Piriformis release surgery, discussion and information

I had no success with Piraformis release surgery. I have a Dr's that told me to have the surgery. I then went to another Dr who said if you have had the Piraformis release surgery you can't do it again. The Piraformis has all ready been released. Drs I don't think they know what they are doing. Everyone tells you something different
Hell I could be a Dr

Menzie:

I didn t have much relief from the injection either and Dr. Filler said my muscle was in spasm too. It is a tough decision to have surgery but for me, I felt like it was my only option since I had tried so many different things that did not work. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not it worked but tomorrow will mark one month. I have up and down days but feel like overall it is heading towards getting better.

The hardest thing for me (and sounds like for you too) was wondering if I was making and ultimately made the right decision. But, like I said, I felt it was my only choice. You and your daughter have been through so much and I agree with Shirley, sounds like your choices are limited.

I ll keep you both in my thoughts. Glad you made a surgery date.

David:

Welcome back, so glad to hear your trip was great and that pain was minimal. Thanks to you, Donna and Hawaiigirl for reiterating that I should expect up and down days. Today was better than the last three so sounds like I m progressing as expected.

Leesa

David, I meant to say welcome home. I was very impressed that you were able to walk in the sand. That was one of the worst things for me. I used to spend winters either in Florida or Mexico where I would do lots of walking on the beach and cycling and when this pain started I couldn't do either and it was too hard to go to those places and see everyone doing what I could no longer do.

I was so impressed with your post because it was more on how much fun you had and less on the pain. That is impressive. I am very happpy for you and now just hope to see Leesa seeing the same uphill trend.

Leesa, glad to hear you are a little better. Are you starting back to work? Are you getting out to do errands? How do you handle grocery shopping as those bags can be heavy. I dread the no lifting for awhile because of my little granddaughter who is 11 months old and probably weighs about 15 lbs and I have some trouble wiht liftig her now but would hate not to be able to lift her for awhile. I babysit her a couple times a week and would miss that so, so much.

Bye for now.

Shirley

Menzie,

My injections by Filler led to minimal improvement as well. About 1 day on the left leg and almost nothing on the right leg.

No doubt a very tough decision but, and this sounds far more stern than I mean it, any action beats the status quo for your daughter. I know there are many considerations, finances being a primary factor, but I have not read where anyone became worse from the surgery in the long term. Given that very few, if any, have become worse due to the surgery and considering that you have tried about every other course of action, I would strongly consider having the surgery if you can possibly afford it either from Filler or Barbaro. Your only other course of action is to do nothing and that is currently causing you and your daughter a great deal of heartache.

Again, the above sounds far more stern and course than I intend it to be. It was written with a hug and complete understanding. I can say that because the above is EXACTLY the logic and basis that I used to arrive at my decision to have the surgery. In other words, I had the EXACT same discussion with myself in the mirror and those were nearly the EXACT words that I used on myself.

Hope that helps some. Please tell your daughter we are thinking of her.

David

Shirley:

I m planning on taking assignments beginning this coming Monday the 3rd. Very few at first to test the waters. I ve been driving more and I am doing short errands here and there and as far as groceries, I live alone so I don t buy too much at once which makes for lighter bags!! I m still not lifting anything over 5 lbs. I m not sure how long that restriction is but I m sticking to it for now. You won t be able to lift your granddaughter for a while but you can lover her all the same :)

Hope you have all of your plans set for next week.

Leesa

Some hips surgeons preform this surgery but I am in my 5th yr of pain after a L-5 lumbar for nothing & 16 doctors. I had ti research & then diagnosi my own problem. I found a tendon release surgeon who's never preformed this surgery at washington university of medicine. Keep digging. U will find someone. Although I'm not happy I'm his first surgery like this.

Hello Menzie and everyone,

For what it is worth, why not a second opinion? I realize it will take additional time, but the "carrot" we are all reaching for is to heal ourselves, not to find someone who will perform surgery, (I hope that doesn't sound too callous).

Prior to the diagnostic tests I was told by Dr. Barbaro that I had all the classic symptoms of ps and he would be able to perform surgery and correct the problem. Then following the MRN, muscle injection and sciatic notch injection he changed is opinion to say that surgery could be less than 50% beneficial. He suggested that the problem could possibly be in the muscles themselves.

I've endured 3 trigger point therapy sessions....they are gruelling, but the theory makes sense. The therapist says because of nerve damage the muscles are not getting adequate blood supply, are in constant spasm and then it's an endless cycle. He really man-handles the gluteal muscles, and stretches things I didn't know I had! And if it works, how much better than surgery!!

