In the two weeks running up to my appointment for the lumbar spinal nerve block injection my pain just got worse and worse. I ended up off work and on a cocktail of pain killers starting with Tramadol and Naproxen and eventually moving on to Temgesic, Diazepam and Amitriptyline after a couple of days when I had had no sleep at all due to the extreme pain in my right leg.
The pain was simply horrendous, constant and nagging, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. The final cocktail left me feeling spleepy and spaced but at least able to sleep. I spent the week on the sofa watching day time telly. The drugs made the television tolerable as well as the pain. I found myself getting really into a Channel ‘Quest’ ‘How do they do it?’ program about how they make the fake logs for electric fires and told cath all about it when she got home from work !
Cath drove me to hospital last Saturday and I was first up on the morning list.
Strangely I found myself in the same room as 8 years ago when I had my sesamoid injected.
It all started so quickly and just lying on my front to start with put me in a lot of pain despite the painkillers though I didn’t think to ask for gas and air.
As the needle progressed between x-rays to get it in the right place I ended up with my mouth clamped round the pillow, a nurse lying over my shoulders holding me down and crying out in agony (me not her). I hope the door to the ward wasn’t open, if those to follow had heard me it would have got them very worried about what was in store for them next.
I was in a right state, vaguely remember being shown the x-ray to confirm they had go it in exactly the right place and then getting pushed out in a wheel chair. Coffee and biccies followed before after an hour or so I was able to go home.
I stayed on the pain killers that night but even by the following morning the pain had gone, just disappeared like that and since Tuesday ive not taken so much as a paracetamol.
So what happens next. I still have a numb right shin , you could run your nail hard up it and I cant feel a thing. If I stand or walk for more than 5 mins or so the shin starts to hurt but recovers fairly quickly once I sit down again.
My next consultant appointment is in 5 weeks….. watch this space…….