Nerve pain after lumbar forminotomy

Hello @koesch01. You will notice I have moved your post into the Spine Support Group so that more members with similar experiences can find and join you.

Members such as @rayreich3 and @jenniferhunter have shared some of what they know about this procedure so will hope they can come in and share more with you!

Have you done any physical therapy?

I had a foremenotomy years ago and suffered from extreme nerve pain following the surgery. It reduced over time but it was almost a year before I could walk without a cane due to ongoing pain. I know this is not what you want to hear but it is my experience. I’ve had injections, oblations, therapy etc but still have chronic back pain. The best relief has come from a Medtronic Stimulator installed surgically.

Thanks I will bring up the stimulator to my Neurosurgeon at St. LUKES OF KANSAS CITY.

Thanks so much!

I'm having L5S1 forminotomy this coming Thursday. Did you have new pain after the surgery that you did not have before the surgery?

What pain did you have before the surgery that the forminotomy was suppose to fix?

The pain after surgery was new and severe. I had a laminectomy 12 months prior and was still having back pain because I had subsequently damaged a disc at the same spot in my spine. Back surgery procedures have come a long way since 2006/2007 when I had mine. I hope yours is successful and gives you the relief you seek. Unless you’ve experienced back pain you don’t understand how debilitating it can be.

Thanks for the input. You are right back pain is so difficult to live with. You never know when the next movement causing pain will come.

I had the procedure on my L5S1 last November. It seemed to do better until I started more activity. Pain has moved more to side of hip and top/lower thigh. Not happy with results. BUT surgeon says it takes up to 12 mths to heal my nerves since injury has been there for 50 years. Try to be patient buddy!

Hello, you might ask your doctor about taking a medication called Gabapentin. I had debilitating nerve pain and am taking 2400 mg a day, one pill in the am and 2 at night. My nerve pain is gone but I’m not driving. I’m having open surgery next week as I have several other spine issues my surgeon will correct. Don’t give up, sometimes it’s best to switch doctors, that’s what I did and my new orthopedic dr (a robotic surgeon) ordered medications that dealt with my pain issues (spasms, nerves and skeletal) and inability to sleep until he could schedule surgery. 🙏

I have been taking 600mg of GABAPENTIN at night so I will try to get more to take. Plz let me know of any new meds that help you. It is all chronic nerve pain left back thigh and leg. Thx.