Plan in place - well sorta

Saw the pain clinic Doctor yesterday. I saw Dr. Chiodo at U of M and he was a nice man, short on words but seemed genuinely concerned for my well being (for the most part). I have no reflex in my left ankle which shouldn't surprise me, it is the one that gets the pins and needles and numbness most often. In fact at times this foot doesn't move when I tell it to. He said my DDD has caused a nerve root to trigger muscle spasms in my back (gee that's just what it feels like) but since it is a nerve causing it, no meds will help. So - steroid injections it is. AFTER I get a new MRI. The current MRI is a year and a half old and things are MUCH different. He wants to know what he is dealing with and I am glad to get the new MRI as I am curious and I would rather he have a clue what he is dealing with. Sadly, this means I must wait for relief. His answer to my question of how do I get by until was for me to avoid the position that triggers the spasms - ummm - yeah that would be vertical :-(

So MRI ordered for next Tuesday, which is cool because Ann Arbor is an hour and a half away and that is the same day as my Neuro follow up. So, I will stay in the area and visit my Mommy in between appointments :-) I did address the fact that the last steroid injection was like I was in hell. They did "sedate" me but I felt everything! It felt like they were burning my nerves in the back of my leg. Now that I have been through a surgery with a Doctor who knew how to monitor me, I can tell this Doc that I need more meds than a normal person and he can verify this with my Neuro. The Neuro Doc told me he has never seen anyone need more meds during a surgery than me. He tried to look up my records but they wern't there yet so he will contact the Neuro and go by what they gave me. YAY! No torture during the procedure :-)

So, in the meantime - I am just stuck being a couch potatoe :-( I want my life back!