I was also told by a pt that the more fatigued muscles are the less they spasm....I've been hunting for over 2 years for a fix-all, just knowing that there has to be something "to be fixed". Well, maybe in the waiting process over all that time for the next doctors appt. or scan that would cure me, things worsened and muscles went more dormant......who knows, maybe because it's where I am now it's what I think, that wouldn't be anything new......ugh!

Menzie, I feel for you, your daughter and all your family. It is such a helpless feeling to become shut-down due to pain, it would have been something I never would have believed for myself.....I earnestly pray the right direction for you will become more clear. Don't loose hope!

Sadie

Menzie,

I forgot to say that my neurosurgeon has pushed for a spinal stimulator for over a year for me, if this trigger point therapy doesn't work, that's what I will do. They actually sound pretty benign, if it works and takes the pain away, no meds and it can be removed if not needed anymore. Maybe they are just the thing to allow the body heal itself in time and without all the side effects of meds. I was also informed last week by the neurosurgeon that prolonged use of narcotics causes osteoporosis, this I did not know.....another "kick in the butt" to get off the oxy I take.....ugh again!

Sadie

Sadie,

I never heard that about fatigued muscles being less prone to spasm. In fact, my experience is that the converse is true. During my athletic career, I never had any muscle spasms while they were fresh. It was only when they were totally fatigued that I cramped or had involuntary spasmodic twitching.

Not arguing, just find the comment interesting. I wish you could have your PT elaborate.

David

Sadie -"prolonged use of narcotics causes osteoporosis"???????

That's news to me. If you have a chance, please ask your doctor where I can read about that. I have been searching the web and haven't found anything that supports that. Even looked up drug induced diseases. Steroids & osteoporosis, yes, but I haven't found anything about narcotics & osteoporosis.

If the "prolonged use of narcotics causes osteoporosis", I would like to read more about it. Really! But since I haven't found anything on it, it just sounds like a scare tactic to me.

Does anyone else have information on this? Thanks, Mary

OK, please don't shoot the messenger.....

I will ask my pt to elaborate..

My neurosurgeon just told my husband and I at my appt. last week, that he'd recently did a spinal fusion on a pt. in her 50's who had an episode of chronic pain earlier in her life, was on long term, heavy doses of narctic drugs and her osteoporosis was a result of them. In our opinions he is a very straight shooter and wouldn't use a scare tactic. He did include in the conversation how amazed he is that when docs prescribe the meds they do not inform the patient of this fact. I guess take this where ever and how ever, just passing on the info. we received.

Sadie

Thanks Sadie, for the info. I'm not gonna shoot you! I'm more of the hugging type. <grin>

I understand wanting to be off the meds. Whether it be my bones, intestines, bladder, brain or even eyelashes that are affected. The meds are rough but necessary sometimes when the pain gets to be overwhelming. I think it was Leesa who told me once that no one should have to suffer.

On the other hand, when I start feeling really down, guilty, ashamed or even angry that I have to take pain meds in order to be comfortable someone once told me to try and be thankful that there ARE meds out there that can help control the pain. Think of what it would be like if we didn't have anything for pain relief. So, I try to keep that in mind when I feel like c**p over about the meds.

I am glad that you are giving TP therapy a go. For some, it truly makes a world of difference and for others it provides some symptom relief which is also great. We all have to do what we think is best and trust the doctors and therapist that we see. From what is sounds like, you have a great NS who you really trust. That is so important and I am glad you have him on your side.

Have you gotten pretty sore from the TP therapy? I know for me after anyone works on my butt I am sore for a few days. How often are you going?

Take care, many hugs,
Julie

PS--it's funny, when I read TP therapy is sounds like toilet paper therapy! I am, of course, referring to Trigger Point therapy. :D

I have been reading this for about 18 months and decided to tell my story.

I got a type of PS (actually deep pelvic syndrome) and finally was able to beat it without surgery or painkillers. I followed a path that many may not want to follow...but I had no choice. Because of kidney damage, I can't take painkillers, they would literally kill me. Surgery of any kind is extremely dangerous.

I had deep butt pain for 20 years. I'm a hiker so always just chalked it up to wear and tear. I could not sit at all for 5 years. Not nerve pain in the beginning (that came later) just dull ache made worse by sitting or walking up hills. Flat walking ok.

I have now learned that it was a damaged hamstring tendon (proximal hamstring tendonitis) which sports docs are beginning to recognize, is very difficult to treat.

