Piriformis release surgery, discussion and information

Hi Everyone,


Oldtimer- Feel free to ask questions. A lot of people with piriformis syndrome have the same symptoms as you. Let us know how your injection goes.

David- I will take your advice and be patient, active and as optimistic as possible. You said that you took a very large step of change at 4 months and 6 months. Does that mean you noticed a significant change in your pain at those times or that you started to improve at those times? Thanks for your support. I hope your pain keeps on going away.

Lessa- Lately I have felt very anxious and I just want to go run or do something physically taxing to exhaust myself but I have been able assuage those urges. The biggest difference in pain that I have so far is when I am laying down. I am taking about half the pain medication I took before surgery, however, if I stand up a lot or sit down for a while, my pain increases substantially. Hopefully the pain I get when standing and sitting will abate too. I hope you have an enjoyable summer before you go under the knife again.

Candy- I hope the MRI results confirm your symptoms or at least someone can offer some good advice.

Menzie- Let us know how your D's screw removal surgery went. I hope all is well and that she can get back to a pain free life where she can swim outside of the pool all day long.

Take care,

Brandon

Hi All. Have been away at a cottage on Wolfe Island in the Thousands. Had a massage today and she went too deep in the bbutt(see, I'm even stuttering) just kidding-- really I am so tired I am not thinking clearly. Had a post all thought out but just can't do it tonight so I will jsut say I will get back on tomorrow when my butt isn't so sore.

Welcome Oldtimer, more to say to you later.


So glad to hear from you Brandon and more later. Hang in and don't give up hope.

Promise to get back on tomorrow.

Take care everyone and be kind to your butts, legs and all the things that hurt.

Goodnight.

Shirley

Brandon,

The answer to your question if it was less pain or improvement at 4 and 6 months is a resounding....yes.

Seriously, for some reason, the 4 month and 6 month junctures resulted in a step change reduction in pain and, as a result, step changes in terms of improvement.

The road from surgery to the 4 month point was zero fun. Sure, I had good days but it was a struggle and, at times, I felt like maybe I was never going to seriously improve. These were the times I was mentioning, above, that I literally had to will myself to get better.

Even now, 7 months post surgery, most of my days are really good. Not my old self but plenty good. However, I still have a not so great day or two in a row every once in a while. What I have learned is that the harder I work at getting better(walking, stretching, swimming, working in the yard, etc.), the better I tend to feel.

For those not as far out of surgery, don't get nuts about this though as you can set yourself back in a heartbeat if you over-do it. I speak through experience. I know the drill. You feel a little better so you do not a little more but a whole bunch more. WRONG! Sometimes, less is more. Just build slowly.

Brandon, the point is that between my own good attitude and the support of many on here, I've improved and darn near got my old life back. I'm sorry to say/admit that I don't think I'll ever fully return to my old physical self but I'm close enough to call it good when compared to how I felt this time last year.

Keep asking questions if I didn't answer these to your satisfaction.

Hope everyone else is doing well. Anyone heard from Donna?

David

Hi David. Donna has a really busy summer but said she would check in at some point. Looking forward to hearing from her. Glad you are continuing to improve. Like you said, better than this time last year which is saying a WHOLE LOT!

Leesa

Well, here I am back again.

Menzie, wondering how you D is doing with the screws out. Here's hoping it makes a difference.

David, it is very nice to have you posting more again and don't go away because I will be looking to you and Brandon and Leesa.after my surgery in the fall.

Leesa I just want you to be posting that you are pain free after your surgery. We will all be here to support you through the 2nd one and you will be our butt/back warrior.

Candy, so sorry that you are continuing to have so much pain. Do you know the results of your MRI yet and have they decided on what injection? Is the celebrex and Lyrica still kworking? It sounded like it really helped.

Oldtimer, I know how you feel about just retiring and having this stupid pain set in. The same thing happened to me. I retired and was looking forward to playing more tennis, taking more cycling trips, working out more often and doing lots more traveling. None of that worked out. I am sure you feel cheated. If the injection doesn't work you should consider the surgery. I have had botox injections and they help some but don't last and don't completely help.

Lynne, I can'tremember whether you have ever had an MRI to look at the spine. Filler did a 2nd MRN on your pelvic area didn't he? But have you ever had the spine looked at. You may have told us this. I just don't remember. Just sorry your surgery didn't work out.

I am still very sore since the massage therapist went for my poor old butt. I see my doctor about the epidural tomorrow but if it is goijg to be a long wait then I am going to just go ahead and schedule the surgery for fall hopefully. I just hope I don't end up in the same boat Leesa is having some but not all pain fixed and maybe facin a 2nd surgery at some point.

