Let us know how the ablation goes. I’ve had all the blocks and have been scheduled for one but keep cancelling. I can’t seem to pull the trigger on it. The blocks helped “some” but not as well as yours. I’m hesitant to proceed since the relief I got was not exactly what I had hoped for.
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Second block done. Of course it is hotter than hades outside so I don’t know that I’ll get to test the riding theory.
According to the doc, they said that sometimes, if you’ve suffered through the pain long enough, your brain is really confused and the pain experienced can increase a bit because the brain is like “nerve, yo, what’s up - you’re not reporting in” so you get kind of phantom pain syndrome. I’m assuming that could happen with a block too, depending on how long you’ve been in pain.
For me, the risks of the ablation not fixing everything are minimal compared to the potential that it does unock things. I notice a few things about my body immediately after the block - first, it is much easier for me to keep a neutral pelvis - my body is always defensively holding my back in an arched position. The PT was like, that’s because your abs aren’t strong enough, but I think what’s happening is that the brain is saying “protect the back” and the abs are like, well, I’d love to override that thought but the back really needs to be protected so, no, I’m not kicking in. I did notice that once my pelvis was more neutral because my back muscles were no longer in spasm, the abs fired a few times and then were kind of like, oh, there’s nothing to pull against, ok.
Only two more weeks and then maybe I can move on to trying to unlock everything else 
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Well you sure know how to make a person curious about what was said hahah
Just had to comment!
I was going to say I am 73 and have 8 or 9 herniated discs and facet joint arthritis-this from 11 y/o mri. I had one v painful episode 11 yrs ago which resolved. For the past 11 yrs w/ this terrible looking mri - no issues. Until 6 wks ago-it’s happening again and pain can be quite intense. This was from overdoing pilates. I’m riding my horse thru it like an idiot. 2 time cancer survivor. Pain right now is intermittently intense. Really bad. I was going to say I’m doing the buddist thing about accepting pain except I’m getting less accepting by the day. I don’t think Buddhists swear like sailors. I’m scheduled for another mri and visit to neurosurgeon. I am religious about keeping my wt low and my core hard. I do regular pt and wt lifting and aerobics. The point of my post was to say that 1. mri is just a snapshot, not a prediction. 2. if someone my age can keep riding (and improving, I might add) you have nothing to worry about.
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I have all that plus add on the complication from my spinal fusion of arachnoiditis. Even most doctors don’t know what that is. It definitely isn’t fun. Glad you have options to help alleviate your pain
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I love this!!! Thanks for the hope. I was really bummed. I am just super hopeful that this helps me get out of the pain cycle long enough to be able to make progress without being crippled. My horses are my life, and it’s so hard to think of giving it up!
I’m sorry you have pain…but I suppose it means something different as we age, doesn’t it?
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so, I’m a doc, retired. I didn’t know what arachnoiditis is. but I do have a suggestion for you. When I was practicing, when I had a difficult pt, difficult in terms of treatment, I would call the appropriate institute within nih and talk to a doc working on that issue. what most people don’t know, is that as government employees, nih docs will talk w the public. you can get them on the phone. think about calling the institute of stroke and neurologic disorders and find who is researching arachnoiditis and talk to that person about latest treatments.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I am actually doing great for the most part thanks to calmare therapy. It is an absolute miracle for neuropathy. I am in less pain now than I had before my surgery despite the arachnoiditis. I have to be very careful though, I can’t stand at all. I have to walk or sit. Have bladder and bowel issues due to nerve damage but it’s manageable as well.
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yeah, pain as you age is like that cousin from out of town you don’t really know who wants you to put them up for a weekend. and then they want to be your new best friend.
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I’m glad you’re in less pain, although it sucks overall. Our bodies have taken a beating haven’t they.
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It does suck for sure. I am very fortunate to be doing as well as I am so try to focus on that part. Luckily my 3 hip surgeries took care of the hip problems so they are ok unless I sleep in a bad bed.
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I think there’s a definite shift between when you’re younger and it’s “pain is a signal you need to stop doing whatever it was that you were doing” and “now that you’ve got pain, you’re just going to have it…forever” LOL I was kind of hoping I was in the former category, but it’s clear now that I can’t be fixed, only managed. Although there is some hope that eventually those vertebrae might fuse and then there wouldn’t be any more pain.
I’ve got to find a place to swim - I’m sure that would be helpful for my fitness.
Reading this thread with interest as have just been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. In some ways it was a bit of a relief to finally know WHY my lower left back has bothered me since a bad fall about 6 years ago. My first appointment is with a pain clinic to figure out a treatment plan. It’s about six weeks away. Until then, I’m keeping up with pilates and periodic Advil. Might have to add a back brace after reading this thread.
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RFA was today. They did L4-5 and L5-S1.
First, ask for the pain meds and sedative. That really helps. It was a much better experience than the diagnostic blocks were and I suspect that was why. Really wish they did part of that for the blocks.
Second, be prepared to sleep. My procedure was in the morning. We got some food afterward and then I slept until around 8:30pm. I could have probably stood to sleep longer but I had to do night check for the horses.
I’m a little achy so I took some aleve, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I feel tomorrow. It takes like 4 weeks to see the full effects so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
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I hope you heal up quickly.
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How are you doing? RFA was life changing for me and I am now 4 years out. I did lots of PT and still work hard on my core and flexibility.
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I’m doing ok, thank you for asking! Lots of core work, but sleep for the first time in years. I just finally rode the other day and I felt really good! Things are all still pretty tight from years of pain, but getting better!!!
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Congrats!!
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Thought I’d check in and see how it’s going at just over a month out?
I had my first set of diagnostic blocks a couple of weeks ago and will get the second ones mid-October.
I felt great that afternoon and had a small bit of carryover for the next couple of days. The worst part was the position on the table really made my back angry so trying to relax for the procedure itself was difficult. This table didn’t have arm slings under the table to rest my arms in so I had to have them up/crossed under my head which wasn’t great.
When you had your RFA with sedation were you aware of them doing the stimulation testing to ensure the correct nerve was targeted, or don’t you remember much? I’m just curious more than anything.
