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L5-SI back pain - sciatic nerve

I have an L5-SI protruding annulus - with sciatic nerve damage on the left side (numbness in left leg). I am being seen at a pain management center and am in the middle of havng shots in my back. I have had a total of 4 so far - each one being in different areas.  After each injection they tell me it will take a few days for the shots to take affect, however I hurt worse and the pain intensifies.  The last shots I had were the worst - I know have numbness in the right side - the shot must have hit the sciatic nerve.  Now I have numbness in both legs.  I am taking tramado hcl 50mg and tizanidine hcl 4mg for the pain and muscle spasms.  I have an ulcer and am limited on what I take. Trying to sleep at night is stressful, I wake up every 2 - 3 hours in extreme pain.  I went through PT and that did not help - i was in more pain after wards.
I would like to hear from someone who has similar problems and what they have done.
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Avatar universal
Just a alternative will put up in a month after trial i have l5 l4 nerve damage
with a colon condition so will let you know how i go
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Avatar universal
hi hope things are better for you  ***@**** i am trying a alternative for nerve pain let me know if you would like to know the mix take care
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Avatar universal
I had L4-5 fusion in 2009. Since then I have severe bladder/bowel pain in my pelvis.   Everything from the fusion site down to my feet actually.hurts. I've been to urologists, gastroenterologist, urogynecoligist, neuro, you name it and I've been there and have had every torturous test they could do on me with no reason found for thus horrid pain. I can't work or even do ADLs   It's ruined my life.  Next is a spinal cord stim trial.  My nfeurosurion who did the surgery says the fusion looks good and basically sent me to pain mgmt and that was it. I'm on Norco 10/325 and 30 mg if morphine twice a day and still can't get the pain under control.  It's worse than labor. Has anyone else experienced this?  I just don't know what to do anymore.  God bless.
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Avatar universal
I have neuropathy from L3 - S1 which radiates to both calves, feet, and toes.In 2005 I had a lower lumbar laminectomy which was (for a short time) a blessing. I felt so good I joined a gym and consequently re-damaged my spine. I have tried many types of pain relief including NorCo and MS-Contin (which eventually caused "Diverticulitis", an excruciating condition). The one thing I receive a great deal of relief from is my T.E.N.S. Unit. I was given the option of having a Neuro-Stim Implant but I refused. I don't want ANY foreign objects in my body if at all possible (especially a man made device which may be prone to failure). The external TENS unit performs much the same without the risks of invasive surgery . I hope this helps.      
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Avatar universal
Right now, I am having similar problem. I have been asked to go for a lumbar spine X-ray. According to what the Doctor has written on the examination request form, my clinical details; back pain L5. I am scared with all the information I have red. Please, what do I need to do now?
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Avatar universal
Does anyone else who suffers from buldging disc/sciatica get a dull ache in there lower abdomen at all? Could this b the sciatic nerve putting pressure on? I've had what the doctors believe to b sciatica for 5 months I had a fall at bowling landing flat on my bum and 3days after I woke up in terrible pain... My back doesn't hurt so much anymore but I do have the constant ache and craming from left buttock to thigh calve ankl and foot I'm takin codiene and have a mri booked for 28.01.2012 also had blood test done today for esp and cpr xx
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Avatar universal
I injured my back in 1973, since then I have had laminectomies at L2,3,4,5,5S1... basically I have had one surgery after another since I  was 22, I have now dealt with either 4 or 5 surgeons including neuro surgeons.  I now have a neuro stimulator implanted at the suggestion on the back surgeon I was dealing with and trusted....I have had this thing in my body now over 20 years, it does help a little with the burning in my legs but does nothing for my back at all.  I can't stand for more than 10 min without holding onto something to help keep me on my feet, I can't walk more than a block as my legs will give out and the pain in my back gets excrutiating. The biggest problem is that I have tried every pain medication I think there is. I now take narcotics, a lot of them...twice a day. I am on the strongest dose of a certain narcotic my PM Doctor says he can legally give me, I am still in severe cronic pain 24 hrs. a day. Narcotics are not always the answer, they do not always help---they only get you hooked on drugs if they don't work. My life is hell, and has been for many years now,  I cannot work, I cannot go for the walks I used to love taking, I cannot get down to play with my grandchildren (I am now 60 years old) I am on so many different medications I feel like a drug addict.  I now have a neurologist wondering if over 20 years useing a neuro stimulator on the nerves in my spine  is causing the swelling in my brain that is helping to cause seizures I started haveing 3 years ago. I cannot have an MRI with the stimulator or wires & electrodes to my spine still implanted in my body, so they cannot tell for sure what the hell is happening.  In the midst of all this I had Cancer surgery on my kidney 2 1/2 years ago and had 2/3 of it removed on one side.   I know how depressing this can get, but I have a good loveing wife who stands by me through everything, without her I could have gotten to feel the way you are now, even through the pain I have a family that loves me and understands what I am going through and stand by me...without them I don't think I would be here right now and I have gone through everything you describe in your posting and then some. Life ***** and has for many years, but each day I have to find the strength to deal with the pain and it is not easy to do when you hurt so bad all you want to do is jump off a cliff,  it is possible to try to deal---I have done it for almost 40 years.  I hope you find either a doctor who can help, or the strength to try to live with the pain, it is not easy I know---and I don't know how long I will be able to keep dealing with this.  One day I know it will become too much to deal with, but I have been told by the doctors to go home and try to learn to deal with it. This is my life, it is not much of a life, it's extremely painful, and I can't do much of anything anymore, Most days you will find me lieing in bed with heat packs on my back, lower to upper.  Each day I ask for the strength to keep dealing and try to keep a smile for when anyone is near me...it's not much but it is my life.  This responce has taken me two days to get written, doing it in short sessions at time due to the pain.
I hope you find someone to help you, someone who may be able to stop your pain, it is worth carrying on if you have any family or not as things could be worse.  I hope you soon end up with a life with no pain, it is possible,  my thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Day to Day Guy 4782A
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Avatar universal
my wife got an MRI and the results says disk dessication and mild posterior disk bulging she got nervous with it, what shall we do we this kind of problem?
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547368 tn?1440541785
Hello QueenB,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum.

