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!