Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Spine Surgeon #2...Bad Injection

A youngish man in private practice.  He follows the "gold standard."  Incision down the middle of the back, rods and screws.  It truly is proven.

He also suggested that I try cortisone injections at the nerve roots before considering surgery because they should diminish my pain and help buy some time.

I scheduled the injections, which he did himself at a surgery center in the building. 

A wise piece of advice:  Change your procedure appointment if your doctor was sick the day before! 

I thought, "What could go wrong?  All he is doing is injecting anti-inflammatory medication."  Well, he could have nicked a nerve with the way I was limping and had searing pain down my leg.  I also bruised large and deep down to the nerve, which took weeks to go away.  It was months before I started to feel like I might be back to normal again.


I don't think I would ever do an injection again.  However, some people do really, really well.  One of my colleagues got them regularly for the arthritis in her foot before retiring and having a fusion done.

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