Anyway 18 months ago, I was walking up a hill and felt a "twitch" in my deep butt. It was my hamstring tendon tearing, though I didn't know it at the time. Burning pain down leg. Went home, that night, the pain was like torture. I could feel the muscles in my pelvis cramping and twisting, my entire left buttock a giant block of solid iron. For weeks after, every night in bed, torture.

My doctor says: what happened was, the torn hamstring, combined with so many years of pain, was causing all my pelvic muscles to cramp violently. That affects the sciatic nerve.

Finally it died away...then I limped out to the car and sat down...even on a soft cushion, carefully...it still "twanged" again, and then again, for a week, horrifying cramps and pain.

Then again, then again, then again I would do something trivial, like trying to sit on a toilet, even with a big cushion, and it would trigger these cramps.

Then one day, the nerve pain started. My cramping muscles had finally started compressing the sciatica or cluneal nerves, which run under them. The nerve pain was unbelievable. Like having hot lava poured down my leg. Fellow sufferers know. No painkillers allowed, so all I could do was claw the sheets. By this point I was almost fully bedridden, except toilet.

Then I started losing the feeling and the use of my toes, then my foot. My nerve was being crushed and losing function. The doctors did nothing.

The key thing I noticed was, every "episode" of cramping was getting longer, and the trigger for each episode was getting less. I realized that, at the rate it was progressing, I would be in permanent cramping, 24/7. I had to do something or I'd be in permanent agony the rest of my life, and completely lame. Unable to sit in a wheelchair, unable to walk.

I had stopped standing or using the leg at all. Used crutches only to move around. My crutch arms were failing, my hip becoming deformed from standing only on one leg. The doctors told me, my hip muscles and ligaments, even the bone structure, would be permanently twisted by standing on one leg only. They said I should just ignore the pain and use the leg anyway. When I asked them " What exactly am I supposed to do when using my leg causes the nerve to get crushed and I lose all feeling and sensation?" they would just change the subject. My faith in doctors is now gone.

The muscles in my bad leg atrophied so badly I couldn't put any weight on it at all.

What finally stopped this spiral was I got a steroid shot. That, combined with 6 months of total inactivity bed rest, caused my pelvic muscles finally to stop cramping. That was a year ago. No more pain, but I could not walk, my ligaments had tightened up so much that I could barely more my ankle at all, my leg and foot muscles had effectively disappeared.

It took another 6 months of slow daily strengthening to be able to use that leg with crutches. Then another 6 months to slowly get to using a cane instead of a crutch. At the same time, I identified the hamstring tendons as the source of my problems, and after months of research, found a few physical therapists who had developed exercises to reform and restructure the tendon. Still waiting to see if this works.

I now can walk about 200 feet a day with no pain. My pelvic pain is gone, although the deep butt hamstring pain hasn't changed.

The doctor says that 12 months of total physical inactivity has destroyed my cardio vascular system. Even if my leg functioned properly, I could not walk up a hill.

My life is effectively over. Job long gone. But, I'm not in sheet-clawing lava agony every night. I'm thankful for that. I didn't have to get surgery, and thankful for that. I don't know if I'll ever ride a bike or even drive a car again, however.

Anyway, you don't need surgery or drugs, if you are willing to lie in bed for a year and never use the affected leg. That route has terrible dangers though. I am so sorry to hear about everybody's pain; this is such a cruel disease the amount of denial by the medical field is amazing.

Best,

Ben


PS. Dr. Huggable...your syndrome sounds like proximal hamstring tendinosis to me. Could have happened when you got your hip replacement. Very hard to treat although there is a guy in Finland and some therapists who have had success with isometric exercises.

Oh, I hope I have not given the impression that I'm opposed to pain medicaton......I have taken it for two years and am very grateful for the relief it has provided.. My point, for myself, is that I've almost exhausted ALL avenues. And even though I have tried my best to avoid the spinal stimulator, if it comes down to it or forever taking the oxy, for health reasons alone I need to try the stimulator. I would never, never discourage anyone who needs them to withhold pain meds. I am a tough soul, but I can't take the never ending, unrelentless pain. I did try to for quite sometime, but life wasn't worth it.

Hope you understand, Sadie

Gotcha. I didn't at all think you were opposed to pain meds. I was just on my own little rant/pep talk about pain meds. Sometimes I have remind myself that it's okay to take them and my quality of life is SO much better with the meds. I would, however, like to have the PS taken care of so I don't have to be on them anymore. Just wanna be normal, I guess...

Julie