In the last 2.5 years I have been to more doctors and offices then I can remember. I have had numerous epidurals, myleograms, been jammed in to machines for hours on end while the magnets in it make ungodly amounts of noise, I have been put under for surgery that lasted 10 hours and left me with chunks of metal that I can feel when the weather is right and none of that ever made me nervous.
Tomorrow is a simple visit, albeit the first one to a pain doc for the arachnoiditis, and I am nervous. I have written down everything I can think of so that I won't forget, but something inside me still has the twang of uncertainty. This is the first meeting with this doc who will help me map out a plan for dealing with all the pain and difficulties that I have been having and will continue to have.
Worse is that I got the MRI report today and it is an interesting read. While I have seen an excerpt of the report I did not see the part that tells exactly where my arachnoiditis is affecting me, only that it was. The report that was included in the films says...
"The nerve roots of the Cauda Equina are distributed in an asymmetric pattern through the area of surgery at L4-5 through the sacral region. This would suggest a component of arachnoiditis..."
Now I am not going to be a worry wort and run around yelling "the sky is falling" but it is something that is concerning. Cauda equina syndrome can cause serious problems for people suffering from it.
More concerning to me is the actual arachnoiditis. I looked at the MRI's today and you can clearly see where the nerves are affected and to tell the truth it is very interesting to see on the film. Since the images are so small I am not sure I will be able to get a good scan of them to put on the blog but I will try to do that tomorrow when I get back from the doctors office.
My plan is to discuss the pain that I have been in and how it has progressed since last August when they diagnosed the arachnoiditis. I also plan to discuss my current meds and a lack of anything for breakthrough pain. Thankfully that is something that does not occur often but when it does there is not much I have been able to do other then to crawl in to the recliner and try to relax.
I know that everything should go well and that I am just anxious.
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