all the efforts you make may lead you to some help with the pain. Good Luck on your journey.

@morkat, i agree. when it comes right down to it. it's our decision in the end. after extensive research on options. this spinal stimulation is the best choice right now for me.

Okay, I wish you luck.

I went through a progression over 20 years. EVERYTHING mentioned above and more. The neurosurgeon waited too long to do surgery. The orthopedic surgeon FINALLY said do the surgery IMMEDIATELY. My disc actually fell out of the bones grafted together! (but the pain finally stopped. 😉 With the nerves crushed, your lower limbs don't get fed and become dysfunctional. However, the lumbar spine surgeries were MUCH better by the time I rolled in. The trick is - in my opinion - learn everything, try everything, get many opinions (I had 4) and keep plugging away. I was THRILLED with the results of my lumbar surgery 6 years ago. Now, I go back to the surgeon to figure out the outlying areas. I am 68. The quality of life issues were important to me and I wanted to stay active. Find the best orthopedic surgeon, pain mgt team (I have had 2 or 3). Stay away from scams and don't be tempted by phoney things. I almost came close to having my whole back redone when the surgeon got mad at me. Turned out to be a blessing 3 years later when the surgeon I "fell head over heels for" (in a professional way!) said he did all the guy's revision surgeries! Unbelievable! There are a lot of noninvasive things along the way, I did and stay in PT. Keep moving. Find the meds which work best for you. RFAs (heat method not pulse) and having fluid-filled sacs removed and limited epidural/cortisone injections helped me last 20 years until sliding into surgery. Unfortunately, my nerves were a little too squashed for too long so I continued to have some small amount of problems. I talk to total strangers when I found out they had lumbar surgeries. This forum is a great place. Search out the conversations... good luck!

Your back problems sound just like mine! Unfortunately I'm 82! I see a new neurosurgeon next week, the last orthopedic surgeon said my bones are too porous to attach screws. He said he would need to remove all metal from my three lumbar surgeries, replace with new metal and fuse the vertebrae above and below....big surgery for an old lady! I read about a new pain medication the FDA just approved, so I hope it gets produced quickly and is approved by Medicare. It's very frustrating to be in general good health but so incapacitated by my back pain. 😞

Thank you @loriesco. i do all that and hopefully more. i appreciate your kind words. very helpful. continued good luck to you.