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  • #31
    You are such a dear person Mattie and sweetie I will always be here for you.

    You are wise to wait and see your GP as it never hurts to investigate everything and to do all your homework as after all honey you are the one having the injection in your back eh!

    God bless,
    Macky xx
    Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
    Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

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    • #32
      I heard back from my GP today. He consulted with the Drs at the pain clinic.
      They plan on doing epidurals, in the facet joint if possible. My GP thinks I ought to try them first as a less invasive action rather than surgery. I agreed to give them a try.
      He said the next step would be to see if my insurance would cover MAYO CLINIC. If these don't help he wants to send me to MAYO. I really don't want to do that it is so far away. I will just take it one step at a time for now and see if these injections help.
      I will try to get my appointment set up tomorrow.
      Now I get to start my insurance deductable all over again .Yea Haw.
      Mattie

      Comment


      • #33
        Hi Mattie, wise decision to go with the epidurals as they will have a good chance of working. Slow and easy does it, step by step as you said, that ,I think is always the way to go.

        Gosh the Mayo clinic. There was a member of this forum who went there and there is quite a lot of information on it but I just cant temember his name, trust me.

        I honestly did not realise how lucky I was. We really have a good health system here in Australia. Operations, doctors visits, dont cost us the earth and we dont have Medical insurance that only covers certain things. We have Public Hospitals where anyone can go and been seen and if admitted the cost is nothing. We also have Private hospitals and that is where people need medical insurance. If they want to go Private they have to be covered by insurance, as that is when the costs mount up.

        Only thing is there is a huge waiting list for Public Hospitals and that is the where things get behind, where one can get into Private ones quite easily.

        Let me know Mattie when you are due for your epidurals.

        Macky
        Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
        Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

        Comment


        • #34
          Macky, I go on the 18th of January for my first injection. I will keep you posted on my progress and you do the same. OK
          By the way how are you doing? I get all caught up in my own problems I forget about other peoples problems. I know you were having quite a bit of pain . I hope it is improving some.
          Wish we had anything that was free here. Nothing is free.
          We are suppose to live in the land of the free and I have not found anything free yet.
          Good luck to you.
          Mattie

          Comment


          • #35
            Dont apologise for being worried about whats going on with you sweety, I think all of us understand what that is like.

            I am going along ok, it helps being on the forum and reading about other people it makes one realise that pain and all maybe I am not so bad off.

            God bless,
            Lorraine. xx
            Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
            Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

            Comment


            • #36
              I am going to have a epidural injection done on the 18th. I would appreciate some feed back from people who have had this kind of injection. Did it help? Was it painful? Did it not help at all? I am worried about having this done. So many things can go wrong. The worst part for me is the Drs. have already told me they don't know if they can help me. They said that I don't have much to work with. Anybody knowing anything about these injections I would like to hear about it. Thanks
              Mattie

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              • #37
                Hi Mattie. Dont be scared honey ,no need to be at all. I just read your posts and as I remembered you have had a myelogram. I think you will find the epidural is similar to that, as far as what you feel is concerned. They give you a local anaesthetic around the area to deaden it all and then off they go.

                I had like an xray thing above me when they did mine so that they could see what they were doing which was a comfort to me, but these doctors should be very experienced in what they are doing.

                All in all, dont worry. This injection has helped a lot of people and I have read that on these forums. Me, well it didnt, but then I think I am a case that stumps a lot of people.


                god bless,
                Macky xx
                Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
                Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Hi - I was wondering if any of you have opinions or insights about this feeling I have - I feel like my rib cage is twisting...I am recovering from a lumbar revision procedure (rods, pedicle screws, fusion)for flatback and stenosis. My first surgery fused me from T4-L4 with rods (they're still there too). I got decent correction initially, but over the years it has stabilized to around the high 20s for both curves. I do have a compensatory cervical curve, that I try to manage with physical therapy. I did have some nerve problems with one of my legs from this last surgery, which resulted in numbness and weakness - I use a cane to walk at this time. I am having a lot of upper back pain (just achy and stiff at the lumbar surgical site) and sometimes I feel like I'm twisting (I do have a bit of a rib hump still).
                  Has anyone felt as though they were twisting before? I've had it prior to my last surgery too, and nothing has progressed, but I'm just paranoid with this recent surgery - I'm afraid of "wrecking" it! It has also been suggested that it's because the upper back is overcompensating for the lack of strength in the lumbar region. I get worried about "overdoing it".
                  I try to keep busy, but my mind tends to wander and worry sometimes. I've been told that I may need more surgery down the road (10-15 years), which doesn't surprise me, but it's hard to not worry about it. In the meantime, I want to do what I can to take the best care of myself and my back.
                  Sorry about the ramble!
                  Cena
                  Nov. 2006 - revision surgery
                  Aug. 1992 - revision surgery for hook removal and pseudoarthrosis
                  July 1989 - Cortrell Doubosett procedure - two rods and fusion T4-L4 (age 13)

