sciatica from one year

[vivekgupta]

I suffer from sciatica pain in my left side from an about an year. The pain started after I tried to jump very high verically upwards with my right hand stretched upwards. I went for an x-ray and MRI ( twice with 6 month gap). Diagnoses was very minimal disk bulge in L4-L5 region. I started to get shooting pain in my left leg, starting from edge of L5-ilium (waist line) to thigh and some tingling in foot.
My neurosurgon suggested only conservative treatment. The conservative treatment involved chiropactor, physiotheraphy, muscle relaxtant tablets, vitamin B-complex and Gabapentine(now stopped this).
I have being on all this medication on and off for about an year now. The pain in the leg has considerably reduced. But the pain in the back on the left side around L5 refuses to go, although it has reduced to some extent. Trying to sleep on stomach increases the pain considerably. The pain is constant, even when I walk it is there.
My life is devastated. If I bend forward, walk fast, sit for 2 hours, walk for 2 hours I start to feel the increase in pain in the back. There is weekness in left leg with knee pain, and difficulty in walking on toes. But reflexes are normal. EMG results are awaited. I am handicapped.!
No neurosurgon considers me a candidate for any kind of surgical treatment but the pain on left side does not go.
Question 1:
How much damage can happen to sciatica nerve over this long period of trauma. Will I ultimately loose my left leg ?
Question 2:
Conservative treatment is not helping me, but MRI is not showing anything for surgery what do I do

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

Regarding question one, without seeing your examination and MRI it is impossible for me to predict if your symptoms will prgress. Although the goal of spine surgery is to hopefully relieve symptoms, there is no guarentee, and the major reason for psine surgery is to prevent progression of a specific problem. If you are questioning your surgeons opinion, it is always reasonable to obtain a second opinion. I would recommend being evaluated at an academic spine center.

Regarding question two, if the MRI does not show a problem, then I would recommend an evalaution with a neurologist. This is to exclude other disorders which may cause similar symptoms. If a cause for the pain can not be found then treatment within a pain management program is recommended. They have both invasive and non-invasive methods for treating pain.

Good luck.

[The Crusader]

Have you been checked for Pyraformis Syndrome?  (sp?)  Also, bewre of ESI's!
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REPORTS OF SEVERE COMPLICATIONS FROM EPIDURAL STEROID NERVE BLOCK INJECTIONS OF DEPO-MEDROL

ESI's using Depo-Medrol are harming people! Epidural steroid nerve block injections are widely used to treat back pain. It is "not recommended" by the drug maker because of the "severe medical events" that have been reported to them and the FDA! There are new studies that link severe chronic pain syndromes with complications of this non FDA approved procedure. (Arachnoiditis, Epidural Fibrosis, Severe Sensory Nerve Disruption, etc.) By using the Freedom of Information Act, we have discovered that there have been well over 15,000 adverse event reports and 356 deaths attributed to Depo-Medrol between 1998 and 2002. (A very high number despite that fact that only 1.5% of all adverse events get reported to the FDA!) (A 1999 Harvard Study)

Pfizer Inc. recently purchased Pharmacia/Upjohn, the manufacturer of the most commonly used injectable steroid, Depo-Medrol! They have recently issued a new WARNING on the use of this non-FDA approved drug for spinal surgery as well as for epidural administration. They say that Depo-Medrol is "NO LONGER RECOMMENDED" for epidural administration in a newly published Pfizer document titled: "DEPO-MEDROL - REFORMULATION-EPIDURAL USE" The warning covers BOTH formulations they make!

(Another misconception is that there is a preservative-free formulation of the drug, which supposedly is safer in the opinion of the doctors who use it! These doctors are not only wrong about this, it's incompetence if they believe this is so!

Both formulations, the single dose and the multi-dose formulation, have preservatives added, MGPC and Benzyl Alcohol respectively... both are neurotoxic and potentially damaging to neuro-tissue. Besides, both formulations contain huge amounts of Polyethylene Glycol, a chemical cousin of automobile antifreeze and a major ingredient in DOT-3 Brake Fluid! If this isn't bad enough, they then mix Depo-Medrol with other chemicals, such as anesthetics, like Marcaine, and ionic dyes, such as Isovue, again AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATION OF PFIZER! PFIZER CLAIMS THAT THIS PRACTICE CAN INCREASE THE "TOXIC RISKS BECAUSE OF CHEMICAL INCOMPATIBILITIES", THEREFORE THEY HAVE WARNED DOCTORS NOT TO DO IT!

Any doctor that may be reading this should call Pfizer immediately and ask for a written copy of their newly posted Warning.

All patients should be advised that they will not be told this information unless they specifically ask their doctors for it. Even then, there is no guarantee that their doctor will even know this latest update.

Try this Google search: "Depo-Medrol Harm"

Kindest regards,
Dennis J. Capolongo / EDNC
Center for Pharmaceutical Safety
Washington, DC

[mmg9603]

Trust me, surgery should be the last resort!!! I had a terrible accident at work in August of 2002. I had a 300 lb. shelf fall on my back. It herniated 2 discs and caused degeneration of the one disc!! Due to workman's comp, I was in pain for three months with no relief before they sent me to a specialist. This was only after I lost feeling in my left leg and could not walk on it. I had surgery in November 2002 and thought it would be cured. It's not and here I am less than a year and a half later, going through the MRI and the idea of a second surgery. Please exhaust all options before surgery!!! It's not 100% effective!