Post Shot Consult

 

Yes That's Me on a Bike Ride!

I had my post shot consult at Summit Orthopedics yesterday. Although the doctor I met with was a surgeon we are both totally on board with avoiding surgery as long as possible! Secondly, did you know that I actually got 2 shots 2 weeks ago? I didn’t! But the doctor showed me the picture of the injection site and there are definitely two injections, one in L3 and one in L4. No wonder it hurt so much!

We talked about my remaining pain, and just as I suspected, it now makes sense to have another shot, this time in L5, which should address the nerves that were missed. We went over the why and wherefore of doing L3/L4 first and it makes sense to me; that’s the big nerve bundle, and that’s the one where the major impingement is so reducing the inflammation there first gives us the most bang for the buck.

You can only get 2 shots at the same time, and you can’t have another shot for at least 6 weeks. So they are putting in the request for authorization to insurance now and will call me to schedule the next shot as soon as they have it authorized. Its a credit to how much better I feel that even though those first shots were extremely painful I’m gung ho to get that second shot asap (which should be about 4 weeks from now).

Now the part that’s not so great. The shots tend to last anywhere from 2-4 months on average. Of course that means that for some people they last longer, and for some, not as long. And you can’t get shots proactively; it doesn’t work that way. We have to wait until the benefits start to fade and then schedule another shot. And you’re not supposed to get more than 3 shots a year.

This makes planning for our cruise to New Zealand in January a little difficult but the doc said we can work with it.

We also talked about other things I can do to enhance and prolong the shot’s positive effects. He likes everything I’m doing (PT, water aerobics, biking) and thinks I should consider acupuncture and therapeutic massage as well. So I will!

He encouraged me to take ibuprofen and Tylenol as needed. I don’t know why I’m so resistant to taking pain meds. I do take Tylenol occasionally but not very often.

We also talked about how it’s normal to lose so much fitness by sitting around for over 2 months. It’s one of the hardest things for me mentally, in post-shot land. Things that were easy before this happened are so hard now! I have so little endurance, and abs? What are they? Well I’m working on it, that’s all I can do.

Overall I’m very happy. I have good days and bad ones but things are still improving and I’m enjoying every pain-free (or almost pain-free) moment I can get.