I had a message on my answering machine last night that I didn’t hear until 1AM when I thought of it. It was the clinic calling me to remind me that today I was scheduled for another epidural at 8:40AM.
Ruh-roh.
The doc (we’ll call him Dr. 10.0) had said if I didn’t get good results with the last epidural to contact the doc I saw two days ago, Dr. Sawbones.
Doc Sawbones had said he wouldn’t cut on me and that it was soft-tissue damage and referred pain. Ok, fine. Back to square one.
This morning I went to Dr. 10.0’s practice and apologized because I thought the referral kind of canceled the procedure and I didn’t have plans or a driver for today – and I mentioned that I don’t think another epidural will do a lick of good.
Doc 10.0 asks me how the consult he ordered went (with Dr. Sawbones). I told him what Dr. Sawbones had diagnosed and partway through Dr. 10.0 was shaking his head.
“No, no, I’ve looked at your MRI’s and seen the herniated discs, I know the pain you’re in, I know the numbness in your hand and pain in your shoulder, arm, and hand. No. I’m going to send you to a neurosurgeon at the UofM, Dr. Nutt, and when you see him make sure he knows this is not a consult, that I’m sending you to him because I feel you need a surgical solution and he is the best. Okay?”
Well, if ever I needed proof positive that the doc truly believes there’s something wrong other than “he’s a malingerer and looking for pills” assessment. Burning numb fingers that don’t type correctly 50% of the time, crippling headaches, intense aches in the neck, and stabbing pains in the neck all seem kind of wrong to me. Maybe I’m over-reacting.
So I’m off to see Dr. Nutt sometime in the near future. He’s probably sharpening his chainsaw in anticipation. No, I still don’t want surgery but at least this offers hope of repair rather than acceptance of failure and lots of crappy compromise.
****
More later…
Lemur King's Folly 
Good luck with Dr. Nutt. At least he probably won’t have Barbarella to assist him.
Less Barbarella and more River Tam (Summer Glau) or Kaylee (Jewel Staite) would be an improvement.
I’ve had the Firefly theme song running through my head for two days now…
So it’s knives after all?
Rats…..
…But at least its action. A forward motion….
Good luck, man.
Amen to that, brother. At least they are taking it seriously when I say it affects every facet of my life. I’ve never felt less like being active or even doing art. Which is saying a lot considering how active I’ve been all my life.
That means it is time for something to be done. It’s a scary something but it’s going to work out all right.
Best of luck with Dr, Nutt. May he be the type of surgin who is not only extraordinarily talented, but has the gift of being able to know when (and where) NOT to cut. And when it comes down to it, may your anesthesiologist be talented enough not to cause you any pain when (if such is the case) they do the (spinal) block.
Thank you, GuyS. I can pretty much guarantee that it will be a general anesthetic.
I woke up in the middle of a general once. They were taking the plate that held the bones in my forearm (ulna) together while they grew back together – they left the radius alone because it wasn’t making a nuisance of itself. I came to (didn’t feel a thing) and wanted to look and see. So they lifted my head enough that I could just barely see the bones and some hardware. I slurred “Whoa. COOL.” and the doc said to the anesthesiologist, who was a family friend, “Ok, put him back under…” The friend looked at me with a grin under his mask and said “Nighty night.”
Whatever he hit me with, it was lights out. Splat.
I hope they use the top-shelf stuff for this kind of work.
General Anesthetic is a good thing. Have had the spinal block, done by one who had no clue about my spine (somewhat compacted). Needles on bones tend to wake a patent up, vice put them either to sleep, or block the nerves from that point south. He got it right on the THIRD try. Again, good luck!!
RE GuyS’ experience: when I had my Titanium Knob(tm) installed where my hip was, the anesthesiologist discovered my tight throat/nasal cavity issues (yes – I have sleep apnea) and recommended the spinal.
It. Was. Perfect.
I never even noticed going to sleep, and when I woke up, I was UP. It was as if I had not even been unconscious. My mind was quite clear.
Except for the post-surgery narcotics-for-the-pain buzz, that is.
I recommend spinals – done properly.
I pray that this procedure, if you choose to undertake it, will work for you.
The aggravation of not knowing is excrutiating, too.
Glad to hear there is movement in a direction other than circular to mediocre, temporary fixes. I can only imagine the frustration and sheer weariness you have from always being in such pain.