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L5S1 Radiculopathy in left foot
Spine Health | Last Active: Dec 24, 2022 | Replies (18)Comment receiving replies
@jorgy20 Welcome to Connect, and congratulations on becoming a Mayo patient. What this means is that when the doctors at Mayo reviewed you imaging and records, they saw something that they can help with. Don't worry about that right now because you don't know what type of help they will offer. If it is surgery, know that you will be in very good hands. I came to Mayo as a spine surgical patient and had a cervical fusion there. The level of care and compassion exceeded my expectations and I had great results. Do the best you can on focusing on getting ready for your trip. You may want to rethink seeing a Chiropractor because sometimes that can cause damage to an already compromised spine and perhaps rupture a weakened disc. I wasn't seeing a chiropractor, but all I had to do to rupture my bulging disc was turn my head while I was stretching and it popped.
You're not alone. There are lots of spine patients with similar issues. You need information before your questions can be answered. I know 3 weeks seems like a long time to wait, but that is a short wait time, sometimes patients wait 3 months or more, and in other countries a year or more. It will be here before you know it. What surgeon will be doing your consult? Do you need travel information? Mayo has a free Concierge service that can give you information on accommodations.
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Replies to "@jorgy20 Welcome to Connect, and congratulations on becoming a Mayo patient. What this means is that..."
@jenniferhunter following up on your comment here. We went up to Mayo and neither person I met with saw anything in my mri where they would offer surgery. So they referred me to neurology. So waited a week and came back up to get the suggestion it might be plantar fasciitis…. I saw my podiatrist the next day and she could not believe that was even suggested…. It’s not. It’s nerve pain and follows the L5S1 nerve root. I let the Nero know and they referred me back to surgery. Surgery in our meeting said no need to try injections again as they didn’t believe it was back related pain. Now they say to shoot the nerves again apparently. Met the injection doc today and he can’t believe this was mayo’s response either.
While I’m glad it’s not something like a neurological disorder, I know what I’m feeling and I know the answer is not to pump me full of gabapentin and hope it goes away (as the Mayo surgeon suggested sometimes these just go away) but no idea if in a year or two or tomorrow….
I went to NE Spine as it is the group my alma mater uses and they really couldn’t believe the Mayo response either. Yes my mri isn’t horrible, but it’s not great either. There’s also more to looking at a picture. My symptoms largely go away when I lay down on my back. Mri was taken from on my back. It fires up when I stand and when I sit (when my foramen are under pressure) and I have significant weakness in my leg with a lot of muscle mass lost and stretching my legs can cause serious shooting pain. They suggested it’s foramen narrowing. Suggested an ALIF L5S1. A doc in iowa and in Nebraska suggested Mayo won’t operate if they don’t see it as textbook in the imaging. So now, based on my experience, why they even accepted me up there in the first place?
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@jenniferhunter thank you very much for your response. I can’t express how much it means to me and my family and how fortunate we feel to have been accepted into Mayo. I’ve been assigned to Dr. Mikula for the surgery consult and PA Kadlec as the medical evaluation physician. Medical evaluation in the morning and surgical around noon. If it is surgery, do they do it that day or do we come back? Thank you so very much for your help!
Dain