Anyone with more pain after surgery than before?

Ivie,
Wow....scary, what does your doctor say? I am so sorry for your pain.

I will be interested to learn how you resolve this, and what others have to share on this site.

This is a fear of mine as I consider a full lumbar fusion (T12 - S1). I know I will eventually need to address this as much going on that will require this solution. However, I fear, right now, that I might be trading one problem for a different problem if I move forward.

I too have numbing down my leg but I also have the stabbing shooting pain you are describing. However I find relief when sleeping and sitting and adapting my lifestyle to work around the pain vs work around the surgery and new life restrictions.

Fingers crossed you find some relief soon. Tamra

Hello ikcooley,
Sorry you're going through this. It is a tough time but I hope this will help you....
My husband had 2 laminectomies, L3-4 & 4-5, & a discectomy last Feb. His pain postop was unbearable too - sciatica both legs, shooting pains & weakness in left leg (which he didnt have preop)- fell 3 times from weak knee. At first, he was taking a total of 2400mg of Gabapentin daily, and alternating every 2 hrs: Tylenol 1000, Ibuprofen 400. And he used oxycodone about 6 times in the early weeks. Sciatica was gone when he started PT 6 weeks postop using a walker, then a cane, meds were decreasing also. After 8 weeks of PT, he was stronger & walking unaided. As is necessary, he continues to do his exercises, which helps any odd residual discomforts, such as tightness in leg, a needle pain or ache here & there, and maintaining muscle strength & coordination. Remember, nerves can take many months to heal. He was feeling much better after about 4 months. It is almost 1 year now. At 78 yo, he is weaning off of Gabapentin, 500mg total daily now, and he is back to snowblowing, and other household chores. Take heart, it can seem so slow. Charting your progress can help you SEE it & help you stay positive.

This is so encouraging! Thank you for replying. I’m hoping this is a temporary nerve irritation. And will get better so I’m glad to know this was the case for your husband. I’m hoping it gets better by itself and a second surgery is not recommended. I know I can not have quality of life with this stabbing pain when walking. I’m 73 and very active teaching yoga and gardening.

Sometimes my hamstrings tighten and press on the sciatic nerve. OS recommends doing a gentle hamstring stretch but always gently pointing the toe; he says that you must point the toe in order to move the hamstring off the nerve. He also says that PT usually tells you to flex the foot up, not point the toe, which makes it worse. He also says just elevating the foot on something as low as a step is fine (not the bench height or waist height typical gym stretch). This helps me. I do these a couple of times a day, and always before and after a walk, holding for 15 secs, doing the gentle stretch twice. Perhaps your hamstrings are tight, especially after the surgery? Worth a try?

Ivie, follow-up imaging MRI or CT could provide significant information. Even with a perfect surgeon and perfect surgery our bodies don't always cooperate. I don't think your pain levels are acceptable and won't contribute to your recovery.
Best wishes.

I had the L5-S1 fused for Spondylithesis. The revovery pain was unpleasant, but recovery went OK. There was no improvement in my pain. Looking back, I would not do the surgery again. Interestingly, two prior MRIs did not reveal spondylithesis, so I don't know why he saw something that others did not see.

Heisenburg34 Thank you for sharing this I also have recently went thru a failed back surgery( pains worse now) I had an L4-S1 fusion in April. 3 surgeons and no relief now they want me to get a pain stimulator so I’m going to talk to them about the spondylithesis when I go back the 31st

Give it more time they say, here’s more pills, now go get a pain stimulator! I went thru a L4-S1 fusion last April because L5 was loose. Main problem I had was when I bent over I would about fall. Now popping in my back, back pain , sciatic pain , weakness, stingers on both legs, hip pain and testicular pain even though they say it has nothing to do with the back ( btw they start hurting depending which way I lean) anal pain ( now hurts to pass gas) bladder and bowel control getting worse. I couldn’t complete water therapy or physical therapy, had an epidural in October still no relief.
I tried explaining how bad the leg pain was setting in church I started having to set in the entryway where it’s concrete because the vibration on the wood floor triggered the leg nerves. 51 year old using a cane and carrying a cushion to set on sucks and don’t dare ask me to go to a store unless there’s a scooter I tried a small store the other day without one big mistake. Good luck with your recovery.

Hi ikcooley, This is kagie's husband. I responded to your initial posting. My wife responded, not knowing that I had done so. I'm happy that her account and mine match up. I just wanted to update to say that next month will be 1 year since my surgery and I am doing very well. The point I cannot overstate to anyone going through recovery is that it is never a straight line. It is full of ups and downs. Yesterday I experienced the type of pain in an area of my leg that I hadn't felt in months. Today I feel good as as new. It's confounding at times but that is how it is in most cases. So never give up or give in... It's a crooked road to recovery. If, however, you feel that something is beyond the typical boundaries of what recovery should be then, please consult your doctor or another doctor if you think you need another opinion. But only you can be the judge of how your own body is reacting. Good luck in getting better.

No one who is as young as you are should have to go through this. I am 76 and have been dealing with back issues off and on for 7 years. I am grateful that my problems didn't start when I was your age. A spinal cord stimulator helped me a lot for about three and a half years until it just stopped working. Those were wonderful years, looking back. Not totally pain-free, but certainly better than where I am now. Pain pump was installed back last April and has not proven to be of much value. Just have to keep looking. Someone, somewhere out there has the answer. Don't give up.