I often use ice rather then heat and it appears to help alot especially at night. I have pain in my calf and not in my foot. Mine goes from left butt down to knee but not directly effecting the knee (kind skips it) and then my back calf is sore and tight. It normally starts higher but if I do not take my medication then it ends up into my calf.
At first I was diagnosed with tendinitis/bursitis too and received injections but they were not in the nerve or piriformis muscle and hurt like hell afterwards and made the pain worse rather then better.
My main concern is want to have more children and not being able to take medication, plus extra weight in pelvic region while pregnant and do not think I would be able to stand the pain. How long does the botox injections give relief for?? NIne months??
At first I was diagnosed with tendinitis/bursitis too and received injections but they were not in the nerve or piriformis muscle and hurt like hell afterwards and made the pain worse rather then better.
My main concern is want to have more children and not being able to take medication, plus extra weight in pelvic region while pregnant and do not think I would be able to stand the pain. How long does the botox injections give relief for?? NIne months??
I also went to a chiro. Huge mistake. I did not have lower back pain with this until he did three manipulations over a 3 visit period. These were violent manipulations and the searing pain after the 2nd and 3rd one told me this guy was nuts. It's taken me nearly 5 weeks to recover from those manipulations and I will never, ever go to one of those guys again.
I have noticed that I may have a slight leg length difference. I think this started with the original injury which was during bowling in early June. I ended up with a sharp pain in the lower corner of my back and ended up in rather severe back spasms. I PT'd my way through those and I think I cam back a bit too fast(I used to workout 4 times a week) and I rushed to get back.
Oh well, when I stand with my feet nearly together, I feel much more pressure on the left leg than the right. I had my wife check last night and, to the best we could in a rather unscientific fashion, she said that, indeed, my left leg appears to be 1/8" to 1/4" longer than the right leg.
So now I need to get this confirmed in a more precise manner. If this is indeed the case, then I can see where this may be leading to stress on the hip joints leading to a possible bursitis. With the bursitis, I am wondering if that has my piriformis muscles irritated. So my thinking is that if I can resolve hte leg discrepancy, then the bursitis may lessen. If the bursitis will lessen, then maybe the piriformis will begin to chill.
I have no idea if this makes physiological sense. I'm an engineer, not a physician. As a result, I am going to ask Dr. Filler about this when I speak to him next week. On Monday, I am going to a podiatrist in an effort to confirm the leg length difference. They say they can do this.
Wouldn't this be bizarre. That the whole thing could be cleared up by a simple injection of steroid into my greater trochanter joints. The other part of my thinking is that I am currently on an oral steroid pack which has provided far more relief than Dr. Filler's injections directly into the piriformis muscles themselves. The oral steroid has not cleared the problem but it has definitely worked better than the injection. Thus the thinking that the oral steroid is alleviating the real problem which is somewhere other than the piriformis muscle directly.
I'll keep everyone up to date on this grand theory. I may be totally full of it but it is the most plausible explanation I have received to date. Most of the doctors and PT's in this area are so ignorant of this syndrome.
I have noticed that I may have a slight leg length difference. I think this started with the original injury which was during bowling in early June. I ended up with a sharp pain in the lower corner of my back and ended up in rather severe back spasms. I PT'd my way through those and I think I cam back a bit too fast(I used to workout 4 times a week) and I rushed to get back.
Oh well, when I stand with my feet nearly together, I feel much more pressure on the left leg than the right. I had my wife check last night and, to the best we could in a rather unscientific fashion, she said that, indeed, my left leg appears to be 1/8" to 1/4" longer than the right leg.
So now I need to get this confirmed in a more precise manner. If this is indeed the case, then I can see where this may be leading to stress on the hip joints leading to a possible bursitis. With the bursitis, I am wondering if that has my piriformis muscles irritated. So my thinking is that if I can resolve hte leg discrepancy, then the bursitis may lessen. If the bursitis will lessen, then maybe the piriformis will begin to chill.
I have no idea if this makes physiological sense. I'm an engineer, not a physician. As a result, I am going to ask Dr. Filler about this when I speak to him next week. On Monday, I am going to a podiatrist in an effort to confirm the leg length difference. They say they can do this.
Wouldn't this be bizarre. That the whole thing could be cleared up by a simple injection of steroid into my greater trochanter joints. The other part of my thinking is that I am currently on an oral steroid pack which has provided far more relief than Dr. Filler's injections directly into the piriformis muscles themselves. The oral steroid has not cleared the problem but it has definitely worked better than the injection. Thus the thinking that the oral steroid is alleviating the real problem which is somewhere other than the piriformis muscle directly.