Will let everyone know when I have scheduled.

Shirley

Shirley,

I keep forgetting you retired then got this pain. THAT really makes me sad. Not that everyone on this board doesn't but it just doesn't seem fair to work your whole life then have pain knock you down. I'm sure that isn't helping by re-pointing it out. Sorry. I feel for you.

You already know I'm here for you and I'm sure although the board has been quite lots of people are out there! Butt/back warrior....that's a good one.

Take it easy, keep us posted on your surgery date or injection.

Leesa

One more thing. Brandon, be very patient. I can remember David's ups and downs in the early months and he needed lots of support. Don't you agree David? One thing I have learned is this recovery does not happen fast and it is not straight up hill. You may have some good days and feel like you can go out and do lots and the next day you will pay a big priice. But it seems to me that David gradually started to have more good than bad days just about the times he spoke of. Just hang in and keep posting. I will be counting on you to helpme through in the fall and you are about 3 months.

Have you gotten your surgery report yet? I would love to hear what it says.

Am tired so take care and keep posting.

Shirley

Thanks Leesa.

Shirley, I'm here as long as people have questions and, yes, Brandon can find a ton of support here. She's right Brandon, be patient and don't expect too much, too soon. It's a wild card, ask anyone who has been through it so expect the best but keep your expectations reasonable. This philosophy will keep you sane and ever hopeful which is very important.

Gotta get some shut-eye folks. What a day and the market dropping another 3 percent did not help my disposition. Question to my California friends. Are there really as many foreclosures out there as is being reported in the financials and press? Between $140 oil(I have a huge conflict of interest on this issue given my line of work) and the housing market, it's pretty tough to make/keep a buck in the market right now. Just curious.

Your friend,

David

David:

As a real estate appraiser in (Southern) California I can pretty much answer your question about the market here. YES. There really are a ton of foreclosures. Of course there are areas that have been hit harder than others and when you get into counties outside of LA, like Riverside and San Bernardino, it gets really, really bad. There are pockets that aren't getting hit as hard in LA in the more desirable areas (Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, etc.) but they too have foreclosures. Just not as many. Not sure if you wanted this much info but there you go! I too have been watching my retirement account go bye-bye day after day after day. Scary stuff.

Leesa

_removed_

Me too, David and Leesa. My brother was V.P. of a bank called SouthTrust which made tons of money for many years and I had a very large holding in it. It was then jbought out by Wachovia and I still had a very large holding---and then these foreclosures and the banksplunged and that stock alone went from $54 per share to $18 and that is about the way my whole portfolio looks andnow I have to think of how I am going to pay Dr. Filler and more important how I will pay Cedars Sinai. HELP!!!! I meet wiht my financial advisor tomorrow and I always joke about him telling me when I have to die because I run out of money. As Leesa and I say---Oh well!!

Shirley

Hi All !! :)
Brandon: Hope your post surgery is going good..Just do NOT try and over do Anything...Take it easy! :) And ONLY what you can..You KNOW your body..
And Menzie..How are you and your D doing? H :) pefully Better!!
As for me , I did get my MRI and then after that I had a Epidural shot...Felt GREAT for about an hour..Then all the "Good Stuff" wears off..Has it worked?? They said it takes 3-5 days to notice..That was on Tues...Then week after next>>>a Facet Block??? The Lyrica and Celebrex seem to be helping abit still..It's all just 1 day at a time..
And as for you others talking about the Stocks,Portfolios etc....YES!! I too feel the pinch...Not a good feeling :( .. Especially also since I have now been off work with this Surgery/recovery/pain almost 12 weeks!!
I do return Monday to work..And Hopefully will be able to do a 40hr week..
Well gonna go!!!
Hope ALL have a PainFree Good Weekend!! :D
Candy

Hi Everyone

Thank you David, Brandon and Shirley for replying.

When I turned up for my injection I presumed it would be carried out in an operating threatre or a least in sterile surroundings with the aid of x ray (this is how I read it was carried out in the US).

To my great surpirise I was taken to a office with a couch, told to undress and lay down and wait for the tecnician. the tecnician then proceeded to tell me that she had never done this injection before and was frightened of doing it as it was near to the sciatic nerve. I declined her offer to try and do it!!!!!

I spoke to the tecnician and she told me she would try and find someone who was willing to do this injection. I am not sure I really want them to look very hard as it seems to me that they do not know anything about this type of injection and the importance of it being done correctly.

I have contacted my own doctor and told what happened and he said that he sure that the hospital would know what they are doing and not to worry.

No wonder the NHS has problems. I will keep you posted!!