Please note that the thread you have brought up to post on is over three years old. The original poster is no longer active in our community.

Please begin a new thread and make your comment new. Tacking on to an old post is not recommended. You will obtain much better responses by posting your own questions. I'll look forward to your new thread.

Peace,
~Tuck
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Avatar universal
I totally understand. I have an extra disk, and in 96 I had my L5 and L6 (the extra disk) operated on after they exploded. Either the surgeon, or the particles from the exploded disks (what surgeon said caused it) damaged the sciatic nerve to my left leg resulting in years of 24/7 pain and night cramps in both legs that leave me feeling not only sciatic pain but also  pain that makes the muscles feel like I have done 10,000 leg squats!
I went through years of specialists giving me: several different types of blocks, conditioning, and all the crap they said would help! Unfortunately  none of it helped, unless sitting in one spot for hours n hours - zoned out, spacey, and in no shape - - to do anything but sit there drooling all over myself, and still feeling the prickling up n down my leg, an ankle thats so sensitive to the slightest touch of anything, and the wonderful nighttime leg cramps that leave my leg muscles feeling like I did leg squats!
The only relief I have found in all the years and money was quinine that stopped the night leg cramps (which was a great relief in its self) but the bad news is that the gov took it off the american market so now i am back to also dealing with those related pains again!  I have yet to find any of the substitutions the specialists have suggested that actualy work!
I suggest that u ice (never heat) the area where the damage actualy is, not the area where the pain is felt. This only helps to reduce the swelling around the damaged area, giving me only a slight relief from the dull pain I have around the disk area only.
All the pain management specialist I have seen say the same thing- work throuh the pain (which they said wiould decrease with time! Which we know is BS because the pain just gets worse!),
build strength up in the area damaged! Nothing helped other than the quinine for the night cramps. Oh yea they said I could be on a regimen of pain killers - not an option for me, I can't be on narcotics and have the sharpness needed to continue to teach and reach the highly at risk high schoolers I deal with daily.

