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Lower back pain / Right leg pain with numbness / burning / paralysis
Hi there I am thinking about requesting a appointment with the mayo clinic doctors to see if these folks can help me out and was wondering if there is someone on here who knows of the best doctor at the clinic that might have experience with what i have,
I constantly have pain in my lower back and constant pain in my right leg that travels all the way down to the bottom of my foot that is combined with tingling and burning and some paralysis on the right side only in my leg, the leg is tender to the touch and stops me from sitting for any length of time and it is effecting my sleep to where i only sleep a few hours each night and it prevents me from holding my wife at night ( ladies and men any suggestions on how best to hold your partner at night that would be more comfortable for me and enjoyable for my wife who loves but misses being wrapped in my arms )
I have had three major back surgeries which is funny because before i had surgery a few doctors said there was nothing wrong with my back or leg but low and behold the following surgeries were down.
I have had a surgeries on my lower discs and have had a laminectomy,microdiscectomy to remove the herniated disc and this was quit successful until recently i started to have pain and the same old feeling as before so i went back to the doctor who did the other surgeries after a few doctors told me there was nothing wrong and that i just had a sore back and after a few MRI and rays recently i have had a laminectomy with spinal fusion with implementation and i continue to have the same pain that i had when i first went in the last time to see the original doctor and although he tells me he does not see anything i ask him why do i still have the pain in my back and my leg,i got the impression that he wanted to admit he made a mistake or that the procedure did not work ( i would be fine either way but just be honest with me then i can make my own decisions)
One of the interesting things that i have noticed is that after this last surgery the pain and numbness and tingling and burning have all remained the same with the exception that i now have pain down my left arm starting at the elbow and extending downward and the only relief i get is when i walk around holding my arms up and out like a mummy
I do work alot of hrs ( Stay away from management,it will kill you lol ) and i do see a pain management doctor who does see and know that there is a problem but he just can't figure it out and he has referred me to the North American Spine Institute but i would be interested to learn if anyone here has had a similar problem or problems characteristic with mine?
Do the folks at the mayo clinic get to the bottom of the problem or just like a few doctors do they tell you oh you just have a sore back?
I can live with a 2 or a 3 level of pain but the 5 and 6 level of pain is becoming unacceptable unless i go on a stronger pain med which i do not want.
I thank you all for reading this as it was lengthy and hopefully informative enough that you could offer me advice or other places that you might have experienced better relief,better care,better outcome / results.
In closing i pray that you all have a very blessed year.
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I had my 1st pump put in place in 2004. Everything is located inside the body. Mine is in my lower left abdomen. The doctor fills it with a needle right through the skin into the port on the pump. Believe it or not, I reallly can't even feel when he does it. Of course I talk the whole time and don't watch. I've learned through the years the really does make a difference. When I first had it implanted I felt like I could do back flips!! I have no restrictions as far as the pump goes. of course it is major surgery, so there are restrcitions becasue of the surgery. After you heal from that, I felt normal and did everything. Before they put the actual pump in they put a cathereter in with the meds to make sure it's going to work. As soon as I woke up from that surgery I felt like a new person! If you check out medtronics website they have a picture of the actual pump. I would recommend this to anyone who is sufffering from severe pain. The battery lasts about 5 years so I had my second one placed in 2009. I was unable to walk due to pain for 12 years before I had the 1st pump put in. PLEASE check it out!! God bless you and I sincerely hope you get relief!
I will check out the web site and i am glad to hear that this has worked for you and that you are so upbeat about it gives me some hope but one other question i have for you if you don't mind and that is with the pump in you,do you ever bump it against something and do you feel it from the outside if you were to run your hands along side of where it is located?
I thank you for all the information that you are sharing with me as it does help me to look at different procedures and to get feedback from folks who are in our shoes.
I pray that you have a great weekend and that you get out and do some back flips and dancing but just don't do them both at the same time,hahah,have a blessed weekend
it sounds like you need a comprehensive diagnosis. have they looked at pressure on the sciatica nerve
Yes, I can feel the pump if I touch the outside of the skin. I can actually like put my hand on the whole thing. I know that sounds odd since the whole hing is inside me. It really is wrth getting put in though. One day my grandson was standing on my lap and put his oot up on where the pump is. He actually stood on it & that's really the only time it hurt. I think it was his foot pushing it daown that make it hurt. I have never bunped it and hurt though. You can go onto Medtronics website or call them and they will tell you which doctors in your area implant and fill the pump.
Now if I can just get this new vascular problem taken care of I'll be back to normal. I have anohter appointment @ Mayo the end ofthis month with cardio/vascular. I'm hoping they have an answer as to what's causing all this swelling and burning in my leg. If it weren't for my belief in God I would have given up long ago! He is there for us any time we neeed someone to lean on and I have done a lot of leaning and praying to Hime. Things are getting better so I know He listens!! Best of luck to you. Please let me know how things work out for you. I know how you feel but don't give up hope!
Thank you and thank you for all the information that you have shared and i will be making my descison in the next few days,but it seems to me that the wya to go is the pump,but anyways i will pray that the vascular problem goes away and will pray the problem up to our father.
After reading your lengthly experience and most of the replies I feel like I may be of some help to you at least giving you an area to investigate that you may not have considered. If you want you can reach me by sending me an email on this site and I will personally answer you in detail. I have the exact same symptoms you have with the exception of no back surgeries...only injections. However, I did extensive research on anatomy and where my pain refers to and it is not simple but it may help you define some things so that they do not cut on you again. Cutting (surgery) only builds up more pain by scar tissue and scar tissue traps nerves which in turn can continue the pain cycle which is what happened to me.
Look forward to hearing from you
Willwolf...please never apologize for having a feel said moment. We have every right. That's part of the reason we hurt so bad is that we all try to stay strong evey min of the day. And I love your humor about the remote. I hope the pain pump will help you --I've actually thot about it. And the vitamen C is a great idea because I don't think I get enough from food. Thanks again.
My son has problems very similar to Redocean after two surgeries. I would be very interested in learning any information you may have that may help him. My email is jeanstowell1@aol.com. Please feel free to contact me. Please put For Steven in the subject line. I hope you are feeling better. It sounds like my son is on the same pain cycle you were/are. Thank you.
Missnana, You sound like a wonderful person who has put her trust in God which is the best place to be. What Mayo Clinic do you go to? We live near the Jacksonville campus. You have certainly given me inspiration which I will pass on to my son. Thank You and God Bless you.