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Cervical traction after epidural steroid and it felt like my head was being pulled off

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allaroundanne
allaroundanne

OMG I am so tired of going through all the rigamarole of doing conservative/cheap therapy before you can get to what you know will work as you already have one in your lower spine, a spinal cord stimulator!  I am going through a truly agonizing series of cervical epidural steroid blocks combined with three times a week physical therapy.  The blocks are done with a catheter to get the steroid up past the bone spur and herniated disc I have at C4.  The blocks help minimally at best, this last one I think he put in more volume as I had a real pressure head and neck ache the day of the block.  I took it easy for two days before I went back in for my PT, and I have been doing traction all along with no problems, but this time was out of a nightmare.  I had sudden severe pain with that acute panic, get me out of here.  They did, but ever since, my neck has been more painful than before the blocks.  Ughhhh.  In my mind, I am thinking my neck has the same kind of arthritis as my lower back which has done really well with the spinal cord stimulator.  These blocks just aren't working all that well and I am thinking that I certainly don't want to wait very long for the spinal stimulator trial in my neck because the arthritis is only going to get worse.  Right now the catheter my doctor is using in these steroid blocks is passing easily, but will a catheter pass so easily next year?  If I get to that point, then I am forced to the surgeon, I am luckily responding so very well to the SCS in my lower back, I want the option to give that a try in my neck.  I can tell my doc is hoping that these epidural blocks work so he doesn't have to do the SCS in my neck.  Right now I am just not having a good enough response to them to say to him I am better enough.   I know he has several patients with two SCS.  LOL that would make me close to the 250 K woman!   OK got that off my chest.  I am still petrified to go to PT on Monday.  I am feeling like one of those wobbly head dolls now.  I would really just like to be out of pain.

Lynn

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX allaroundanne

    Posted

    About 5 years ago, I had severe sciatica down one leg...hip, butt, leg../really bad.  Chiro saw nothing wrong on the x-ray.  Ortho had me do a series pain shots to L4...no joy.  Went to my neuro who did the MRI showing something unusual at L4/L5 but not conclusive.  A few weeks later, he did a laminectomy of L4/L5 and found a rather large bone spur literally "CRUSHING" (his word) my sciatic nerve root.  Shaved it off...immediate relief...no rehab...residual nerve inflammation gone in a few days.  Done.

    IMHO, all this other therapy is BS unless you find the root cause of the problem AND FIX IT!!!  Got a bone spur and disk problem at C4?  Go to a neuro and get the damn thing fixed. I had that laminectomy for the bone spur at L4/L5, a full TLIF fusion (my lower back was a "junkyard" after 45 years of hockey) from L3 through S1 and now and LLIF (lateral) fusion for stenosis at L2/L3.  In every case, the procedure fixed my problem.  Stop messing around and have the surgery.

  • DJ1976
    DJ1976 allaroundanne

    Posted

    Hi Lynne......sorry your neck is giving you a rough time.  Just keep pushing for another stimulator.  If it is working for your back, no reason it won't work again.

    I am finally getting some relief.  New rep. New programmung

    • DJ1976
      DJ1976

      Posted

      Ok hit the wrong button....word should be programming.  Wish you could edit on here.  I am upping the intensity on my own.  Pain still on outside of butt and down leg.  Hoping it will get less and less.  Be well my friend.

      Dee

  • allaroundanne
    allaroundanne

    Posted

    Oh yea!!  some pain relief for you finally.  See what I mean ? When it works it just feels maddening to go through all this crappola, and then to have the crappola cause injury and more pain is insanity.  I know I don't want surgery, getting the multiple bone spurs out, the multiple discs removed would destabilize my neck and require a fusion.  No thanks..I don't want a 6 level fusion.  I just want the second SCS and I am tired of proving the other therapies aren't cutting it. Ughhhh.  But I am so happy to hear a new rep did make a difference.

    • DJ1976
      DJ1976 allaroundanne

      Posted

      Hi there.  I hope you get your second stim.  I have been upping my stim but feel I need to see the rep. again to fine tune.  Maybe we will all turn the corner sooner rather than later.
    • allaroundanne
      allaroundanne DJ1976

      Posted

      Yep, do make the new rep work LOL.  They can fine tune for sure.  Mine did. For a while there I was meeting her every 4 days or so.
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