If u have found or ever find any solutions to help relieve any of the pains we feel PLEASE e mail  and let me know what it Is! ***@****

My pain is 24/7! It either the: tingling from my toes to the spot where the damage is  
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667923 tn?1421462724
Hi, I was interested in ur post. I live in AR. and there's no way they r going to prescribe that here 4 pain. I would give it a try, but also have concerns of it being religiously correct. I don't want to be paranoid @ that or to worry that I am commiting a sin. I know it is grown so I would feel that it does come from the Earth and all, but then think did Satan corrupt it. I don't know it is a controversial issue. I believe it would work. I might come more to taking it if it were in pill form..not smoking it. It just seems so demeaning, but I am sure that it would work...just scared to try it.
     I just have to take med. that man made and it is pretty scary in itself..not knowing if it is damaging my internal organs or not...like LYRICA..I had my experience w/that and believe me I will never take that again. I took it 4 ...oh I would say 3 yrs. and gained 80lbs. taking it and it made my sed. rate(inflammation in my  body) elevated. Now, I am finally coming down some after 2 mos. off of it, but don't know what it has done to my insides...MMMM?
     @ sciatic pain...I have so much pain in my legs and my muscles are disappearing right b4 my eyes..It is a sight. I have these rings that r going in a symetrical circle around my shin area. It is slightly under my knee and it seems to be making an indention that u can see and feel. IT is scary and my friend who is a radiologist told me that I had something going on and that I needed to get it evaluated. I said I am trying, but getting no where. I go to a new Ortho tomorrow and I pray that he will access and dx what is going on in my body. I have looked it up on the net and found nothing on it, but something called atrophy. Do u know what it is or have u ever heard of something like that happening? Could it be something like Mitochondrial disease or SCI(due to my nerve supposedly being compressed by a screw(in my C5-C6 area)..that is what my Chiro friend said I had happening and needed it out...yeah..it is still in there and I am losing the use of my arms/legs...they are feeling so weak and unusable).It feels like I have been running a race and my arms/legs just r give out. My Chiro friend told me I would lose the use of both of them if I didn't get it out...still yet to get dx by NS or anyone 4 that matter but a bunch of titles like DDD of Cervical, Lumbar and Hip/Joint..Spinal Stenosis,Myofascial Pain, Spondylosis and Cervicalgia(never even saw anything @ that one), Fibro( in which I think misdiagnosed...something is definately wrong just need to get to bottom of it...not giving up..got to have some better life than this PAIN...oh...so much pain.
     It is not fair to my love ones who take care of me. I feel like such a burden and it is hard on marriage, but have a good guy that has stood w/me. I love him so much and my family 4 taking care of me, but I know it must be hard on them.
     I pray that all has relief and that GOD will take care of us and make our lives better. All I want is to be able to go fishing again...to cast that rod and reel...see that line tighten up w/a big ole catfish at the other end. My kids miss that and so do I. know..Lord Willing, I will someday be back on my feet again and having some kind of life.
     I just can get so depressed @ life these days. Life can be hard and so difficult to get through, but we just have to keep moving forward...keep trying to get to our goal of feeling better...we will. Take care and always GOD BLESS... Karen
    
