NO ABLATION!! SO UPSET!!

         Today I went to the pain management doc to see about getting an ablation. I was so so excited! (What kind of idiot gets excited about going to a pain management doctor??)
He was my last hope for some major pain relief. The doc said that an ablation is not a fix for my pain because it is my sacroiliac joint that has the most pain.  He said that an ablation wouldn't work for that.  He is going to give me another injection. I said OK because I have nothing to lose at this point.  am fairly certain that some of my blog readers told me that they had an ablation after they had sciatica pain in their sacroiliac joint. I think my friend Laurel told me that she had an ablation for sacroiliac sciatica pain.  I am counting on the shot working but I have had 8 shots already and they only worked for a day or two at most. I am going to research it online and see if other providers think it would work. He said that there were other things we could try if the shot doesn't work. He also told me to stop taking the Gabapentin because I still have the room spinning even when I only take 200 mgs/day. He called in another prescription which I will start taking tomorrow.
       This morning I also had a pre-op appointment with my family doc because I am getting my cataracts out next month!  I was playing Words With Friends when he came in the room. I am addicted! He told me that he also plays the game everyday. I never knew he was a gamer!! He is the nicest person ever and very intelligent. I am so happy to have him as a family physician. He was very instrumental in helping us adopt our daughters. He made himself available whenever we needed any medical forms signed.   International adoption is NOT for the feint of heart!


THEN 2007(Olivia's first summer with us)

THEN

THEN 2009(Olya's first summer with us)



AND NOW








    I found this article about radio frequency treatment for sciatica  I am going to show to my doc

Pulsed radiofrequency relieves acute back pain and sciatica


Date:
November 27, 2018
Source:
Radiological Society of North America
Summary:
A minimally invasive procedure in which pulses of energy from a probe are applied directly to nerve roots near the spine is safe and effective in people with acute lower back pain that has not responded to conservative treatment, according to a new study.


FULL STORY


😞A minimally invasive procedure in which pulses of energy from a probe are applied directly to nerve roots near the spine is safe and effective in people with acute lower back pain that has not responded to conservative treatment, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Lumbar disk herniation is a common, often debilitating, condition that affects the disks that act as cushions between the vertebrae of the lower spine. Herniation occurs where the jelly-like material in the center of the disk bulges through a tear in the disk's tough exterior layer and puts pressure on the roots of the nerves. Herniated disks are often the source of sciatica, or pain that radiates downward from the lower back into the leg.
Conservative treatment options for herniated disks range from over-the-counter pain medications to injections of corticosteroids directly into the affected area of the spine. Those who don't respond may require surgery. In some cases, the entire disk must be removed and the vertebra fused together for stability.
An alternative technique, CT-guided pulsed radiofrequency (pRF), applies energy through an electrode under CT guidance to the portion of the nerve responsible for sending pain signals.
"Pulsed radiofrequency creates a nerve modulation, significantly reducing inflammation and its associated symptoms," said study senior author Alessandro Napoli, M.D., Ph.D., professor of interventional radiology at Sapienza University of Rome in Italy.
Dr. Napoli and colleagues studied the approach in patients with back pain from lumbar disk herniation that had not responded to prolonged conservative treatment. In 128 patients, the pRF treatment was delivered directly under CT guidance to the root of the nerve. The treatment was applied for 10 minutes.
For comparison, a group of 120 patients received one to three sessions of CT-guided steroid injection on the same anatomical target with no pRF.
The one-year outcomes demonstrated that CT-guided pRF was superior to the injection-only strategy. Patients who received pRF saw greater overall improvement in pain and disability scores during the first year. Relief of leg pain was faster in patients assigned to pRF, and they also reported a faster rate of perceived recovery. The probability of perceived recovery after one year of follow-up was 95 percent in the pRF group, compared with 61 percent in the injection only group.
"Given our study results, we offer pulsed radiofrequency to patients with herniated disk and sciatic nerve compression whose symptoms do not benefit from conservative therapy," Dr. Napoli said.
The results of the study are superior to those typically reported for usual care strategies and injections and may help a substantial number of patients with sciatic disk compression to avoid surgery, Dr. Napoli added.
The use of pRF also could improve outcomes for patients set to receive corticosteroid injections.
"We learned that when pulsed radiofrequency is followed by steroid injection, the result is longer lasting and more efficacious than injection only," Dr. Napoli said. "The effect of pulsed radiofrequency is fast and without adverse events."
Today, therapy for spine disorders allows for definitive treatment of symptoms and conditions using different techniques and technologies.
"Of the different therapies available, pulsed radiofrequency is among the least invasive," Dr. Napoli said. "Treatment lasts 10 minutes, and one session was enough in a large number of treated patients."
Co-authors are Roberto Scipione, M.D., Fabrizio Andrani, M.D., Susan Dababou, Cristina Marrocchio, Michele Anzidei, M.D., and Carlo Catalano, M.D.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Radiological Society of North America. Note: Content may be edited for style and length



Radiological Society of North America. "Pulsed radiofrequency relieves acute back pain and sciatica." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 November 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181127092604.htm>.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 2

Image
                June 2 is a very special day in our family.  It was the day that my beloved daughter Amy was born. I was so excited to have a beautiful little girl.  She was my most precious gift and that feeling has never changed.   Amy died at age 18.  After her death, life had no meaning for  us.  We just wen through the motions of living and existing because we still had to finish raising Renee, who was only 13 when Amy died. Dan had told me that friends of his, also bereaved parents, had adopted a little boy from Ukraine. I thought they were absolutely crazy.  Fast forward a few years and that tiny seed grew in my mind. Maybe it was Divine Intervention, I don't know,  but we decided to adopt from Ukraine.  I am so thankful to Ukraine for giving me two of their most precious gifts.  We must have been twice as crazy as his friends because we adopted not once, but TWICE!! We adopted Olivi...
Read more

Does My Family Really Understand My PD LIMITATIONS??

Image
        I was diagnosed with PD about a year and a half ago but I think I had it for close to a year before that. Once I got on the Carbidopa Leodopa, my life settled back into a "new normal" routine.   My painful Sciatica has always bothered me more than the PD. I don't have tremors, at least not yet. I think that is because I am in the early stages. I have a handicap license plate so I don't have to park as far away from an entrance as I use to have to park.  My husband is always willing to drop me off at the entrance if I don't want to walk as far.  But I try to do the walk so that I stay agile and my muscles don't freeze up too much.   My most noticeable trait is my slow, and shuffling gait.  I can still drive, totally take care of all of my personal needs, go out socially, travel, cook, etc.  I am scared when I have to go up a flight of stairs because I am off balance and I feel like I might fall backwards. I have a death ...
Read more

Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's Disease

Image
       My Parkinson's symptoms seem to be different almost everyday. Some days I am dog tired and other days I seem to have some energy.  It is difficult to make plans too far in advance because I never know what my Parkinson's will be like on any given day.  My worst Parkinson's symptoms are being off balance and overwhelmingly sleepy!!  I don't know if it is a Parkinson's symptom or  not but I now have such vivid and bizarre dreams! Perhaps it is the liquid medical marijuana that I take at night to help me sleep!! My sciatica,  however, seems to stay the same. It is just pain all of the time unless I take Tylenol or a muscle relaxer. I have spoken to several people who have Parkinson's and many also have sciatica. I asked the doc this morning and he said there is no corelation.   Today I saw a new neurologist at a city hospital.  He diagnosed me with Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's.  He told me that there are two diffe...
Read more