Originally Posted by fionab

It ended up being just a consultation as he didn't feel that doing the pain generator test would be beneficial. I think I mentioned it was to be a nerve block using an anesthetic to see if I got temp. pain relief in neck so they could clarify which nerves are the problem.

He said that there was no point in doing it because even if I did get relief there would be little he could do given the SCS leads in my cervical area. I asked about getting epidural shots and he says he would not give them to me as it's too easy to nick the cervical leads or cause an infection on the cervical leads and he wasn't going to take that chance.

The other option is to do an ablation but he would rather have the dr. who implanted the SCS's resume my care and talk about that possibility with me. I'm rather bummed because I thought epidural shots every few months would be an easy remedy.

This dr. did say that a last resort is to have a fusion where the problem nerves are. I thought a fusion was just for a ruptured/herniated disk but he says they are also done to open up the space around the nerve to give it more room. He suspects the main culprit is C7-T1 (which is what is affecting my arms/hands/upper back) and that the nerves at C3-4 were brought into play when another doctor twisted my head/neck. He says the nerves at C3-4 are what affects the jaw, teeth, face etc. Hopefully those nerves will calm down in time but given the fact that they were so easily irritated may indicate they are problematic and were just waiting to become a problem.

He did think that I have a separate shoulder issue, so will continue getting the steroid shots into my shoulders. So, will keep on trying to figure things out

Thanks for your prayers, Mark

How are things going for you, Pooh?

Originally Posted by pooh_ac

As many of you know I am struggling with an area in my left hip that seems to be getting worse despite multiple changes in medication, too many nerve blocks to count and multiple trips 200 miles one way to see my wonderful pain doc and his lovely PA. This last visit I saw my docs partner, she stated that I have had "far" too many blocks and steriod injections. She feels that I need to have a nerve ablation. From what little research I have done it does not look like something this darned old nurse wants to proceed with. However I am not sure how much longer I will be able to continue my work in surgery, on the acute care floor and in the ER.....
I guess I just want to hear what the thoughts round here are about this "lovely" procedure
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