i have peripheral neuropathy but have not had decompression. I was on nerve pain meds for over 2 years with little relief. In June i had a spinal cord stimulator trial which was successful. In july i was implanted with a perm stimulator. I have about 70% relief as of now. Alot better than the meds.

Hello,

I had a laminectomy/decompression and a fusion this past July. I had a lot of scar tissue causing spinal stenosis. My surgery was 6.5 hours long. Now, there were no guarantees that I would have pain relief after surgery....my nerves had been compressed for about 4 years. Well, I had 2 months with no pain and now the pain has come back. I'm taking 2700 mg of Neurontin to keep the pain at bay. At my last doctor appointment, we discussed a spinal nerve stimulator and are getting things set up for the trial. I'm optomistic about it working because the majority of the scar tissue was cleaned out during the surgery. It's important for you to know, that there are no guarantees of pain relief when the nerves have been compressed for a time.

Take care,

Rhonda

Hello,

I had a posterior decompression and l5-si TLIF with instrumentation in June 09. I had pain in my legs and feet (post surgical neuropathy) immediately. The pain was unbearable 5-6 days post surgery, which was attributed to a steroid wash administered before they closed wearing off. I was prescribed a medrol dose pack, from which I suffered horrible side-effects and it did not address the pain. From there I was prescribed gabapentin. I am 7 months post surgery and the neuropathy persists. I am no longer able to tolerate the side effects of the gabapentin (extreme dizziness, depression, anxiety, fatigue) and my surgeon would now like me to try Lyrica - which scares me since the side effects seem worse.

I had an MRI a few weeks ago and my surgeon cannot find any cause for the neuropathy that would require surgery - thankfully; scar tissue was a concern - I did not think it would be the case though, as this had been present since I woke up in the hospital.

Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have neuropathy after lumbar spine surgery/fusion? Does it continue, or did it dissipate over time?

I am concerned and do not know where to go from here. I cannot tolerate sitting, standing or walking for long periods of time and cannot sleep through the night or get back to sleep once I have woken up.

I also have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

I appreciate your feedback and comments.

Kara

I have had both legs on both sides (all 4 compartments in each leg) decompressed about 2 years ago and the neuropathy is back with a vengance. I am now on Gabipentin, Ambien, pain patch, and other oral pain meds. No one seems to know what to do. Like you I can't walk, sit, lay for any time with any relief. Any suggestions for further treatment besides another 200 staples and skar tissue would be appreciated.

I started having all kinds of painful nerve pain back in December of 09, but the reason wasn't diagnosed until May 2010! Moderate Peripheral Neuropathy both legs, severe in the right arm. All the areas correspond to the levels affected in my Cervical spine (C5-8) and legs (L2/3).

Because of EMG issues, they are still testing me to find out "why" I have it, and if surgery will go forward again. I've had fusions in my Cervical, and now lost more levels, and pending my upper lumbar. Also have Neuropathy due to osteophytes in my thoracic spine around my rib cage. Fun, fun!

Except for the thoracic, the extremity Neuropathy is controlled fairly well most times with 300mg of Lyrica a day - has been my "God send" as they say.

Brenda