Piriformis release surgery, discussion and information

Scamp, thanks for asking about my D. No phone consult because I am a chicken to schedule it. I do not want to hear that maybe the surgery did not help. :( I will say that her ankle and calve were helped and in those areas she is completly pain free since surgery. She is 13 weeks and 1 day from her surgery.

I keep thinking about the screws and that I wanted them out 7 days post fusion. I did not feel right about them and now that it has been two years they will come out before we do anything else. They say the screw that may be touching a nerve or very close to it SHOULDN'T cause this type of pain. Key word SHOULDN'T. All people are different, as in like pain tolerance, and before I can honor any other options AKA spinal cord implant, the screws have got to go. Post fusion she was great for 3 months. The day all of this started, she used a back pack instead of the rolling one for the first day of her junior year of college. I kept asking her if she used the rolling one or if she wore her regular one. She did not want me upset so for three days into the pain she kept saying no, until I had a dream that was so real, I saw her wearing the back pack and I also in my dream saw her twist her body to take it off. In the hospital, I told her to please not worry, but that I really in the bottom of my heart felt that she wore her back pack. She and her boyfriend at the time, confirmed that she had worn the back pack. I truly have felt since the onset of this problem that part of her pain was due to the screw and her rotation when she put the back pack on and took it off. I could be way off. But I dreamed of the screws again last week right after I started the process for a stim trial.

Not that I think it will or won't help, it's just that the screws have presented themselves to me in my dreams ect.. and until they are out and we truly see if they are irritating a nerve, I won't know. If they are out then we will know if the screws are irratating or it will solidify that "Yes, Menzie has some screws loose." :) I hope you all know that before this all started I was a very grounded and normal person. :D Now, not to sure, but I am holding out some hope, although my jar is almost empty. I hope you all are doing well. You all give me hope for my Daughter's healing. There are several who have been healed and that my fellow Butt Warriors is worth holding onto. I read this site everyday, I just do not have much to note.

I almost forgot. I have my daughter swimming several times a week. In the water you would never know that she had an ache or a pain. She can do anything]in the water and I really mean anything. Laps, rolls, tread water using her legs. Is that odd? Today she swam from 2:45 til 5:30. In pool time she was completely pain free. We joked that she could be mobile if we had an elevator on wheels and we turned it into a water tank. She could bob through the day. Well it is just before 10pm, good night.

just checking in with all my fellow butt warriors, I am now 6 months post op from surgery with Dr. Filler for piriformis syndrome with sciatica. Un fortunately the surgery did not improve my symptoms. I still have sciatica, my butt stills hurts and spasms . I now have a lot of soreness in my hips which I did not have before. I'm hoping it is just that my muscles got so weak from inactivity for about 4 months while trying to recover. I feel stiffer, I try to walk everyday but find I tire easily still. I appreciate all that Dr. Filler tried to do for me but unfortunately for me it has not given me pain relief. I'm certainly not saying to others that the surgery would not be successful for them, it just was not for me. If there is a change in my condition as time goes by I will certainly update.
David, so happy you reaped a benefit, you sound like such a kind caring man, I also hope you continue to improve.
Menzie, I am stunned that your D feels no pain in the pool. Have you told this to any of her doctors? Maybe your screw theory is correct. Maybe on standing it presses on something??
Good luck to Brandon, I so hope this is your answer, I hope you continue to post and let others know how it turns out for you. Knowledge is power.
Julie, where are you? How are you doing??? Its been a couple months since your surgery and not much from you.
Candy, sorry to hear you are still struggling as well, also preacherman.
Take care all of you and GOD BLESS

I guess it's "update" day. Menzie, that's crazy that your D can swim that long with no pain....crazy good. I hope you guys get to the bottom of the screws. We all have a few screws loose.

Shirley: I too hope that you can get the epidural quick. Sure would be nice to pin down whether or not a lot of your pain is from the spine or not. Keep us posted. We won t abandon you, will we warriors???

GOOD LUCK BRANDON.......get on this forum the second you can!!!

Candy: anxious to hear about your appt.

So, I saw Filler Monday and he looked at my MRI and said my herniated disc is significant enough to require surgery. Believe me, not what I wanted to hear but I do want to do whatever I can to get rid of this pain. Last thing I want is another surgery so soon from the last one but I scheduled it for late August after a trip I already have planned to Mexico. Might as well have some enjoyment this year before going under the knife again. I just hope this takes care of it once and for all. Enough already.

