10 days post-op: NO bladder urge + saddle numbness. Looking for experiences
I’m hoping to hear from others who had bladder issues and/or perineal/saddle numbness after Tarlov cyst surgery, especially how long it took to improve.
A little background: I had multiple large Tarlov/perineural cysts, including sacral cysts that had caused significant thinning/erosion of my sacrum. Before surgery I had severe constipation/slow transit issues and had also been having to strain to urinate for about a year, so I definitely had some pelvic nerve symptoms beforehand. However, I could feel when my bladder was full and could urinate normally without catheterizing.
I had surgery with Dr. Feigenbaum in Dallas on 9/23. We went into surgery expecting three cysts, but he ended up finding and treating FOUR. He also told me that some of the cysts were calcified, the nerves were in pretty rough shape, and that I had an ectatic spinal cord.
Since surgery, I have had completely new numbness in my perineal/saddle area. I also no longer feel the normal sensation that I need to pee. I can sit on the toilet and urinate, and I initially thought I was emptying normally, but before discharge I urinated and then had a bladder scan that showed I STILL had over 600 mL left. They catheterized me again and sent me home with intermittent catheters to use every six hours.
I’m now about 10 days post-op. I’m trying to figure out what other people experienced during nerve recovery.
For anyone who had similar symptoms after Tarlov surgery:
• Did you have new perineal/saddle numbness after surgery, and how long did it last?
• Did you lose the sensation of bladder fullness/urge even though you could still urinate?
• Did you have significant post-void residuals or need to self-catheterize? If so, for how long?
• Did bladder sensation return gradually, suddenly, or before/after the numbness improved?
• Did you see a local urologist or neuro-urologist while you were recovering, and was there anything useful they were able to do besides monitoring residuals and catheterization?
I know I’m still VERY early in the healing process, especially considering what they found during surgery. I’m not expecting everything to be normal at 10 days. I’d just really love to hear from people who had similar nerve/bladder symptoms and what recovery looked like for you.
The bladder issue is probably the thing making me the most nervous because I genuinely cannot tell when it’s full. Any experiences, timelines, or advice about what you did during recovery would be greatly appreciated. ❤️