Well ya'll, today wasn't a day I'd like to repeat.
I arrived at the Pain Clinic in all my unmedicated glory to show what was going on. After the 45 minute drive, I couldn't stand still, sit still, lean still due to the pain. I had no idea that the left lower lumbar hurt as bad as it does until today. Silly me, I thought the right side was the worst!
Here I bow to you more seasoned posters...I thought that I would be meeting with an ortho or neurosurgeon....wrong. I met with a pain specialty anesthesiologist, albeit a very kind, thorough, thoughtful fellow. He agreed with the diagnosis of the first ortho I saw, said he thought surgery will be the answer, said he did not think epidurals will be beneficial, but wants to try one epidural to see if it will buy us some time to find a facility and neurosurgeon who is willing to do the work on someone w/o insurance. He said that the choices of surgery will be a laminectomy & disectomy, or a fusion, but since he is not a surgeon he could not say which. I felt comfortable with him. I agreed to the epidural, scheduled for 1/9. Oh, also continuance of the percocet and upped the gabapentin from 800mg/daily to 1600mg/daily.
I took the 1st painkiller of the day at 3pm and was glad, so glad to take it! Glad today is over as well.