Post-op Fusion, 1 year 5 months - Hardware Removal, 6 months

It's been some time since my last update. Not much has really changed, or I should say that progress is measured very slowly. My right leg only causes me some minor discomfort.

• It gets a little achy in the evening.
  
• Still have some numbness in the big toe
• Numbness on the top of the foot
• Numbness deep inside the ankle

For the most part, I don't notice it after a while. My left leg is a different story. Its very frustrating, cause that leg exhibits a lot of the same symptoms that my right leg has but more extreme.

• From the arch forward, approximately 75% numb
  
• Numbness on the top of the foot
• Numbness deep inside the ankle
• This ankle gets very painful as the day progresses (about 4-6 on the pain scale)

My Doctor still seems optimistic that my nerves will resolve over time. I suspect the window of opportunity is starting to close now. I've tried several prescriptions out there but so far nothing has seemed to help. Lyrica helped a little but caused my ankles to tighten up so bad that its starts to become painful to walk. My most recent attempt was Cymbalta. I think it really was helping, unfortunately I had a case of undiagnosed BPH (enlarged prostate) when I first started taking the drug. Cymbalta is a Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) and is not recommended to be taken if you have BPH. Sometimes I think I'm dammed if I do and dammed if I don't. I'm back to my tried and true Oxycodone to provide me relief.

I don't want to sound like a complete whiner here, cause it should be noted that my back is doing great.