Piriformis release surgery, discussion and information

Hi Shirley & Leesa and everyone else who's sent good wishes

It sure is a good thing this networking. We can learn such a lot from each other, especially as Shirley and I are going through this together.

I was quite worried reading about not doing stairs, but if you have to take one step at a time. I briefly saw a Physio before being discharged but she was used to dealing with hips, knees, shoulders - the usual stuff on an orthopaedic ward. She said I could do stairs but if the weight bearing got to much then one step at a time. The Registrar told me I could do exactly what I felt like doing - even dancing. Well, yes I did a little moving in the kitchen yesterday but thought better of it after two mins. All I have is tingling down the leg since yesterday which isn't a big deal. The most annoying thing is toiletting when you haven't been given a raiser. I don't feel I was very prepared or advised on discharge but of course it was Saturday and our surgeries are very rare.

Shirley you amaze me! Well done facing your trip home, albeit to receive bad news about the global banking situation. The fat cats should all be in jail. I only have an upstairs loo. How did you manage to get on the floor to play with your grandchildren? You're superwoman! Be careful.

Am standing at the pc so will end now as my 20 mins is about up. Must get moving. Maybe a little walk next? Roll on 2 weeks. Keep in touch Shirley and Leesa.

Canick - I've heard loads about prolo but don't know anyone who's had it. I think the Yahoo group - piriforissyndrome may have some info. It mainly strengthens the tendons. Jo :D :D

Shirley

Sorry omitted to commenting on your question. Yes, I did have a nasty fall on my butt but the pain in the sacral area and mid butt didn't appear until years later. Previously I had a car run straight into my rear - I was stationery at the time and my car was written off as the chassis was twisted. It can take years for any medical problems to develop of course. Then I had fusion at L5/S1. That made it all a lot worse. I wonder if you've ever checked out a website about blanche Dillon.

CaNick. I had prolotherapy into the ligaments of the right sacro-iliac joint but I had it at the same time as I had botox into the piriformis. I don't think it helped but maybe it did. The physiotherapist who checked my S.I. joint said I no longer had instability in the joint. Good luck on your decision. We will keep you informed of our progress. I took a year to ,ake my decision so I know what you are going through.

Shirley

Jo, I have sent you a private message answering your questions but they seem to take time to go out but just wanted you to know I wasn't ignoring you.

Menzie, how goes it?

Brandon, how are you doing now that school has started?

I am still very sore but will remain optimistic. Dr. Filler did a lot of work so I don't think I should expect to start healing right away. I know it will take time so am just hanging in there. I have stayed at home today and done very little except alternate my position, read and watch TV.

Wonder how Candy is doing. She hasn't posted for awhile I don't think. I just can't sit long enough to go through the old post.

Wonder if Leesa is still doing better.

Shirley

Leesa, have been trying to email you and all my emails have bounced back. Don't know what is wrong. I have contacted my provider and they told me there was some glitch in the system that may take time to correct. Will keep trying.Left a message on your cell but will try again later.

Shirley

Good luck on your recoveries Shirley and Jo! Hope you have pain free days soon.

Jo - did you have tingling and pain in your leg before the surgery?

I've made the move from central Texas to Tucson. My symptoms moved right along with me and have been pretty bad lately. I have an appt with a Pain Mgmt Dr next week to start the process all over again. Not really sure whether I should be seeing him or a neurologist to be rescanned. It's a start anyway. Ill see what he has to say.

Has anyone in the group or have you heard of anyone that went to Dr. Filler and he said, nope it's not PS, PS surgery not needed? Just curious. If I get closer to wanting to see him, I might ask for some info from the folks who have seen him about costs, insurance, etc.

Thanks,
Aztec

Thanks for your good wishes. Pain's not been that bad today but have started taking 50mg Tramadol together with Paracetamol. Seems to do the trick. Managed to walk around the block 3 times and to post a letter. WOW!

To answer your question about symptoms: Yes, tingling, burning, along the lateral side of thigh. Numbness and tingling just under the knee, dull pain into the two toes on left side always came about after frequent sitting. When I mean sitting, I mean sitting on an ordinary dining room chair. That's why I've spent most of the last 6 -7 years either standing or lying on my belly. If I stopped sitting, then the leg and foot pain disappeared.

There's lots of info on this forum about Dr Filler's fees and those of Cedars Sinai but I believe from what I've read, it all depends on personal situations. Your best bet is to get in touch by email or phone them.

