Guest guest Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Connie, I just had an appointment with my Rheumy yesterday - follow-up to my EMG. My L4 and L5 were found to be the culprits of much added back pain, knee burning and tingling, and loss of feeling in my left foot. My Rheumy prescribed " water therapy " - not a word about a root nerve block. I had a hip block years ago - OUCH! Ask if there is an alternative........ I am not on neurotin, I take Effexor, Vultaren, and Flexeril for pain and pain management. (Also have Valium etc. if need be) Janet - oh Undif Spondy - Fibro - CFS - Raynauds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Janet, Dean and Faye...thanks for the advice. I just noticed the misspelling of " problems " in the subject area...maybe subconscious error...we need " props for our limbs " TEEHEE I decided I would wait on the root nerve block and see what happens by just adding the extra Humira/neurontin. It seems the block would only eliminate the pain and not really help with the pathology. If I was in a curled up fetal position type pain, I'd have it done. Hasn't got there with this flare up yet. That might not be a good sign either....as no pain means the nerves are getting damaged??? Anyway, not going to worry about it...going to try to smell the roses....literally....work in my flower beds this week. I might look a little funny...hobbling along...but this is Spring and I could hardly wait for it to come. Water therapy is a wonderful way to get exercise and it is low impact. Sometimes your doctor's will even give a Rx for this and it will be paid by insurance, etc. Many indoor pools are heated for arthritis patients. I have my own spa tub...we put in a few years ago after hearing about others who did the same on this list, and it was one of the best investments we've ever made. Many days I use it two and three times to help the achiness. The warm water helps to limber up joints and pain is relieved for a little while. (I've put a picture of the spa room in " my pic " on RISG) NO, I'M NOT IN IT!!! It really didn't cost all that much...and from what other people have said...you can get a write off on your income tax for medical reasons. The tub I have...we didn't have to put in an extra water heater, it has 5 jets (2 ankle/feet, 2 about the area of hips, and 1 for neck area). I never put the jets full force...just medium. Mine is narrow, but longer than most, so you can really lay down in it. Has handles...which you have to have if you have arthritis problems. We made the triple window over looking our valley, birdfeeder and birdbath and chimes on our deck. Since no one lives around us...it is quite private...just trees, birds and the sky. It takes all your cares away. My grandkids fight over who is going to take a bath in granny's spa first. We've had 4 little ones in the spa " bubble bath " at one time and they loved it. On vacation visits, my daughters love to put the music on/scented candles/and look at the stars from the tub. Only thing they have to worry about are the raccoons and flying squirrels that make their night visits to peek into the windows. :-) Yes, Liz where are you? Several others have not posted lately. We all miss you where ever you are. Keep us posted so we know you are okay. We need each other to help us over hard spots. best regards, Connie (granny) Best regards, Connie (granny) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi Connie, I have had the the injections under fluoroscope and they help immediatly if they hit the right spot. However the pain relief lasted only 4 or 5 weeks and then I had to go have it done again. I was told that you can only have so much cortisone/prednisone in your system. So they only wanted to do the procedure every 3or 4 months. They also did my hip/s at the same time for my greater trochanteric bursitis. Needless to say that is not every 4 or 5 weeks. I should also mention that the injections hurt a lot when they go right into your sore spots but because they also use a freezing the pain is short lived. My rheumatologist thought that if I benefitted from the injections that I would also benefit from Enbrel. The first time I was on Enbrel .... after about three months it was working well enough for me to taper off of my Codeine. I had to stop Enbrel for a " dirty " Surgery and when I restarted it a couple of months later it was not working as well for me. I have since stopped Enbrel as it is no longer effective and I am still waiting to hear from my rheumatologist if I am to start Remicade or some other treatment. ~~~Faye~~~ AS and fusing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 29, 2004 Report Share Posted April 29, 2004 I am fused from T 11 on down and it causes all those symptoms including severe pressure on the sciatic nerve. Not fun at all. +Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 Hi Connie, My older daughter had this done because of a herniated disk following a fall from her horse. She laid around for a couple of days afterwards and then was up around. It had to be repeated about a year later after she was using some gym equipment that aggravated the herniated disk. She didn't find it too terribly difficult to go through and had good results. I would think it would be much more tolerable than the eye surgeries. I know what you mean though by " enough is enough " . I've been at that point many times. Take care. Hope you feel better soon so that you can enjoy your summer. Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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