New pain a year after surgery

[sophieruth]

Almost a year ago at the age of 74 I had successful surgery to remove intramodullar shwannoma from the thoracic region of my spine. According to my surgeon 99% of the tumor was removed and two subsequent MRIs (latest 6 weeks ago) did not show any regrowth.
I had an almost painless recovery and few residual symptoms - unsteady gait, numbness in my back, "heavy" legs but almost no pain. Now however, about a month ago I started hurting and it's getting worse daily. It is intermittent severe stabbing pain in my side and back accompanied by itching. I was checked by my primary doctor - for shingles and possible liver or gall bladder problems but the tests did not show anything. She prescribed gabapentin but it does not seem to help. You were all very helpful to me after the diagnosis and I am hoping for some reassurance now. Did anybody experienced pain starting so late after the surgery and if so what if anything can be done about it? Thanks, Sophie

[Tmasgio]

I would check to see if you can get an MRI because sometimes as the CNS changes we get some undesired results is what I was told. Sometimes Scar tissue can cause pain that suddenly pops up.

[cindylee]

Hi SophieRuth..sorry to hear that you are having some bad times with pain. I thought I was alone in this. The first year after my surgery I did not have pain at all and if I did it was minimal. The second year after I started to wonder if my tumor buddy was coming back because I started to get more weakness and pain in my surgery area, just more general stiffness. There are times that I too get those stabbing pains out of nowhere. ANd I have more muscle spasms in my legs than I ever had before. My MRI showed some scar tissue and anothing else, so my Doc has said all of these little annoyances are related to this. About all I can do is my stretches and keep moving. But I'll tell you there are days when it is very hard to move. Sometimes even sitting is uncomfortable. I would ask your surgeon about your pain and see if you need an MRI. At least this would give you some peace of mind. I know we never want to think our "buddies" can come back to visit, but sometimes they do. It's best to check things out. I wish you well...Cindy

[shannan]

When I attended the conference OTJenn spoke highly of Myofascial release. This apparently helps to break down scar tissue providing pain relief and increase flexibility. There is a lot of info on teh net about it as well. I am currently looking into this myself due to some stiffness and pain, I know that some massage therapists are trained in this and there are a couple of physiotherapists where I attend as an outpatient that are certified.

[DonnaC]

Cindylee, wow I thought I was reading my story. I had a empendymoma T-10 thru T-12 removed 7/12/07. The doctor removed as much as he could without doing damage. It was low grade cancer so I had 5 weeks of radiation to try and damage it so it would not return. It was real funny because I have always called the tumor my buddy! So I had to chuckle when I read that. I was having follow up MRI every 4 months since my surgery. I had one in April 08 and all seemed to be fine, the piece left behind was still 5MM. I completed my radiation in late December 07, but I started to have a lot of pain, numbness and stiffness in my legs. The would cramp up and try to turn out. I would also have extreme squeezing pain in my thighs. Something I had before the surgery but had gone away after the surgery for about 6 months. I have to walk with a walker ever since the surgery. I went to a neurologist about the pain and she said I had Melopathy and she gave me medication for it. It helps the squeezing ,but not the stiffness. Now I went for my 4 month MRI in August, my "buddy" has doubled in size to 10MM since April. Bumber, now I have to go to a specialist at the Barrow Institute in Phoenix, AZ I am in Tucson about 100 miles away. Still waiting for them to set up the appointment, this just all happened last week. Donna