Perineural Cyst at L5-S1 is causing debilitating neuropathy pain

I had an L2-3 calcified synovial cyst removed via laminectomy which was sitting on my spinal cord. The difference is dramatic. I can walk 2 plus miles. Sitting is improving- maybe 45 min.

@all4myhealth I wanted to welcome you to Connect. I am a cervical spine surgery patient. I think you can connect with members discussing Tarlov Cysts if you join this discussion.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/perineural-or-tarlov-cysts/

I have a cyst at L5-S1. The pain was unbearable and luckily I am retired because I walked at most to the kitchen and living room for a month. Sleeping was difficult due to pain. I went to urgent care and emergency hoping for pain relief but nothing helped except prednisone which they had to stop after two prescriptions. Finally after a month I was able to get a cortisone shot, which has been a big relief. I am now signed up for surgery to aspirate the cyst and shave the bone to make a larger opening for the nerve. It’s supposed to be 75% successful. I never want to go through that pain again.

@rbreaupre1 Welcome to Connect. I'm glad you have found a path to treat your painful cysts. I hope surgery helps you, but it will cause some pain too. Think of that as healing pain as you progress in healing.

When is your surgery? Has your specialist answered all your questions?

Coming up in two days! I am excited! I hope my down time is not too long. I’m told I will be able to walk around some the first day. The pain medication will keep me from driving for awhile.

I had a synovial cyst at L5-S1. The cyst was pressing on the sciatic nerve on my left side. At my worst I was unable to stand for more than 30 seconds and walk unaided more than 20 feet. High dose prednisone gave me just a few days relief. I was then prescribed gabapentin. It took 1800 mg daily (3x600) to allow me to function at the bare minimum.

I had surgery to resect the cyst last December. My recovery has been slow but fairly steady. I am now walking up to 1.5 miles daily and taking only OTC pain medication. Tomorrow will be my 3 month checkin with the surgeon.

I am beyond grateful for the relief.

Thank goodness that you have found some relief. I am awaiting my app with Dr he will have all mri results, ultra sound
results. I had a laminectomy in May 2021 and the Neurosurgeon touched a nerve, guess which one, which has left me with intolerable 😢.

@shannonjp
I’m so glad I found your post. I had my synovial cyst Laminectomy removal May 1 and it’s a very slow recovery. Still feel pain sciatic. So many people seem to have instant relief and I’m over here 2 weeks post op taking OTC every 4 hours and struggling. Neurosurgeon says it’s normal… is it ?

I’d say your recovery is normal. I wasn’t able to stop taking gabapentin for 2 months after my December surgery and am still taking acetaminophen regularly. My surgeon said that compressed/damaged nerves can take a long time to heal and can be easily be irritated during recovery. I actually experienced this 10 days ago when I overdid it and ended up experiencing pain radiating from my hamstrings to my feet. It scared me. But several days of rest and careful exercises and I’m back on the mend.

@shannonjp
Thank you so much for replying. This means so much to me. I felt at such a loss. I really thought there was something wrong. I hope you are feeling much better and you really have no idea how much you have put my mind at ease. I will continue to be patient truly thank you so much.