pain/numbness in butt!!

[MaryLee62]

I have bulging discs at L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1.  There is a synovial cyst at S-1.  I have all the major symptoms but one really strange one that no one can explain.  I have horrible pain and numbness from the top of the crack of my butt (sorry, I don't know the technical term) around to about the opening of my vagina.  No leg pain or numbness except for a rare tingling in my foot.  I haven't had any loss of bladder or bowel function.  Sitting just kills me.  Standing or walking does not.  I can hardly ride in a car and sitting in my desk chair or a restaurant chair, even padded ones, have now become unbearable.

I'm in pt but it isn't doing anything for this pain.  I went to a chiropractor once who seemed baffled and embarrassed when I explained my problem.  I'm a veteran and my VA neurosurgeon seemed a little confused too...but he wrote me the scrip for pt/auqatherapy.

I have had two previous surgeries for a bad shoulder injury in 05.  I've been on perocets since the fall in Aug. 05 and morphine 15 mg twice a day for about 2 1/2 years.  These pain meds are only taking a slight edge off of my "butt" pain. My life is horrible...I can't go out and enjoy anything.  One doc asked me if I'd tried methodone for pain but we didn't get to discuss it any further.  She mentioned it as I was leaving her office.  I won't see her until June so I'm waiting to follow up on that.  I've heard some great and some bad things about it.  I'm 48...where do I go from here?

My question is...do you think this pain is being caused by my screwed up discs??  From what I've read, I should be having the leg pain and bladder problems too.

Any thoughts would be very appreciated.

ML

[toolmaker]

Have you tried the epidurals?

[silkcut]

That's exactly what I arrived at after a couple of years! (And without the benefit of the web!)

From memory, this is an S2 injury, isn't it?  Years ago, all the doc could suggest was to sever the nerve...oh no you don't, matey!

But it did recover after about 2 1/2 yrs. I just get a nagging ache in the sacro-illiac and coccyx areas from time to time now.

I think this is an area of medicine that is grossly overlooked. Probably because it doesn't happen to men...

What are you going to do next?

[MaryLee62]

I think I'm narrowing it down to pudendal nerve impingement.  I'm diagnosing myself.  That diagnosis fits all of my symptoms :-(

[silkcut]

Hi Mary Lee

That's a horrid and painful sx,you have all my sympathy. I had something similar when I had a bad fall years ago. It cleared up in time as the nerves from S1/S2/S3 healed.

I'd be investigating the sacral area if I were you - it seems there's more going on there than the docs seem to realise. I'm not sure why this is such a puzzle - our genitals have nerves, so why can't they be included in the nerve injury/pain scenario!!

How current are your scans? You might want to check out a good nerve dermatome chart on the web to correlate your pain and foot involvement to identify which sacral nerve is problematic.

I'm not a fan of painkillers -  I'd rather get to the root of what's causing the problem and deal with that. Methadone sounds like a mighty hammer to cover up a bad pain with when perhaps some nerve studies and MRIs would lead you in the direction of curative surgery or other healing  PT.

keep us posted on what happens with your doc.
take care
samm