Take care everyone.

Leesa

Brandon, I hope you are recovering well. You are not home yet, but I wish you pain free travels.

Leesa, I am glad that you might have found the cause as to what is still causing pain. Will Dr. Filler be the neuro-surgeon that you use?

Our update: This Monday, my D is going to have her hardware and her screws removed. This past Thursday we had an appt. with her regular neurosurgeon and as I have for the last two years, expressed my concerns over the screws. I also explained how I take my D swimming almost everyday for the last week and she is 100% pain free, leg, buttock, back of thigh ect. He said that it makes sense if the back was hurting and the water was relieving pressure, but he said her butt and leg should have still had pain. I told him that for us to consider the implant the screws had to go, I couldn't embrace the implant with the screws there. I would always wonder. I also told him that Dr. Filler said he would remove them but not during our March surgery. He said he would remove the screws. I did not share about my dreams about the screws :D Or that I may have a few loose as well.

Very excited but really trying to keep in mind that we have already tried so many modalities, so if nothing else when the screws are out, I can not think they are there causing an issue. Sometimes things come into alignment, and for unexplainable reasons, I am thinking that the time is coming. I am going to believe that this will help with the pain. I will update when we get back. We are going swimming again. It is the most crazy thing, she can swim, do twirls, tread water and she has no pain for as many hours as she is in the pool. :D We are using a lot of sun screen.
Menzie

Hi Menzie:

yes, Dr. Filler will do the surgery. Good luck to your D with the screw removal. I really hope it makes a difference.

Keep that sunscreen stocked up!

Hope you're doing ok Brandon. Remember, take it slow when you get home.

Leesa

I just read your post regarding Dr. Mortier. Did you travel to Belgium for a consult? Also, have you heard about Dr. Tim Tollestrup in Henderson, NV?

HI ALL :D
Just an update on my latest Dr.(Surgeon) visit..
He basically said...What he operated on was fixed and the nerve/muscle are decompressed???So he has now sent me to "PainMedicine-Anesthesiology"..So I had 2 Dr.s ask lot's of questions/And answers on all my surgeries (Notes from Surgeon) and "Pain Issues" I have..Piraformus STILL Acting up AND all my other general Muscle aches...Possibly "Scar tissue" or other issues...They ordered an MRI and I will have the results HOPEFULLY Wed... :D And they will see Something WRONG with me :D ..In the meantime,they gave me Celebrex And Lyrica for pain..
They also said I MIGHT be a candidate for an epidural OR facet block???Depending on the MRI...Even though I was in some pain that day, I left there feeling GOOD...At least Mentally..Maybe it was there (Bedside manner) or I feel there Might be a "light at the end of the tunnel"???
Brandon>>>Hope all went well with your surgery..Keep us posted.!!!
Menzie>>>Has your D been on any Celebrex or Lyrica??? I have taken it now for 3 days,the first day was a little quiessy,dizzy,groggy feeling,and I called them about that. They said it takes 2-3 days and then you will be fine with it ..And they were right. :D .. and it sure has kept the pain Away almost 80/90%..I feel Almost Normal Again...I was skeptical at first,but it has helped ALOT ,at least for now..Not a cure, but a Hope....
Leesa>>>I too am thinking like you that Maybe it is NOT my PS recovery..Maybe it is a New pain or it might NOT have been the PS at all..And Maybe I had the PS Surgery for nothing?? Who knows..Like we say >>>We are NOT Dr.s, but we DO know our pains..Let me know on your outcome???
And to Everyone else...Keep posting...
And Have a Great Pain Free Day :D
Candy

Regarding ">>I too am thinking like you that Maybe it is NOT my PS recovery..Maybe it is a New pain or it might NOT have been the PS at all..And Maybe I had the PS Surgery for nothing?? Who knows.."

Another possibility is that the PS surgery created a new pain problem. Especially, if you has the entire muscle removed, the biomechanics of the pelvis have been changed. And that imbalance can cause pain elsewhere in the low back/butt.