    
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667923 tn?1421462724
I am interested in this but have to save at moment to come back. Hubby wants to get on. I will be back to discuss this further w/u...Thanks for I am suffering in my lower back and need desperately to find reason. Karen
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Avatar universal
I have sharp stabbing dibilitating pain in my butt cheeks and the top of my legs that make my legs give out.  Can't hardly stand and walk in the morning and hollar ow ow ooow when trying to bend my core to sit.  I had a spinal fusion L4/L5 and a laminectomy 1 1/4 yr ago.  After the recuperation I felt like I had a new back for 4 or 5 months.  I am 61 and overweight (200) and 5'1/2", have severe arthritis and fibromyalgia since my mid 40's.  I've always lived on every diet, there is (people in my family who have weighed 350 - 500 lbs), feel I have bad genes (and habits).  Felt I should now  exercise, so was doing water aerobics because it doesn't hurt me.  Loved it!   Then pain started coming in my buttocks.  I was taking a Darvocet and Tizanidene and getting through the day.  After they kicked in I would have a fairly normal day with only occasionally stabbing.  But it comes back at night, probably cause the drugs have worn off.  It has gotten progressively worse week by week for the last 6 months and I had to give up exercising.  The back surgeon Dr. did xrays, then CT Scan.  It showed nothing that he could see to cause this problem.  Now he has me going to 4 weeks of physical therapy, it hurts terrible and doesn't seem to help, and taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen and Valium.  I felt I wasn't doing as good as on the Tizanidene so I'm stopping the Valiums and trying that with the Ibuprofen.  I will do this therapy, but I don't really expect it to help.  I go back to him in 6 weeks.  He said there was a slim chance a screw was minutely loose and causing this and he might have to go in and look.  OMG!  I think I'd need a 2nd and 3rd opinion first.  So depressing.
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Avatar universal
I don't think I saw this on here so i will give my 2 cents.  I am 29 with severe/chronic sciatic pain from herniated l5-s1.  I had a nerve root decompression in 2/2004 and I was pretty much OK til about a year ago.   My buddy told me that his dad smokes marijuana for his back pain, so I gave it a try.  Now realize that there are different types of marijuana just like there are different types of liquor.  Just like the difference between red label and blue label Johnny Walker, if you get good, medical grade marijuana, it DOES help A LOT with back pain.  Don't listen to all the haters and non-believers who are brainwashed by a society that is brainwashed as well.  Marijuana is not dangerous, is not a gateway, and I pretty much can promise you it will help with chronic back pain.  
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Avatar universal
consider the physical therapy wqith traction,ultasound, and laser therapy this all wqill help you but not heal you.i have an herniated disc in l5 s1 it has been two years and still it hurts me.i dont knowq what to do more.i dont wqant to make surgery i am afraid.
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Avatar universal
i herniated s1, l5 with sciatica pain.  i was totally incapacitated for 4 weeks before i could have the surgery and lost 25 lbs in that month, which i needed to lose.  i took percocet every 4 hours around the clock. i had surgery feb 2 which really helped relieve the pain and am in pool therapy 3 times a week.  i still have sciatica pain which my dr. said could last 2 to 6 months due to the inflammation.  i hope to return to work april 3.  i went to a nuero surgeon in toledo ohio with excellent reputation.  i am really tired of the sciatica pain which i only take 1 percocet daily.  2/3 of herniated disc  pain can be resolved with physical therapy whereas i was the 1/3 who needed surgery.  my suggestion is go to a neurosurgeon - it is their specialty.   good luck and i definitely feel for you when it comes to the pain.  no one knows how awful it is until they go through it.   i am a rn with my bsn, and i will always take people's pain complaints seriously and hopefully give them as much relief as possible
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Avatar universal
My story is LS SI too ,but I found a doctor to help .. The DRX 9000 is what is doing the trick, if you are in San Diego, Dr Mike Mountain is who you should use he has undone decades old pain.No surgery!!!
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535089 tn?1400673519
Hi Rocco;

You should start a new thread. It will be easier for members to respond. Tuck should be along sometime soon and I haven't seen Sharon in a very long time.
I'm glad you found the source of your pain. Lymes Disease can be painful.
Take care, Mollyrae
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Avatar universal
I may have found THE REASON why my life has been nothing more than constant pain and aching along with new painful symptoms every few months for the past year and a half.

Test after test after test after shot after x-ray after MRI...everything came up negative.  After each test result coming back negative it would break me down more and more to the point where I thought I would just have to live with this for the rest of my life.  After a while some people would tell me that either I'm faking it to get attention or that it's all in my head, that the pain isn't real.  Further on I even had to take anti-depressants because I went from being all "outdoorsy" to having to stay in bed or on the couch for the better part of the day to keep on top of the pain.

A few weeks ago I changed to another family doctor .  The one that I had before was a total ***** and pretty much told me there was nothing else to test for and that I'd have to deal with this pain for the rest of my life and also that I had to go to rehab right away to get off the pain pills.  That didn't really go over well with me and I fired her ***.  Anyway, the first time I saw the new doctor..Dr Gayid (i know i know) said he wanted to do a whole bunch of blood tests.  I told him that I have been doing some research and that I wanted him to test for a disease I thought was the reason for all of this.

Today when I came back for my results he sat me down and said that I was right.  That I tested positive for LYME DISEASE.  I was so over joyed that I was running all around the doc's office screaming.  I know what you're thinking...that this isn't something to be happy about and it's not.  I was just happy that finally after a year and a half of pain, depression, neurological problems and insomnia FINALLY something came up positive.  SOMEONE actually found something!  I was also diagnosed with Vitamin B-12 deficiency along with folic acid deficiency also.  Lyme Disease is caused by a transfer of a bacteria when a tick bites  you.  There isn't a lot of research done on Lyme Disease and it causes an array of life long pain in many different ways.

