Back injections

My procedure went will yesterday. Rather sore yesterday but much better today. They said it would be 3-4 days before the corizone kicks in.

Yesterday I was laying in bed, propped up with pillows and ice packs. My kitty, Jenny-Any-Dots, jumped up on the bed and deposited a dead mouse right by my arm. We didn't know she was a mouser. After I got done shrieking, I realized how sweet and clever she is. She saw Hubby and son bringing me things into my room all day, so she wanted to bring me a prize too to make me feel better.

The mouse is now laying in state in garbage can in the garage.

Glad things went well Charlotte! And glad Jenny-Any-Dots wanted to make you feel better, too. Sounds like the whole family chipped in to help you recouperate

Charlotte,

Glad you're feeling some better today.

What a sweet kitty! She just wanted to bring you something to make you feel better. Have you read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series? In one of them, they have a kitty who hunts all day and would bring the extra (after feeding her kittens and grand-kittens) and lay at the feet of anyone in the house she could find.

Glad the family was able to take care of her gift.

Hope this works and you get some relief.

Becky

Charlotte, I'm so glad the back appt. went well. I was thinking of you yesterday but didn't want to bug you with messages. Thanks for letting us know how it went

Your cat sounds so funny! Imagine her being clever enough to know to bring you a get-well gift! I've had boyfriends who weren't that smart!! LOL

Hope the shots kick in sooner rather than later.

Jenny-Any-Dots wanted you to have an important gift--important in a kitty's life. What an honor she has bestowed upon you. What would we do without the unconditional and endless love of our pets?

Hopefully she won't decide to do one better and bring you a live mouse... Ewww!

Please take care,

Becky

Hope the epidural works for you. After five of them I have been low-back pain free for almost two years. The ortho made it sound like I would be dependent on them indefinitely. But it's amazing how well our bodies can heal once you get the inflammation to go away.

It would be nice if they could make them a bit less painful.

Hey Brent,

I don't think it was an epidural. They injected into the sacro-iliac joint on the right and left side. Would that still be considered an epidural?

So far no change, I feel just as crippled up as ever, but I started back to PT today after a week off.

The Dr said it may take a couple times to get it in the right spot.

I do feel that if I can just get the inflammation from the sacrio-ilitis and the spondylitis under control I would start making progress in physical therapy.

Plus, I'm having a little gender rage today. Hubby left the toilet seat up and at 3:00 am I took that jarring little one inch fall that we women love so much. I think I woke the whole house up slamming down the toilet lid. The jerking did not make my back feel any better.

The ones I got were at the hospital and with and injected dye for the 3D X-ray guidance. I get conscious sedation which at least keeps the pain anxiety reaction down.

It seems they work really well for some and not at all for others. But at $3000 a pop it can be a risky experiment w/o insurance.

I called them back this afternoon. After PT, I've been one hurtin', sorry puppy.

The nurse told me not to be discouraged (I was in tears), that this was just the first step. These were the least invasive and the starting point. So they have scheduled me for another MRI on Tuesday and see where we stand.

Brent, do you mind if I ask what was wrong with your back? I've been becoming increasingly concerned about ankylosing spondylitis. I've had this problem since I was a teenager. Even though I was a tremendous athlete, I could never stand very long. Standing in line, even standing to cook gives me fits. I can't do museums because it's to much walking and standing. As I get older it's getting worse and worse.

The thing that is jumping out at me with the ankylosing is the eye inflammation. About four times this year I have woken up with a cherry red eye. I thought it was pink eye, but it wasn't weepy or crusty and would return to normal in a day.

Through out my life I've had times where I've a pleurishy type feeling, it's painful to breathe. I also have neck stiffness.

My mother had some type of auto-immune disorder that they could never pin-point despite repeated trips to Mayo. She would have a rash of perfect circle quarter size welts on her back. I don't remember all her other symptoms, but I do remember they used to test her for lupus quite a bit and it always came back as inconclusive.

I realize that ankylosing is much more prevalent in men than women, but then again so are pilondal cysts, and I battled those when I was younger too.

I'm just getting so frustrated that I'm not snapping back this time. Oh, and of course, the nurse has not called me back like she said she would to tell me what to do for the pain. I've been waiting for her to call since 1:30 and it's now after 5:00. I doubt they will call tonight. That really irks me.

I have a degenerative lumbar disk from being hit by a drunk back in 1983. While I was getting the epidurals I used a potent amino acid supplement to let the disk start to heal and regenerate. With the inflammation gone the healing had a far better chance. And it appears that it has healed since I have been mostly back pain free.

And yes I go nuts waiting for docs/nurses to get back to me. Or to get a prescription called in before the pharmacy closes. I work in a clinic that is open at 7:00 AM until 6:00 PM. The docs will see patients during our lunch break and even at their houses on weekends or after hours. It makes it even worse to see the contrast of care when I have to use a med clinic.

My idea about health care reform is simple. How about not sucking and not giving only a half-a-rip about the patients. That would be a great start.

How are you doing after your surgery, Brent?

Cheryl

Better and better each day. The barometer dropped over night and I had no head or face pain. Just the dull pressure ache from the tissue still healing. Keeping my fingers crossed.