rhizotomy did not really help
 

they said it was my facet joints and true when they did the test injections it gave me some relief but the rhizotomy failed. i barely have 50 % better on the left at one level and none on the right. i guess drugs are coming back into my life...:(

I am sorry that you found little relief on something you had pinned your hopes on. Drugs can be our best friend-- also sometimes our worst enemy. You love the fact they are there but hate the need for them!

My best to you, Dale

Sorry Cheryl. I know how you feel . I've had lots of sets of injections and always hope they will help tremendously and sometimes i cannot tell any difference at all.
feel better any way you can

results
 

Hi Cheryl,
sorry you didn't get the results you were hoping for esp. on that one side. If meds will help w/the pain and that's the main option you have left (maybe there's another/others?) then at least it's there and hopefully will give you back a better quality of life/functioning. We have to do the best we can with the options available to us. Still sorry that things didn't work out as you hoped.

I wonder how many false positive diagnostic injections come from bathing the painful area with local anesthetic?

Sorry about the dissappointing result.

Mark

Mark you said it
 

I wondered that myself...They give you locals and steriods all at once in this multi-level deal and you feel great for about 5day-2weeks and then the rhizotomy barely touched it. Also, they will only do 1-2 levels at a time. Said something about sever dizziness if they do to many. This of course I was not told until they already had me hooked up to IV.

I've had several large panels of injections all with substantial relief.

What is confusing is my recent experience. Very small, target injections yielded clear results. 2 joints painful... all surrounding costovertebral joints not painful.

I believe the results and we acted on them by ablating the 2 painful joints. I experienced some relief, but not from what is my #1 pain generator.

So Mark, what is your #1 pain generator and how do you address it?

Not an exact science
 

I guess it is why they call it practicing medicine. They told me that they thought it was my facet joints.

Radiofrequency is not the same as laser
 

cherylstewart67,
In the interest of clarity, radiofrequency thermal coagulation is not the same as CT guided laser coagulation.
The latter is far longer lasting, more precise in it's implementation, and is more thorough.
Just want to make sure folks understand the difference, in case they are doing research or considering one of these procedures. Radiofrequency thermal coagulation is the "industry standard" in the U.S., even though it is an outmoded and inferior method.

Respectfully,
Jeff