48 Hour evaluation

Okay everyone, the first 48 hours are over and there is definite improvement in the pain level area.

Last night for the first time since last summer I was able to actually stand and cook dinner without having to sit down because of the pain in my back. The first hurdle has been passed and I am extremely happy with this step forward. My back does appear to be weaken because of the lack of activity but as I get more comfortable that the pain will not attack me again, I'll work to build up my stamina.

The new doctor said that if these shots didn't work that I would need to get a mylo-gram so that he could look at the soft tissues normally seen in an MRI (I can't have those) and if the findings warranted a laminectomy might be the next step. I feel pretty comfortable with this doctor, far more than with the pain specialists. He seems to want to find the problem and correct it, while the Pain doctors just wanted to stop the pain so they were pushing pills toward the end.

I'm not saying that the pain is completely gone, far from it, but it is at a reduced level.

Medical Update

I had the new round of shots in my back Friday (I think there were eight total if I felt them all) and I'm a bit sore which is to be expected but there seems to be a bit of improvement. The doctor told me I should know if the shots are going to work in the first 48 hours so I'm taking it really easy this weekend and keeping my fingers, and everything else crossed (except my eyes - can't read that way).

So my lazy weekend should help me get caught up on my reading too!

Doctor Update

Boy does this guy move fast!
I went to see the new doctor (Neurosurgeon) this morning. The purple walls were a bit of a turnoff but I managed to stay and see the doctor. LOL

He feels with my history and the test results that I brought with me that he wants to try another set of injections before a mylogram (sp?). Since the injections worked for a short time (June/July) he feels that his method may be able to give me relief that I need and he would refer to give that a try before a riskier procedure. The mylogram would require injecting dye into the area (I have an allergy) and because of the allergy it is riskier than for normal folks. The reason for the mylogram is that we need to see the soft tissues which normal folks would just have an MRI but I can't have those because of metal clips in head from brain surgery when I was little. (The magnet would pull the clips and I would bleed to death before they could stop it.)

So Friday morning I am off to the surgical center to have the shots. Keep your fingers crossed and cross anything else you can. Maybe prayers too? I really want this to work!

New Doctor found

I got the name of a neurologist from a friend who also had back problems as well as the same name from my SIL (he did her back surgery), so this week I am going to call and make an appointment. They said it might take a while to get in, but He is worth every moment of waiting. In the meantime I will have to depend on major drugs and my recliner to survive.... Gee, What can I do while I sit in my chair?

My friends at LibraryThing wonder why I think that Needled to Death seems to describe how I feel lately. Here's my explanation:

I have a severe bad back and have suffered with pain on and off for the last 30 some years but the last 2½ it's been getting progressively worse. May of last year I started going to Pain Mgmt doctors and had a series of 3 steroid injections (NEEDLES) which gave me about 4 weeks of relief before the pain returned. Then I got 2 series of FACET block injections (NEEDLES) which did nothing to relieve the pain. Then I had Radio Frequency ablation (two series of NEEDLES) and that just made things worse.

Even today fell into the NEEDLED to DEATH category. I had a return visit scheduled with the Pain Mgmt office and here's how it went...

I got there at 10:15 (my appt. was 10:30), the sign said everything was running on schedule. At 10:50 I got up and asked what was going on if everything was running on time "Oh, just 5 more minutes.." 11:20, I was called back and asked to pee in a cup - I said "NO I'm not doing anything until I see a doctor." They put me in a room and at 11:40 said that the doctor was behind schedule (no sh-- Sherlock) would the PA be okay? I said yes because at this point I just wanted to get it over with and get out of there. I told the PA that I had made this appt specifically to see the "DOCTOR" because I wanted some answers. They had received the written report on the CT scan I had 3 weeks ago but wanted me to go get the actual films, I said "no - you can get them yourselves - the facilities are 1 floor down from the office." I was not going to be taking anymore time away from work because they were incompetent! He also basically told me the same thing that the PA 2 weeks ago said - options to consider were disco-gram, PT, massage therapy. I asked about acupuncture and was told that insurance probably wouldn't cover it but that it wouldn't hurt anything. They wanted Blood or urine and I felt like making it as tough as possible on them so I said blood and the little tech couldn't even get that right. The PA gave me another prescription (I had to wait another 15 minutes for that) and said to come back in 3 weeks. I think I'm going to look for another Pain Mgmt office. Needless to say I am extremely frustrated, angry and still in pain including 5 needles (trying to draw blood) again today!