Severe OA, Spinal Stenosis and sciatica in lower back

Well, I'll tell you what....I'm 10 weeks out now, and as of April 15th, the pain was so bad that I was using a walker at night to get from the bedroom to the bathroom quickly enough not to have an accident.  I had asked for and gotten a prescription for a generic "Norco" which has more hydrocodone in it but less tylenol, so I wouldn't worry so much about acetaminophin toxicity.  Anyway, on the Wednesday of the 15th, I had just left the Spine Center at University Hospital in tears, because the physiatrist (rehab specialist MD) had just told me that he didn't think that physical therapy would do me much good, and the same for chiropractic, and he wouldn't order any other kind of pain medication because due to the RNY it could cause constipation and other problems, and when I burst into tears and asked him what to do about the pain, he told me to see a "pain psychologist".  I absolutely could not believe it.  He also said he didn't think I was a candidate for the new X-Stop procedure, a minimally invasive surgical procedure done under local anesthesia where they insert spacers between the "fins" on the back of your vertebrae, thus forcing your lower spine to bend a little forward instead of allowing it to arch back, therefore lessening the narrowing of your spinal canal and taking pressure off the nerves to your legs.  My 6-week post-op appointment with my WLS surgeon was right after that, and I walked into his office crying in pain and frustration.... he immediately put me in a room and asked me what was wrong, and got me the name of two back specialists that he works with.... I was lucky to get in to see them two days later.  They looked at my MRI and X-Rays, and laid out a plan of action for me, which was just what I needed.  Epidural pain shot first.... if it worked, then physical therapy for a few weeks (to be continued either at home or at a gym), then waiting 6 months to see what the weight loss does to the pain levels before we decided on doing the X-Stop, which they DO think I am a candidate for.  I had the pain shots two weeks ago, and within 24 hours, I went from a pain level of 10, down to a 1..... I couldn't believe it.  I am not in any significan pain right now, and while visiting with my daughter for the past two weeks, have gone to the gym with her nearly every morning and done cardio for half an hour, and have now begun strength training!!!  I am a happy camper, and wondering WHY I ever waited so long.  The shots weren't so bad at all!! 

I'm so glad you've found relief!  But sorry you had to suffer as long as you did.  Keep up the good work and I hope you are able to stay eased of pain.

Hugs,
Cindy

I wa**** by a drunk driver and my back was broken in five places and during the surgery they discovered that my back has spondolysis; plus, I have had rheumatoid since I was a child.  After wls, I had to go off all the meds and cannot take the steroids unless I am having a huge flare from either the arthritis or the asthma so I take lorecet.  It doesn't get rid of the inflammation but it makes the pain a little easier to bear.  Of course the weight loss has helped immensley but the pain is still there and sometimes the sciatica just kills me.  The lorecet helps there too.  Hope this helps.