Today was the big day. I went to a physiatrist, a pain doctor, to see about fixing the stenosis pain I’ve been enduring for the last three months.
The doctor took my history. When I mentioned that, after inadequate pain relief from ibuprofen, I switched to marijuana edibles in Colorado during last summer’s tour. She was not at all surprised at the relief I experienced. She said that for most people edibles work for pain relief only when they contain a substantial amounts of THC. (In Virginia, CBD edibles have only trace amounts of THC and, therefore, tend not to work so well. Your mileage may vary.)
The doctor brought me to another room where she examined my MRI on a computer with her physician’s assistant. The doctor explained that I have a transitional lumbar spine. Transitional in plain English means abnormal. Most people have five lumbar vertebrae. Some people have four or six. I have six. (Thanks Mom and Dad.) This explains two things. First, the location of my previous back surgery is either L3-L4 or L2-L3 depending on where you start counting from, top or bottom. Second, the surgeon who did the operation cut too low and had to extend his incision. This is no big deal except that it means the recovery time, mostly associated with getting the back muscles to work together again, is a little bit longer.
That old surgery involved removing a disc in my spine. My pain doctor thinks this is the source of my problem. In the area around the missing disc, the spinal canal, through which the spinal cord passes, is narrowed. This stenosis is causing further problems downstream in my lower back. Thus, the pinched nerve root in my lower back, she thinks, is the product of the stenosis higher up. The stenosis in my upper lumbar region also likely explains why my lower back gets achy when I stand for a long time, as I do at concerts.
My physiatrist clearly loves what she does. She seemed quite confident and upbeat about my case, saying that one or two cortisone shots in the problem area should fix me for five or ten years.
Bring it on.
But wait. I have to get approval from my health insurer. So, I go back for the injection a week from Friday, or sooner if she gets a cancellation.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Praying all goes well with the cortisone shot. What a pain, pun intended.
Hopefully you’ll be feeling Young again, and no needle damage done!
The cortisone shots in my abdomen were brutal. Mostly because they poke you until you scream as they say BUT COULD IT HURT MORE as they jab you 😭 and don’t bike there. I had mine done without prior notice and my left leg was asleep the whole ride home! But 9 months later it’s been great so fingers crossed! 🤞
Thanks. I think. 🙂
Well no surprises. When you have back surgery, it fixes the surgical problem but often leads to problems down the road above and or below the surgical area. I am glad she is giving you several years of relief. And it’s no wonder people who are couch potatoes get little relief from anything.