I'll keep everyone up to date on this grand theory. I may be totally full of it but it is the most plausible explanation I have received to date. Most of the doctors and PT's in this area are so ignorant of this syndrome.
I have a leg length difference, about 1/2 cm...but we don't know if this is because my pelvis is messed up or not. I'm at a loss.
I went to a chiro, too. Yes the Navy keeps one on staff out here. It didn't hurt help, but it didn't hurt too much either. The adjustments were gentle enough and he only did it once a month over several months. He told me that I was pretty darmn straight to begin with so it didn't take much. I have been to good chiros for other stuff and haven't been hurt by any, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.
Never tried prolotherapy, but a Doctor of Osteopathy (doctors with a DO after their name instead of MD) did some trigger point therapy which worked wonders on the painful, tense muscles around the SI joint, but couldn't fix the sciatica from the piriformis syndrome. I'd recommend anyone give a DO a try. They have the training of medical school, but go through additional manipulation training similar to chriopractics but not as violent. That DO gave me my first good nights sleep in months. Then he moved. Go figure. I've also been doing physical therapy for the past year, mostly core muscle building. Though I don't look it, I've got a damn tight core from all the exercises I'm doing. I also do the standing straight leg raises with resistance, but they hurt so bad, that I can't always do them. This injection I had yesterday was the second, with the first being blind.
I'm curious to try an oral steroid pack myself. I wonder if I would get the same results as swlaagie. I would also be willing to try an injection into the trochanter bursa, just to see.
Y'all let us know how it all works out. And I hope today is a low pain day.
Kayti
Never tried prolotherapy, but a Doctor of Osteopathy (doctors with a DO after their name instead of MD) did some trigger point therapy which worked wonders on the painful, tense muscles around the SI joint, but couldn't fix the sciatica from the piriformis syndrome. I'd recommend anyone give a DO a try. They have the training of medical school, but go through additional manipulation training similar to chriopractics but not as violent. That DO gave me my first good nights sleep in months. Then he moved. Go figure. I've also been doing physical therapy for the past year, mostly core muscle building. Though I don't look it, I've got a damn tight core from all the exercises I'm doing. I also do the standing straight leg raises with resistance, but they hurt so bad, that I can't always do them. This injection I had yesterday was the second, with the first being blind.
I'm curious to try an oral steroid pack myself. I wonder if I would get the same results as swlaagie. I would also be willing to try an injection into the trochanter bursa, just to see.
Y'all let us know how it all works out. And I hope today is a low pain day.
Kayti
Finished my oral steroid pack. The other thing I did was put Therma-Care heat pads on each hip joint.
Result was enormous relief this weekend. Far more so than the direct steroid injections to the piriformis by Dr. Filler.
I know that my symptom is piriformis. I'm growing more convinced that hip bursitis is the cause of the piriformis being angry.
I will be talking to Dr. Filler this Wednesday. I will ask him about why my little experiement worked so well and let you folks know.
I truly believe I'm on to something with this and I may try hip joint injections before the more radical surgery step.
Does this make any sense to someone more qualified than myself?
Result was enormous relief this weekend. Far more so than the direct steroid injections to the piriformis by Dr. Filler.
I know that my symptom is piriformis. I'm growing more convinced that hip bursitis is the cause of the piriformis being angry.
I will be talking to Dr. Filler this Wednesday. I will ask him about why my little experiement worked so well and let you folks know.
I truly believe I'm on to something with this and I may try hip joint injections before the more radical surgery step.
Does this make any sense to someone more qualified than myself?
Dr. Filler didn't seem as concerned about doing both sides at once for me. In fact, he basically made the decision for me, due to the distance I would have to travel to have the second side done later.
I live in Honduras and the flight from LA to Miami was five and a half hours, then from Miami to Honduras another 2 hours. In truth, I was in much less pain on the way home than I was getting there. Fortunately the flights were all smooth, so I had ample opportunity to walk the aisle. Also, the seat next to me was empty which allowed me to scoot around more to find a comfortable position. I was advised to switch the pressure from side to side as much as possible, much like I had already been doing to avoid the pain.
Sleeping has not been a problem....it feels soooooo good to lie down at night and be able to sleep without the last thing I think about being pain. And then to wake up in the morning without pain is another joy!
I have not experienced significant pain on either side since the surgery, and have no regrets whatsoever at having done both sides at once. I think the bit longer recovery time is worth it, as opposed to going through the whole thing twice.
