From past to present

Okay, so this is my very first Blog and I am not really sure about what I am doing. My name is Courtney and this is a blog about everything i have been through with back and leg pain! I hope you will enjoy reading this, but mostly I am hoping that this will help at least one other person out there that has gone through this type of pain on a daily basis as I have.  Here goes.....

Where do i begin? It has been a long journey for me with my pain. Many years of being stuck in bed, and many bouts with depression. It started a very long time ago, and I honestly cannot pin down an actual date. I was in my teens when i began to notice slight back pain, and for a long time I attributed it to the fact that I had a rather large chest (i know you don't really want to know this), but it is important in understanding everything i have been through! For many years I ignored this and thought this is just how I am going to live, with pain. In 2002 I had a minor car accident where i hit a deer. My pain started to increase and i decided to see my Doctor. He did x-rays and told me that I had a minor case of Spina Bifida. Okay....so this is the cause of my pain right? Wrong! I spent several more years with growing pain and bouts of depression because I didn't understand what was going on. In these years I also started noticing that it wasn't just my back that was hurting, but also my legs. My left one especially was beginning to bother me more and more. I noticed that the more pain i had in my legs the weaker they became. So i am thinking this is ridiculous! I didn't think that anyone should have to deal with this kinda pain daily. So in 2008 i went to see a Plastic Surgeon about having a breast reduction. They decided that it was a possible cause for my pain, and it was medically necessary. I had surgery to reduce the size on Dec. 11th 2008. After recovering from this surgery, i discovered that the back and leg pain was still the same! I was very depressed about this. By the beginning of 2009 i decided i was tired of this and went to an Orthopedic Dr. I had an MRI which showed a herniation at L4-L5, and was sent to a neurosurgeon. He then ordered a Discography to determine if this was where my pain was originating from. WOW what a miserable test and experience this was!!! On the bright side though.....it showed that this was the culprit! They also discovered during this test that I had two cracks in the disc and was in need of surgery immediately! I was scheduled to go in on March 31rst 2009. This was one of the most painful experiences I have ever been through in my entire life! Recovery was long and afterwards i noticed not only was the pain not better, it was worse! What??? Yes I knew it was a long process, but i thought i would have some relief at least. 

I have spent the last three years going to a pain management Dr. I have been on increasing amounts of pain medications, gone through physical therapy, epidural injections, trigger point shots in the back every month, and have had numerous tests! Finally in August of this year i went to yet another surgeon to see about a second surgery. I was informed by this surgeon that a second back surgery wouldn't do anything because i have what is called Failed Laminectomy Syndrome. All i could think was you have got to be kidding me. Basically this meant that the surgery i had back in 2009 was a good one, but it didn't fix the issue of my pain. I got home feeling more depressed than ever, and couldn't even think of where to go next. Is this going to be my life?? Stuck in bed 5-6 days a week, getting shots in the back, and massive amounts of narcotics? I thought no way! My grandmother told me to check into something called Spinal Cord Stimulation. She had found an article that spoke of this as a treatment for FLS. I went to mom and asked her to research it with me and we found that indeed it is an honored treatment. Okay..... now what?? Well i brought it to the attention of my pain management Dr. She gave me a referral which started a whole new long process!

This has been an experience in itself. First i went to a Dr. in Atlanta who agreed that SCS (spinal cord stimulation) might be a good thing for me, but he was concerned about my pain medication. He thought that i was on way too much and wanted my pain doctor to switch me to a long acting opiate like Morphine or Fentynol. I really didn't like this idea and neither did my pain management team. So i called Sherry (she is the person with Boston Scientific who helps get everything in order). She agreed and found me a new Dr. to go to. This doctor would perform the SCS trial. You have to have a trial to see if this procedure really helps with your pain. Trial was scheduled for August of this year. I went in and was surprised at how simple the trial procedure was. They put the leads directly into your epidural space in the spine and then hook them up to a little machine that has a wireless remote. Once the leads were in they turned the machine on to make sure they placed the leads where they would give me optimum results. Once in recovery, Sherry came in with her computer to set up the machine. She set me up with a few different programs for different types of days. Some days my back is worse, and other days my legs hurt the most! Once she had everything set up and turned it on I actually cried.... I hadn't felt that great in ten years!!!!! So the trial lasted a week, and then i went in to report the results and have the leads removed. Wasn't happy about that at all! I explained to the nurse that my life had changed so much with this. I was able to go out with my family and with my friends, to do things that i hadn't done in a very long time, and to enjoy life again!  I had a 60% pain reduction overall. This was great news because that meant that hopefully we could move onto the permanent procedure. Now we had to find a surgeon that would do the surgery and take my insurance (there aren't that many in Ga). Sherry found one and had them call me to set up an appointment for a consultation. Went in to this Doctor on Oct. 6th 2012. She said that yes i was a great candidate for the surgery, but i needed a psychiatric evaluation for medical clearance before i could schedule surgery. I am thinking to myself .... "great yet another doctor". They sent the referral for this and I received a call on Oct 13th and was told the first available appt. for this was Nov. 19th......are you kidding me??? Then two weeks later I receive another call saying oops sorry we don't take your insurance anymore. Will this ever end? So i called Sherry and Dr. Baumann"s (the surgeon) office again and they sent a new referral for yet another Psychiatrist! Fortunately this one called and said they could see me Monday Nov 5th (this was Friday before). YAY!!!!! I went in, did the eval, and was cleared for surgery. Dr. Baumann's office called 2 days later to schedule surgery! It is now scheduled for Dec. 20th (i know five days before Christmas.....what a great present right??). I am super excited as my pain continues to get worse on a daily basis! So that brings us to today....the day i decided I wanted to share my experience with all of you! I will continue to blog daily about how I am feeling as we get closer to surgery, and then how I am feeling once it's done! 

I hope that you all enjoy reading my blog and please feel free to comment! I welcome all input. Especially if you have had this done.....I would love some feedback on what it's like during and after surgery! 

Today is a rough day. It rained all night and it's cold. These two things are not my friend. I am stuck in bed yet again in pain. Thank goodness for laptops! I am feeling very blessed though as we get closer to Thanksgiving day. I am blessed to have an amazing family that supports me now and has been supporting me through this entire experience. My mom will be taking me for surgery, and although i wish my husband could be there I am glad that she will be! What is it about surgery that we or I always want mom there when i wake up? I think it is a comfort thing.....so thanks Mom for being here for me!!!!

Well that's it for today.....again I would love any feedback!!!!
Thanks and God Bless