Piriformis release surgery, discussion and information

Hey Julie....You mentioned in your last post that you haven't had the diagnostic injection yet. As you know, I saw Dr. Filler last week and he is going to do the diagnostic injection Monday. Is there any way you could find a doctor in your area willing to do the injection before you come out here? It seems like that's Dr Filler's plan, to have the neurography then the injection. He does the injection regardless of what the neurography shows so I don't think the neurography needs to come first. Just thought that might give you more evidence before you come out. Now, I'm not a doctor so this idea might be crazy, just trying to think of anything that might be helpful to you. I know you are miserable.

Leesa

Does anyone know the answer to this: I'm currently seeing Dr. Filler for possible PS. He sent me for a neurography (last week) and also scheduled a diagnostic injection for Monday, the same day I hope to get the results of the neurography. I told him I really didn't want the injection (because I'm trying to cut down on the expense of all of this) but he said it's necessary as a diagnostic tool. I'm just wondering why I would need an injection to help diagnose if the neurography is suppose to confirm or rules out PS? Does that mean the neurography might not be enough to diagnose? I should have asked him this but of course I didn't think to ask this when I saw him. Just seems like the neuography would be enough evidence. Thanks.

I HAVE BEEN TO DR. FILLER 2 TIMES, ONCE FOR MRN & INJECTIONS , THEN ONCE FOR SURGERY. ABOUT EVERY PAIN SOMEONE MENTIONED,I HAVE HAD, PLUS MORE. DR. FILLER NEVER TOLD ME HE COULD FIX ME, HE SAID HE COULD MAKE IT BETTER, HE SAID , IT IS NERVES, YOU DON'T KNOW & NOBODY KNOWS. TIME WILL TELL. IF YOU HAVE PS , DR FILLER IS YOUR BEST OPTION BY FAR. I RESEARCHED MY OPTIONS AS MUCH AS I COULD & DR FILLER IS THE BEST BET. MY DOCTORS ALL OF THEM WERE JUST LIKE YOUR DOCTORS ( FULL OF c**p ) THEY TREAT YOU FOR WHAT THEY DO & WHAT INSURANCE PAYS THEM FOR, PS IS ONLY CLINICALLY PROVEN , NOT MEDICALLY PROVEN,SO INSURANCE HAS A LOOPHOLE NOT TO PAY. SO DOCTORS DON'T TREAT OR KNOW ABOUT IT. MY INSURANCE APPROVED DR. FILLER BEFORE TREATMENT,BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO PAY THEY SCREWED ME, THEY TRIED EVERYWAY THEY COULD NOT TO PAY A BILL. MY INSURANCE IS ANTHEM BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD, WITH A PPO, MEANING I CAN GO OUT OF NETWORK. IT DON'T MATTER IF THEY CAN SCREW YOU THEY WILL. ALL OF YOU QUESTIONING DR FILLER OVER WILL HE FIX YOUR PROBLEM FOR SURE AND WANT TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO HE HAS FIXED FOR SURE, I KNOW WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS, BECAUSE IT IS A LOT OF MONEY , AND YOU ALREADY GOT ALL THE BULL c**p YOU WANT FOR THE DOCTORS YOU BEEN TO. AND THE LONGER YOU HURT , THE MORE YOU QUESTION THE DOCTORS YOU SEE. I WOULD SAY GO TO DR. FILLER GET THE EXAM , MRN . LET HIM DECIDE IF THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM, THEN YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT IT IS THIS AREA. THIS IS STILL A LOT LESS MONEY & TIME THAN A DOCTOR AT HOME GAMBLING THAT IT IS SOMETHING ELSE & GIVING YOU A UNNEEDED SURGERY, THAT ONLY GIVES YOU SOMETHING ELSE TO DEAL WITH.
MY SURGERY WAS SEPT. 20TH , SOMETHINGS ARE BETTER, SOME ARE NOT. SOMETIMES I DO TO MUCH,BECAUSE IT FEELS BETTER, THEN IT HURT MORE. THAT IS WHY I DON'T TAKE THE PAIN KILLERS, THEY MAKE IT FEEL BETTER , THEM YOU DO TO MUCH , THEN YOU FEEL WORST FOR A FEW DAYS. IF YOU LET IT HURT, YOU WILL BE AWARE OF EVERY LITTLE THING YOU DO. THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST WAY FOR EVERYBODY, BUT I THINK IT IS FOR ME. AS FAR AS THE BILL, MY SURGERY BILL WAS---CEDARS-SINAI---1 DAY STAY--$70,380.96
DR FILLER---$10,050.00 -----ANESTHESIA---$2,232.00
TRAVEL----$3,200.00 ON THESE BILLS I DONT KNOW WHAT THE INSURANCE WILL PAY, BUT CEDARS-SINAI IS IN NETWORK.
FIRST TRIP WAS---- $19,000.00 & INSURANCE PAID LESS THAN $5,000.00
THE BOTTOM LINE IS DR FILLER IS YOUR BEST BET , BY FAR HE IS THE BEST IN THIS AREA,
I AM NOT FIXED YET , DR FILLER SAID IT CAN TAKE 3 - 12 MONTHS FOR THE NERVES TO HEAL & WORK AS GOOD AS THEY ARE GOING TO WORK WHATEVER THAT WILL BE. SO I WILL WAIT MY TIME & HOPE IT COMES OUT AS GOOD AS POSSIBLE. SO DON'T THINK YOU GO THERE AND COME OUT FIXED THAT DAY, IT WILL TAKE TIME, 3-12 MONTHS IS WAY LESS THAN FOR LIFE. DR FILLER IS A GOOD PERSON , HE CARES ABOUT FIXING YOU, YOU WILL SEE WHAT I AM SAYING IF YOU GO TO HIM. I HAVE DR. APPOINTMENTS BY PHONE, SOMETIMES IT MIGHT BE 11 PM AT NIGHT WHEN DR FILLER CALLS ME, BECAUSE HE GOES OVERTIME WITH PEOPLE ON THE PHONE WITH THERE APPOINTMENT, HE LETS THEM TALK, TELL HIM THERE PROBLEMS, DON'T CUT THEM SHORT, TELL ME IF ANY OF OUR DOCTORS WOULD DO THAT! I WILL ANSWER THAT ( NO WAY IN HELL ) I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTION SOMEONE HAS JUST ASK.
I HOPE THIS HELPS SOME OF YOU.

