I saw the pain mgmt doc last Wednesday. Quick visit. Not too enlightening.
Caution: Sarcasm ahead...
1. I "definitely have some chronic pain issues..." Really?
2. I have nerve involvement. It was evidenced by differing sensations between my feet. One side was WAY more sensitive than the other when he poked me with the pointy thing. We knew this. EMG 2 years ago confirmed it is from the stenosis, disc herniation and nerve compression at L5.
3. My MRI is old. Well, that's what happens when you have no money and no insurance. You can't get care.
4. "You do know the rest of your back is not normal either?" Yeah, thanks, I was aware. It's a mess.
5. "You won't ever be 100% again. I don't know if we can get you 'good,' but we can aim for 'better' anyway." :-(
6. "I may have to refer you back to the physiatrist for meds. I am not sure anything I can do will help. We can possibly try injections, but you may need them every 6 months for any sort of relief." Not thrilled with this possibility. I'm thinking it's a heck of a lot of repetitive trauma for my already weakened spine. Imagine, injections every six months for the rest of my life? That's 2-6 injections a year, since they usually do injections in groups of 3. In ten years that's 20-60 injections! TOO MUCH!
Rx: steroids for 6 days, a new MRI, then we see how much worse the back has gotten and where we go from there.
Those who pray, please do. I have been in chronic pain for 9 years now, it's been disablingly severe for three. I can't take this anymore. I want "life" back. I am tired of not being able to do the things I need to do, like laundry, food shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc. I would like to be able to do that, and then progress onto some things I want to do. The things that make life, well, "life." Worth living and all that.
Update: I began the steroid on Thursday. I am almost done with it, two pills left. The results are inconclusive. By itself, I noticed NO difference. Combined with more Ibuprofen than I care to take, it seemed to make the Ibuprofen slightly more effective. The definite cons are the stomach side effects. The steroid is bitter. The Ibuprofen is an NSAID and not gentle on my tummy. I have issues with gastritis and reflux. These two things combined have really set that off. :-(
I got the prior auth for the MRI, I just have to call and schedule it. Here's hoping!
