Well, it has been quite a while since I have been on here, just been trying to figure out how to get rid of this pain..... I have been taken off the Methadone, now only take Zanaflex, and Ambien to help me sleep, doc has me of all script pain meds, told me to take Advil or Aleve, it doesn't touch the pain, my pain on a scale of 1-10 on a daily basis is a 15, and Ive told her, she just says take Advil.... On my last visit she decideds out of the blue after over a year of seeing her and telling me the scar tissue and damage to my S1 nerve is what is causing my pain and it will take time and pain meds, she has decided that my "FACET JOINTS" are what are causing my pain... (All of a sudden???) So they want to go in on Monday Sept 19 and do a "FACET JOINT INJECTION!" in my S1, L5, L4, L3 joints... she says IF that helps then she wants to go in and BURN the nerves to stop the transfer of pain from the nerves to my legs and such, I am not so sure I want to do this, have been advised its a bad idea, and told that it can cause more pain in the long run... So I am kinda stuck, Anyone Else had this??

On Aug 8 I was approved for my SSD... and not till Next Sept 06, will I be eligible for Medicare... I get about $500 less then I was making on LTD a month, and LTD was supposed to make up the difference, but when they sent me my SSD payment, they sent it to me, and told me how much I owed my attorney that help me get my SSD, So I wrote out the check, and put the rest towards bills, "MEDICAL BILLS" Well nearly a month later My LTD company comes back wanting the amount back they had basically over paid me which was Way more then what SSD paid me in an lump sum.... so now my LTD company is keeping all but $160 a month of my LTD benefits, and I get $631 a month from SSD...and my LTD company will continue to keep my money for 18 months until its paid back, I had no idea, I was going to have to pay them this money back, I mean my attorney told me when I got my award, NOT to tell my LTD company and NEVER told me I would owe any back pay.... So this has been a punch.... Also our landlord decided to sale the house we are living in, so he said, either you buy or get out... so we went through the whole ordeal of buying the house.... closed on August 30....So needless to say the last month or so has been a merry go round....

Well, Im sorry this is so long, just wanted to fill everyone in on whats been goin on with me... Hope everyone else is doing well..

Take Care

TRose

Welcome back...I remeber you from when I was having my surgery last year. I am sorry to hear that you have so much on your plate right now. I have not had the "burning" procedure done, however it was offered to me. My PM told me last year that he suggested the procedure. When I asked my surgeon about it, he said he did not recommend it. He said the % of positive results aren't great. He also said that if it worked, I would have to have it done again later...it is just a temp. fix. On the other hand, I have talked to a person that had it done 9 mo. ago and it was wonderful. So, I guess it is one of those things that has Pro's and Con's. I wish I could be more helpful. I will keep you in my prayers.

Keep us posted,
Lorie :angel:

Sorry you are still having trouble. To answer the question of if anyone has had facet joint injection; yes! Unfortunately the first time I had it, the ortho & neuro group that was caring for me ordered it as diagnosic prior to a projected fusion surgery. They didn't do the injection, but as was standard practice, the anesthesia dept of the hospital did the injection.

Wound up temporarily paralyzed loosing all lower bodily functions for a while. Months later, I was finally with a true spine specialist and he does this procedure himself instead of using non spine specialists, so when he said he had to do the injections I did agree but with anxiety. All went fine with him doing the injections. He's been a blessing and now with 10 levels fused just 9 months ago, I am doing great and active.

So, I don't discourage you if it is needed, but do hope you are dealing with a true spine specialist instead of general ortho or neuro who may have an anestheologist to do the injections. They must be injected extremely slow, especially if you already have any condition which is limiting the space in the area the nerves travel through the joint, as a quick compression from too much fluid being added and squeezing the nerves and spinal cord can cause damage such as I experienced. I was lucky and it wasn't permanent, but it could have been. Fact is, there is risk with any type of treatment that is invasive, but we have to have many of them. Facet injections do help some individuals.

Best wishes and hope they help you.

T Rose

So good to see you posting again. And congrat's on owning your home now.

Terrible deal about your Insurance/Disability crap you must reimburse, that's insane!

Glad you've at least been approved for SSD - that's great to hear :bouncing:

I have had bilateral facet joint injections and pray this is your magic cure - for me it wasn't.

I do not understand why your doc (whom I assume is a PM) would stop your pain meds :confused: - when obviously your still in considerable pain - and the doc is admitting this her/himself by attempting the injections and suggesting "she wants to go in and BURN the nerves!"

I have NOT had this procedure and I personally would not do it in lieu of the research I have read on it.

Lfoster's experience and what was suggested by PM and said by her surgeon is exactly what I was told by both my PM & NS - but of course, the decision is yours and if you decide to proceed - perhaps you'll be one of the lucky ones, but please remember - IT IS temporary,...even if it brings you relief.

We're all glad to see you again
and wish you well ~
please keep us posted on what you decide and how your doing :)

Bionic Witch