Let’s Not Do This Again, Shall We?

Yesterday afternoon I went to the Carolina Back Institute for a nerve test and epidural. I’ve been having trouble with my back for over a year, and its gotten worse in the last 6 months or so. Two spots have been hurting for a very long time, and my GP’s suggestion was to leave those spots alone for at least six weeks. Unfortunately, every chair I sit in rubs on those spots, so that idea wasn’t exactly feasible. Over the last several months, I’ve been having numbness and nerve pain in my left leg, muscle spasms in my lower back, and sitting for more than 20 minutes has become excruciating. Fun, huh? So, just after Christmas, I went to CBI for an initial exam, and the nice doctor says she thinks there’s trouble with my S1 nerve, probably because the disc that I ruptured back in Feb 06 is bulging and pressing on the nerve. The two specific spots she thinks are problems with the sacroiliac joint, between my spine and pelvis. The spasms and general back pain are most likely referred pain and/or caused by trying to compensate for the nerve and joint pain. All of which makes sense.

The nerve test is something that I hope I never, ever, have to repeat. The first part is done by sending electrical jolts into various parts of the leg from ankle to the back of the knee, finding the nerve, measuring it and the response to the shocks. The first couple weren’t so bad. And then she turned up the juice. She was testing my left leg, but my right leg did most of the flailing. Which was probably for the best, since a couple of times she had to repeat a jolt because my left leg jerked the wrong direction at the wrong time, or something like that. After a few minutes, I was so well-conditioned that I started flinching when she typed on the computer keyboard (jolting was usually immediately preceded by typing). The second part of the test is done by sticking a needle into various muscles and sending a low-level current into the muscle. She would also rotate my leg each time she moved the needle, and I could hear a different response on the computer, depending on the leg position. Unfortunately, rotating the leg usually made it hurt a lot more than just sticking in the needle. I’m hoping she got some useful information out of that, and wasn’t just doing it to torture me. I tell you, I was worn out after the test, and it only lasted about 20 minutes. She said it takes a few days to get the results back, and I guess she was mostly right.

The doctor that gave me the epidural a bit later was able to tell me that the nerve test showed that the S1 nerve was definitely being pinched on the left side, but he couldn’t tell me much else. Although, really, I have no idea if there’s anything else to know. Guess I’ll find out when I do my follow-up in a couple of weeks. I had an epi done back in March 06, and I’ve apparently blocked most of that, because all I remember from that one is lying on my stomach, and then going home, with a stop to pick up lunch. I remember some pain during the car ride, but no numbness, and no real pain the next day. Of course, I could have blocked that out, too, I guess. Or I might have been lucky that time. I hope I manage to block out most of this epi, too. The doctor was very nice and talked to distract me, which I appreciated even though it didn’t really work. Even with the local anesthetic, the shot was miserable. Thankfully, he works fast. Afterwards, it got kind of interesting. I didn’t have anyone to drive me home (like they say you need), but I figured any numbness would be in the left leg, and my truck doesn’t have a clutch, so it’d be okay. And driving home from Angel’s with the dogs when I first ruptured the disc taught me that driving is possible, even when you don’t necessarily think it is.

My leg had a bit of numbness right after the shot, but the first thing to go was my butt. I swear, I didn’t actually feel it again until this morning. The back of my thigh was numb most of the afternoon and evening, and my calf and heel had a few moments, but I was always able to feel my toes. I figure that’s a good thing. The worst was the minor spasms and that I couldn’t stretch backwards, because where the shot was done, well, lets just say that was pretty stinking sore. Still is, actually. Apparently, this time I get to be in the “small group of patients who may experience a mild increase in pain for one to seven days immediately following the injection.” Lucky me. If I’m really lucky, though, this will ease up the problem in my leg and back, and maybe fix it enough that I don’t dread the idea of getting on a plane for an hour. Fingers crossed.