[Maria]

Mike,
Your symptoms sound much like what plagued me chronically post my failed L4percutaneous discectomy which a few months later showed scar tissue on the rt. S1 nerve root.Later I had bulging of L4 again and L5S1 tho the burning diffuse pain was blamed on "scar tissue." Both of my legs were involved too with that awful gnawing burning pain besides buttocks bilat and tailbone .. plus back pain worse than before the surgery.

I also had a regular big open discectomy on L5S1 several years earlier tho that was Ok post surgery. There was no evidence of scar tissue at the time.

Post the '92 surgery I took Elavil for 5 years for the neuropathic pain and then after that 12 years of Neurontin (stopped taking it last year and painful burning stuff stopped bothering me as much somewhere in the 2000's). I had a really good PT that worked w/failed back surgery patients starting in 2001 and he said I had piraformis syndrome as well as SI joint syndrome. Fortunately I was able to see him for a year and with his 3x/week, ESIs and medications I did have improvement. I was still researching the possibility of more surgery re low back pain from 2000-2005/6.

Between 2000 and 2006 I was offered 3 different kinds of surgery for L3-L5S1 (3 level fusion, 2 level ADR, and hybrid surgery at L4 and L5S1). I didn't have more surgery as I started to feel better not worse however I do take a low dose opioid medication every day.

Am interested to read what your next consult with yield so please keep us informed and sorry to read that you've got this type of pain and do hope it will resolve more quickly than what I experienced.