Lower back pain

Posted by gnine @gnine, 4 days ago

What to do when steroid injections and ablations do not work

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

Please get a second an third opinion as it is a great safeguard against a blotched surgery

REPLY

Your pain could possibly due to entrapment of your cluneal nerve. Very easy to eliminate that possibility.

There is a procedure called Intercept which may help. Check with Dr Google about these possibilities.

REPLY

Yes, to answer your question better, we need to know your diagnosis in terms of spinal injuries/makeup. I'd say if you bone on bone between any two vertebrae, you will need surgical intervention, hopefully less invasive in nature. If you have bulging discs or arthritis or nerve issues/damage along the spine that are causing pain, epidurals will be needed on a regular basis. If the epidurals do not reduce the pain for any longer than a few days or so, you will be helped by a nerve ablation, maybe a radio frequency ablation as they call one version. I'm not a doctor; I'm just picking up some details from this Mayo Clinic blog. Maybe try one of the AI programs or do a Google search with your question. I'm getting epidurals along the center of my spine, lower back L4/L5, and after another set of those 4 shots (they don't help for more than a week for me), I can move on to an ablation procedure. I have two sets of vertebrae that are bone on bone, so there is no way an epidural is going to help me long term to reduce that sharp pain that bone-on-bone connections give. But I'm looking for a referral to a spine surgeon or spine neurologist to determine a "less invasive" procedure, one that has lesser risks to it.

REPLY

From my experience it is relatively easy to treat lower back pain, doing so successfully is an entirely different matter! Your comments indicate some history with this condition and a diagnosis that seems to recommend "let's try this and if that doesn't work we will try something else"! That is not entirely fair, but in the big picture that is exactly what it looks like. In my attempt to treat a similar condition I found I needed to start with my GP who did the appropriate diagnostics to generally understand the problem and recommend a specialist. That lead to a few specialists, each with their own diagnostics and expertise, although some were a false start. That eventually led to an accurate diagnosis (this is the absolute basis for all proper treatment) and a practitioner that could really help. In turn I understood that each legitimate procedure from the non-invasive to major surgery had it's benefits and which the experts employed depended entirely on the remedies needed. I know how it is to feel lost in this ever so important endeavor, but to be understood and on the same page as the experts really helps in so many ways.

REPLY
Profile picture for rockon79 @rockon79

From my experience it is relatively easy to treat lower back pain, doing so successfully is an entirely different matter! Your comments indicate some history with this condition and a diagnosis that seems to recommend "let's try this and if that doesn't work we will try something else"! That is not entirely fair, but in the big picture that is exactly what it looks like. In my attempt to treat a similar condition I found I needed to start with my GP who did the appropriate diagnostics to generally understand the problem and recommend a specialist. That lead to a few specialists, each with their own diagnostics and expertise, although some were a false start. That eventually led to an accurate diagnosis (this is the absolute basis for all proper treatment) and a practitioner that could really help. In turn I understood that each legitimate procedure from the non-invasive to major surgery had it's benefits and which the experts employed depended entirely on the remedies needed. I know how it is to feel lost in this ever so important endeavor, but to be understood and on the same page as the experts really helps in so many ways.

Jump to this post

Correct in saying that you need to back to your gp and start over,but when you gp only works within the system ie ( open evidence) your still at a loss.Cut all endevers with ai first@rockon79

REPLY
Profile picture for applejack112 @applejack112

Correct in saying that you need to back to your gp and start over,but when you gp only works within the system ie ( open evidence) your still at a loss.Cut all endevers with ai first@rockon79

Jump to this post

@applejack112 "Cut all endevers with ai first@rockon79"-not sure of what you mean.

REPLY
Profile picture for rockon79 @rockon79

@applejack112 "Cut all endevers with ai first@rockon79"-not sure of what you mean.

Jump to this post

@lookup a program on the net(not google) and search for open evidence.Its a ai program that drs use to give your prognosis.Just ask them to direct their thoughts to you and not from a machine.ckon79

REPLY

Could you give an example of what you mean? You’re talking about some AI program (you mean a program within a Chat GPT or other AI service?) that can give a prognosis for some medical issue? I’m trying hard to understand but just not getting your point.

REPLY

I think you will be fortunate if your backside epidural lasts more than a very few weeks. The ablation is another matter, since the nerve endings are cauterized and the pain relief lasts as long as it takes for the nerve endings to regrow back to normal condition. I am not sure if they will give you the OK for a nerve ablation procedure until you have gone through a couple of epidurals or more.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.