Update for the MIL & family, friends who care to know what's up

So from time to time my mother in law gently nudges that it has been quite awhile since I have posted any information here... not that we have been up to much but I guess I can take a stab at trying to let you know a bit of what we have been doing.

Not much scrapping lately as I haven't taken many photos and those that I have, aren't that interesting as they have to do with doctor's offices mainly.

I guess the most current news is that I am going through some pain management procedures. After years of having nagging, achy pain in my lower back & down most of my legs, I seemed to have aggravated one foot after a fall last spring which has lead to some more testing and belief by the doctors that my foot pain is actually originating from my nerve roots at my lower back.

My regular doctor referred me to a podiatrist who then referred me to the pain management doctors as they have access to more treatments which he felt would be more beneficial... so after a few months of back & forth of doctors, I am now at a point where I am getting treatment.

The accident just finally made the nerves down at my foot more inflamed to notice the pain all the way down and have it affect my ability to walk comfortably. He did an injection on my ankle which was by far one of the most painful medical procedures I had ever had done before... second only to having my muscle biopsy which they had to take out "fresh" so couldn't freeze it but only slightly numb the top skin when they cut it out. My ankle was sore for a good week before the pain of the injection was gone and the steroid had begun to kick in. That has helped a lot but not gotten rid of it, which is why I am now going through further treatments.

*knock on wood* other than 1 minor little stumble at home tripping on the door mat, since going to the gym for strength training last summer, I haven't had any more falls. My ankles and balance have gotten stronger and walking more steady. Still having trouble with stairs and curbs but those are getting better slowly as well. We have discovered that my stepping down with stairs seems to have a lot to do with overly tight muscles that I need to get relaxed better and stretched out.

So onto the pain management procedures... I have gone through a set of nerve conduction velocity testing & electromyography which I am awaiting results from... beginning of February for those.

On Friday, I had the first really invasive procedure completed - a caudal steroid injection... essentially a large xray guided needle injection into the epidural space at the base of the spine... a big ole needle to the ass (well, top of ass crack location wise) in layman's terms.

It isn't what you would call a comfortable procedure but also not that horrible either. I chose to do it without sedation as I am not fully comfortable with the idea of sedation so if I can manage through the pain, I prefer to. They cleanse & numb the area first which is just your typical pinch & slight burn type of needle injection. Then they guide the injection needle into place with the guidance of an xray... this is probably the most uncomfortable part as they have to guide it into the epidural space which means maneuvering it around bone and just plain uncomfortable having a needle moved around while inside you. Needles hitting/maneuvering bone is painful, not make you scream painful but make you wince good painful. Once they believe they have it where it is needed, they inject xray dye into the area to see how the injection spread is going to be when they inject the medication. This isn't bad, only slight pressure and a warm sensation. Once they have determined it is positioned to give a good spread of medication, they begin injecting it. My surgeon was very nice about this and went slowly and told me to let him know if the pressure ever got too much and that he could stop a moment to let the pressure decrease or slow the rate of injection. I was dealing with it but I guess since I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor, he had a better idea of how I was really doing than I told him as I can control it to some degree with deep breathing through pain but apparently he didn't think well enough at one point and stopped a moment to let it subside and then slowly finished the injection. Once the injection was finished, the needle was removed and I was good to get up slowly. Whole procedure from intake to outtake only took just over an hour. Was in at 8:30am and out by about 9:45am.

It will take a few days for the medication to start working but until then, I will still have mild discomfort over having a needle injected into my spine. Sitting at first was pretty uncomfortable as it had a slight sensation like the needle was back in it. Sitting in the car for the ride home was probably the most awkward time, I kind of had to prop myself up so I was more pushing my feet against the floor and my back against the seat so that I was in a semi-laying down state and not sitting on my backside directly.

