So....

[iGary]

For those of you who have not had a selective root nerve block...

You sit around for a half-hour, go back to admitting, and answer a bunch of stupid questions for a half-hour. Wait for the radiologist for a half-hour. Talk to him, wait another half-hour.

Then they put you face down under this gargantuan fluoroscope, sterilize your back (make sure you don't look at the infectious waste bucket with the 4" long needles in it) local anesthetic in two sites (the freaking stung like hell) and then they drive two needles down into your back and inject a steroid and an anesthetic (god damn that hurt like geebus).

Then you sit around for another hour to make sure you don't die, and you go home.

Glad I could share.

[superbovine]

i'll buy the beer

[zelmo]

And this is intended to relieve some of the pain you've been dealing with until your surgery next month?
Is the cure worse than the disease? (bad analogy, but you get the idea)

[CanadaRAM]

I assume you passed the "did not die" test ;) (and we are all thankful)

How are you now? Is it too early to know if the block did what was intended?

Best wishes, Rest, Heal well.

[katie ta achoo]

wow. Get well, soon iGary!
I hope all goes well and you're up and doing what you love to do soon!

[treysmay]

yeah man i hope no problems will arise.
my uncle left it for 20 years and it became so far gona he couldnt get sugery.
so it was smart of you to gett'er done
chances are you will be fine though. good luck

[iGary]

And this is intended to relieve some of the pain you've been dealing with until your surgery next month?
Is the cure worse than the disease? (bad analogy, but you get the idea)

Yeah, they inject a steroid directly into the nerve root, which in my case, is compressed and inflamed by a loose disk fragment.

I feel fine actually, less pain down my leg, but sore in the back.

There was this lady in the room next to me acting like she was going to die (she had a compressed L5 S1 disc - not herniated like mine, which basically exploded all over my lower back) and was like, yeah, Tylenol just doesn't work anymore. I wanted so badly to walk over and tell her, yeah, uh wait until 4 percocets don't work. :D

This is just to buy me some comfort without narcotic pain killers until I have surgery.

Good analogy, CanadaRAM!

I have to go to iTunes - the radiologist had some really good tunes on and I asked him to write down the albums and artists. :)

Takes about a week to find out if it really worked.

Thanks all, just wanted to share. ;)

[wdlove]

I'm happy to see that your felt comfortable enough to share. Being able to write a difficult situation down often helps to sort out your feelings. I pray the the steroid and anesthetic will be successful. The decrease in swelling should make a big difference. Was this a one time treatment or will it be repeated?

[Cooknn]

When I was younger I went under the knife to have a ruptured disc cut away from a nerve that was causing severe pain in my back and some in my leg (car accident). I was back to work in a week and was water skiing in several months. Was as good as new. They called it a laminotomy as opposed to a laminectomy where they actually remove the entire disc. What are you eventually going in for - and why the wait?

[iGary]

When I was younger I went under the knife to have a ruptured disc cut away from a nerve that was causing severe pain in my back and some in my leg (car accident). I was back to work in a week and was water skiing in several months. Was as good as new. They called it a laminotomy as opposed to a laminectomy where they actually remove the entire disc. What are you eventually going in for - and why the wait?

I'm having a laminotomy - actually the only difference between a laminectomy and a laminotomy is the amount of the lamina (that bony plate they remove to get at the disc) is that with the laminectomy they take away a much larger piece of the lamina. A laminotomy is just a small hole, they pull back the nerve, cut away the bad disc and leave the rest of the disc there.

I'm glad to hear you had a speedy recovery - that makes me feel better.

I have to wait because besides the pain, the weakness in my leg isn't great enough, and I'm able to use the bathroom - plus surgery dates are book a long time in advance. That's why they did this today - to hopefully allow me to work a few weeks with less discomfort and without popping pills all day long to do it.

[iGary]

I'm happy to see that your felt comfortable enough to share. Being able to write a difficult situation down often helps to sort out your feelings. I pray the the steroid and anesthetic will be successful. The decrease in swelling should make a big difference. Was this a one time treatment or will it be repeated?

Probably one time - unless it is succesful. I may do it again and postpone my surgery if it relieves enough pain, though the radiologist said it is very unlikely given all the disk fragments floating around back there.

Word to the wise: don't run 12 marathons in a short period of time at 220 lbs.
:o

[iGary]

The radiologist was hot. :p

Not as hot as my neurosurgeon, but hot. :rolleyes: :)

[mbdamdg]

Word to the wise: don't run 12 marathons in a short period of time at 220 lbs.
:o

12 marathons :eek: That is absolutely insane - I thought running a half marathon was a big deal - and that was after too many seasons of cross country races.....

I would assume you're not running much anymore-biking is a much more enjoyable activity - at least for me.

Good luck, and hope you fell better!

[iBlue]

wow, that sounds a bit [insert swearing here] iGary! i was hoping it wouldn't be too bad; i'm glad (as i'm sure you are) that it's over and you won't need that tedious procedure again. i sure hope it works until the surgery date. it is a lousy day when your percocet is about as effective as skittles.
i woke up on the couch a few minutes ago and feeling like someone shoved a sharp object in my lower back, but i think i will hold off on feeling sorry for myself and complaining for now :eek:
still crossing my fingers for you!