What treatment should I take for the stabbing pain in the back which may be a result of shingles or after effect of scoliosis operation ?
Patient: Hi In 2004 i had a scoliosis operation where i had 2 metal rods put into my spine. I was fine till about 2 years ago where i discovered shingles which was cured, it had recently come back so the doctor i went to said but was internal and nothing can be done about it. For the past month now i have been experiencing such pain in the lower right side just above my hip. i am not sure if this is shingles or if it could do with my back operation i had but i cant bare the pain anymore and dont know what to do. it actually feels like someone is stabbing me in the back with a knife. Doctor: Thanks for using Healthcaremagic. The symptoms described by you looks like a T12-L1 radiculopathy (pain in the distribution of the radicals). This can be due to various causes like early shingles before the vesicles appear, compression of the nerve either related to progressive scoliosis or surgery. T12-L1 radiculopathy is usually not caused by degenerative lumbar spondylosis. Consult a Neurologist or a Neurosurgeon and get started on medicines for reducing the neuropathic pain. If vesicles appear get treated for shingles again with antiviral medicines. Steroids should not be used as it increases the risk of shingles. I think this will guide you for further treatment. Bye