I had an epidural injection Thursday in my back, they injected pain medication and steroid.
They are now talking about doing radio frequency ablation, which if I understand correctly, is to kill the nerves since I am walking around bone on bone.
While I understand that it will relieve my pain, I can't help but Wonder if I will just be doing more damage?
Does anyone have any experience with this procedure?
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So an ablation is done for localized pain. āOh my back hurts in this areaā is different compared to āoh my back hurts and Iāve been dragging my left leg or having numbness and tingling in my left leg through the back of it.ā The latter typically requires surgery and not an ablation.
Thanks brad! That's pretty much on point with what I've been told thus far. The problem is the issue you described, pain down the leg, tingling, shocking, numbing, is what I have been dealing with. It has improved significantly since the epidural Thursday.So an ablation is done for localized pain. āOh my back hurts in this areaā is different compared to āoh my back hurts and Iāve been dragging my left leg or having numbness and tingling in my left leg through the back of it.ā The latter typically requires surgery and not an ablation.
Ablation is burning the nerves in the local area to help the pain. Itās hard to say anymore without mri results or other advanced imaging. But itās the next step typically in trying to avoid surgery. Itās not gonna be an ablation then you canāt move your leg. It CAN, but in almost all cases, itās just a local superficial nerve, not the main nerve leaving the spinal column to supply your legs. So they try to deaden an area of your back so the nerve impingement doesnāt hurt. I hope that makes sense
Dan:@CigarStone Jeff, here's a little more in-depth info on how and why it's so effective:
Possible role of alpha-lipoic acid in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries - PMC
Recent findings on the antioxidant effects of pretreatment with α-lipoic acid (α-LA) on the crush injury of rat sciatic nerve confirm the possible usefulness of α-LA administration in humans with peripheral nerve injuries. We discussed this issue in ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
ETA: I also wanted to say I put my money where my mouth is... I saw the IV treatment with high-dose ALA take a 64 year old friend who could hardly walk 20ft without pain... to now walking upright with hardly any pain and able to walk a half mile on a treadmill. Took about 6mos, but he can do it now and it's changed his life.
I now take a low dose everyday (1,200mg) for the preventative measures of it.
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There's NO money in this treatment with most general practitioners. It's just a simple IV with an average cost supplement available OTC. You'll want to look for natural or homeopathic providers in your area.
Definitely do some research on it... sometimes we just have to be our own best advocates. I'm sorry you're having to live with that much pain.. I hope you find something that works for you.
Thanks brother!Sorry youāre going through this brother. I hope you find a solution.
Thanks Bill!Let me know if you have additional questions.
Obviously the pain is there for a reason, and if you kill the pain, you still have the underlying condition⦠The best advice he can give is to combine the RFA with exercises that increase the size of the muscles in the back, along with proper stretch techniques, thereby supporting the spine more, and increasing the distance between the levels.Thanks Bill!
Everything I am hearing about the RFA seems pretty positive. My only concern was if killing the pain would allow me to do more damage but I am beginning to feel better about that.
I was hoping if they gave me a good size hole I might be able to see out through my belly button.So you need to do a medical procedure on your back, to get your head out of your ass?
Dan:
I appreciate your concern for my pain, and I appreciate your suggestion for a supplement to help. Out of respect for your presentation of this option, I did some research as well. It appears that when ALA is used for nerve pain itās primarily for people with diabetic neuropathy, which I do not have.
Intraperitoneal alpha-lipoic acid to prevent neural damage after crush injury to the rat sciatic nerve..
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