@badapple
Are you referring to the Lidocaine patches? I did also had 50mcg fentanyl patch for about 13 years and that did help with the pain that I have in the T10-T12 area and down to the lower back. It also helped a little bit with the muscle spasms and sciatica.I still had plenty of pain but it did help and it was the only constant pain relief I had. I didn't have terrible cauda equina until June of 2018. When it wasn't just the sciatica anymore then the fentanyl no longer worked. They weaned me off that and replaced it with the oxytocin troches & ketamine troches.

I hear you on the options in a rural area. We have just a couple choices within a 30 mile radius. We pretty much have to travel an hour away for most doctor appts. If you go back to the same pain management doctor and he wants to repeat the same injections you can tell him you don't want to. Do you remember if they did a sacral nerve block or an epidural? I understand the frustration of being in pain management. I was with the same place for 10 years and all they wanted to do is repeat the same injections even though they never worked. I found out that it's really just a matter of making you a profitable patient. When I refused to do more procedures the doctor got rid of me. Soooo frustrating!!!