@alicemae probably 25 years ago I was younger and more in shape and things weren’t as as painful. I do know that my doctor only did three levels on two sides or six levels on one side at a time and so I had to go back quite a few times for diagnostic purposes for them to figure out where they were gonna do the RFA. It was extremely helpful and it worked really well until it got a few years out from the time where I needed lumbar surgery and my back pain wouldn’t abate. But also my nerves were compressed such that the weight of my vertebrae, crushed the nerve roots and I ended up not having any pain, but that wasn’t a good thing. It is always best to see an orthopedic surgeon and to be under a care of an orthopedic surgeon so when the time is right for surgery, you trust that the proper decision is being made. As far as the pain for the RFA’s initially I wouldn’t miss a beat and I’d go walk the dog afterwards. Later on I was so compromised that it took me a couple days to get back in the swing of things. I was very achy at the injection site. As far as pain when you were on the table ask them to use twilight sleep method. That’s what they do for me and I feel no pain. They use that twilight sleep stuff and then they inject some numbing medicine and only then after they inject the needles to do the work. I just did a Cortizone injection and it only lasted a week so it’s back to the pain medicine for me. I also find when I exercise more I sleep deeper and that lessons my sense of pain. Sometimes I even sleep so relaxed and so deeply that I’ll have a rare morning where I wake up with no pain because I’ve slept so deep deeply and relaxed my muscles. Which makes me believe that a lot of this I bring on myself from not relaxing enough! PS when those lightning paint bolt stopped when I would reach. My nerves were completely crushed in my lumbar spine, and my vertebrae bone had grown together the disc falling completely out. It was nice to be without the pain, but I was taking immediately into surgery by the new orthopedic surgeon I had found at the time and it was too late to save some of the nerves. If those lightning bolt Joel have stopped in your spine I suggest you get to see a good orthopedic surgeon sooner rather than later!