Tag: epidural

The Scare

Have you heard about this terrible meningitis outbreak? Five are dead and hundreds, maybe thousands, are at risk!

The meningitis was transmitted to people who received steroid back injections… like the ones I got. In fact the company responsible for the deadly batch sent some to Connecticut. There have been no reports of meningitis here.

The NIH says:

Bacterial meningitis infections are extremely serious, and may result in death or brain damage, even if treated.

If I was at risk, Yale, who purchased and supplied the drugs used in my two procedures, would have contacted me… right… Yale? Ditto for the physician who administered my epidurals. I’m visiting his associate tomorrow.

Meanwhile I texted a friend who’s a physician, but not involved in any of this treatment.

Geoff, if you had been given the bad stuff you’d be dead by now!

Well all right then.

My Back, Back In The O.R.

I am home and back on the sofa. Today was another ‘procedure’ at the Yale’s Shoreline Surgery Center in Guilford, or as it’s called internally “The Yale Beach Cottage.”

I am home and back on the sofa. Today was another ‘procedure’ at the Yale’s Shoreline Surgery Center in Guilford, or as it’s called internally “The Yale Beach Cottage.”

It’s a pretty simple treatment.

I was wheeled into the operating room where I got up and transferred myself to another gurney. Last week I had to be helped as I rolled between the two.

At this point I was head down, eyes closed. I do know there was a fluoroscope over my back–basically a real time X-ray. It allowed the neurosurgeon to properly aim his syringe.

Not yet! First a few shots of lidocaine (or something similar) to deaden the area.

Now the main event! The epidural placed a steroid directly on my herniated disk. It hurt, but nowhere near as much as last week. My time in the O.R. couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes.

My upper leg and butt are still a little numb (the cause and effect of my problem are in different places but both felt the effect of the lidocaine), but it seems there’s less pain. I’ll know better tomorrow and the next few days.

Call me cautiously optimistic. Even if this doesn’t fully fix my problem I can get one more injection before considering more invasive treatment.

I’m in love with the nurses at the SSC. Linda was there from last week. Mary was with me as I recovered. She is possibly the world’s most Irish person! I wish I remembered more names.

Word is as Yale/New Haven rolled out this new facility in Guilford, management wanted an experienced staff in case of unforeseen problems. That’s why it’s loaded with confident grown-ups. I approve.

Almost as impressive is the gadget in the photo. It’s an Exergen Temporal Scanner, though you can call it a thermometer. Yes, items like this are sold over-the-counter, but it was a first for me to have this magic wand brush across my forehead and neck and immediately display my temperature.

It’s magic.

Hell, if the epidural works it’s all magic!

The Procedure

If you’re just tuning in, I’ve spent the last five weeks with pain in my leg. Like most people I thought pain in my leg meant a problem in my leg.

See–that’s why we’re not doctors!

If you’re just tuning in, I’ve spent the last five weeks with pain in my leg. Like most people I thought pain in my leg meant a problem in my leg.

See–that’s why we’re not doctors!

My pain is actually caused by a herniated disk pinching a nerve. The problem is in my spine!

For the last few weeks I’ve stayed home, mainly on the sofa on my side. This Friday will mark three weeks since I’ve worked.

Trust me, I wish I could work. I wish I could walk and sit without pain.

The first treatment for this ailment is no treatment! I stopped doing anything that might irritate it. In many cases the hernia retreats through benign neglect. It didn’t for me.

Today was step two. I went to the Shoreline Surgery Center in Guilford for a lumbar epidural steroid injection. The souvenir x-ray at the top of this entry shows the needle being inserted into my spine.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it? It was. For a moment the pain on a scale of one to ten was a sixteen!

What was very impressive was the staff I had contact with. They were confident in a way that implies competence! That was very reassuring–no small thing.

Just in case I was too loopy to say thanks while I was there, thanks. You guys were everything I could have hoped for.

It’s tough for me to go anywhere in Connecticut without being spotted. Today was no exception. A Facebook friend posted:

Just saw you in Guilford didn’t look to happy hope you are feeling better soon!!

She probably saw me on the way in, shuffling from side-to-side and trying to find a comfortable standing spot. I never did. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty to watch.

It will be a day or two before I know if the injection worked. If the hernia retreats (I’m sure this is a terrible way to describe what happens) I will be able to start physical therapy and try to prevent a recurrence. That’s the goal. Unfortunately this treatment only works around half the time.

I am hopeful.