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Cant help you solve your question Cena, just wanted you to know you never ramble, your posts are always informative and interesting.

                    So wish I could help though,

                    Macky xxx
                    Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
                    Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Thanks Macky - you're sweet! It's nice to be able to have a place to ask questions and share with those who have similar experiences. Sometimes, our experiences can be lonely if those around you have never been through it. Take care!
                      Cena
                      Nov. 2006 - revision surgery
                      Aug. 1992 - revision surgery for hook removal and pseudoarthrosis
                      July 1989 - Cortrell Doubosett procedure - two rods and fusion T4-L4 (age 13)

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Cena, I cannot answer your questions either. Wish I could help but since I don't have the same thing happening to me I wouldn't even begin to give you any insite.
                        I went for my first injection. All went ok but it sure was painful. It was worse than anything I had ever been through. Worse than all three of my surgeries. The Dr. had a hard time getting the needle in place at the bottom because of all the hardware, the curvature and scar tissue. It took him twenty minutes to get the needle in the bottom. He got right in on the top no problem. I have seen a difference in my pain level, it is much better. still a little tender but not a constant pain like before. I have to have two more done then if they help the Dr. wants to burn the nerve and that should stop the pain for awhile.
                        I am however not looking forward to the other two injections.
                        Celine, best of luck on trying to get some answers.
                        Macky, thank you also for any information you had for me. Hope you see some improvement also.
                        Mattie

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Mattie, I am so very ,very sorry that the injection hurt so much, you poor thing.
                          I was so upset when I read it. I have never heard of burning a nerve but it sounds great, honestly. I mean it sounds like that would REALLY stop that pain, I would imagine it would anyway.

                          Hope things have settled down a bit better,
                          Macky xx
                          Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
                          Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Macky, I had never heard of burning the nerve either but thats what he said. The injections sure did help. I have had no real pain since I had them. I wish that the injections would have helped you. You did try them didn't you?
                            If anyone has any information about burning the nerve I would appreciate it.
                            The Dr. said that if he burns the nerve that it will last approximately one year or a little more, it varys from person to person of course.
                            Macky take care you are a dear.
                            Mattie

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Yes Mattie I did try the injections, unfortunately they didnt help, I am so glad they have helped you, thats so good.

                              Now the injection is over and the pain has lessened a lot for you, I bet you are pleased you had them.


                              god bless,
                              Macky
                              Operation 1966, Fused from T4 to L3, had Harrington rods inserted. Originally had an 85 degree Thoracic curve with lumbar scoliosis as well but had a good correction.
                              Perfectly normal life till 1997 but now in a lot of pain daily. Consider myself very fortunate though.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Mattie,
                                Burning nerves... also known as nerve ablation to the nerves inervating the facets (joints) on the spine. This is known to be quite effective at reducing or eliminating the pain if in fact that is where it's coming from. Eventually, usually over the course of 6 months to a year, the nerves can regenerate and become functional again.

                                Something to keep in mind... this addresses the nerves that send pain signals to your brain telling you there is something wrong. When you burn these nerves you no longer receive the signal that is telling you of the problem at hand... which might cause one to ignore the cause of the problem and it may, and probably will, get worse, despite the lack of reception about it. The nerve irritation itself is not the actual cause of the pain, it's the by-product or end-result of the situation.

                                I would recommend taking a multi-faceted approach to the treatment of your back pain for that reason. You could use injections/nerve ablation/etc. to help with the pain, but none of these treat the actual problem, so it's return down the road is likely... maybe just in another region.

                                This might be helpful, or at least a starting place to learn more. Do a search for "nerve ablation".
                                http://www.coloradospineinstitute.co...gement_30.html

                                regards,
                                structural

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