OT: Bout me...

[BigAl07]

Hey buddy! Yeah it's all good. I have no problem with another shot to keep it from getting BACK to where it was before the last one. We're hoping this one will complete the "issue" but if not I'm "approved/eligible" for 2 more before we start talking about "Da Knife".

[BigAl07]

Have my "Nerve Root Block" this evening. The girl who did my last one was on vacation. I have HEARD rumors that she is so good at what she does that people refuse to let the other Dr. do theirs. I know WHY now! The assistant was GREAT but the Dr. left a LOT to be desired. Soem background...

Nerve Root Block is where they "locate" the Nerve Root via a CT-Scan and slide a needle into the nerve root (at your spine) and then inject a concoction of medications for a desired effect. My medications were:

1) Pain Killer
2) Steroids for anti-inflammation of the disc
3) Something else I can't remember right now..

Ok so they physically "locate" where they think the nerve root is and then use a "Marker" on the skin and do the initial CT-Scan... from there they either confirm the location or make adjustments.

Once they have the location confirmed and correct they slowly slide a needle unit into the skin and down into the nerve root (intensely painful as it enters the nerve). Then once it's inserted what should be the correct depth they do another CT-Scan to make sure it's perfect.

At this point they simply inject the "Goods" into the Nerve Root and about 2 minutes after that you're pulling up your pants and going home.

Last time I was IN and out in less than 10 minutes. Today NOT that way.. it took over and hour and 15 minutes....

First the Dr. was 20 minutes late because he was slow to begin with. then he couldn't decide on the right SIZE needle. Finally the nurse stepped in and said, "The scale on his CT-Scan suggest size ABC (I'm king up this size) and I think we should go by that." I could tell she wasn't comfortable at all. So he used "ABC" and off we go. then he can't decide which "landmark" on my back to use. Again she steps in and helps. then he pushes the needle in and apparently went a HAIR too far. He said, "Sorry about that.. if you feel that again let me know.."

My reply was, "You do that again I'm sure you'll be the first to know because I'll probably hurt someone!" It was BEYOND intense!

anyway.. he kept sticking... scanning... removing the needle and re-sticking! by the time he got it right Allen AND the nurse were both sweating like crazy! When he finally got me taken care of she came up and said, "Are you ok? I'm so sorry about that.... I've never seen that happen before.... are you SURE you're ok? You handled that VERY well... are you ok?

I left thanking her for her help and kindness and came home and took some meds! It's feeling MUCH better now but NOW I know why others will ONLY let that one girl do this procedure! Whew!!

What a DAY!!

[Octoman]

Wow, sorry it went so roughly. It's good to hear you're feeling better now though. It sounds like they almost didn't get it at all, that would have been awful!

[nikkipigtails]

That's really awful Al! I hope everything is feeling much better now.

[BigAl07]

As of today EVERYTHING is AMAZING! Back is 100% pain free and I have my full range of movement again without my foot/leg going numb or aching. Wow!!


Thanks for the kind words and keeping an eye on me!!

A.

[lcstorc]

Sorr you had to go through that but glad it worked. It would have been worse to go through and not get the fix you needed. Hopefully this is the last one. You have a lot to do at MACNA so be sure you get lots of rest.

[sambrinar]

Hey Al, have you ever tried Lyrica??? It is actually for diabetics with Neuropathy (nerve pain and numbness) in their feet, and shingle pain which is also nerve and fibromyalgia. I have prescribed it to my patients with severe sciatica type pain. Sometimes it is pretty tricky to get the auth from the insurance companies to cover it, but works pretty well. that is an off label use right now, but you'd might want to consider that before "dah knife" if you haven't already.

I ment to ask you that before, but I forgot. I admit I didn't read completely through your thread, so if that is mentioned in there, sorry. Just a thought though

[BarbMazz]

Brenda, do you ever prescribe Zonegran for your patients? My pain mgmt doc has me taking 100mg a day for neuropathy due to a back problem similar to Al's. It's a drug used for epilepsy! It also helps people lose weight, so that's a good side effect since weight loss helps chronic pain, too.

[sambrinar]

Originally Posted by BarbMazz

Brenda, do you ever prescribe Zonegran for your patients? My pain mgmt doc has me taking 100mg a day for neuropathy due to a back problem similar to Al's. It's a drug used for epilepsy! It also helps people lose weight, so that's a good side effect since weight loss helps chronic pain, too.

Never heard of that one, had to look it up. Interesting though Lyrica is also for seizures and so is neurontin (gabapentin) it doesn't work very well though (neurontin that is). both of which are for neuropathy as well.

I will have to see about Zonegran, it doesn't look like it is cover by insurance very well. that is the advantage with Lyrica, it has many uses where as Zonegran has one. Will have to try that out on someone.

Thanks there are so many meds these days, hard to keep up.

[BarbMazz]

My insurance covers it; the generic name is IC Zonisamide. It's about $45 a month. It makes me very tired so I take it when I go to bed.. that's when my legs bothered me the most so it has really helped.

[sambrinar]

Very interesting, I will try it on my next patient that has this problem. It is very uncomfortable. How many times a day do you take it?? Just once at bedtime??

[BarbMazz]

Yes, just once at bedtime. The Rx is for 50mg capsules; he had me take one capsule for three days to get used to it, then told me to start taking two after that. For the first few days I felt a little odd during the day.. like I was two steps behind myself, but after that I was just fine.

At one point back in March he had me taking 200mg. That's when it was really bad after an overseas trip where I walked way too much for my own good. Shortly after that he did an emergency epidural and then lowered the mg back down to 100mg p/day.

[sambrinar]

Good to know. Thanks

[BarbMazz]

If you'd like more information about how my doc uses it, I'd be happy to PM you his name and phone number. Let me know!