Newbie question, meds v rhyzotomy

justlooking · #1 (**permalink**) 06-30-2012, 02:25 PM

I'm a newbie to this website but wanted to offer you my experience with the Rhyzotomy. I have had two bi-latteral cortisone injections prior to the Rhyzotomy that I had done this past March. Went I went back to the doctor two weeks after having it done, he told me that most people would be wowing saying its the best thing they could have done. I told him I wasn't wowing yet because I was still having pain. My issue was the L4/L5 and night time pain on my right side. Been too many doctors and they all say the same thing...Structurally, I'm fine. So whether or not the Rhyzotomy will work for you is that I would give it a shot (no pun intended). I think mine has helped me a little bit, it just took longer than what my doctors told me it would. Good Luck!

mmglobal · #2 (**permalink**) 06-30-2012, 05:38 PM

Justlooking, welcome to the forum.

I had 3 years of the doctors telling me the same thing.

>> What were the results of the injections? Were they dramatically positive?

>> Have you had a discogram?

Just because the discs don't look that badf does not mean that they are not painful. Rhizotomies will be of little value if the bulk of your pain is coming from the discs or other 'not your facet' places.

After 3 years of "your films look way too good and you are way too mobile to be having the kind of pain you are reporting" and 2 microdiscectomies/laminotomies that helped new leg pain associated with new disc protrusions but left my low back pain the same and continuing to get worse.... my ADR surgery was like magic. 7 weeks later I was off all the meds (after 3 years on opiates, 2 years on neurontin and wellbutrin.)

I'm not suggesting that I know what your problem is or what will be beficial to you... I'm just sharing my experience. We do know a lot of failed ADR patients, but when the indications are good, the results are generally good too; NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO PERFECT, but relatively good compared to other options.

All the best,

Mark

justlooking · #3 (**permalink**) 06-30-2012, 10:35 PM

Hey there!

They told me my problem was with the L4/L5 facet issues. I also have scoliosis at a 31% curve. Went to Stanford and they told me while it sounds bad, it really isn't as they see people with much larger curve. Right now I'm self diagnosing and thinking it might possibly be hip bursitis. Basing that theory on a friend of mine who kind of has the same general night time pain and that's what they told her. Plus several of my reports had mentioned that too. See another doc about that on Friday. All I know is that I'm tired of this and it needs to stop! I think I've had every test known to man right now and they all come back saying the same thing, they can't find anything. Which I guess in a way, that's a good thing. I did find something interesting on the internet called TMS (sorry, forget what it stands for) which kind of sounds like it but who knows. In the meantime, I just kind of have to rely on what works and what doesn't work theory for right now.

mmglobal · #4 (**permalink**) 07-01-2012, 07:54 PM

have you had a discogram?

diver110 · #5 (**permalink**) 07-25-2012, 03:01 AM

What I actually got was a radiofrequency ablation. Sad to say, it did not work. See the San Diego pain doc tomorrow, head back east on 8/1. In the interim, I am being treated by a physical therapist/yoga person. She says the real problem is not left L3 (where the ablation was done) but a tight right L2, which triggers the L3 pain (the L2 problem is caused by scoliosis). I am getting some benefit from her treatment...