@mmata Hello again, and thank you for the updated information. I have read some information, and unfortunately, it is what you are saying in this message. But you also mentioned something about the nerve clumps that have me thinking.

About three to four weeks ago, my surgeon suspected a Neuroma in my abdominal wall on the right side. And from what I've read about Neuromas, they are a clump of nerve endings that have been injured or damaged. My pain doctor tried nerve block injections in my side back in the first week of May. So, just over three weeks later and there has been no change in my condition.

The part of your message that got me thinking is when you stated injections are not advised, as they may cause more damage. So, this same pain doctor has now done injections twice. The first time was back in February, he performed an epidural at T11-T12, and 48 hours after I was in more pain than before the epidural.

My right obliques were then very sensitive to strain/stress, so it didn't take much weight to cause them to lock up. It's like having a calf cramp in your side. At least with a calf cramp you can massage it out and start walking on it to keep it loose. Nothing I can do when my side locks up, I have to ride it out.

I'm thinking something happened with the epidural. I have had two previous epidurals at T12-L1, and neither of them caused any pain. Neither of them improved anything either, not worse, but not better. This epidural at T11-T12 was painful during the procedure, to the point I was yelling while lying on the table and a needle in my spine. And then 48 hours later I was in more pain than ever. To this day, my obliques are constantly locked once I'm out of bed.

Laying on my back is the only way to get relief, but that causes other problems staying in bed most of the day. My heels still hurt, ever since my surgery in November of 2025, until today. I'm still using pillows under my calves to keep my heels from touching. It's never-ending.