Donna
I live in Honduras and the flight from LA to Miami was five and a half hours, then from Miami to Honduras another 2 hours. In truth, I was in much less pain on the way home than I was getting there. Fortunately the flights were all smooth, so I had ample opportunity to walk the aisle. Also, the seat next to me was empty which allowed me to scoot around more to find a comfortable position. I was advised to switch the pressure from side to side as much as possible, much like I had already been doing to avoid the pain.
Sleeping has not been a problem....it feels soooooo good to lie down at night and be able to sleep without the last thing I think about being pain. And then to wake up in the morning without pain is another joy!
I have not experienced significant pain on either side since the surgery, and have no regrets whatsoever at having done both sides at once. I think the bit longer recovery time is worth it, as opposed to going through the whole thing twice.
Donna
Thanks Donna.
Going to have both sides done in early December(I rescheduled). I'm so glad you are doing well. Did you ever have a chance to talk to other Filler patients before your procedure? I am going to ask them if I can to those willing to talk.
Please, please, please keep everyone up to date on your progress. I promise to do the same.
Oral steroid pack has worn off and I'm hurting tonight. I've spent 5 months fighting this conservatively and I'm done. I want my life back. It was a wonderful active life before and I miss it so much. Thank God I have the best wife in the whole world. She has been so supportive and I couldn't imagine having gone through this without her support and help.
This truly sucks.
Going to have both sides done in early December(I rescheduled). I'm so glad you are doing well. Did you ever have a chance to talk to other Filler patients before your procedure? I am going to ask them if I can to those willing to talk.
Please, please, please keep everyone up to date on your progress. I promise to do the same.
Oral steroid pack has worn off and I'm hurting tonight. I've spent 5 months fighting this conservatively and I'm done. I want my life back. It was a wonderful active life before and I miss it so much. Thank God I have the best wife in the whole world. She has been so supportive and I couldn't imagine having gone through this without her support and help.
This truly sucks.
Rob, Elliot????
You guys still out there. Would love to hear about your progress from surgery with Dr. Filler. Donna's seems to have gone very well. Spoke with Dr. Filler last night, mine is scheduled for December 4th.
I've got to make a decision to do both legs or just the worse one(by a long shot, it's my left leg). I feel some disocmofrt in the right but not nearly as much as the left. I'm so tempted to do just the left.
Like I said, I would love to hear from others who have had the procedure through Dr. Filler. Donna, please keep us up to date and I promise to do the same.
You guys still out there. Would love to hear about your progress from surgery with Dr. Filler. Donna's seems to have gone very well. Spoke with Dr. Filler last night, mine is scheduled for December 4th.
I've got to make a decision to do both legs or just the worse one(by a long shot, it's my left leg). I feel some disocmofrt in the right but not nearly as much as the left. I'm so tempted to do just the left.
Like I said, I would love to hear from others who have had the procedure through Dr. Filler. Donna, please keep us up to date and I promise to do the same.
Three weeks since surgery and I'm still doing very well. I had my 2 week post op phone appointment with Dr. Filler's nurse practioner on Monday and she encouraged me to start dropping pain medications and being a slow walking program.."gentle walking about 30 minutes a day", with no strenous exercise for about 3 months.
Yesterday I experienced more pain than I had at any time since surgery, but I suppose "bad" days are to be expected in the midst of the good days. This pain, however was not the burning nerve pain from earlier, but a muscle ache and even still, better than my "good" pre surgery days! I think I should've gone more slowly in eliminating the pain meds, and not try to drop two kinds at once. Also, I did quite a bit of activity, including chasing cows out of a very uneven pasture. So I think those things combined caused the increased pain. For the most part, I feel so good its hard to remind myself that I still am in the recovery process and need to be taking things slowly and ease back into normal life.
I got the insurance copy of the bill for the pre-op physical. With the x-rays, blood work, EKG that part alone came to over $600! Thankfully, my part, after insurance, will be much less. I'll keep you advised as other parts of the total bill come in.
I too amy very thankful for a supportive spouse. No way could I have gone through this without my very wonderful and loving husband.
People around us are saying that its like we are both new people, with even a different look on our faces! The surgery was certainly worth getting my life back!
I hope each of you can find the pain relief that I have found, rather it be through surgery or any of the more conservative methods. Its worth it.
Donna
Yesterday I experienced more pain than I had at any time since surgery, but I suppose "bad" days are to be expected in the midst of the good days. This pain, however was not the burning nerve pain from earlier, but a muscle ache and even still, better than my "good" pre surgery days! I think I should've gone more slowly in eliminating the pain meds, and not try to drop two kinds at once. Also, I did quite a bit of activity, including chasing cows out of a very uneven pasture. So I think those things combined caused the increased pain. For the most part, I feel so good its hard to remind myself that I still am in the recovery process and need to be taking things slowly and ease back into normal life.
