After the jab

As I write this, I am back at home, having had the spinal jab (or, to give it it's correct medical name Lumbar Radiculopathy).

Yes, it's as scary as the name, and the worst part (for me anyway) was the fact that it was done under local anesthetic.

It should take about 10 / 15 min for the jab...  Unless you're like me - are petrified of needles, have an awkward back, and an unfortunate tendency to breathe at the wrong time.  

Namely when the surgeon is asking for an X-Ray image to make sure the needle is in the right place. Because every time I decided to take a breath was just when the image was taken -  meaning my breathing blurred the image.  Whoops.

But that wasn't the worst part...  I felt really light headed (like I was going to pass out) and at the same time, managed to feel really queasy...  

Not really the best combination when the surgeon needs to make sure that he has got the needle in the right place for the jab.

The theatre staff were wonderful - they made sure that I didn't pass out, and managed to get me to relax enough to stop the queasy feeling.  And the best bit?  Being able to escape home the same day as the jab.  

I know this isn't a fix for the buggered disc - this jab was to stop the pain in my leg (hopefully stop the feeling of super heated barbed wire).  

Once the pain eases in my leg, I can move onto the physio, and hopefully start swimming again.  I know I will have to rebuild the distance that I swim (no aiming for 3k the first time back in the pool), but if this jab helps me get my life back, I will be more than happy. 

And no disrespect to the surgical & care teams - I really don't want to see them again.  One jab in my spine is more than enough for me.

Time to call this quits - my back is aching and I need to try and get some sleep.

Back when I feel less sleepy / bruised / loser in an ass kicking contest.

Karen

Hold on there's a new way a comin'
Looks like it's arriving tonight
There's no more hiding or running
There's no more walking on ice

Waiting for the jab

Well, I am now sitting in St Cross hospital, in the Day Surgery unit.  The nurses are really sweet - unsung heroes the lot of them.

It's really quiet in my bay - just two patients - me and another lady...  So the other  4 bays are empty.  Which suits me as I can sit reading my kindle.

Day surgery bay

Ah well, back to the kindle.  My book is calling...

Back later.

Karen

It's the time to make your play

Take the rose today

It's the time to have your say

Take the whole bouquet

Have no regrets and don't keep hanging on

Now all your yesterdays are gone

Bloody hell. A date at last...

I'm speechless.  Not something that happens very often, I freely admit.  But I finally have a date to get my back sorted out.

I have to have the covid swab test on the Sunday, then isolate until I have the jab (that's a day patient).

So all I have to do now is get myself mentally ready.  And I don't mind admitting I'm scared.  I hate needles, and will be bereft of my beloved kindle, simply because I don't want to risk losing it.

I also have to sort out time off with the office...  But that shouldn't be too difficult as they knew that I was waiting for the jab when I started my 

 role.  

I freely admit I wasn't expecting this, but it's such a relief knowing that I finally have a date and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  

I just hope that is doesn't turn out the way the late Sir Terry Prattchet used to say...

He’d been wrong, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and it was a flamethrower.

Time to call this quits - I'm starting to shake.

Back when I can think /  type straight.

Karen

Hold on there's a new way a comin'

Looks like it's arriving tonight

There's no more hiding or running

There's no more walking on ice

Cancelling a concert

And this time, it’s not the dread COVID-19 doing this.  It’s me.  Simply because I cannot guarantee that my back will be sorted, and I have no intention of putting it under anymore stress that it is at the moment.

As it is, it’s already managed to go into spasm this year (ok – Monday) and the language was almost as bad as it was when I suffered the initial injury – in June 2021.

Plus, as I am currently “banned” from driving by the GP and the spinal surgeon, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go to the Town Hall in Birmingham the end of March to watch Magnum rocking their home town.  Which would mean me standing (and badly dancing) for a minimum of two hours, plus all the travelling.  Which is a damned shame, as they always put on a good gig.  And they will have two new albums to pull onto the playlist – the excellent The Serpent Rings:

  as well as the new album – The Monster Roars:

Hopefully I will be fit enough to see them in Nottingham at Rock City on 14/09/22 and enjoy the concert in a city (and a venue) that has quite a few good (and definitely drunken) memories.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits - my poor little phone is bleeping at me.  Again.

Back when I get the chance.

Karen

It's another rainy day

Talk of freedom got away

Time to get the message right

It's never black or white

So I'm walking in the rain

Found a reason to explain

No excuses, no regret

We all deserve respect

And the verdict is.......

Just had the call from the SWIMs team.  The verdict is in - I have dodged the scalpel.  

I'm to be put on the waiting list for the Lumbar radiculopathy aka Nerve root block / foraminal epidural injection as well as being referred to physiotherapy.

