Just returned from surgery with Prof. Aszmann

[Violet M]

Barb,

I don't know if it was nerve talk or what but I definitely had more pain and some new pains right after surgery.

Post op restrictions probably depend on the surgery approach and if you have restrictions that makes it somewhat difficult. Dr. Bautrant did not mention any bending or squatting restrictions post-op. He did say it was fine to go upstairs right after surgery since the nerve was released. Tbh, I did not feel like bending or squatting so I just didn't do much of it. I used a grabber tool for light objects and also I had a family member come and stay with me for several weeks so I didn't have to do any heavy lifting.

Hope you are having some better days. Take it easy though.

Violet

[Barb]

Hello everyone,
I am 9 weeks out from my surgery and I would like to update everyone on my recovery and ask some questions to see if anyone might be able to give me some advice.

My nerve pain is much better, but I still have a lot of incisional pain and soreness and I am still numb down the back of my leg. I am sitting some, but not without my cushion. I know this is a very slow recovery and I am trying to take it easy. I have been doing the gliding exercise and some water walking.

I am still taking my gabapentin and one tramadol a day. Some days I feel really good, but then the next day I feel really bad. It definitely is a roller coaster like everyone said it would be.

My problem is not with the surgery side, it is with the other side. My si joint on the nonsurgical side hurts a lot. It is hard to lay on my back. The sacrum on the surgery side looks great. There is no inflammation at all. In fact, it is very flat and causes no pain, which hasn't always been that way. I have had si joint problems in the past, but they have always been on the side of the surgery. Now I am having more pain and inflammation on the other side. I have been icing and heating the area to see if that might help. Prof. Aszmann did not cut the ligament all the way. He notched it to give the nerve more room.

Has anyone experienced this with TG surgery? I would be interested to know if anyone could give me some advice regarding this.

I have started using the foam roller on my thighs and hamstrings to see if I can loosen the knots. There are a lot . Hoping this might help.

Thanks for all the good information I have gotten from so many of you. I hope you all find pain free solutions and good days ahead.

Barb

[Violet M]

Hi Barb,

Sorry you are having this new issue to deal with. I didn't have TG surgery and my TIR surgery was bilateral so not quite the same situation as you but I have had some SI joint prolotherapy on the side that was not originally my worse side of pain. That was several years after PNE surgery and I'm thinking I would not have wanted to try any other procedures quite that close to PNE surgery. Is there any chance water walking is making it flare up a bit? Maybe give that a rest for a little bit to see if things will calm down. I don't think there is any way I could have done water walking that close to PNE surgery. I think the alternating ice and heat is good -- I did a lot of that after surgery and definitely helped keep the pain in check a bit.

I had some buttock numbness for awhile after surgery but eventually it faded away. Hopefully your numbness will eventually subside.

I know what has helped more than anything with the SI problems was resting at first to allow the ligaments/joint to heal, prolotherapy, and in the last year "The Firm" fitness program with light weights. Of course it is way too soon for you to try this but I'm just mentioning it to give you something to hope for in the future.

Take care,

Violet

[Barb]

Hi Violet,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I thought the water walking might not be a good idea. I had to quit anyway because I have a torn meniscus and it caused that pain to flare.

You always give me hope that I am going to beat all these issues. So your SI joint was also hypermobile. Can you do prolotherapy a long time after the strain or injury on the ligament? I have thought about that, but I was hoping I could strengthen my core enough to keep the joint in place. I am not doing any core strengthening right now, but when I have healed more. I have also started wearing my SI belt (much to my dismay). I hate this thing. It does help with the pain, but the muffin top it creates is not very attractive in clothes, not to mention it becomes uncomfortable after a while.....but if it helps. What I thought was kind of strange is I was hypermobile on the side of my surgery and now I am not. I would think since he notched the sacrotuberous ligament, that would tend to make my SI joint more unstable.....so glad it didn't. I just have to work with the other one.

Thanks so much for your response. I am glad to know you were also numb for a while. I have not heard from Prof. Aszmann, so I didn't know how much of this was normal. I am trying to stay positive...and I must admit, the nerve pain is better

Hope you have a good Thanksgiving!

[Violet M]

So your SI joint was also hypermobile. Can you do prolotherapy a long time after the strain or injury on the ligament? !

Well....I was told one side was hypermobile and one side was hypomobile if that's even possible. I had prolotherapy 7 or 8 years after the original injury so I don't think there is any time limit on when you can have it.

Violet

[akotars]

Dear Barb

I'm thinking of going to Wienna to prof. Aszmann for diagnostics and eventualy a tratment. I had a laparoscopic surgery in Turkey 1 year and 3 months ago. It helped me a lot but some problems have stayed and prof. Tibet can't fix them so he recomended me to go to Austri.
I was reading your posts and I'm interested how are you doing this days?

Best regards

Anita

[Barb]

Hi Anita,
I am healing. It has only been 4 months since the surgery and this is the time that everyone who has the surgery experiences an increase in pain as the nerve begins to heal. I have emailed Prof Aszmann because I am also experiencing an increase in pain and he said as the nerve heals, you do feel strange sensations.

I feel that my nerve pain is better. It is just the healing is a real roller coaster. I feel better one day and really bad the next.

I liked Prof. Aszmann very much. He listens to you and really tries to help. He is a very skilled surgeon. I trusted him.

I hope this helps and I wish you good luck with your continued treatments.

Take care.
Barb

[malvasio]

Hello, do you have some news about the post op with Aszmann?

[chronos]

Good question. Did dr. Aszmann help anybody? I mean really help, for long term, not only like "real roller coaster. I feel better one day and really bad the next". I had appointment with him in Viena in 2013 and he seemed to be very reasonable, he didn't push for surgery at all despite it is probably good source of income.

Are these surgeries really helpful? isn't it too simple to think that severe prolonged pain can be caused by some small nerve without viewing human as a hole? How about psychological aspect which can cause muscles contration, mild oxygen deprivation, energy disturbance etc? i have feeling that this "mechanical" approach and scalpel as a solution is way too simple approach and doesn't take into account how extremely complex organism human being is.

[nonsequitur]

How about psychological aspect which can cause muscles contration, mild oxygen deprivation, energy disturbance etc?

Absolutely. It was my problem. I recovered 100% from 10 years of debilitating PN pain and failed surgeries. I don't have the slightest pain anymore and can sit as much as I want. The PN pain does come back if I take Ambien (for 1-3days) or during some brief episodes always linked to emotional triggers (2-4 hours max).