shots

Hi Grandma, from another grandma.

Facet joint injections are not intended to be curative, just a diagnostic test to see if they've got the right nerve. If they work even a few days, says my pain doc anesthesiologist who's been doing these for many years, it's the right place. They usually do a second set which may last longer. Then you can have ablation.

Ablation is about the same as the injection as far as the patient is concerned. It isn't any worse in my experience (6 last year). It may take a couple of days to feel relief. Most of mine from last spring are "wearing off." Actually nerves repair themselves. Some people call ablation burning the nerves, but only the nerve covering is heated and damaged, so you can understand why it doesn't last forever.

A lot of pain docs can do facet injections (like my physiatrist), but not all are qualified to do ablations. As far as I know only trained anesthesiologists do ablations and can work on thoracic or neck nerves. So if your doc isn't an anesthesiologist, he'll probably just keep doing injections over and over. Check the qualifications of all the members of the practice. You can ask to see a different one for different things.

Thanks for your feedback...I really don't know what to do. I had so many shots in my back and nerve neourostimulator and that even failed. My balance is also getting really bad 2. Wish me luck.

Thank you for your experience. The feedback helps in making decisions. Hope things work out for you.

For some reason my Doctor wouldn't help me find a Pain Management.

I found this one on my own.

The 1st 3 procedures did nothing really,good or bad.

The 4th one put me in a world of pain I didn't know existed.

They gave my 5 milligrams of oxocodone a day for the extra pain.

I'll never have another injection in my spine.

I really was frantic for 46 days.I wore a heating pad around my shin for 46 days.It was the only thing,along with meds,that would quell the pain.

Rick

eta: After seeing what they had done to me my Doctor said he would refer me to whichever Pain Management I choose.

And that Pain Doctor does make patients get periodic injections for their pain meds.

Hmm, not sure about overactive bladder, specifically. But as my back was getting progressively worse, before my surgery, I knew well in advance that lumbar innervation affects bladder and bowel, and they told me to immediately report if I noticed any loss of control.

(I sort of did).

There is a correlation to those lumbar nerves and your bladder, and since I'm not sure how it may present in your case, I would play it safe and mention this to your doctor right away.




M.