Nerve pain after discitis/osteomylitis of lumbar spine

I did have surgery after infection cleared. L3 disc was completely destroyed by infection. So surgery was to fuse L3-5.
However it didn’t relieve the pain totally. I am at least able to walk and rarely get a spasm across my entire body any more.

My doctor who is a general family dr stated he has never had a patient with this. Were you under the care of a neurologist?

Yes I was under the care of a neurosurgeon! I was also under the care of an infectious disease specialist, and pain management. I was at Penn State Hersey PA, hospital.

I was diagnosed with discitis May 28th. I had surgery to remove infection on June 3rd. I still have the infection and am still on antibiotics. I have been struggling with extreme pain which is causing me to become depressed. Also the isolation etc. Doesn't help. I'm desperately hoping there is some light at the end of the tunnel soon!

I don’t think that anyone who has never experienced having discitis can fully understand the pain or the decline in ability to function normally and how depressing it feels!
I had it and the pain was horrible. It has been three years and a lot is better but there is so lasting pain that couldn’t be taken away with surgery so gabapentin and naproxen are my friends. It is encouraging I hope, for you to know life does get easier and pain softens.
I have enjoyed travel and swim as much as possible. Getting outside when you can is helpful, eating well and enjoying any hobbies that you can tolerate will help your mental health and of course prayer!

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I have been pretty discouraged and fearful the infection won't go away. I will try to face each day as it comes. Thank you again for responding, it means alot.

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| Reply by @momchesney to a comment you posted on discussion "Nerve pain after discitis/osteomylitis of lumbar spine "

Excerpt of your comment
I was diagnosed with discitis May 28th. I had surgery to remove infection on June 3rd....

Their reply
I don’t think that anyone who has never experienced having discitis can fully understand the pain or the decline in ability to function normally and how depressing it feels!
I had it and the pain was horrible. It has been three years and a lot is better but there is so lasting pain that couldn’t be taken away with surgery so gabapentin and naproxen are my friends. It is encouraging I hope, for you to know life does get easier and pain softens.
I have enjoyed travel and swim as much as possible. Getting outside when you can is helpful, eating well and enjoying any hobbies that you can tolerate will help your mental health and of course prayer!
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I am a post spondylodiscitis pt 2 years back due to 2 microdiscectomies. I Currently having chronic back issues and on prolonged standing for 45 mins I get pain over entire surgical site area and paraspinal areas ..
I am really helpless and I am just 26 years old . I have been suffering a lot
Am I only one with this chronic back issues where my daily activities becoming tough.
Has any one experiencing same ?
If please could you suggest a good physiotherapist

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I had a recent surgery and also have pain over surgical area. I hope someone chimes in with helpful advice. Wishing you/us comfort.

@indrasaikumar08
Hello. I am not exactly sure what your condition is. I will say this. I had a cage in my lower back. Several years after it was put in, it started to hurt one day. The next night I went to get out of bed and fell to the ground. My legs wouldn't work, It is quite a long story from there but, in short, the hospital that I was taken to gave me sone pills and said go to surgeon. I went there. The pills kept me going, I geuss. The surgeon x-rayed me, said it looked fine and gave me a steroid shot and more pills. A couple days later, I was delirious from pain and I remember very little. My poor wife didn't know what to do . So she put me in her car, took me to a different hospital, where in my delusional state, they believed that something may be wrong and finally, they gave me a cat-scan. I had a major infection going on and I had an emergency surgery that day. The cause? All the scews in that cage were coming loose and were backing out. So, they put in another, bigger cage.
What I'm saying is sometimes Doctors are not thorough. Get checked out