I Guess I'm Done Driving?

that is fine and I agree you should listen to your own body to find what your numbers mean to you and how you react.

 

I hope you get better soon.

 

I've had the shots a few times over the years(I have degenerative disc disease) and they do help for a few months, they don't take it away completely but they do help.

 

MRI's are not fun. I have to be sedated for those! Stuck in a little tube that's barely big enough to fit in, and it sounds like you're in the middle of a machine gun nest.

An orthopedist is who you want to be seeing for this, so your doc has you on the right track. It may take more that some injections for this, with the discs fragmented. That will remain to be seen. I have had three injections in two different locations. They do help in some cases. They are definitely worth a try. Be darn sure to follow your docs orders, restrictions, etc to the letter with this! The injections themselves are actually not that bad. The first couple of days can sort of suck, but it's not too bad. It can take a couple of weeks for the injections to start having any real affect on your symptoms.

I have some disc degeneration, a couple of minor bulges, and a few other things, but it's not messing with any nerves . . . yet. My real problem is a transitional vertebra. S1 is half lumbar and half sacral, but the sacral half did not fuse to the sacrum. I'm meeting with a surgeon next month to discuss having the excess bone removed. I have been dealing with this for 5 years now, and it has not been fun.

Depending on how things progress, you may be facing some sort of spinal surgery. Do some research online about the specific problem you have. The good thing is there is plenty of information out there on the kind of problem you have. Mine, not so much. There's a lot of info out there on disc problems, but not a lot on Bertolotti's Syndrome, which is what I have.

 

You'll be face down when they do those. They numb the area up, and can give you something in the IV to relax you if you want it. You won't see anything. They do them using live x-ray to guide them to the proper spot too. There will be some discomfort afterwards for a day or two, but that's more from the fact that they just injected fluid into the area and it needs time for your body to absorb the stuff.

I'm a total candy-### about needles, and I dealt with it fine. One of the nurses that did one of my IV's just about got slapped though. Took her too long to figure out where she was going with the IV and too long to get the IV in. I ended up blacking out!

You will need someone to drive you home too.

They actually aren't that large of needles being used. I saw the images of the injections they did in my right hip area after the fact at a follow up visit with my doc.

 

I didn't realize I was claustrophobic until my first MRI about 7 years ago. I am sedated for all of them now! Had a total of 4, two on my right shoulder and two on my lower back. CT scan is next! That I will be able to do without sedation though!