The results are in, Amigo. What's left to ponder???

I love Zoolander. What a great movie!

That's right, I've had my EMG, and gotten my MRI results back. There's good news; there isn't too much nerve damage, and the thoracic area looked ok. The bad news, my C5, C6, and C7 disks have become more herniated, and they are continuing to degenerate. My doctor thinks C6, in particular (which is basically the point in your spine where your neck and shoulder meet) is pushing on certain nerves and causing a significant amount of the pain I experience. The good ol' doc thinks that with some more injections, I'll be on the long awaited path of recovery.

First on the menu is an Epidural.
An epidural injection places anti-inflammatory medicine into the epidural space to decrease inflammation of the nerve roots, hopefully reducing the pain in the neck, shoulders and arms. The epidural injection may help the injury to heal by reducing inflammation. It may provide permanent relief or provide a period of pain relief for several months while the injury/cause of pain is healing.

I've had just one of these in the past. I was advised to continue, but financially couldn't afford to. Thanks to insurance, these sorts of procedures are now covered.

Second on the list are Facet Injections
A Facet Joint is a smal joint located in pairs on the back of your spine from rhe neck to the base of your spine. A Facet Joint Injection is:
An injection of a local anesthetic into facet joints or an injection of local anesthectic around the nerves that supply the joint or
an injection of local anesthetic into joints and around the nerves going to the joints, together, at the same time.

These are a 2 fold approach. They are partly diagnostic, and hopefully, partly for temporary pain relief. I've had 3 of these suckers before and they are painful procedures. There were so many variables the last time I had the injections- I had just quit a very physically demanding job that had caused me more pain, I was cleaning houses part time, I was packing up our apartment, and we were remodelling our house. I wasn't exactly doing my neck or my shoulders any favors. My doctor had to keep reminding me to take it easy, because the injections weren't going to work if I was doing activities that were irritating the areas being treated. They never did work, but I never slowed down either. It wasn't until recently that I relented, and stopped working altogether. If these injections are successful this time, then I get to have another procedure...

Third, and hopefully finally, is a Facet Rhizotomy.
The goal of a facet rhizotomy is to provide pain relief by "shutting off" the pain signals that the joints send to the brain. The pain relief experienced by most patients who have this procedure lasts months or even years.
Patients who are candidates for rhizotomy typically have undergone several facet joint injections to verify the source and exact location of their pain. Using a local anesthetic and x-ray guidance, a needle with an electrode at the tip is placed along side the small nerves to the facet joint. The electrode is then heated, with a technology called radiofrequency, to deaden these nerves that carry pain signals to the brain.

FUN STUFF, isn't it? I'll be going in later this month for the first round of epidural injections. I should find out the appointments today.

Speaking of today, Aaron and I are off to Chicago for biometrics with Immigration. One step closer to having a social security number!! It's about a 2 hour drive, one I used to make quite regularily when I had my old job. I think I go in, get fingerprinted, get a digital pic taken and leave. Methinks that is a long way to go for such a short, simple task. Oh well, I'd better not bite the hand that's about to feed me.