I am having debilitating lumbar muscle spasms?!

I am having debilitating lumbar muscle spasms?

I had L4-L5 lumbar discectomy, laminectomy and fusion on April 18th, 2007. Doing well until I started taking Actonel 35 mg on the morning of June 3rd following all instructions.

Around midnight that day, I started having debilitating lumbar muscle spasms. And my feet/legs arched back to midback level. This occurred every 3-4 minutes for 7 hours. (I was unable to move enough to reach the phone for 911 or to reach for any medication).

I was laying on my right side and my right leg went completely numb; finally able to move so I was on my back and got feeling back in the leg.

With help, I called the surgeon and he told me to come in. Spent two days in acute care with MRI, x-rays, bed rest. All the test came back with no surgical problems.

I still have spasms when I try to swim for exercise; they are still so bad that I feel I could drown even though I'm an excellent swimmer.

Any ideas? Surgery side-effect? Actonel side-effect (two pharmacists thought so).

I've had the same op, at the same place, L4 & L5, although mine was in 1992.

I don't know exactly what's causing your symptoms, but here are some ideas to explore.

It's likely that the spasms have everything to do with the surgery, and also probably the actonel. Your body has just had a huge shock!

Next time you get the spasms, stay present through the pain and pay as much attention to it as possible. Notice where it comes from, where it radiates to, how EXACTLY it feels. Gather as much information as possible about what is happening. What is this pain telling you? (Remember pain is just the body's way of getting out attention and telling us something.)

When you swim, does it happen if you do backstroke? If you swim on your belly?

If you shift your perspective of the spasms from something to 'get rid of', to something to 'pay attention and listen to', you hear the message your body is giving you via the spasms.

I know this is difficult when you're in a lot of pain!

Remember, the body is not just a physical entity, but also energetic, and our main source of energy lies in the spine. Hence back operations in particular are major.

I know my back spasmed up when it needed to protect the spine. Maybe your back was telling you it doesn't need the Actonel? Sounds crazy doesn't it - but our body has innate healing wisdom, and at this stage of recovery, your body will be working super hard to look after you.

Personally, I mostly steer clear of all drugs, because that works for me. After my operation, I didn't use anything for healing, and the best thing I did was walk regularly and practice yoga (I now teach yoga).

As one of the side effects of Actonel is muscle cramping... perhaps stop taking it?

As for cramps while swimming, you might not be ready to swim yet, that's all. Try walking instead. The body needs time to heal

For more on this, see the article below.