For a cure the doctor told me that I would have to come in to his office for the next 28 days and get 2 shots of antibiotics in each butt cheek.  Today were my first 2 shots and believe me, that **** STINGS!  The doctor said since i have had Lyme Disease for a year and a half there may be some neurological, arthritis and other problems that may not be fixed when the Lyme Disease is treated.  Also, Dr Gayid warned me that since we would be attacking the Lyme Disease it would be trying to fight back to survive.  This pretty much means that my pain may go through the roof at any time and that my medication that i'm taking probably won't be able to stop it with out more pain treatment.

Now, I'm taking this very seriously and in a pessimistic fashion.  I am not going to relax or believe this is the end until ALL of my pain and pills are out of my life.  Knowing my luck the Lyme Disease is just a coincidence and there is a totally different reason for my pain.  I am still going to get injections into my hip and spine from the pain management doctor.  I am also going to see the Neurologist and Rheumatologist for more research and tests.  Like I said, I won't consider this done until ALL of the pain and pills are out of my life.
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Avatar universal

i think now most physicians feel they can not write for anything stronger then tynenol,otherwise you need to be sent to a pain mgmt dr. god forbid you go to a pain mgmt dr and tells u that u need an epidural,however in the mean time when u r in acute pain they are hesitate to give you any narcotics.if they prescribe it then u must go thru drug testing for compliance and illicit substances.you really start feeling like your a criminal.no one in severe pain needs to go thru this and to feel like your a drug addict. then do not forget you must see a shrink. then they will schedule you for whatever makes them money such as epidural or more.that to me makes us uncomfortable to say the least.it makes me upset that this is happenning.we r paying them for medical care, then why can we not be taking care of? i wish no pain on anyone.it affects your life in so many ways.
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446097 tn?1223694666
Hi Rocco,

Are we living the same life?  My Grandfather passed away 9 days ago from Stage 4 Mantle cell Lymphoma and I have been out of touch due to funeral and family.  Weird...  

I too have the protrusion in my cervical spine as well as 2 lower back protrusions.  I now believe even more strongly that you can get better!  You have to "chill" for a while and let your body do some healing but if I can do it so can you.  Keep in touch......
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547368 tn?1440541785
I am so sorry to hear about your Godfather's passing. It is always difficult to lose someone we love. My mother's husband died 38 days after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It's tough but I am glad he (step-father) did not suffer any longer than he had to, there was no cure.

I would only be guessing about the protrusion that ws seen on your MRI but usually it refers to a disc. And a disc protrusion could be a herniation or again any number of things.

I am glad that your pain meds are easing your pain. Please take care, hang in there till your physician returns from vacation and keep us posted. Tuck
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Avatar universal
Hi Tuck and Sharon,

Sorry I have not written in a while.  My Godfather died of a stage 4 cancer 2 months after he was diagnosed so I had to travel to Kentucky for 2 weeks for the funeral and to help out my family.  

The nurse of my Primary just called and said that they got my MRI test results of my neck back.  The nurse said the results stated that I have a protrusion in my neck.  I asked her what that meant and she said she was only a nurse and that she did not know.  So I have to wait 2 weeks for my doctor to come back from vacation to tell me what my MRI results mean and all of that.  My Oxycotin of 40 mg and dilodid of 8mg is working just fine.  There is still pain but it takes most of the edge off.  I filed for unemployment since I am unable to work.  I feel bad about taking money from the government but I guess that's what it's there for.  Hopefully they can find out what's really wrong with me and get me to the road to recovery.  I just can't believe that I graduated with a degree and now I can't start my career.  

If anyone has any comments about what you think I should do or just words of support that would be great.  According to the online dictionary a protrusion is a bulge...so I guess there's a bulge in my neck?  I'm going to try to do some research online and figure out what I might have.  I hate waiting for the doctors to take their sweet time in order for me to get my life back together.

Thanks for your support!

-Rocco B.
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446097 tn?1223694666
Tuck and Rocco,

As far as the meds go, taking yoru family to the PMP sounds like a great idea.  Those meds are there for a reason.... and if you have a "cocktail" that is working for you then by all means stick with it.  I felt VERY guilty over the meds and my spine doctor is the one who explained the PURPOSE to me and my husband who is now very supportive of whatever I do to control my pain and my condition.  Because there are so many people that abuse the meds the ones who really need them sometimes still get a bad rap!   Try not to let it get to you.  Your heart, mind and body knows what is best for you.

Please keep us posted!  I hope yoru road to recovery is a speedy one!  Sharon
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