Is there anyone suffering from nerve damage from l5 s1 fusion?

ABSOLUTELY. Go to the best orthopedic surgeon you can find! Mine is invaluable at UC Health. they have the greatest spinal orthopedic dept. I have permanent damage out of L4 (either sides). The neurosurgeon wouldn't do surgery. When I met Dr. Z I said "let's do it!" before he finished his sentence after 20 years. By then, my nerves were crushed and the vertabrate fused together. but the pain stopped! But you have no future so they sawed me apart and stuck in the hardware. It can take up to 10 years for nerves to remodel. So you need to give it more time. I use ALL the tools available. The cortisone injections into my facet joints work pretty great and EXERCISE. When I get super angry I exercise the hell out of myself and it works great. Be sure to try different muslce relaxers as they work on different mechanisms. Go to a kinseology doctor for eval. Find a REALLY good MFR therapist and don't forget all of those great topicals! I have stayed on low dose Percocet for 25 years and it nips the pain out of the tailbone which no one would operate on. You need to be seen by an orthopedist who will take MRI's but honestly - they can work from xrays they take in the office. Its very simple. My screws moved in my cervical surgery and had to be pulled in for a massive surgery on emergency. Don't mess around. You could paralyze yourself if screws move too much and hardware slips. You should see a Orthopedic Surgeon every year to look at your progress. I had very good luck with the nerve damage for 7 years since surgery. Not so much this year, but I take it in stride.

I'm sorry you're having so much pain. I had L5 S1 fusion and a cage for a disc in May 2023. I've had neuropathy in both feet since then and muscle spasms. My fusion is failing, bone isn't growing and I have osteoporosis. I strengthen my core which is very important, I don't want to have another surgery. I started Envity shots for osteoporosis but insurance didn't pay much for them and I had to stop (1089/month), I'm now on Fosamax which scares me with the side effects. As for my failed fusion, I went to an Orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion who told me he doesn't feel I need another surgery at this time and continue exercise, eat well, and walk. I did get 2 sacral injections that really didn't help much with the pain. Unfortunately, I had a car accident on August 6 this year and ended up in the ER with a fractured sternum, rib, and a collapsed lung. Another journey to heal and it's painful and I fear it has damaged my fusion, I'm having pain. I'm going to my neurosurgeon Oct 5 , getting more xrays and pray the hardware is intact. I don't think I can go through another back surgery again. I'm 66 and on my own, so difficult to do it alone.
I wish you luck, try PT, exercise, strengthen your core, eat well, and take care if yourself. Hugs.

Yep! 12 years ago in a top NYC hospital, had L4-L5 fusion but had to go so S1 to affix the hardware. I knew something was wrong right away. Couldn’t lift my right leg off the table. Pain was terrible. Ended up in hospital for 3 weeks and the only thing that got me up and walking was an excellent rehab unit. Has progressively worsened and finally, years later, was correctly diagnosed by a neurologist as severe neuropathy caused by permanent nerve damage and possibly a failed fusion. Because wasn't addressed right away scar tissue formed and compressed several spinal nerves. Told they can’t free these nerves because of the scarring. I fall, walk with a walker and use a medical scooter to go any distance. Been on morphine, opioids, had a spinal cord stimulator and many epidurals with little help. Now I’ve been told I need a repeat fusion but with no guarantee, and no one actually willing to do it anyway. Fortunately I am retired and have a wonderful husband and family. One thing I’ve learned is I have to keep my mind active. Give talks, active in many groups, and keep busy with reading, music, art etc. Distraction helps! Won’t let this keep me down. Just started the process of seeking help at Mayo Clinic on the chance that there’s something new they might offer. But no more major surgery for me!!

This journey that started had me believing that this was going to take care of my pain. My neurosurgeon told me I waited too late to come in. It only took me that long because I was able to move and work and get things done. Until I wasn’t. I couldn’t lift my right leg and my toes were all numb. My husband had to carry me. I try my best to stay busy because if I sit too long my back locks up. I have been told that my nerve damage is permanent. I don’t believe that. I stay active no matter how painful it is. I have to keep moving. I have been on so many different meds and at this present time I only take cyclobenzaprine. They do help a little bit. When I get a muscle spasm when I’m laying down I immediately get up and stand on my feet before it gets too bad. Some Tim’s I can’t get up fast enough. That pain right there is unbearable for me. Put it this way I would give birth to all 3 of my kids with no medication rather than deal with muscle spasms!

Hello vraesolo68,
I’m assuming your initial spine surgery in Oct ‘23 was a microdiscectomy/laminectomy. When that didn’t release enough pressure on the nerve your surgeon moved on to a fusion in Feb ‘24? Those steps seem totally appropriate although I’m sure you wish the fusion had come sooner. I had a very similar experience with l5/s1 in Feb ‘15 and Oct ‘15. Post fusion surgery the medication that was most helpful to me was gabapentin (in addition to muscle relaxers). I know there are mixed opinions about gabapentin but my experience with it has been favorable. Another friend has had success with using GABA. You may want to talk with your pain doc about those options. I have had many injections with limited success. In 2017, I herniated the disc above, so L4/L5, and started with the smaller surgery in Nov followed by a fusion in Feb ‘18. In the meantime I had a great PT who did a lot of manual work on me in addition to exercises. Do you have a good PT? If not I’d keep searching for a one.
My X-rays and mri’s showed that the bones had properly fused, so I chose to have my ortho doctor surgically remove the hardware. I first did a series of injections with my pain doc to indicate if the hardware was causing lingering pain.
All that time, I had heard about spinal cord stimulators but I wanted to try everything else first. The sciatic pain persisted enough that I had a spinal cord stimulator test with pain doc followed by surgical placement of a Boston Scientific one by ortho doctor. You will see many threads debating SCS’s but it has been so helpful to me. I am faithful about seeing my physical therapist and doing the stretches and exercises she gives me. I find exercising in the pool is best for my body.
Hope any of my experience is helpful. Best of health to you!

You might ask your doctor if baclofen would be a good medicine for you to either treat or prevent muscle spasms

Thank you for sharing with me. I was put on gaba but my body literally rejected it. I will be starting PT again on Thursday. My sciatic nerve flares up often but not often as these muscle spasms. My spasms are too frequent. I’ll put it like this if I sit to put on my shoe. Every shoe I put on with the exception of slides when I put my right foot in my shoe my calf cramps up and sometimes I can’t move from anywhere to 20 sec. to over a minute. We talked a little about SCS. My neurosurgeon stated that she felt like that would be something that may benefit me. She also stated that it was a lengthy process because you to try other treatments first, which is understandable. Which it includes more or less like a mental health assessment. My neurosurgeon just recently retired and so I was referred to pain management. I’m happy that SCS has been a success for you. I wish you continued success, well being and blessed.