Bilateral Nerve Pain Following Prostatectomy

Posted by lowth21 @lowth21, Mar 1, 2017

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 4 years ago. Biopsy advised one agressive cancer and 2 not as agressive. Had a prostatectomy. Woke up from surgery with severe burning pain in and around my rear. This continued in my 3/4 days in hospital. Worst hospital stay ever. As soon as I left hospital for home, I had difficulty sitting due to the burning pain in my buttocks and down the back of my thighs.My cancer was advanced prostate cancer due to it being outside the prostate. Following radiotherapy, my PSA levels have been stable for 12 months at .04. The nerve pain down my thighs have not diminished and has radiated down under my feet. When I sit I have burning pain down the back of my thighs and burning pain under my feet when I walk. I am currently on 450mg of Lyrica a day but does not appear to be helping. As the nerve pain is bilateral (ie in both legs and feet) my doctor believes my sciatic nerve was damaged in surgery in my lower back.Urologist advised that it has never happened before. Just lucky I guess. I was wondering if any man out there has had a similar problem following prostate surgery and what treatment has worked/not worked for them as I am desperate to get this fixed.

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@stantallusa

Well. I just found this site. Looks like it my be dead now. Over a year since the last post. Is anyone out there

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Welcome new members @stantallusa and @olanordman to the Prostate Cancer group.
Are you experiencing nerve pain following prostatectomy?

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Yes. Initially it was in both groins with the left more pronounced. Then after 6 months the pain in right side groin disappeared. I now have it in the left groin, but it is when I have an erection/during sex. I realise it is like a sharp nerve pain lasting about 2 or 3 seconds that seem to move from upper part of the groin downwards. However, when sitting and doing my normal work I have no pain. I had waste pain but an MRI results showed I had a stiff muscle in my lower back

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@lowth21

Hi All. Thank you for resurrecting my original post from back in March 2017. Since then I have done a lot of research and spoken to a few specialists. We have come to the conclusion that my PFCN (Posterior Femoral Cutaneous Nerve) was damaged during surgery and causing my sitting pain. This nerve passes right down the outside edge of my sit bones and continues right down the back of the leg. I am still having problem sitting but not as bad as before. A strange thing has happened over the last 4 years. I originally had pain sitting bilaterally for 5 years and then the pain went away on one side and then 12 months later it swapped sides. Very strange!!! My Doctor has changed my medication to Palexia some 5 months ago. I take IR 150 2 hours before I have to sit for a longer period ie driving and then SR50 1/2 hour before I have to sit. I now get some relief from this medication. In April I am also seeing a specialist to undertake a Radio Frequency Neurotomy on my PFCN to see if that assists me in sitting for a longer period. I will update my post after I have the RFN. Good luck all with your individual problems. Stay positive and most importantly talk to someone if it is getting you down

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Glad you are doing better and glad you had doctors who were really trying to help you. My dr who did the operation basically threw me over the fence. On my own. I have been to chiropractors and pain clinics and rehabilitation centers. No help. Last thing I tried was having 5 nerves in the last vertebrae. Not much better. Drs are afraid to prescribe any pain meds so I basically OD on over the counter stuff. Walked 10 miles a day before my operation. Have a hard time walking from the parking lot to the shopping cart in Walmart. At my wits end.

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@stantallusa

Glad you are doing better and glad you had doctors who were really trying to help you. My dr who did the operation basically threw me over the fence. On my own. I have been to chiropractors and pain clinics and rehabilitation centers. No help. Last thing I tried was having 5 nerves in the last vertebrae. Not much better. Drs are afraid to prescribe any pain meds so I basically OD on over the counter stuff. Walked 10 miles a day before my operation. Have a hard time walking from the parking lot to the shopping cart in Walmart. At my wits end.

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Sorry to hear about your issues, I am not sure this will help but maybe worth a try. I had the old vaccine for shingles which gave me a false sense of security when I contracted shingles for I did not recognize the rash as shingles. Anyway now I have to deal with nerve pain. My daughter recommended geranium oil, so I tried it and it really helped me. Not sure if it will help you but maybe worth a try.

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@semeon

Nice to hear from you low back pain is an issue I have dealt with all my life. If the pain moves from one side to the other this is actually a good sign as your back and spine a trying to realign. Have you seen a chiropractor? Based on what you have said I suspect 3 treatments and you will see change.

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@semeon There is a reason you do not set Chiropractors on Hospital Staffs... I live in Iowa and back decades ago I did work for and company owned by the Palmer's... Chiropractic College in Davenport Iowa.. there was a bronze plaque on the main street noting the site of the first chiropractic adjustment that cured someone of deafness... There are limitations as to what chiropractic can do ...and cannot do. There are many examples of additional injury as a result.. See your Orthopedic specialist first.. K

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@stantallusa

Glad you are doing better and glad you had doctors who were really trying to help you. My dr who did the operation basically threw me over the fence. On my own. I have been to chiropractors and pain clinics and rehabilitation centers. No help. Last thing I tried was having 5 nerves in the last vertebrae. Not much better. Drs are afraid to prescribe any pain meds so I basically OD on over the counter stuff. Walked 10 miles a day before my operation. Have a hard time walking from the parking lot to the shopping cart in Walmart. At my wits end.

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I hurt my back at work in 1990 and suffered SI joint pain on & off for 25 years. During that time I went to physiatrists, several ortho surgeons and a neurosurgeon. All told me that they couldn't help me and almost all gave me the same advice: don't let anyone cut you! The ortho surgeon that implanted an SCS for a separate back issue sent me to a chiro for my SI joint pain. I VERY HESITANTLY went. She fixed me in 2 sessions. My sacrum gets out of alignment and has to be put back every 2-4 weeks. It takes about 3 minutes!!!! All those years of pain and I only needed an adjustment!!!! I wear a back support for golf. I considering getting the SI joint spacers this summer when it' too hot for golf in the deep South. My physiatrist does several every week and also teaches the method. It's done on an out-patient basis.

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Same experience for me in fact I am just off to Chiro fo back maintenance. Yes people are afraid of Chiro largely because the medical industry wants to feed you chemicals. I friend of mine had back surgery painful as heck. He had to sleep in a chair for 6 weeks. He could not lay down. His mobility is now rigid but it did help him.

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@ken82

@semeon There is a reason you do not set Chiropractors on Hospital Staffs... I live in Iowa and back decades ago I did work for and company owned by the Palmer's... Chiropractic College in Davenport Iowa.. there was a bronze plaque on the main street noting the site of the first chiropractic adjustment that cured someone of deafness... There are limitations as to what chiropractic can do ...and cannot do. There are many examples of additional injury as a result.. See your Orthopedic specialist first.. K

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Thank you Ken82, believe me I have tried everything related to back pain relief for over 40 years, with me anyway Chiro has been a saving grace. Results have always been positive quickly.

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Thank you to all who have posted. Has anyone had Radio Frequency Neurotomy on their PFCN (Posterior Frequency Neurotomy) as part of therapy to see if it will enable me to sit longer?

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I had robotic removal in April 2018. Before surgery I walked between 5 and10 miles per day and lifted weights. The day after I came home I was in so much pain I could not stand or lay down. Had lap exploration to see if something was left inside. Found nothing. Only thing that helped was hydrocortisone. After being on these for a while I decided to stop as I did not want to get hooked. I take so many non prescription meds.
Nothing helped other than the hydro. Original doctor threw me over the fence. I even went to Houston cancer place. No help anywhere. No one can tell me anything about why I went from an incredibly healthy guy to a cripple in one day.

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