That was not pleasant!

Not a pleasant experience having a nerve root block. Having had spinal injections before and found them relatively painless I didn't anticipate this would be any different. So yesterdays appointment with the spinal surgeon held no fear. Ian drove me to the hospital and then went on his merry way back to FS. Knowing the whole procedure would only take about 30minutes but the recovery time may be anything up to two hours, it was silly for him to stay.

Having got fully undressed and gowned up, back to front so my backside was in full view of all and sundry if I wasn't careful,I was then escorted down numerous corridors (mental map needed for the way back) and led to a small room with xray equipment and trolley bed. Here I had to lay down on my stomach while the nurse did the biz of making my lower back as sterile as possible.
Feeling very relaxed I didn't even flinch when the local anesthetic went in. The xray equipment was brought over and a good 10 minutes or so was spent getting the right set up and a picture of the nerve to be injected.

black dot marks the area for the needle to enter.

Then all was ready and a small needle was inserted. The surgoen kept pushing the needle further in and each time a xray was recorded. Then suddenly....OMG ...the pain that shot down my right buttock, calf and foot made me nearly leap off the bed.. Even the surgeon appeared surprised and shot back. "I think we may have found the nerve" says he. Stepping forward he continued with pushing that needle further in until I felt I could stand it no more. "Right lets get this steroid in" says he. Within seconds of the injection it was all over leaving me a bit shell shocked but very relieved that it was all over.

The pain went instantly leaving a dull ache in my buttock and within minutes a stretcher was brought in, told to roll onto my back and wheeled out to a recovery room. A very welcome tea and biscuits was forth coming and after an hour alowed to go home.

Now I await the outcome. Yesterday my leg felt most peculiar, almost like it belonged to someones else but today it is nearly back to normal. Still have pins and needles down the leg but doesent seem half as bad as before. Time will tell but I'm keeping fingers crossed because the other alternative is to have the op.

Looks like winter has finally arrived. -3 and no wind to speak of meant we had a thin layer of ice on the canal to wake up to. Stove has been cranked right up and the wood pile is continually being replenished. Could be worse....the snow in certain parts of the country hasn't reached us, although I do love waking up to crisp white virgin snow. 

 And on the fat balls this morning.