I spent most of the afternoon lying in bed as sitting for any length of time was uncomfortable and achy. Once I was due to take another of my regular pain killers after the procedure, that helped a fair bit with the mild discomfort from the procedure. By the end of the night, I was able to sit up for longer and longer. After a night's rest, it is feeling a lot better. Still a little mild ache but as long as I make sure to get up and walk around from time to time and not sit all day, I think it will be just fine.

Next week, they will be performing another procedure but that time, on my neck which has always given me trouble and which I found out a couple years ago is already showing signs of arthritis. From the exam at the pain specialists, he suspects that I have facet joint syndrome in my neck, most pronounced on my right side so is going to have the surgeon do a cervical medial branch block procedure next Friday. The procedure sounds pretty similar to the caudal injection but will be either 2 or 4 needle injections (depending on which surgeon as there are 2 methods of doing it - can either hit 2 areas with 1 injection repositioning between actual injections so 2 injections for 4 areas or the other method of doing 1 injection for each 1 of the 4 areas. That procedure is supposed to give immediate results and I will need to keep track of the percentage level of improvement and duration to determine its effectiveness and whether a more permanent injection is needed or if they have to try additional nerve block levels to isolate the exact cause first.

I am a little more worried about doing that procedure without sedation as the surgeon said it isn't that bad but because there are a lot of muscles in the area, the needle injections do have to go through the muscles and that can be pretty uncomfortable. I am not comfortable with letting people touch my neck so much so am nervous to have it done but really hopeful that it will be effective. He does lots of them with and without sedation so it is my preference.

From speaking with a lady in the treatment waiting area, I am still more inclined to go without sedation as she said she really doesn't like the effects of the sedation as they are a lot more long lasting than the short duration pain of the procedure - nausea, dizziness and just feeling really out of it as well as there being more possible complications with sedation always. She wasn't having it that day because she had had a couple sips of green tea before going and was therefore, discouraged from having it as it could potentially cause her to aspire it into her lungs with the potential of deadly pneumonia. Something that small could have dire consequences so I like my preference of short term suffer for avoiding more possible consequences.

They are also scheduling me for a head and spine MRI but I don't have dates for those yet. My follow up from the nerve/muscle test and these 2 procedures is the beginning of February (2 weeks after next week's procedure is done so they can monitor their progress and effectiveness) and they are hoping to have the MRIs done and results by then as well so awaiting finding out when those will be. Based on those results, we will build the long term treatment plan.

So age 35 hit and I finally am sick and tired of mild to moderate discomfort continuously making me cranky and withdrawn as it is easier to suffer home alone than put on a happy face and go out, so seeking treatment to lead to long term pain relief hopefully as chiropractic and massage treatments help but results are very short lived... hoping to be pain free or well on the way to it by the time my birthday this spring rolls around.

So far, the medical bills have been better than expected with more appearing to be covered by insurance than it first appeared... knock on wood that remains as so far, we just have to go by what the doctor's office has charged us and haven't yet received the statement of benefits from the insurance company to know if we need to cover more. The doctor's office has gotten prior approval for the procedures so fingers crossed tightly that it all goes through as expected. The MRIs we know will likely be the large bills as they aren't fully covered by insurance so will be forking out 20-40% of those costs at minimum as our deductibles are also brand new for the year so haven't exhausted those yet.

We stayed within budget well last year, are expecting a tax refund finally this year and built up savings a bit so other than really missing the Canadian health care system where you didn't have to worry about doctor's bills, unless something more serious is discovered, things should be quite manageable... which is good news as I am the finance worrier/manager of the family so hate seeing me cost us so much... but like the expense for the gym, unless we are healthy and enjoying life, what is the point of having it in the bank?

So that is my news for the time being... just heard the alarm clock go off so best check to see if Mike is ignoring it again being a Sat morning or if I have to nudge him out as he has things he wanted to do this morning.

Oh and since this is aimed primarily at the mother in law & aunt :) Mike is doing well. His last doctor's check up had his numbers the best they have been in years. The gym is really helping to get his health better and he is building up some nice, strong muscles that are soon going to need larger sleeves to contain. :)