Thank you JLB, that is very informative. I, and I'm sure a lot of others will be grateful for your post. I wish you a speedy and full recovery, even if it takes 12 months! I have a few questions. Did the MRN confirm PS or was it the MRN results AND your reaction to the injection? How long after your injection did you have surgery? Did the injection give you any relief, if so for how long? How long after surgery were you able to start working (assuming you do) or simple things like driving? Sorry for all the questions but I appreciate you being willing to answer them.

Leesa

THE WAY I UNDERSTAND IT IS , THE MRN SHOWS THE DAMAGED NERVE, THE INJECTIONS CONFIRM THE DAMAGED NERVE & THE INJECTIONS ARE THERIPUTICAL ( DON'T KNOW IF I SPELLED THAT RIGHT, NOT A GOOD SPELLER ) AND THERE IS A 15% CHANCE THAT THE INJECTIONS COULD CURE THE PROBLEM. THE INJECTIONS GAVE ME RELIEF FOR 2-3 WEEK. ABOUT 50% RELIEF. I GOT SURGERY 4 MONTHS AFTER INJECTIONS. ABOUT 2 MONTHS AFTER SURGERY I WENT BACK TO WORK, (I OPERATE HEAVY EQUIPMENT) SO THAT MEANS I SET OF ROUGH RIDING TRACTOR, I ONLY RUN THEN ABOUT 4-5 HOURS A DAY, AND ABOUT EVERY 45 MINUTES I GET OFF FOR A WHILE. I AM PRETTY SORE AT THE END OF THE DAY, ON DAYS I DON'T WORK IFEEL ALOT BETTER. I COULD DRIVE A VEHICLE AFTER ABOUT 3 WEEKS, I SET ON A SOFT PILLOW. HOPE THIS HELPS ANYTHING ELSE JUST ASK

That does help, thanks very much. A couple more: How many injections did you have and how far apart were they? Was it "suggested" that you have more than one injection or is it manditory to have more than one? That should cover it, I'm just trying to figure out if I'll ever get my life back and how long I might have to wait for surgery if that's the way it's going to go. Take care.

I GOT 3 INJECTIONS AT 1 TIME , THEN I HAD TO KEEP A LOG OF HOW IT RESPONDED EACH DAY FOR 2 WEEKS, THEN I HAD A DR. VISIT BY PHONE AFTER 2 WEEKS, THEY TOLD ME THEN THAT I NEEDED SURGERY, THAT INJECTION WAS NOT GOING TO WORK. HE WILL NOT MAKE YOU GET A SECOND SET OF INJECTIONS, HE SAYS TRY INJECTIONS FIRST, & SURGERY LAST. BUT HE KNOW YOUR FROM OUT OF STATE, AND HAS YOU DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. I HAD NERVE DAMAGE IN 3 AREAS, MY SURGERY TOOK 7-8 HOURS INSTEAD OF 2-3 HOURS, MY COULD BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN YOURS. DONT GIVE UP ON THE INJECTIONS YET, 15-20% OF PEOPLE THAT GET INJECTIONS GET UP RIGHT THEN, AND ARE FIXED, YOU COULD BE ONE OF THEM, YOU DON'T KNOW, I WOULD DO WHATEVER DR FILLER SAID. IF THE INJECTION DON'T WORK, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP, HE WILL MAKE YOU BETTER.
TIME WILL GO FASTER THAN YOU THINK. THINK POSITIVE

Great, I WILL think positive. Again, I appreciate your time. Please keep us posted on your recovery. Don't over do it!!

