Nerve damage??

[str8shooter5]

I read alot of threads where people have had "hot feet or hot legs" both before and after surgery is this definately from nerve damage?? because i have had a burning feeling that comes and goes in my back at waist band height just to the left of my spine..... was told it would go away after surgery well i am 26 days post op and still get it now and then but before i had my surgery i had an EMG and was told i had no nerve damage so where is the burning pain coming from???

[jessmith07]

When I had my laminectomy back in September 2008, the disc had been herniated for at least 6 months and compressing the sciatic nerve. During that time, I was walking 15-20 miles per week, going to the chiropractor 2-3 times per week, and doing the various other PT-type things that my doctors were telling me to do. All the while, the herniated disc was rubbing on the nerve, causing damage. When I finally gave in and had the surgery, I felt much better initially, but after a few weeks, the nerve pain was at times as bad or worse than before the surgery. My doctor said to be patient; it took about four months for the nerve to heal and the nerve pain to finally go away completely. So hang in there...

[cls]

str8shooter5,

I am a little over 2months post-op L5/S1 fusion and have had very little relief from the nerve issues that I had prior to the fusion and have had new nerve pain that seems to flair up the more active I am. In the evening is when the burning sensation comes on after I have been up and moving around all day. I am hoping there are others out there like jessmith07 who have had recovery from the initial nerve "damage" and that there is good reason to believe "that this too shall pass"!! I hope you heal too.

[treefrog]

I think the question is whether the sensation of heat is verified to be a symptom of nerve damage? That str8shooter5, is saying that he had an EMG that did not show nerve damage, so is his sensation of heat caused by undiagnosed nerve irritation, or something else.

The only one who can say for sure (and even then, maybe not) would be a doctor.

I would say, that I believe it could be from nerve irritation (maybe not nerve damage). It could also be from medication. And it could also be the reaction of your body's healing mechanism taking place.

If it is nerve damage, it can take years for nerves to repair themselves. You are still very early in your recovery. I don't think I would be overly worried about this, if it were me. I understand that during recovery, your body can have all kinds of weird sensations.

But if it is bothering you, and you are worried about it, call your doctor.

[jessmith07]

I agree with Cathy...I wouldn't be too concerned just yet, as it's only been a month since your surgery. You need time to heal, as it likely took years for your back to deteriorate to a point of needing surgery.

I, for one, will admit that it was very hard for me to be patient after my surgery...I was expecting immediate relief. I am a very active mother of seven, and I also work full-time. "WHAT? I don't have TIME to heal!!" Plus, my doctor didn't exactly prepare me for all the possible outcomes. That REALLY irritated my husband, but I can see the doctor's POSSIBLE reasoning for this...perhaps he didn't tell me anything other than this OR that can happen (and not the myriad of things in between) because the human mind can and does affect the healing process, and to fill it with too much information at the beginning of the healing process could possibly slow it down. This is MY opinion, anyway, or maybe he was just too darn busy to take the time...

Again, YOU KNOW your body, so don't be afraid to be forceful and insist on more testing if your instincts are telling you that it's still "not right". That's exactly what I had to do, and it turned out I was right. The herniated disc that was operated on continued to deteriorate (as well as the one above it) and while the laminectomy did relieve the nerve pain, now, 7 months post-op, I need a 2-level ADR. But at first, my surgeon wouldn't listen...so I had to INSIST!

[Nairek]

You should mention this to your doctor. I had symptoms of this before my surgery & then it changed after my surgery. I have 1 foot which is much colder (or warmer depending on how you want to look at it) than the other. When I was in the hospital, I mentioned how it was different & no one could give me an answer as to what it was from.

When I mentioned it to my pain mgmt doc, he put me on a "watch" for something called Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

I'm not quite convinced that this is what I have though. I still think that I have some really ticked off nerves.