Posted 7/26/2014 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Star,
www.si-bone.com keeps sending me info about the ifuse thing. Would not help me, my problem is different, but just thought i would throw it out there as something to look at.
I have had the nerve burning/RFA done on my lower back once, about a year ago. I'm in the process of having it repeated. Just waiting for insurance to respond, already had the test injections. Worked pretty well for me. I wouldn't say it made me pain free or anything, but I would stop sometimes in the midst of doing something and realize that I wasn't focused on my pain. For me, totally worth it. Sure, I still had to take some pain meds, be somewhat careful how i did things and for how long, but to get thru the day without having thought about the awful pain all day--huge deal!!
As for the procedure itself, not sure if most/all docs do it the same. But, my doc did the "test" injections first, where they inject a short acting numbing agent, lasted about 6 hours. They want to check and make sure it's the right spot, and that you would get significant relief from it. They had me fill out a "pain diary" for 6 hours following the test, rating pain and writing down what I was doing, whether I found it easier to do things, was the relief significant enough that I wanted to do the actual nerve burning/RFA procedure, etc. After reporting my scores the next day, they (the clinic) checks with insurance. Oh, and for me, the test injections were a little bit painful, but the pain really didn't last long at all, and the whole thing took only a few minutes. As long as you don't have sedation or anything, you can just go about your day like normal. They encourage you to be sorta active (as opposed to going home and sleeping or sitting and watching tv) so that they can really get an idea of how well the injections worked for you.
Once it is approved, they will call to schedule. They did one side one day, and the other side a few weeks later. My doc wants his patients to be sedated during the procedure, but you don't have to be. They do need you to respond to some questions during the procedure, I don't remember anything at all though! Guess the sedation worked well!! For about a week afterwards, My back was very sore, but my understanding is that the added soreness is caused by inflammation, etc, and it will go away in about a week. My relief lasted about 9-10 months, can definitely tell a difference when the nerves regenerated.
If I understood correctly, each time the procedure is repeated, it may be harder for the nerves to regenerate, and when they do, they are not as strong. That means that hopefully each time, the relief will last longer, and I heard/read that sometimes it gets to a point where you pretty much don't need it done anymore cuz the nerves either stop regenerating or are just so weak. Do some research on radio frequency ablation, you will likely get better info from medical websites about how it works, etc.
My only regret with this stuff is that I didn't schedule things sooner. I sorta forgot about it/pushed it aside because i had other stuff going on, now the pain really sucks, but I have to wait to get things scheduled, etc. Do some research and ask your doc some questions about it. I hope that you do find a solution that works for you and that you get some relief soon. If you do go and read past posts about this, you may see a recent one from me, I did have a bit of a complication (?) from the test injection. Please don't let that freak you out, as far as I know, things like that are very uncommon, and since it was the test, everything's fine now. They'll just have to adjust things a bit when they do the real thing.
One last thing...in your post, you mention about how people on here have been dealing with chronic pain for years, and it's just been 7 months for you. Please don't compare your problem to that of anyone else's. Pain is pain. Yes, I have had chronic back pain for 16 years, but I would never ever say that mine is worse or better than anyone else's. We all experience pain a bit differently, it changes our lives in different ways, and it really isn't even possible to compare one person's experience to anothers. I guess i just mean that your pain problem is just as significant or valid, or whatever you want to call it, as the next person's.
Good Luck and keep us posted!!