I am a 73 yr old female. I had a meningioma tumor removed from my brain a year ago at NY Presbyterian Hospital. I had an excellent and kind surgeon. I received wonderful care in the 10 days I was there. (When surgery is performed on one side of your brain, it weakens your arm and leg on the other side of your body, so PT is needed to strengthen your arm and leg). So, I was transported by ambulance to a reputable rehab facility to strengthen my leg.
The day before I was released from the rehab center, (I was there 9 days) , the PTs overworked me with over 3 1/2 hours of intense repetitions of PT. That evening while sitting in bed I felt very sharp knife like pains in my groin and felt like I was sitting on a pile of rocks. The doctor came in and said it’s a pulled muscle.
The next morning I was released from the rehab. Visiting nurse service came to my home the next day to do more PT, but I could not do anything because I was in so much pain and my leg felt like a heavy weight was attached to it.
I had limited mobility in my leg as if a very tight rope is wrapped around it. And am not able to bend it and have difficulty lifting it.
I saw my orthopedist who had been treating me for spinal stenosis.
He did 3 MRI’s of my cervical, thoracic and lumbar. The Lumbar shows a pinched nerve at L4.
It’s been one year and my
leg has gotten much much worse. At times when the pain is excruciating and nothing helps, I don’t know how I can live the rest of my life
like this. It’s nerve pain similar to sciatica pain.
I still feel like I’m sitting on a pile of rocks in my buttocks which adds to the pain in my leg. I’m not able to sleep on my sides. I have to sleep on my back and have gotten neuropathy in my
leg too. I’ve had a couple of sessions of acupuncture and it did not help.
Muscle relaxers and gabapentin made my pain worse. Extra Strength Excedrin helps me get thru the days and Tylenol 650 at night.
My ortho doctor does not know what to do for me anymore. He told me “don’t let any doctor convince you to have surgery”. He wants me to see a spine doctor who are surgeons. When you see a surgeon, he wants to do surgery!
I went to a Neurologist and he wanted to do an EMG. I told him NO way will I be able to withstand electric shock to find which nerves and muscles are affected. I know 2 people who said it was excruciating. I already know I have a pinched nerve in my L4.
My left leg is disabled and I can barely walk. It hurts when I walk and it hurts when I’m sitting or
lying down.
I was very active before this happened to me. I used to speed walk every day, swim 50 laps 4 times a week and kayak in the summer and enjoy dancing, cooking and baking.
My quality of life has plummeted. I am disabled and try to do the best I can. I cannot stand for more than 10 mins without getting bad pain in my leg and back. I can barely get out of bed without having excruciating pain in the process. The pain in my groin makes me have numerous trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night with such urgency. Then, at times I cannot go back to sleep for hours. It’s a vicious cycle.
I prepare meals sitting down. I cannot garden anymore because I’m in so much pain when I bend down or even when I tie my sneakers. I cannot put my
socks on without using a gadget that is ingenious. I bless the persons who invented all these aids for the disabled.
My question to everyone on this site is:
Does anyone on this site
have a pinched nerve in their L4 and what are your symptoms and remedies? I would very much appreciate all suggestions and help as I’m afraid of having surgery at my age. The surgery can make me worse and can totally cripple me. Living with chronic and at times excruciating pain is breaking down my body and mind.
Thanking all.