I had the EMG/NCV test done today. I had it done three years ago, and all I have to say about the two tests is that I do NOT remember it hurting that bad three years ago! The electric shock part hurt. The needle in my muscles hurt. My bicep STILL hurts. I was crying at one point, but fortunately the pain management doctor was really nice and moved the needle when it hurt too bad.
Here are the results:
No carpel tunnel.
No pinched nerves.
All the pain/numbness/weakness in my right arm is caused from the disc issues in my neck.
What can be done?
Surgery is still not recommended, as the pain management doctor thinks that if I do the surgery now on the two discs that have ruptured, I'll wind up having surgery again in a couple of years on other discs. Though, I will admit that my fear is that at some point every disc in my spine will be herniated at one time and I'll have to have a complete spinal replacement, which I am pretty sure they have not developed yet!
There is a question, Kris is "Googling" it, of the difference between herniated discs and bone spurs. The neurosurgeons both told me the discs herniated. The pain management doctor said bone spurs. Kris said once you have a herniated disc the bone spurs can grow. The difference is extra bone growing where it shouldn't be and the herniated disc is where the disc ruptures and isn't where it is supposed to be. If you combine the neurosurgeons and the pain management doctor's opinions, I have both. Who knows what is going on inside my neck!?!
I asked him about my back, as it has been so problematic lately. He simply said that he thought strength training would help that. :-/ I wasn't very happy about that, but over all, my back is feeling better today than Sunday and so I'll take it. I'm just trying to take it easy and make sure that I am not doing anything that will make the pain worse...which is pretty much EVERYTHING!
BUT...I am scheduled to have an epidural block in my neck on July 16th. I'm nervous about this, after reading through the little brochure they gave me about it. The first thing that the brochure said was that my pain could worsen in the first few days after the injection. I don't find that very encouraging!
The other thing the doctor gave me was a prescription for Gabapentin (Neurontin). He told me that it helps with nerve pain but that it can be difficult to get used to. He said that the hardest thing to adjust to is the extreme sedation it causes until your body is used to it. I was hoping that I could experiment with it tonight, to see if it would help me sleep actually, but every time they try to send a prescription over to Walgreens through their iPads (I blame APPLE), it doesn't work and I have to call. So, I will have to call tomorrow morning and have them call it in. So, maybe I'll sleep tomorrow night!
Overall, I feel like I'm making some progress with my pain, but still feel like I'm missing something. I can't quite explain it. I'm still frustrated in general and not a patient person. So waiting two weeks for the epidural block doesn't appeal to me, but it is what it is. I've just got to trust that this is all in God's timing and it's the next step in my treatment.
Have you ever taken Gabapentin/Neurontin? I'd love to hear what your experience (or that of someone you know) was. Just to give me something else to worry about. ;-) One person told me her husband was on it and was sleep walking before he got used to it. And either he or someone else she knew had very vivid dreams while on it. What about you? Any stories/possible side effects I should be aware of?
Neurontin is what I was prescribed in Jr. High and took through HS. I need to get back on it. The first morning was terrifying for me, this might have been due to being in sixth grade but when I woke up I was unable to move any part of my body. I could move my eyes but that was all. I thought I was paralyzed. After, my body got used to the medicine it did help. I still had some pain but it was a little better. My doctor described it as blocking the signal between the nerves in the limbs and the spinal column. They had me on 900mg three times a day. I went off it when I became pregnant with Abbie. That medicine is so strong that they were certain that she was going to be severely physically disabled from me taking it for six weeks while pregnant.
ReplyDeleteThat's my biggest concern right now, is being able to get up in the morning. I'm trying it tonight. I got it picked up this morning and we'll see how it goes...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt will be ok. I so wish I was still on it. It did help.
ReplyDeleteHave had block,no big deal for me not much relief. Getting ready to get Botox injections in back neck and face. Also prendisone always helps me feel better but doc dont like to give out bad long term side effects
ReplyDelete