My questions: how has your pain decreased? do you feel like you are getting your life back? do you feel like you are finally getting well? how has your recovery been?

thank you so, so, so, so much for your post and all of your information.

take care,
julie

JLB,

One more question...how bad had your quality of life become before surgery, how has it improved?

take care,
julie

BEFORE SURGERY I RARELY WORKED, BUT I RUN HEAVY EQUIPMENT, AND HAVE TO SIT ALL DAY & NEVER WENT TO A PUBLIC PLACE,
NOW IM STARTING TO WORK SOME. I WOULD SAY THE PAIN IS ABOUT 50% REDUCED. ONE MORE THING FOR ALL YOU MEN OUT THERE, A VERY BIG CONTRIBUTOR TO PS FOR ME WAS A WALLET IN MY BACK POCKET, JUST REMOVING THE WALLET REDUCED ALOT OF PAIN WITHIN DAYS.

What were your symptoms before surgery? Which ones have resolved/gotten better from the surgery. Congrats on getting to go back to work. That's something I want back so bad.

I am one of the ones who is really considering going out there, hence my endless questioning.

take care,
Julie

Julie,

Take someone with you if you can. The injections are not painful. Correction: Mine were not painful. However, you will be numb in one place or another so a driver/helper could be important.

I saw him on a Monday. I had my MRN on a Tuesday. My left leg injection was on Friday. The right leg was on the following Monday. They could have done this much faster but I had been eating too many ibuprofen and they wanted me to get off of them before the injections. If you want yours to go more quickly, do not take ibuprofen or Alleve for a week prior. Also, if you have bilateral pain, he won't do both the same day. Again, his concern is that you will have trouble walking if both legs are done. Not from pain but from being numb.

I think mine started from rehabbing from back spasms. The rehab included side planks and chops and pulls, both of which put enormous pressure on the hips which led to bursitis. I am very aggressive in my rehab. I was a competitive athlete from a very young age through my second year of college and I was used to rehab and I was typically aggressive. This time, it bit me in the butt(no pun intended).

Have you tried the heat wraps and patches yet? I'm convinced you will find a great deal of relief. You won't be fixed but the pain drops several(3-4) levels.

Hope that helps.

Hi> I haven't been on this site for awhile but am glad for Donna (Hermana Ana) who got the surgery and is much better. Carrie, I was turned down by OHIP to go see Dr. Filler. The reasons were ridiculous because one thing they said was that his prodedure was experimental in spite of his hugh study which followed all the guidelines for good scientific research.

I am thinking of goinganyway but the cost is so high. Hermanna Ana (Donna) did you get your final hospital bill? You have probably signed since you are better.

Those interested in leg length discrepancy, get a book called Overcome Neck and Back Pain by Kit Laughlin. He talks about piriformis and leg length discrepancy. He will also answer emails.

I question my diagnosis sometimes too. I had a very hard fall on my right buttock coming down my steps and literally saw stars and couldn't get up for 10 minutes and was very badly bruised. Pain started after that after playing tennis, gardening and working out. From there it just got worse and worse and I have had it since 1998. I have tried everything!!! My pain is mainly a stabbing pain in kthe butt. I also get pain at the attachments, the sacrum and greater trochanter. The pain radiates down the outside of the leg (I.T. band very tight) then nerve pain in the shin , down into the foot and toes. The problem is that I also have a problem at L4-5 which could cause the same pain pattern. The pain down the leg is a very tight feeling with burning.

I have had botox injections (blind) and sometimes they help and sometimes they are less effective. He sometimes uses the botox to go into other muscles and therefore less into the piriformis. I think that is not as effrective.

I am thinking of going to Dr. Filler to get the diagnosis confirmed and then thinking about the surgery. One problem is that I have lots of pain just from being injected. It takes a couple of weeks to settle down

I had prolotherapy for the S.I. joint which was supposedly loose. Mainly I remember it was painful for as long as they were doing it.

Well, swlaaggie keep us posted about your contact with Dr. Filler.

I may think of going after Christmas.

Shirley

Thanks JLB, I'll check it out. How are you doing by the way?