Nerve Damage

[Judy]

Dr. Yue thinks that my nerve damage is permanent. The pain starts below my buttocks (pain in the a**) and is in the upper left thigh area only. This has become more and more painful. I have been on neurontin but unfortantely does not agree with my stomach but works great.
I have tried Keppra and also Lyrica and neither of these worked at all. I decided to give the Neurontin a try again and started it on Wednesday. Now two days later I again have stomach issues and don't know what to do.
My choice is to have nerve pain or stomach issues which is worse I guess I will have to decide.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to another medication to try or a procedure that could be done. I had a selective nerve block done last August which did not work. Dr. Yue thinks that the nerve is pinched at the fusion site. he recommended the neurontin because he feels (along with the pain management doctor) that I could be on that long term with no damage to any organs etc.

Any suggestions? Thank you for any help or thoughts you might have.

Judy

[Alastair]

Hi Judy,
Have you tried a PT person who can show you a piraformis stretch exercise.??

I firmly believe that if the body is given the opportunity it will heal itself.
Best,
Alastair

[Fortitudine]

Hi Judy,

Sorry you seem to be stuck with that pain. Hopefully it won't be a life sentence though.

In the meantime, can you not take something like Losec (a prescription stomach protector) along with the neurontin to avert the gut issues?

[Alastair]

Hi Judy,
Why not ask if you can have your medication in suppository form- - - it will not upset your stomach then and this is done widely in Europe
Best
Alastair

[Mariaa]

What about Topamax or Lyrica? Elavil is an old standby that helps with nerve pain to a degree also however, I found Neurontin to be much more effective.

I have permanent nerve damage as well since my 1992 failed percutaneous discectomy of L4..

The pain was so bad thru my buttocks and legs that I have been afraid to have more surgery but my back is beginning to go out so much lately and is really limiting in terms of being able to be upright that I'm at this moment ready to roll into the surgical suite..

Good luck, I've been told I will continue to have nerve pain/damage after more surgery and will likely always be on Neurontin.

I've also found selective nerve root blocks and lumbar ESIs to be of great help/relief...

[Judy]

I just Lyrica and it did not work for me. The problem with neurontin it causes me to have to run to the bathroom all the time. This does not happen daily though about three times per week. As soon as I went off it it stopped. I started taking last Wednesday again because it is the only thing out of them that worked and I spent most of Friday morning in the bathroom. I don't know what is worse the pain or going to the bathroom every ten minutes. Today has not been bad at all.
I just don't know what to do. I go back to the doctor the beginning of May so I think I will stay with the neurontin till then because the nerve pain can been very bad without anything.

Judy

[luvmysibe]

Judy,
Have you tried holistic approaches to relief: massage, accupressure, accupuncture, chiropractic, and physical therapy? These methods really helped me with my pain levels and nerve issues while I was awaiting my ADR.

Best wishes.

Hi Judy, sorry to hear about your continued nerve pain. Would Prilosec help with your stomach? Aslo, you mentioned that the nerve was pinched at the fusion site. Did you have the ADRs plus fusion in one anterior procedure? I'm trying to understand the mechanism by which the fusion could cause impingement on the nerve as I'm considering fusion myself.

Thanks and good luck.

[Judy]

The surgery was done all at once. Dr. Yue is just guessing that is what happened because my upper left tigh is actually numb and has been since surgery.
I didn't try the topomaz maybe when I go back to the doctor we can try that or maybe like you said there might be something I can take to avoic the side effects.
The pain is real bad in the back of my upper left thigh just above the numbness. The numbness is half in the front of the thight around the side and ends in the middle of the back of the thigh. It is present all the time and as long as nothing touches it very hard (like stockings or tight pants) it normally is not painful, the pain is all around the numbness. Very weird I know.

Judy

[Mariaa]

Judy,
Has anyone mentioned Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD)?

My nerve pain was/is deep and gnawing, but wasn't really ever affected by touch, clothing (unless way too tight).

Are you noticing any color change in an extremity or extremities?

I would bring up the possibility of RSD with the doc and have that ruled out only because if you would have this, it would be early stage and possibly you could get better results with treatment.

Of course it could just be good old scar tissue pain.. or whatever else is causing nerve pain.

I'm taking Methadone which practically paralyzes the gut although Neurontin didn't have any adverse GI affects on me. Thankfully the two meds pretty effectively have blocked the nerve pain (knock on wood as I say this)...

Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time with the pain, perhaps a GI consult is in order and/or a prescription for something to work with your gastric system so that you could still manage the Neurontin on a daily basis.. dunno...that's my thought at least on the Neurontin. I too wouldn't want to be in the BR every 10 minutes, however, the nerve pain w/o meds would have me in bed completely. It was pretty horrendous..

Perhaps the doctor will order something else still for the nerve pain. Talk to him/her and see what your options are~