Oh my Aching back!
@BearArtistLady (5382)
United States
December 4, 2018 1:50pm CST
We went to the pain clinic last week, and I complained about how my legs and back hurt after working at the shop my one day a week. I also stated that they hurt when I walk a lot too. The doctor poked my back and had me do a couple of movements and calmly stated that my C6 and C7 discs in my back are gone and I need to have injections to relieve the problem. If that works then they will do some surgery that will correct the problem permanently.
When the doctor mentioned injections Bill stared at me hard. Of course it was the first he heard actually how badly I hurt from all the walking from working the shop and when we went shopping without my working the shop. I was hurting from where the doctor poked the "magic spot" that caused the pain to worsen. I relented and said yes to the shots. Then he started talking like a fast freight and going into what was involved and that there would be four shots in actuality. Two in each disc area to numb the area so I wouldn't feel the injections, then two more which were the actual injections. (Whoopie! I hate shots to start with...I'd rather shovel cow pies all day than get shots!
) Then he explained that those shots were only temporary and would last a few days, if they helped then they would inject me again with shots that would last a couple of months and hopefully would help more. If those worked then they would deal with the problem on a more permanent basis. Super!!!!
More shots! What he managed to leave out is if they messed up I could end up in a wheel chair for the rest of my life.
Then the topper came to the conversation. The shots were to be given to me in their facility that is 200 miles away from the office that I was in. The time it takes for the shots was about 30 minutes, plus time for me to adjust to the shot and also prove that I could get up and walk after the shots. I had to be there in the early morning when they did the surgical procedures which meant that I would have to leave the house around 5 a.m. Whoopie!
So I would have to rent a motel room for the night and we would have to go down the day before the procedure. That wouldn't be all bad as I could do some shopping, but still I'd rather not do the whole mess down there.
The reason for having to do it at their facility 200 miles away is that it is kept sterile like a hospital. The shots in my back are considered a surgical procedure and are treated like that. Great!!! I'm not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the procedure and follow all the guidelines that are set up for people having surgery....Oh fun!!!
Needless to say I haven't set up the appointment yet. I am planning to do the procedure after the holidays. Not that we are really observing the holidays this year, but it makes getting a motel reservation much easier if it's for after the Christmas/New Year's holiday. I guess I should get the phone out and find the paperwork and make the call and make the blasted appointment. My back keeps nagging me that it hurts and if I want to be able to walk and sit I need to make the appointment. So I guess it's off to bite the bullet and make the appointment....
Has anyone out there had that kind of shot in their spine? How did it go??? Did it help any??????? Did you end up having surgery later for a more permanent fix to your spine? If you had the surgery for your spine did it help, did you end up with migraines after the surgery or from the surgery? Any information would help!!!
Thanks ahead of time, and tons of hugs!
) Then he explained that those shots were only temporary and would last a few days, if they helped then they would inject me again with shots that would last a couple of months and hopefully would help more. If those worked then they would deal with the problem on a more permanent basis. Super!!!! More shots! What he managed to leave out is if they messed up I could end up in a wheel chair for the rest of my life.
Then the topper came to the conversation. The shots were to be given to me in their facility that is 200 miles away from the office that I was in. The time it takes for the shots was about 30 minutes, plus time for me to adjust to the shot and also prove that I could get up and walk after the shots. I had to be there in the early morning when they did the surgical procedures which meant that I would have to leave the house around 5 a.m. Whoopie! So I would have to rent a motel room for the night and we would have to go down the day before the procedure. That wouldn't be all bad as I could do some shopping, but still I'd rather not do the whole mess down there.
The reason for having to do it at their facility 200 miles away is that it is kept sterile like a hospital. The shots in my back are considered a surgical procedure and are treated like that. Great!!! I'm not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the procedure and follow all the guidelines that are set up for people having surgery....Oh fun!!!
Needless to say I haven't set up the appointment yet. I am planning to do the procedure after the holidays. Not that we are really observing the holidays this year, but it makes getting a motel reservation much easier if it's for after the Christmas/New Year's holiday. I guess I should get the phone out and find the paperwork and make the call and make the blasted appointment. My back keeps nagging me that it hurts and if I want to be able to walk and sit I need to make the appointment. So I guess it's off to bite the bullet and make the appointment....
Has anyone out there had that kind of shot in their spine? How did it go??? Did it help any??????? Did you end up having surgery later for a more permanent fix to your spine? If you had the surgery for your spine did it help, did you end up with migraines after the surgery or from the surgery? Any information would help!!!
Thanks ahead of time, and tons of hugs!3 people like this
3 responses
@Plethos (13560)
• United States
5 Dec 18
@BearArtistLady - now i see as to how you hurt your discs.
@Plethos (13560)
• United States
5 Dec 18
@BearArtistLady - yup, heavy lifting does that to you. ive had my share of back problems over the years. no blown disc... yet.
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
5 Dec 18
@Plethos Actually I hurt my discs on the job. I was lifting 24 can cases of oil and 50 pound bags of dog food over my head. The women were expected to do the same job as the men and it didn't matter if they weren't physically able to handle the heavy weights. I was on the stocking crew and the manager would come up with spectacular designs for displays and we were expected to build them. One of them was an arch built of cases of oil. We would lift them from floor level to over our heads to the men who would put them in place. When I filed my lawsuit back in the 1980's I was told that the C6 and C7 disc would give out on me and that I had to be careful not to fall or do anything that might cause me to fall or I would be a quadriplegic...of course that also was because the job destroyed the discs in my neck too. My doing the small jobs around the house aren't really the initial cause of the injury...but they probably are the reason why I need to get the shots.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
5 Dec 18
I can only hope it helps. I also can only hope that the doctor's hand is steady and that his aim is good. I watch the past episodes of M*A*S*H with Frank Burns and it crosses my mind with my luck I'd get a Frank Burns doctor. 
All I hope for is a little relief from the pain. It goes through my back to my front and up my spine to between my shoulders. So any kind of relief will be welcome. As you say, doing it is important if it will help.
All I hope for is a little relief from the pain. It goes through my back to my front and up my spine to between my shoulders. So any kind of relief will be welcome. As you say, doing it is important if it will help.
@GardenGerty (157546)
• United States
4 Dec 18
I have no experience here, although my brother just had some steroid shots that were to last three months, but they only lasted two weeks.
@BearArtistLady (5382)
• United States
6 Dec 18
I have a feeling your brother is active too. I think the doctors figure the shots for people who sit a lot and don't do a lot of things. The other thing is that there are people that steroid shots just don't work on. Although Bill admitted that the shots he got at the pain clinic did help his knee and he is willing to go through the hell of getting them done in his other knee. I think a big part of it is they removed 30cc's of fluid off the knee that he got the shot in...
