The diagnostic procedure on my back took place, at long last, this past Tuesday. Eight nerve block shots were injected into both sides of my L2 through L5 vertebrae while I was under general anesthesia. Once I woke up, the doctor came in and repeated his instructions for post-op; go home and immediately try household chores so I could judge how much relief the nerve blocks were giving me. In my case, that meant one thing and one thing only—load the dishwasher. Something I haven’t been able to do in years.
So, it was out of the Ridgeline, into the house, and, after some tea and cranberry juice, straight to the dishes. My right side, the one that started hurting around the beginning of February, felt okay. I figured I was getting around 80%-90% pain relief on that side.
The left side … hoo boy. That side has been hurting for years. It got absolutely no pain relief. None whatsoever. I’d almost call it negative pain relief.
The nerve blocks wore off a day after the procedure. The doctor said they’d last two to five days, so his estimate was a bit off. In any case, I’ve got a follow-up with one of his assistants later this month to pass along the relevant information. I’m supposed to expect another diagnostic procedure farther down on my spine, but I’m not sure if it’ll be on both sides this time. No fun expected.