To say that I am relieved to avoid the surgery is an understatement.  The GP has also prescribed me the recommended tablets for nerve pain, but has told me that there may be side effects (as in I may feel drowsy - so take it before I crawl into my pit) and that the tablets may cause me to throw up.  If that happens, stop taking them and then call the surgery to see if there is a suitable alternative.

Equally, I have been told not to expect instant results.  That wasn't something I had considered - as far as I am concerned, I need to give the tablets time to kick in and see if they work - if they don't then I can talk to the GP and get a revision of the doseage..  As in it may have to go higher from the inital 10mg...

Ah well,time to call this quits - I want to get back to my kindle.

Back when I get the inclination...

Karen

Like a broken wheel stops turning

You ain't going nowhere

Now you've got to heal that burning

Or you ain't got a prayer

Like a broken wheel

Waiting for the Surgeon’s decision

Well, I’ve had the examination, and it’s been confirmed that there is damage to my back, as well as nerve damage – which explains the feeling of super-heated barbed wire running down the outside of my leg, as well as the lack of feeling in my shin.  This tied in with the scan results, meaning that I now have to await the surgeon’s verdict.  The SWIMS team (South Warwickshire Integrated Muscular Skeletal team) have a good relationship with the surgeon who is based at Walsgrave and will discuss the findings of my examination with him at the next meeting.

OK – so in a way I am a little further forward, but in a way, I am still stuck.  I still can’t drive and am still in pain.  I just wish that someone had thought to look at the referral before now and realise that I was *not* improving from the initial injury / incident and pulled things forward.  But I know the excuse – COVID-19.  Which is a wonderful (if overused) excuse in my eyes.  Yes, I know that this virus has had an impact on the NHS – I am the last person to knock them, but it annoys the hell out of me when I get told that I should have gone straight to A&E when this happened.

Congratulations.  They would have done an x-ray (which wouldn’t have shown anything) and then sent me home with a load of pain killers and instructions to rest.  Disc prolapse does not show on an X-ray, and the symptoms could have been caused by a back strain.

But, done is done, and there’s no point getting depressed about it.  Yes – I am down – because I am in pain, and am seriously frustrated, but at least I know things are moving in the right direction.  Now all I have to do is wait for the surgeon to decide what needs to happen, and take it from there.

Ah well, time to call this quits, my poor little phone is making pathetic beeping noises as the battery is almost flat.  Again.

Back when I get chance.

Karen

When things never happen like you wanted

Dark nights always keep you in the shade

Some words would be better left unspoken

No joke there's a price that must be paid

Waiting for the hospital appointment

As I type this, I am just about 17 hours away from finding out just what I am going to have to do to get my life back.  I still can’t drive (which is *really* pissing me off now) and it looks like I have three options:

1. Physiotherapy
2. Steroid injections in my back
3. Surgery to shave the offending disc

But I will freely admit that I am scared.

Needless to say I don’t like options 2 / 3 – I hate needles and surgery?  Having my knee operated on was one thing – if it went wrong, I limped.  But my back?  That has the potential to do real damage to me.  But, I am not ruling anything out, especially if it means that I get my life back – and I can drive.

 Time to call this quits – my kindle is calling to me, and I want to lose myself in my book.

 Back tomorrow when I know what’s going on (I hope)

Karen

Now I’ll tell you how I feel
I’m lost, feeling second-hand
Do you treasure what you steal?
Can you tell me where you stand?

The verdict is in - my back is screwed

Well, I've had the results of the MRI scan....  And I have really done a number on my back.  

I have a prolapsed disc between the L3 / L4 vertebrae, and now have the scary prospect of going to the hospital for further discussions about my treatment.

At the moment, it looks like I may be referred to the spinal surgeon in Coventry, and this could mean I either have injections to reduce the inflammation, or worse case scenario (in my eyes) I have surgery to shave the offending disc.

To say I am scared / relieved is an understatement.  Scared, because I don't want to have surgery if I can help it, but relieved to know finally, what the hell I have done.  

Ah well, time to call this quits - I need to get away from a screen.

Back when I get chance

Karen

Now I’ll tell you how I feel

I’m lost, feeling second-hand

Do you treasure what you steal?

Can you tell me where you stand?

Finally getting somewhere

At last.  I have a date for an MRI scan on my back…  Only 5 months after I’ve suffered the injury.  And to add insult to injury I have been given a physiotherapy appointment the end of November.  Which is pretty good going – but I just hope that they (the physio department) has the scan results…  Otherwise they won’t know what the hell they are treating me for, and it’s another waste of time and money.  I get the impression that the NHS trust was hoping that I would call them and say that I don’t need the scan (or the physio), as my back has improved.  