You might consider getting checked out by PT specializing in Myofascial Release therapy to see if she can do anything for you. To find one go to

Hello, everyone


I had surgery on the 26th and I am currently in Sacremento visiting my mother and sister. According to doctor filler, my piriformis muscle was very large and he thinks that probably caused my pain. I stayed in the hospital overnight and left the next morning. I felt like I was treated well with one exception. They left the catheter in me after surgery and it made moving uncomfortable. Not to mention the discomfort when they took it out. I have had 3 surgeries under general anesthesia and the catheter was never left in me. They did however have a nice device that was hooked up to my IV that dispenced pain medicine at the push of a button.

There is still some soreness from the surgery but I also feel the same pain down my right leg and butt but it is a little different. I am taking the same amount of pain medicine as I was before surgery and I don't feel like the pain is letting up yet. Am I jumping the gun and expecting too much too soon? I sure hope the pain goes away and gets better. What is the normal recovery time for this surgery. Does the sciatic pain go away after a few days or after a few months...? Dr. Filler really wasn't able to give me an answer.

I will post again soon. I hope everyone is getting some relief.

Brandono

Brandon:

Glad you made it through and it's great to hear from you. You are jumping the gun WAY too soon from my experience and following others. I think you should wait for others to reply though considering I now have a new issue that causes similar pain and I have no idea when the new problem came up relative to my recovering from PS surgery. I will say that my leg pain is better but it took several months to get there. If you have the time, maybe take a look at David's (swlaaggie) past posts and follow his recovery. They say it takes nerves a very long time to heal. I was told 3 to 6 months and sometimes even up to a year. Sorry if that s news to you.

Just take it slow, don t overdo it and keep us posted on how you are.

Leesa

Brandon,

Yes, I was surprised by the catheter issue as well. Not pleasant and it was enough unpleasant that the experience is one of the few things I can remember from immediate post surgery.

All is very well here. I'm finding the harder I work in the yard, even despite the discomfort, the stronger and the better I feel a couple of days afterwards. Very odd but it has to be a matter of just getting stronger again. Still walking, still swimming, still stretching, still strengthening. Still have minor down days of course but nothing like in the past. I'm coming up on 7 months in a week and just "celebrated" one year since the original onset of PS. I think one advantage I might have is that I acted very rapidly to the PS and that may have given me a head start in terms of surgery recovery. What a tough road it has been nonetheless. Gruesome is a better term.

Been out of town of business over the last few work days but just checking in. Always thinking of everyone and ALWAYS hoping life is improving for everyone. Keep fighting.

Your friend,

David

P.S. Brandon,

Dr. Filler did not answer because recovery of nerves is not like mending a bone or a cut. These boogers are highly variable. I can tell you I took a very large step change at 4 months and again at 6 months. I expect that I will be 99.5% better at the one year mark but I recognize there are no guarantees. Stay busy and it makes the time go by much faster and stay very confident. Almost like willing yourself to get better. It truly takes that or at least it has for me. You must stay confident and expect to get better.

David

Hi
Is there anyone with piriformis syndrome on this chat line who has had any of the following symptions:

I live in the UK and I started my problems back in 2000 with a bad attach of sciatica over the years this has gone from mainly pain in buttock and leg to intense pins and needles in legs,buttock and feet Pain in hip area up to the scro illiac and a shapr pain in groin. Following lots of different treatments, pills, xrays and consultations they then came up with piriformis syndrome. Currently awaiting appointment for a steriod injection. I understand that if this injection does not help they will consider surgery.

Has anyone had surgery in the UK? Very few doctors here seem to know anything about with Periformis syndrome.

I am a keen golfer, bowler and gardener and recently retired and was looking forward to a pain free life.

Oldtimer,

Sounds like the symptoms of many on here, me included. The fact that the med community in the UK are not very aware of PS is not unusual irregardless of where one calls home.

One of your citizens came to see Dr. Filler last year and you can see his posts near the front of this forum. Over my year on here, I've learned that there are several US physicians that have quite a bit of experience dealing with, and treating for, PS. You can read through the posts to develop a list of physicians.

Welcome to this board. Lots of great people who suffer from this syndrome and many of us have had injections and even surgery. Feel free to ask questions, vent, etc..

One of your best initial actions should be to read through all of the posts on this board. That will probably answer many of your questions and give you some direction and perspective.

David

Brandon: How's it going? Are you taking it easy??!!!

Menzie: How did the screw removal go? Is your D feeling any better since that?

Leesa