Not so happy post...
It's been almost 3 years now that I've been losing the battle with the pain in my legs. I can't believe that. I can't believe I'm still on medication I don't want to be on (30 more mg then when I first started) and I can't believe my doctor is just now actively trying to pin-point the root of the problem, instead of just saying oh ya you have a pinched nerve somewhere in your back. Don't get me wrong, for the most part I really like my doctor. He's been really supportive and his main concern is always to make sure my pain is under control. He did send me to have a steroid injection in my back twice (that didn't work), but again that's just pain management. Just within the past 3 or 4 months he's been ordering tests to try and find the origin of the pain. In February I had a bone scan. It was an attempt to see where there might be blockages or where my bones might be pinching my nerves in my spinal column. The test came back negative which was good I guess, but that left us still without answers. I went to see my Dr. Tuesday and now he wants me to have a mhylogram(sp?) Basically what they do is give me a spinal tap and inject the nerves in my spinal column with dye. But because I have hardware in my back(medal rods for those who don't know) they can't just stick the needle straight into my back...they're going to have to thread a catheter tube into my back and then go fishing with the needle until they find the spot they want. Oh that sounds like so much fun! Then my doctor decides to tell me that many times the hole they make doesn't always close and then causes a spinal headache. Which by the way is suppose to be one of the most excruciating headaches ever. He says if that happens and laying flat doesn't make it better then they'd take some of my blood, go back in the same hole and plug it up making a clot. I'm really hoping that doesn't happen and it goes smoothly. I always have a really difficult time with anxiety whenever I have procedures like this. There's a lot of medication they give you for this type of stuff that makes me crazy. I hyperventilate and cry hysterically, but have absolutely no control over it. My Dr. said he would write me a script for Xanax and Id take it 45 minutes before the procedure. I'm not trying to be negative, but I typically don't respond well to oral anxiety medication. At least the 3 different types I've been given during a stay at the hospital didn't work. I'm just really worried that the Xanax won't work and they won't give me anything else. Overall, I'm really frustrated with the entire situation and I just want to figure out why I'm in pain and figure out how to fix it...at this point...even if it means surgery.