I think I need a drink

Cheers

Z :o

OldTimer - I share your discomfort at being injected by a technician who had never done the procedure before. In the US, anesthesiologists or other doctors usually do the injections. But they aren't always done under Xray/CT scan, etc. These "unguided" injections are less likely to help with the pain.

Botox injections into the PS muscle are frequently done unguided. But in this country, more and more, they are guided so they don't paralyze the wrong muscle.


Here is what I found:

"Typically, cortisone injections either gave pain reduction for less than a week or no pain relief at all. If you are going to have a cortisone injection, THE most important one to have is the injection around the sciatic nerve near or in the piriformis muscle. This is the injection used to confirm the PS diagnosis. According to the survey data, it is no more effective at relieving pain than any other cortisone injections. But this is the one that will convince neurologists/anesthesiologists that you have PS. Of the 20 people who had this shot, 10% got pain reduction up to 3 months. The remaining 90% got pain reduction for 1 week or less. In 15% of cases, this injection actually increased pain for a few days.

Computer, MRI & X-ray guided injections vs non-guided injections were compared. Given the general ineffectiveness of cortisone injections for PS, the only case where guidance improved the outcome was the injection around the sciatic nerve near or in the piriformis muscle.

Knowing what they know today, most respondents would NOT have cortisone injections again. The major exception was people who had the super combo injections of steroid, Botox & nerve block given as part of the diagnostic process associated with MR Neurography proceeding piriformis surgery.

Based on respondent s experiences, it can be said the greatest value of cortisone injections is diagnostic rather than as a treatment or for pain reduction."

Oldtimer- Have you tried Active Release Therapy? Some people get excellent results. I know one person who was scheduled for surgery but cancelled because ART worked.


When choosing a practitioner, pick the one with the most coursework, as listed on the site. (like Dr Andrew Martin in London)

Hope this helps, Mary

Hello to all my friends. I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday. Today marks the 12th day since my D had her screws and hardware removed. It was a big surgery as they had to open up her original scar which needed 18 staples the first time. This time it was only 13.

It was hard to get the hardware out, surgery took longer than expected. They did get everything out. When I saw how much stuff they had put into her I about fell over. The 6 screws are huge, 4 are as long as my middle finger. They also have end attachments that are the size of about 8 dimes stacked, kind of like a socket wrench peice. Needless to say, seeing that size of hardware, I was left thinking thank God that stuff is out. How could the screws not be causing some of this pain.

This was a chance, but it may or may not be the solution. But since there was a screw touching a nerve, hopefully this will have some profound change for her. She walked around the block today. Wednesday she had NO butt crack Freddy Kruger pain. That in itself is/was a difference. But the pain was back by Friday. So maybe, as I try to have some faith, this means that things are trying to change inside there and that we have some hope. We will not know anything for sure until about six weeks or even longer. But if nothing else I will be able to accept that the screws were part of the problem or they weren't. But they are out. :D I have not felt good about those things 7 days after they were placed 2 year ago.

I do know that the surgery by Dr. Filler helped my daughter in regards to her ankle and calve muscle pain. I also think that as she took so long to heal and notice any changes that she could still reap benefits still. She is just 3 1/2 months post op from that surgery. Time, I am doing time, but I am hopeful, and try to stay positive which from my past posts, is hard for me. Infront of my D, I am always hopeful, but when I am just me, then it's hard.

My D will be able to swim on the 18th. I am counting the days, as this was the best thing for her. For 3 hours a day she was 100% pain free while she was in the water. Nothing hurt. No leg pain, butt crack pain, nothing. She would do any and everything in the water with no pain. I hope when we get her back in she will be better and better everyday. Healing from the surgery and strengthening all at the same time.

Those who have had surgery, is your scar a smooth dark purple??

As always everyone here gives me hope. The updates from Donna and David and Leesa keep me going, as do all of you. I am hoping the very best to Brandon and any other summer surgical patients. Way to long, it's about 10:30 am and I have to clean my house. Menzie

Mary.. I saw a while back you suggested something like (Myo Release)?
And today about ART.
And was checking out both of their web sites today. I did find what looks like a Highly Trained? one here in Westlake Ohio for ART..I was wondering, Is one type of treatment Better than the other? I just had an epidural Tues. Really do not think it did much If anything..I am thinking with ALL my muscle pain-aches,back/rib-area/shoulders/neck/AND of course BUTT Muscle!!! If Any of this would be beneficial to me??
I have done so many types of therapies,and you see where I am today :?
So>>>Any Insight or testimonials from any one would be helpfull..
Hope you all Enjoy the Warm weekend!! :D
Candy