Too bad you've got to start all over again - it's such a long road to get to see the right specialist and once you get into Pain Management - it's a matter of luck and trial. I do hope you find some solution to repair the pain you're in. Hope this helps. Jo

:?

Hi, Aztec. Sorry you aer still having trouble and I am ksure a move did not help that. As you know, I just had surgery wiht Dr. Filler but I paid for all of my own as I am not living in the States. Although I am a US citizen I have lived in Canada for about 30 years and I come under this health care system so I can't be of much help with insurance, etc. If you are interested I can tell yu what my costs were.

Dr. Filler told me when I saw him for the firsr time that many people he sees nowadays have already had some indication that they may have piriformis syndrome . He thinks that it is rare that he will only have to fix the piriformis muscle as there are usually problems wiht fibrosis or adhesions on the nerves in that area and in my case, the sciatic nerve, the obturator internus nerve and the superior gluteal nerve. I also had something referred to as a large fibrlvascular band pressing the sciatic nerve against the lower part of the greater sciatic notch. He did a lot of work on me and my P.T. said it would take a long time to heal after she saw my surgery report.

Although I am having quite a bit of pain, I will remain optimistic becasue I didn't expect to get a quick fix. I am not yet walking much at all and for the most part am still at home.

Personally if you don't get some answers from doctors there it may be worth your while to at least get an assessment from Dr. Filler including an MR Neurography because the MR Neurography did identify what he did indeed find when he went in to do surgery. I don't remember all your history so am giving advice not remembering if there are other problems in the spine for instance.

Good luck and hope you get some answers. Chronic pain is the pits.

Jo, nice tohear you walked around the block 3 times. That sounds promising. I will get to you later today.

Shirley

It looks like things are winding down on this forum. Wonder where everyone went. Still having lots of post surgry pain which I guess can be expected. Wondering how Brandon is doing if he is still on. CAnick, any decision about surgery. David, I guess you mostly post on Mary's forum so hope things are going OK in Tucson.

Shirley

Feel like I am writing to myself

Still haven't made a decision. I saw another specialist who decided to do another round of nerve blocks and just went in yesterday for a piriformis myoblock. This guy is supposed to be good and yet he's just repeating what's already been done to me twice with no improvement (except the paralysis made me limp for 2 months). I feel more and more like all the doctors and surgeons don't really care. I'm just a number and they couldn't care less... I'm going to give prolotherapy a try before this new guy injects me into the SI joint again. It's so frustrating.

Hi everyone,

Sorry it has been so long. Staying on top of my school work, dragging around my anti-gravity chair and sciatic pain has made the last few weeks very tough for me. My pain has been a little bit better recently but that is after weeks of worse pain. This whole ordeal has been so frustrating because I had so much hope that I would be mostly pain free in around 3 months. I have been working out lately as part of an adapted physical activity class at OSU. After every day I work out, I experience quite a bit of soreness. I think mentally I go into every workout like an athlete when I really need to take it easy.

Shirley: I really hope your surgery pain dies down. It sounds like Dr. Filler definitely found what he needed to fix. Stay optimistic and don't overdue it. Are you going for lots of short walks?

Jo: Keep up the good work. I hope your pain keeps on getting better.

I really wonder why pain medicine isn't more advanced than it is today. I can't wait to do some research.

Take care,

Brandon

Great to hear from you, Brandon.I really admire you for being back in school and dragging your anti-gravity chair around. Am really sorry that it is taking you so long but good to hear you are somewhat better. I guess I am going through what you have already been through. My pain is much worse post surgery. I would say the leg pain is 40% worse and the butt pain isabot 25% worse. It is more like having 1 of my bad days which used to be maybe once or twice a week now 5-6 days a week but worse.

Sure this doesn't help you CAnick wiht your decision to have surgery but remember all the ones who used to be on here and kare gone ARE better.

Have to go. Sitting is not fun either .

hope things keep getting better for you Brandon. Go into your workouts slowly.


Yes, I am walking but every time I overdo it I pay a vvery big jprive and overdoing means walking 10 minutes. Today I went for a walk thinking it would take me about 5 minutes but it ended up 15-20 minutes becasue I was walking so slow because of the pain. mAnd my leg is killing me tonight.

For the most part I am home and reading, icing, heating, doing household light chores and watching TV--it's getting pretty boring but I remember everyone one the forum talking about patience. Really I shouldn't be complaining as I am just 3 weeks post surgery. I talk to Dr. Filler a weekfrom Monday and will have lots of questions.