I flaming wish.  I’m in as much pain as I was when I suffered the injury and have not been able to do what I want in the garden, and more to the point – I still can’t drive.  And it’s this point that is causing mayhem.  I’m having to rely on other people (especially my family) to take me to different places – a trip to the local supermarket is now exotic, and something to really look forward to.

As for going anywhere else?  No chance.  I can’t blasted sit in the car long enough without pain, so escaping anywhere too far from home is a non-starter for me at the moment.

So as you can tell, I am not feeling terribly happy at the moment.

Time to call this quits – my phone is making pathetic little beeping noises, so I guess I should put it on charge.

Back whenever.

Karen

How can you feel at ease?
Look at the things you’ve done
You always will deceive
But then your day will come

Diagnosing an injury.... Over the telephone.

I know that things are different in these COVID19 times, but honestly - what idiot tries to diagnose a back injury - over the telephone.

My local hospital trust - that's who.  I had a telephone "consultation" on Tuesday.  Which basically wasted 30 minutes of my time, as the person who called me was following a script, and my answers kept throwing the call.

"So your right shin is numb"

"No - it's the left shin.  The pain is in the right side of my lower back, but my left leg has been affected"

"So your right leg keeps giving way?"

"No.  My LEFT leg keeps trying to give way".

I honestly felt like the person on the end of the phone wasn't listening to me (or more to the point was following a script which I kept messing up.)  The final straw was being asked what I wanted to happen.  

What the hell???  What I want to happen is to get someone to look at my back, say "oh - you've done this / that and this is what you need to get back to a normal life".

Needless to say that was pretty much what I said - I pointed out that I wanted to know what the hell I have done to my back, and what I have to do to get my life back to where it was before this happened.  

I can't drive (which is really pissing me off, and means that I am having to rely on Mum to take me anywhere - a trip to the local supermarket is now a real treat!)  I can't do all the things that I took for granted - like sorting the garden out, and planting the spring bulbs that I still have to go in, not to mention jumping in the car and going off to meet up with my friends / heading into work.

Now comes the insult to injury.  I have a face to face meeting with someone at the hospital...  25th November.  And then I will have to wait and see what they decide to do.  Which, considering I suffered this injury 6th June is diabolical - and my GP referred me to the muscular skeletal department the middle of July.

So, all I can do is keep doing the little bit of physio that I can, and keep taking the pain killers.  

Time to call this quits - my phone is beeping at me - means I need to charge the dratted thing.

Back when I can..

Karen

I gave no thought to wisdom
It all but vanished in the haze
This fragile hand of fortune
Had changed and turned it all to grey

Springing my back

I haven’t had as much pain as this since I shattered my knee joint more years ago than I care to remember.  I’ve done something to my back – just by walking down the stairs.

I wouldn’t have objected as much if I had done something stupid – like catch my foot on the stairs or even lifted something wrong.  But I haven’t, so I am currently laid up off sick with my back.  I know that there will be people thinking this is faked – I wish to God that it was.  

As it stands, I feel like I have super heated barbed wire running down the outside of my leg, my shin has gone numb and as for trying to sit / stand / lie down…  Don’t even go there.

Eight hours of sleep is a luxury that is denied to me at the moment – so the doctor has prescribed diazepam (2mg), Naproxen and paracetamol.  I don’t mind the Naproxen and the paracetamol (even though the paracetamol always makes me feel sick when I take it) – but the diazepam…  That’s a chemical cosh.  How on earth people can enjoy feeling…  That woolly is beyond me.  

And to add insult to injury, I can’t even enjoy a cup (or in my case a mug) of regular coffee.  Simply because the caffeine will interfere with the diazepam, which is hopefully reducing the spasms in my back so I can try and get some sleep.  

So I am resorting to decaff.  It’s not too bad – the coffee bags from the Real Coffee Bag co. are quite drinkable, so it’s not as bad as it could be – but I still miss my “proper” coffee.  

So, whilst I am crocked – I have done something that I thought I would never do.  Signed up for Audible.  Simply because I can plug my headphones in, and listen to a book whilst I am doing my physio, and also listen to it whilst I am trying to walk during the night in a vain attempt to get some feeling back in my leg and allow me to get back to sleep.  

At the moment, I am listening to Hail Mary by Andy Weir – it’s really good (got to admit that I had my reservations at first) and am really getting into this.   It’s the sort of book that does lend itself to being an audio book, as the sound effects for Rocky really help with the character.

But there is one thing that has made me laugh (even though it hurts) – it’s the Garfield cartoon for today:

Ah well, better call this quits - I need to do my physio..

Back when I get chance.

Karen

I gave no thought to wisdom

It all but vanished in the haze

This fragile hand of fortune

Had changed and turned it all to grey