I have been having trouble with sciatica for a good 10 years. It was really getting worse with the left leg going numb all the time. My orthopedic doctor really felt I needed surgery once I had a new MRI. I have degenerated discs and he said he could go in and clean it all out and find whatever was pressing on my nerve causing all this left leg pain.

So I had surgery, and he said my disc was so degenerated, he took it out. I can't even believe that. I caught a staff infection in the hospital and became septic. I did a round of 2 weeks of IV antibiotics out patient. Then I thought it was all healed and the infection was gone so I went out of town.. I ended up having to go to the ER in a strange town because it became infected again as soon as I was off the antibiotics. This time I was put on some really strong antibiotics for 3 weeks that really was hell to take. It

caused extreme diarrhea.

So finally my infection is gone but my leg pain is so much worse since surgery. I'm sorry I ever had surgery . I don't think I'll be able to work out the way I used to and I walk like an old lady.

The only good thing that has happened is the hospital is going to accept what my insurance paid, so I don't have to pay my 30%. That's good news. They are the ones that caused my horrible infection. It could have been worse. At least it wasn't antibiotic resistant.

Dang girl! That made me hurt just reading that! I hope you get to feeling better!

So sorry you have been going through this.

What does the surgeon say about your long term prognosis?

Here is a suggestion, but I don't know if you would want to change doctors to do it, if you don't trust that one anymore.........Sciatica has been an issue for me for years, too, with 17 herniated or degenerating discs. (Three in my neck have been repaired). I had been through five years of getting the spinal epidural steroid injections every three months. In spite of losing 66 pounds last year, the issue did not resolve, and my pain doctor is trying to postpone full lumbar fusion for as long as possible.

On 10/27/2014 he did a procedure called Radio Frequency Ablation to calm the three nerves causing the worst problem with the sciatica. This decribes the process:

Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA) is a procedure used to reduce pain. An electrical current produced by a radio wave is used to heat up a small area of nerve tissue, thereby decreasing pain signals from that specific area.

The procedure literal disconnects the pain signal and was done similarly to the spinal epidural and no less / more painful. It took a couple of weeks for the nerves to calm down, but since mid-November relief has been 95%. He said the relief could last anywhere from six months to two years, depending on how quickly my own nerves regenerate.

I am retired now, but if I were still working, this would have made all the difference for getting through the day. Same as with my sleeve - no regrets.....I would do it all over again in a minute.

The doctor feels that once all my nerves heal, and after the place where he took out a disc (I believe it's the last one) fills in with scar tissue, I'll be out of pain, I don't believe him for a minute.

I've never heard of Radiofrequency ablation. I will ask him about it. I don't know if that's available here. I live in a real rinky dink town. I would probably have to go out of town for treatments. Or do they just do it once? I would gladly do whatever is going to relieve some of this pain.

I watched a documentary on Netfiix about all these super bugs. I am so glad when I was septic, the antibiotics worked. That documentary was pretty scary.

When I have the spinal epidurals done at the pain clinic, I am laying on my stomach. The doctor rubs anti-septic on that area of my back, and gives me a couple of shots of anesthetic first. The through the same needle still in place, he inserts the shots of steroid. It takes a few minutes and is a little uncomfortable, but the immediate relief is worth it.

When he did the ablation, he used the same anti-septic and numbing shots, and then inserted his ablation tool in the needle port. No worse discomfort that with the steroids.

Shots were lasting less than six weeks when they used to last three to four months. Ablation is expected to last six months minimum or as long as two years. I can handle that.

If there is a pain clinic associated with a hospital nearby, they should be able to do it.

So sorry about all your complications with the pain and the surgery....it's really awful when this stuff effects every part of your life so much. I'm a nurse who works with back pain patients ( epidurals, radio frequency ablation, and other chronic pain treatments). The radio frequency ablation procedure is indeed amazing, but only appropriate for the medial branches of the nerves. Nerves that enervate your legs can't be ablated (burned) safely or you might not be able to walk at all.

Epidurals can also be helpful, but sometimes the disc/nerve damage is severe that just an anti-inflammatory injection (as with the epidural steroid injection) is just not enough. The shot, not matter what med is used, cannot fix anatomy.

You say you live in a small town, but is there any way to get a second opinion? This doesn't need to mean you switch doctors at this point, but maybe someone to review your scans and surgery to see if what you have had done has been the most appropriate interventions, and if there is any other possible treatments that can help. You could see another spine surgeon or a physiatrist (medical spine specialist, they do procedures sometimes but not surgery). The money and time spent to do this can really be worth it.

One of the hardest things to handle as a patient (I think), is when you've lost confidence in your doctor. You feel alone and abandoned. You worry that what was done was the wrong thing, that maybe there have been mistakes that you aren't aware of, or that they are lying to you in general. This kind of mental anguish can really effect your recovery and your health overall. In order to pick yourself up and move forward, you need some real knowledge SPECIFIC to you, and a plan for recovery. Did you get physical therapy after surgery? Maybe time for some for some so your gait can improve. Sometimes the swelling and inflammation caused by surgery can be weeks and months improving. Hard to know what advice to give you specifically because every case is so different.

BUT, do not lose hope! Find yourself someone who is on your team that you can have confidence in and will help you find the right treatment if there is any, or at least a good plan to remain positive and moving forward! Hang in there, and best wishes!!

I feel your pain, quite literally. I have degenerative spine disease as well. It has effected both my lower lumbar and my cervical spine. In 2001 I had my l5/s1 fused. The worst surgery of my life and after having done it I had nerve pain running down my leg that I had not had before. My doctor explained that the nerve had been crushed between the two vertebrae and when he released it it was swollen and red. I suffered for 2 more years with that leg pain and finally went to a pain specialist who installed a neurostimulator in my low back. The first time they switched the unit on in the operating room (yes I was awake but heavily sedated), my leg pain immediately disappeared. I used my Nuerostimulators every day for 2 years. One day I decided to switch it off and see how that leg pain was doing. Low and behold the nerve pain was gone! I still have my nuerostimulator and every once in a while I have low back pain I will turn it on and it takes it right away.

Now of course I have a terrible degeneration going on in my cervical spine and after suffering with it for 10 years I am looking at multiple fusions. I really have no other choice as this issue is causing severe migraine headaches. I see the surgeon on April 14th. Ugh!

I would recommend getting a second opinion and finding out what your options for pain control. I did not want to remain on narcotics because I believe they made another kind of pain. I have been off them for years now and feel much better because of it.

I ended up having another emergency surgery when I went to an infectious disease specialist, 2 hours away. It turns out that the infection was never gone and went into my bones. I wasn't in her office 5 min. before she said I needed to be admitted through the emergency room. I was in the hospital 5 days

The surgeon had to clean out all the infection and scrape away all the tissue that was basically rotten from being infected since November.I have a picc line and I am doing antibiotic infusions at home now. I was supposed to do this for 6 weeks, which will be March 26th. This surgeon will be my new doctor. I will never go back to my original surgeon who treated my infection like it was a pimple, and refused to give me an MRI when I asked for one, telling him it's not normal to have an infection for 3 months.

So, I have to go to the hospital and ask for the disc of my MRI from my back and neck, to take it to the new surgeon. I wish he wasn't 2 hours from home, but I am really confident with this doctor.

Edited March 9, 201511 yr by Oregondaisy

Oregondaisy, so sorry for all you've gone through!! It sounds like hell on earth, best wishes for speedy recovery.... New doctor, yay!

Thank you so much. What a lesson I've learned. When you know something isn't right, get another opinion soon.