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Post lumbar spinal fusion with nerve pain in knee/leg
Hello! I have scoliosis and in July had lumbar spinal fusion. Since the surgery my radicular pain in my right leg is gone but I now have what doctors call “healing nerve pain” in my left leg/knee. I am four months post op and this is not getting better. I have been on Lyrica now for three months. It seems the lyrica is losing effectiveness and sometimes gives me no relief at all. Looking for anyone with a similar experience that can give me some hope that this will get better or I suppose I need to start to realize I will just have to live with this. Also looking for other suggestions besides meds to help with nerve pain. Thank you!!
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My Neurologist first put me on Gabapentin. It kept me up all night long and did nothing for the Pain.
As a last resort (didn't want surgery) we tried Tumeric. I take Quanol Tumeric (Orange Box). It is absorbed
and works like magic. I take two daily since 2022. I also have been on Osteo Bi-Flex for knees since 2014.
Take the box with the Green strip that says Tumeric. That is the Pharmacist's instruction. It works like magic.
This is kind of an old thread but I wanted to ask you what does your ridicular pain feel like? I have throbbing in my calf muscles after I walk even just a few steps. I had a laminotomy with no fusion and my symptoms returned after 4 months. The surgeon said it was the nerves re-enerating whatever that means. Sounds similar to what you're being told that it's the nerves healing? Mine never got better and it's a year and a half later so now they're telling me I need fusion but I'm concerned that nerve pain will not be helped by fusion. How are you now after more time has passed.?
I had back surgery in March this year. Fusion L3and L4 with a spacer. Surgery went well. I was hoping it would relieve the back and calf pain , yes calf pain, but it did not. I'm walking with a cane now and am not giving up. Surgeon suggested B12, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Magnesium for my nerve pain. My daughter found this Pain Academy on YouTube and podcast on Spotify. This person broke his back surfing and for years even after the back healed, he still had severe pain. He went on to do a lot of research and he finally figured wlit out....out head and our body are not communicating as they should. Even though put scans and MRI/X-rays showed the body is heal , our nervous system still remembers the pain. Our mind has to unlearn this sensation. Do you think this make sense?