Somehow these paragraphs got mixed up but oh well. Can't edit.

Shirley

Hi to everyone. I do not want this site to end or wind down. I am sorry I haven't checked in, but I am seriously just so sad. The darkness is swallowing me up. But I do dog paddle well, or so it would seem.

Shirley, take it easy....... Lots of rest and very slow. I look forward to your up coming posts about how much better you are feeling... :D

Jo, hope you too are doing well. Thanks again for all the information. As your situation is similar to my D's, I appreciate any and all information. I will in this life probably die from a broken heart, and be a healing Dr. Next time. :D

Brandon, congrats on doing the school thing. I am so glad that you can actually do it and that your ok. That's an awesome achievement. I have one Duck, and wish the other could be the Duck she once was for a short while.

My D is still unable to sit. But she is walking daily in the pool. So this is a good thing. She asked for the trial of the SCS, for me that is the chainsaw that is cutting away at my heart. I did respect her wishes and made the appt, thinking it would be a while away, on Tuesday they called me back and said how about Monday, respecting and honoring her I did the appt. Then we find out we have to get prior approval. This is different insurance as of Oct. 1st. So of course I am thinking as I want my d well, that if it is post poned then maybe some miracle will set her free, and in doing so set me free as well.

My d said last night she wished we had had a third child, because then she might have a young person to talk with. Her younger sister is a freshman in college, and right now to me she is in a selfish stage. Not really caring about her sister or us for that matter. Even if she is upset that her older D is/has taken time away from her, we have had no choice. We did and allow her to do certain things that we made our older wait for. Later cerfew, concerts. She has gone on several trips with her. I pray that this is a stage and not some form of a character flaw..

My family as I once knew it, will never be the same. It is a crazy thing to even remember my old life.

My D is 204 days post piriformis surgery. 743 days since the onset of this monster. That is a long time to not sit at the dinner table, going out to eat, visiting friends, and much more.

Some say miracles happen, I say "I am sure they do." People tell me there is still hope, I say in a flat lined voice. "Yes, there is always the possibilty of hope." The cost of pain is a very steep price to pay.

I am very glad to hear your updates, you all have strength and courage.
Menzie

Hi, Sharon in the Denver, CO area. I am in so much pain I wake up screaming as soon as I move my legs. I am ready to do anything. How are you doing now? Would you do it again knowing what you know now?

Hi everyone. Yikes .isn t sounding too good out there. Yes, Shirley, patience, patience, patience and slow, slow, slow. I m so sorry your pain is worse. After as long as you ve waited, to now experience MORE pain must be very discouraging. I guess you can keep your mind busy thinking of those who struggled but then eventually got better. This may happen for you too. Keep us updated as I m sure there are people out there who are just getting started with this nightmare or who are in the same boat as you and wondering how they are supposed to keep moving forward. You are a strong woman and I know you have what it takes to get through this.

CAnick72: It is frustrating. You feel like you ARE a number (or an invoice) with these doctors sometimes. I truly hope you find someone who will help you rather than just continue to bill you. Ugggghhhhh. Keep looking for answers.

Jo: I wish you a speedy recovery and I m glad you are still posting. I know you and Shirley are very close in surgery dates so maybe you guys can get each other through this. I hope you too are taking it slow and easy.

Brandon: So glad you are able to go to school even though I m sure it is really hard. You would think at 3 months out you would be all better but as you know it takes some people longer than others. I m just glad you are feeling a little better and are able to work out some. I admire you for going to school and doing the best that you can.

Menzie: It s always good to hear from you. You always tell us WE have strength and courage well, that goes for you too. I can t imagine being on the other end of this watching a family member or friend struggle with pain. I believe it s just as hard for you as it is for your D. The helplessness that you feel is very similar to what we have felt. Stay strong. I for one will hold hope that your D finds relief. I SO completely understand that flat lined voice response. I had a lot of those through this journey. I was losing hope and every time someone told me I would get better I said I know but my head said shut the F up .you have no idea what I m going through and how do YOU know I ll get better??!! I don t know what the future holds for you and your D but know that we are here for you and we do care.

Aztec: Feel free to ask any questions about insurance if you decide to go forward. I have Blue Cross and they covered most of the hospital bill but virtually nothing for Filler s fees. Good luck with your decision.


Leesa