L4-L5 herniated disc - Back Pain Update #2
Okay, I’m writing this post from flat on my back with a new desk (one of those ones from hospital that tucks under the bed, and hangs over your belly) which has the added novelty of swivelling so that I don’t have to sit up.. I’m lying dead flat with a laptop angled right in front of me (not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing).
I’ve just spent that last 4 days in hospital. In a previous post I said my back took a turn for the worst on Sunday night 11th of June.
Monday being a public holiday I still notified the specialist (Gary Speck) that my back condition had changed, and we decided to hold on and see if there was any improvement after the flare up and we’d meet to discuss the MRI result on Thursday. My back didn’t get any better, and probably got worse and worse. I had the local GP make a home visit and he prescribed some serious pain killers….
Thursday came and the only way I can get comfort is on my back, or on all 4’s. Couldn’t stand, sit walk…… So I crawled to the shower and got ready to go to the specialists. It a good 15 minutes and a serious amount of pain and cramping to make it the 15 meters to the car, where all I could do was stand on all 4’s on the back seat.
We parked illegally at the specialists and I made it to the front door on a stoll I took with me from home. The receiptionist helped me inside, but she tried to make me walk which put me in so much pain I could do nothing by cry and crawl inside.
The specialist took one look at me, reviewed my nerve function and said that my big toe was starting to lose power and that it was time to go to hospital and get the epidural.
I was in so much pain and upset that I just went with the flow.
The ladies in Gary’s office organised everything, within minutes I was at the hospital, in a wheel chair in a bed getting morphined up. For those intereseted they gave me 2 injections, morphine and ??????… These 2 injections would have to be the two most painful injections I’ve ever had in my life…. I screamed and cried so loud a bunch of nurses came from the hall to see what was going on… It was bad, and I’d suggest anyone who gets the choice to get the injection in the ass rather than the thigh… I still have a bruise and numbness in the leg.
They had also organised an anesthesiologist to come to the private hospital and I was the last patient of the day. I’d say I had my epidural injection around 6pm.
The anesthesiologist gave me the low down on everything, he explained the risks, the benefits etc. He said he did them daily and in the last 8 years of him doing them he’s had 2 where he’d ruptured the nerve casing which gives you a headache, but the odds were extremely low.
Basically they gave me a local anesthetic shot in the lower back which was reasonably painful but was over with pretty fast. He had me lying on my left side in a recovery style position with a nurse holding my legs and a nurse holding my upper body.
He pushed reasonably hard in and around my hips and spine with his hands and although I didn’t feel it he inserted a reasonably large needle, pushed it in, and loudly said to everyone “it’s in, and hold”. Probably held the position for about 15 or 20 seconds while they injected the fluid, and then it was over.
I was moved back off the operating table, and onto my bed, and rolled to a recovery area… where I pretty much fell asleep… I’m pretty sure they slipped in some sedative, although on the morphine I don’t remember a whole heap.
When I woke up back in the ward I could feel an instant change, which was the local anesthetic, but there is also a really weird warmth you feel down both legs. I had to lie face down with a slant to my left side, apparently the epidural has a settling period??? ie the left side being the bad side if I stayed on that side for 40 minutes after the injection then it would give a better benefit to that side.
I’d have to say so far that the injection has given me some relief and I’m not as bad I was before the injection, but then again I’m not moving around, I’m on huge amounts of pain relief.
I’ve now got a wait of around 10 days post injection to see if I’ll need surgery to get moving properly again. I’ve got an appointment this Friday where I’ll find out the future.
If the prognosis is an operation I’ll probably seek a second opinion although I’d have to say so far I don’t see how it’s going to get better.. something just feels broken/wrong and needs to be removed fixed. (if that makes sense).
Anyhow that’s pretty much it…. If anyone wants more info about what’s happened drop me a line.
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