Denervation...advice

[susancook]

Susan,
I hope you get some relief with this procedure. What exacty did they do to you? I'm just curious because my doc said that much of my lower back pain could be related to the facet joints. My pain is so low that it is in the sacrum. I had a very annoying burning sensation on the top of my left thigh the other day. I'm a big chicken and don't want to have to go through painful procedures to "find out" if a certain procedure will work. Please let us know how this goes for you. BTW I have NO scoliosis in my lumbar region. It would all be due to degeneration I'm guessing because of the lack of flexibility in the T-spine for so many years.

yes, degeneration is a key word! It may be different for different health plans, but for Medicare you need to have two "medial branch blocks" with Lidocaine to see if the neurotomy or denervation might work. If you get at least 80% pain relief for a few hours on both blocks, then you are eligible for the denervation. I had 100% pain relief and was amazed! As I said before, I was curled up in a ball waiting for the procedure the first time, my pain was a "9" and I could barely talk I hurt so much. At the denervation, they cauterize the medial nerve Unfortunately, the nerve regenerates in 12-18 months, but the procedure can be done again. It is a treatment for arthritis of the vertebrae and has nothing to do with scoliosis. I had mine done bilaterally on 2 lumbar vertebrae and for the thoracic, I am having it done bilaterally on 3 vertebrae.

The "test" for lumbar pain related to arthritis is to twist your spine to each side [R and L] and bend backwards. That movement apparently puts tork on the vertebre and causes them to rub together. If that gives you a lot of pain, it is suggestive that your pain may be arthritic pain and you may be a candidate. If you want more gory details or a needle-by-needle gross account of what they did, send me a PM with your phone number and I will gladly call you.

Hoping that both you and I find pain relief! Susan

[rohrer01]

Thanks, but not looking for gore. I get enough of that with my own injections. I'm just more curious than anything because of the lower back pain that I have. Did it leave you with numbness?

[susancook]

Pain after denervation

Thanks, but not looking for gore. I get enough of that with my own injections. I'm just more curious than anything because of the lower back pain that I have. Did it leave you with numbness?

No numbness. Right now I am 2 days post procedure and have a lot of lower back pain from the procedure which is initially expected. The MD gave me Oxycodone, take one..No relief, so I took 2. Maybe a little bit of relief and suprisingly no sedation. It was REALLY tough getting out of bed this morning and it was difficult to walk because of the pain. I assume that the pain is normal and again will improve with time. Already I have noticed that while I do have pain from the procedure, it is a different pain than I had pre-procedure, so maybe that's good. I will tell you how the pain changes over time. I am having 3 procedures in a week while NOTHING was offered for 7 months. Like my brother said, "When are you going to let go of that anger?" ...how do you let go? Haven't figured that out!

Hope that this is helpful and that you find relief. Initially Dr. Chen was going to do BOTH denervations at once, but said that she was worried that she would cause me too much pain. I told her, "Bring it on!" She obviously does not have back pain and when I am alone in the evening with an "8" level pain for the entire evening....now that's pain. Procedural pain that lasts an hour, but has a promise of decreasing my evening pain score over time, "priceless". Rohrer, you probably know what I am talking about. In many ways, you finally say, "whatever". Short of the BIG fusion which unfortunately might be in my little old lady future, and procedure that works in awesome. Maybe I am just buying time...no, I am buying quality of life.

Rohrer, I hope that you are having a relatively painfree evning! Susan

[rohrer01]

Thank you, Susan. My pain is being managed. It could be better. By that I mean I want off of the drugs. I have to come to terms with the fact that it probably isn't ever going to happen. Anger? What anger!!!!!!???? Yep. I know what you mean. I think it's more a feeling of helplessness for me. Only so much can be done and I expect perfection. Perfection just isn't possible in medicine. You can only get so much help.

I'm sorry you are in so much pain from the procedure. I'm more sore after my shots, but nothing like you describe. I go in for round two of Botox tomorrow. If it doesn't work better this time, I think I'll just give up on that treatment and stick to the trigger point injections. I hope you are feeling better.

[susancook]

Hi Susan

I just wanted to say welcome...

I went as long as I could and had pretty bad lumbar DDD and 4 herniations with sciatica. This can also lead to end plate damage....a good question for Dr Hart.

I did not do any shots. It was offered....but at the end with my x-rays looking pretty bad it just didn’t make sense to me. I was barely walking and pain was spiking 10. Death and taxes, and my tax was due. I was a Luque wire candidate in 1976 so it was a long wait.

I did just about everything else, Chiro, massage, and hot water soaks. Hot water is the easiest way to get the most relief from extreme pain events.

I do have a stretching machine......and an arch table. Electrostim machine, sock installer, walker, ski poles, and scuba gear! All used for scoliosis.....Just PM me if you are interested. The stretching machine is a professional unit that was ordered by a doctor for me, and its heavy duty and weighs a few hundred pounds...not an easy thing to move, but can be done. Anything is possible, I’ve proven that.

Ed

Ed: What's "end plate damage"....don't think that I want that! Susan

[susancook]

6 days post denervation

6 days post denervation/radiofrequency neurotomy bil lumbar and I have only a little bit of lower back pain. It's pretty amazing! I need to get over the anger that I feel for the first pain MD that I saw who said that he thought about doing the procedure in January, but decided not to. All that wasted time and poor quality of life. Evening on the couch with an ice bag. Bummed. Maybe I should put pins in a Voodoo doll. I need to get over this. Susan

[susancook]

Thoracic denervation done!

Just to complete my saga, I had bilateral thoracic denervation on 3 vertebrae done early in the morning on the day that I left for FIJI for 2 months! Not ideal, but the original ordering MD forgot to put in the order and that was the only time possible. They said that they gave me "conscious sedation", but the pain of the procedure was a "10". YIKES!!!! So far, I have some pain relief, but not as much as I had hoped. Thank God that I have ice bags at the resort where we are staying. Susan

[loves to skate]

Susan,
Sorry to hear you didn't get the pain relief you were hoping for, but at least you got some. I guess we take what we can get. A 10 is horrible. I hope they don't charge you for the conscious sedation. I am getting a little relief from my SI joint injection.
Enjoy your time in Fuji.
Sally

[susancook]

Susan,
Sorry to hear you didn't get the pain relief you were hoping for, but at least you got some. I guess we take what we can get. A 10 is horrible. I hope they don't charge you for the conscious sedation. I am getting a little relief from my SI joint injection.
Enjoy your time in Fuji.
Sally

Thanks Sally. Actually w/ time, it seems that my pain relief is getting better. Guess that I am impatient! If I ever have another neurotomy, we will have some serious discussions about conscious sedation. During the procedure they have to ask about the burning of the nerves and if I am feeling it in other areas, radiating areas from my back. Somehow, there needs to be a better way of sedating me w/ analgesic relief than they provided. I tried to do relaxation breathing, but I was in such pain that all I could do is to try to survive.

I am trying everything to avoid surgery.

I am so happy that you are getting some relief from your SI joint injection! I hope that it continues, maybe it will with a little more time.

I am enjoying working in Fiji! HUGS, Susan

[susancook]

Just a followup. I had a thoracic and lumbar denervation or radiofrequency ablation done 3 months ago and still have fantastic relief! So, if you are an older person and suspect that some of your back pain might be due to arthritis, I would recommend the procedure. My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner.
Susan

[jrnyc]

well, unfortunately, it doesn't work for everyone...

jess