What Was That?
 

SO!!

Today I went to a Pain Psychologist. She was a Resident, and she was FANTASTIC!!!

She did her exam, talked to me, went over my meds, then stabbed me with a needle.

Her exam was very good. She was gentle and didn't push it. She was easy to talk and VENT to. Went over all the meds I take..THANK GOD she told me to start weaning off the Neurontin < HATED IT!!!! Put me on Baclofen for the muscle spasms in my low back and right leg, not to take Flexeril-she doesn't like it. Told me she is going to tell my doctor to increase my Oxy to a 3 x a day dose, to help with the "breakthrough pain".

Then she left and talked to the Dr she is working for, he came in and told me that he was going to give me a shot. So he pressed on different spots of my low back and when he found the one that really hurt he was going to inject me with a needle. He said it was like when the dentist freezes your mouth, the same sort of medication he was going to inject into where it hurt to press on, he told me he was shooting it at the L5 level, and that it will helpt with my pain down my right leg. He said that it could last from 4 hours to 2 weeks, and he told me that if i am happy with the results i can come and get more.

SO!! When I am in there listening to EVERYTHING the jam into your head, I get out of there, and now I am sitting on the couch trying to figure out- what it was he gave me, how it actually works, is it like the ESI's where you can only get a round of 3. Or is it something you can continue to use frequently?

Was hoping that someone could fill in the blanks for me. THANKS!!!

JaNeNe

Janene... sounds like a selective nerve root block. Inject local anesthetic to 'block' a nerve and if the pain goes away... the generator is below the block. Sounds like you have a positive diagnostic test. Getting good results to tests like these can lead to a more accurate diagnosis. Good news!

Mark

Edit to add... I should have said, "at the area of the block, OR below it."

Hello Mark,

Why is it good news? What do you mean below the block? Sorry if these are stupid questions, but I don't want to get excited about something I don't understand....

Janene

Be hopefule that positive test results will lead to a diagnosis that you and your team will have confidence in.

If you have pathology in the area injected, then you'll have more confidence that the area injected is causing the pain. However, if you have nerve entrapement below the area injected, the block will still generate a positive result. You can have entrapment of the sciatic nerve in your hip area from injury or congenital defect or other disorders. These are rare, but I have seen several cases.

At this point... I'd say don't go looking for trouble... you have a team that is zeroing in on the right area... get informed about the process and participate in the dialog. That way... when they do get to a diagnosis, you'll understand the process better and will be better equipped to make an informed decision.

all the best.

Mark

PS... I should have said... "at the area of the block OR below." My statement was inaccurate... I'm glad you caught it... I'm editing the post above to clarify.