A PAIN IN MY RIGHT CALF AND UNDER MY RIGHT FOOT...WHAT CAUSED IT!

A SEVERE PAIN IN MY RIGHT CALF AND UNDER MY RIGHT FOOT has basically disabled me since the pain is so severe that I could not stand or walk for more than a few minutes.

This condition basically put my life on hold since I could not go anywhere or do anything that required standing or walking like shopping or standing in line.

My primary doctor was worried about a clot in the calf which is where clots come from (DVT or deep vein thrombosis) and could be life threatening. We did an ultrasound to eliminate that possibility.

We then took an x-ray of the right calf to make sure there was no bone fracture or some form of tumor…negative.

At this time I suggested that it could be a spinal problem since I have had those before (stenosis…narrowing of the vertebrae) which would press on the Sciatic nerve.

We took an X-ray of the spine and determined there was no stenosis visible that would cause the pain I was experiencing.

I suggested prednisone (steroid) to see if we could lower possible inflammation in the spine even though we did not see any inflammation…no pain reduction after a two week course of prednisone.

At this point my primary physician gave up and sent me to an orthopedic doctor.

She checked me out and was also baffled. All she could suggest was some physical therapy for the spine to open up the vertebrae since she was starting to agree with me that the pain was caused by a spinal problem.

After two weeks of therapy there was no reduction in pain.

I have been suggesting an MRI right from the start to show what the hell was going on in the spine but with the new health insurance policies; we had to try everything else before finally resorting to an MRI.

I finally insisted on an MRI since my life was pretty miserable and painful.

The MRI indicated a synovial cyst at the L5-S1 space of my spine (the very bottom) and the cyst was directly pressing on my Sciatic nerve.

I was directed to a neurosurgeon who said let’s cut the sucker out; which we did at Henry Ford Hospital in downtown Detroit. The surgery went well and I came too with a sore throat ( breathing tube down my throat) and a catheter.

I was feeling no pain but was given heavy duty drugs that I could administer to myself if I needed them; I did not.

I was also given a lot of antibiotic to prevent infection.

Spent one night at the hospital with no problem, had catheter removed…thank heaven and had my IV terminated; I was ready to go home.

The doctors were perplexed that I was not experiencing any pain at this point. They prescribed OXYCODONE and VALIUM to take home with me and a stool softener since all I have been through was sure to make me constipated.

The pain hit big time as soon as I got home. I could not sit up or sit down without pain and when I went to bed I made sure I took oxycodone every 4 hours. I probably helped me sleep but the pain was there especially when I was turning over from side to side.

The next morning the pain was with me big time and I had to alter the way I do my morning constitutional since I could not bend over and reach for anything.

I eventually managed to come downstairs and have breakfast but I think the oxycodone made me sleepy since I took a long nap…in the morning?

Walking is not a problem and my calf and foot pain is gone. I am supposed to walk as many times as I can to get back in shape.

I will have the stiches / staples out in 2 weeks and see the surgeon in another 2 weeks to make sure everything is OK.

I am hoping to return to a normal life after that.

I am writing this story just in case someone out there may be facing the same issues as I did and maybe knowing what happened to me may shorten the diagnostic phase of their problem.