Epidural Steroids

The epidural steroid injection to the left lumbar nerves 4 and 5 was complete on Tuesday at an outpatient surgical center in Houston.  It was performed by Dr. Doctor! He is a spine pain specialist also trained as an anesthesiologist.  They injected the steroids and local anesthetic while I was heavily sedated, so I don't remember a thing.  When I woke up, my left lower quadrant was paralyzed, from the anesthetic.  Over a couple of hours, I got so I could at least walk as long as I didn't bend my knee.  If I tried to put weight on anything but a stiff leg, I would collapse.  But there was no pain.  By about 6-8 hours post procedure, I was moving about pretty normally. The next day there was no more affect of the anesthetic, but there was still no pain.  Today (Saturday) I remain free of the type of pain that I have had for months.  It is really exciting.  


I asked him about physical therapy and he discouraged that.  He said that what physical therapists do is often not good for spondylolisthesis. I need to avoid extension of the back, which is one of the common things done in PT and in Yoga, which I am also going to stop for now.  I can use a recumbent bike but not swimming (extension again) and moderate walking is ok.  No heavy lifting, twisting.  Anyway, so far I feel better than I have in a long time.  Hope it lasts--duration of relief is variable they say, but the procedure can be repeated. 


On target for June 2 travel to Carlsbad!  Val will come out and join me a little later.  She is selling her house and hopes that will be done soon.  Her neighbor wants to buy it (without a realtor) so it looks like a done deal. Keep fingers crossed that the pain stays away.

Update

Right now I'm in the mountains with Craig, Christopher and Gavin. Kathie injured her foot a couple of days ago and could not come. It is very warm here and the snow looks marginal. I guess that may be typical for spring skiing. I have decided not to even try to ski with my back bothering me so much.

I saw the neurosurgeon on Friday who looked at my MRI and said that I have spondylolisthesis (a slipped disk) that was causing a compression of the nerves at L4-L5. He suggested a conservative course of physical therapy and epidural steroid injections and to only think about surgery if this failed. If surgery were needed, the approach would be a laminectomy (to remove bone that is compressing the nerve) followed by a fusion of the lower vertebrae to realign and stabilize the spine. This is major surgery and takes a long time to recover from. I am going to start the conservative approach as soon as I get back to Sugar Land and will delay any decision about surgery for a while. I still plan to go to California in June and if all goes well, I will be ok for the summer and then tackle that issue in the fall.

The trip to Fredericksburg was quite wonderful. I have a few pictures posted here. We were most enthralled by Hamilton Pool, which is in the last several pictures.

Away for the weekend

Val and I decided to take a weekend trip to Fredericksburg in the Hill country of Texas. The bluebonnets are in full splendor with all the rain this year and the sparse showing last year. Turns out that Lorrie is also here in an art class. We may not get a chance to see her since she is so busy. This is an old German town in central Texas with a lot of restaurants and tourists. And it is a very pretty part of the state.

Still plan on going to the mountains this next weekend to spend a week with Craig and his family. As I said before, not going to ski much until I get my back issue sorted out. I see a neurosurgeon on Friday and will be very interested in his analysis. The data from the neurologist and the MRI indicate stuff happening in the lower back, but I don't know if anything is reparable. Probably the old back injury in 1958 plays a role. Will let you know what he says.

The condo in Florida that is in Sally's Family Trust seem to be renting well. I hope this means that there will be some profit and that this will turn out to be a good investment. I like the idea of thinking of this as Sally's condo. I think she would like the idea.