I got the insurance copy of the bill for the pre-op physical. With the x-rays, blood work, EKG that part alone came to over $600! Thankfully, my part, after insurance, will be much less. I'll keep you advised as other parts of the total bill come in.
I too amy very thankful for a supportive spouse. No way could I have gone through this without my very wonderful and loving husband.
People around us are saying that its like we are both new people, with even a different look on our faces! The surgery was certainly worth getting my life back!
I hope each of you can find the pain relief that I have found, rather it be through surgery or any of the more conservative methods. Its worth it.
Donna
Fantastic Donna. Go slow! Please keep us informed as time goes on for the next few weeks. There are a lot of people(maybe just me) that need feedback from your experience just to provide hope.
Who do I contact at Dr. FIller's office to discuss my situation? Are they good about speaking over the phone with you about your condition? What is the best way to make contact with them?
Julie
Julie
I didn't really discuss my condition with them over the phone, since I was already pretty sure that surgery was the answer. So I can't help you there. Maybe others can answer that question better than I can.
Donna
PS Its almost 11 am, and I've not taken anything for pain at all today! And I'm still without pain!!
Donna
PS Its almost 11 am, and I've not taken anything for pain at all today! And I'm still without pain!!
Thanks. I keep calling and getting the voice mail.
What were the diagnostic procedures you went thorugh to determine that it was PS? Botox or steroid into the muscles? Just looking for the steps I need to take to get some sort of diagnosis.
-Julie
What were the diagnostic procedures you went thorugh to determine that it was PS? Botox or steroid into the muscles? Just looking for the steps I need to take to get some sort of diagnosis.
-Julie
Their office opens at 9:00 am PCT. You will get the recording until then. You should be able to get through staring right now.
Good luck.
Donna, fantastic!!!!!!
For some reason, I seem to be improving as well. Over the last few days, I've backed off the Ultram to a point that I haven't taken one today. I've been walking, sitting on the heat pad, and putting Therma-Care heat pads on my hip joints. I've also started stretching my hamstrings again over the last few days. I've got several weeks to continue this regimen and if the improvement continues, even if I'm not completely done with the symptoms, I'm going to elect to defer the surgery.
I hope it does because as I was typing, my insurance company BC/BS, just denied my request to have Dr. Filler put into the system as a "in-network" doctor. It's so frustrating working with insurance companies. You pay 100's each month, never file a claim for years and years, and then when you have a circumstance where one doctor is out of their network but provides a specialized treatment, they can't seem to recognize the advantages. I guess they think I hsould have a far more invasive and questionable procedure done. I absolutely loathe insurance companies.
Grrrr!
Good luck.
Donna, fantastic!!!!!!
For some reason, I seem to be improving as well. Over the last few days, I've backed off the Ultram to a point that I haven't taken one today. I've been walking, sitting on the heat pad, and putting Therma-Care heat pads on my hip joints. I've also started stretching my hamstrings again over the last few days. I've got several weeks to continue this regimen and if the improvement continues, even if I'm not completely done with the symptoms, I'm going to elect to defer the surgery.
I hope it does because as I was typing, my insurance company BC/BS, just denied my request to have Dr. Filler put into the system as a "in-network" doctor. It's so frustrating working with insurance companies. You pay 100's each month, never file a claim for years and years, and then when you have a circumstance where one doctor is out of their network but provides a specialized treatment, they can't seem to recognize the advantages. I guess they think I hsould have a far more invasive and questionable procedure done. I absolutely loathe insurance companies.
Grrrr!
The most convincing diagnostic proceducre was the floroscopic guided steriod injections which relieved pain for a while, as well as CT guided botox injection. The CT also revealed hypertrophy of the Piriformis muscle as well as a split muscle with the sciatic nerve going in the middle of it.
Dr Filler's words "given her very impressive response to piriformis injections, I believe there is a clear indication for surgery.....i would not insist on the MRneruography given the extensive evaluations, workups, and good response to cross-sectional, image guided piriformis injections she has had"
I did go ahead with the MRN, just to be on the safer side.
Hope t his helps. And I hope you get through on the phone. You could maybe try emailing too.
Donna
Dr Filler's words "given her very impressive response to piriformis injections, I believe there is a clear indication for surgery.....i would not insist on the MRneruography given the extensive evaluations, workups, and good response to cross-sectional, image guided piriformis injections she has had"
I did go ahead with the MRN, just to be on the safer side.
Hope t his helps. And I hope you get through on the phone. You could maybe try emailing too.
Donna