back pain/ facet joint ablation

[heapsreal]

I have lumber facet joint arthritis, L4 and L5 with most pain on right side. At the start of the year i had a facet joint ablation where they burn the nerve to the facet joint which is a source of pain from this type of arthritis and can reduce pain quite alot. It worked really well for me but now 7 months down the track its starting to come back, bugger. I was told that it should last about 12 months as the nerves can grow back but was told that sometimes it can last for years. Its not a cheap procedure and will ring the doc who did it back and see if i can get it done again for free???

Anyway has anyone else had this procedure done and been successful for pain reduction but has had the pain return within 12 months??

I must have run over a black cat sometime. cfs wise i have been feeling good after treating this sinus infection and have been sleeping well also, but now the dam back is playing up, if its not one thing its another. Im sure when i get my back sorted i will go through a bad run of insomnia, lol??

cheers!!!

 

[August59]

They did 4 levels on one side and waited 2 weeks and did 4 levels on the other side. I told them that it was only one level, but they did it anyway. The level that was giving me problems lasted 6 months first time as it was a straight burn. The second time was a pulse burn and it lasted about a year, but it still came back. I keep my R4-Si muscle stimulator in my car and if it acts up bad I'll hit it with the pain cycle for 15 mins and it's fine!

 

[*GG*]

They did 4 levels on one side and waited 2 weeks and did 4 levels on the other side. I told them that it was only one level, but they did it anyway. The level that was giving me problems lasted 6 months first time as it was a straight burn. The second time was a pulse burn and it lasted about a year, but it still came back. I keep my R4-Si muscle stimulator in my car and if it acts up bad I'll hit it with the pain cycle for 15 mins and it's fine!

Can you provide a ling for your reference to: R4-Si muscle stimulator ?

GG

 

[heapsreal]

They did 4 levels on one side and waited 2 weeks and did 4 levels on the other side. I told them that it was only one level, but they did it anyway. The level that was giving me problems lasted 6 months first time as it was a straight burn. The second time was a pulse burn and it lasted about a year, but it still came back. I keep my R4-Si muscle stimulator in my car and if it acts up bad I'll hit it with the pain cycle for 15 mins and it's fine!

hi august,

I read just recently that apparently the more ablations u get the longer they last, so maybe the next one will last longer then 7 months.
Is your stimulator like a TENS machine?
Can u explain abit more between a straight burn and a pulsed burn.
Im getting good relief with tramadol which i use every so often for cfs headaches and aches and pains etc a 100mg slow release but with the back pain i need to double the dose and need it most days, just not keen on using it that regularly, the less meds the better i suppose, im already nreliant on other crap.

 

[john66]

Hi Heaps, I have never had the ablation procedure, but did have the steroid injections about 20 years ago. I was OK for about 15 then had something called prolotherapy which helped for a few years. Unfortunately it is not covered under my insurance and can not afford it now. Prolotherapy is supposed to act as a proliferant to the ligaments and tendons that hold the discs in place. They now do it with stem cells which is supposed to work better according to the doctor who administered it to me.

Recently, I have been using Gallium Nitrate topically, which has helped quite a bit. It is used medically to treat hypercalcemia. The person I bought it from uses it on horses for navicular disease, which is similar to arthritis which renders them lame. I have also used accupuncture and various electro-stim devices like the tens mentioned above. I hope you find something that works. When I am in lots of pain, ain addition to the fatigue, it overwhelms me and it is hard to stay posetive. J

 

[August59]

Can you provide a ling for your reference to: R4-Si muscle stimulator ?

GG

It is kind of like a TENS unit except it has diffirent channels and frequencies. It would help to if I got name right. Here is the link http://www.rsmedical.com/product_rs4i.asp

 

[Carrigon]

I never had any procedures done, but I just think it's interesting I have pain on the same right side you do. Like, wondering if it's another part of this disease.

 

[heapsreal]

they say pain either side of your spine which increases on arching backwards can indicate facet joint injury/arthritis. The ablation i found very good, was really hoping it lasted atleast the full 12 months not 7 months. So hoping the next one lasts longer , from what i have read this can be the case that they last longer from repeated ablations. i think facet joint problems are a very common cause of back pain and most can mange with anti-inflammatories and keep moving etc, this worked for me for 20 years and now at the point where it doesnt help at all. I am probably at a point where i have no cartilage left in my facet joints. facet joints seem to get worn away quicker in those with bulging discs as the facet joints then continuously ride on one another. I think my problems were caused from sports injuries many years ago, im only 40 now but my back is about 85.

cheers!!!

 

[Carrigon]

I'm 41. And here we are with back problems. I have a loose sacroiliac joint that just moves all over and if I move the wrong way, I get sciatica. So I'm trying to strengthen it with some exercises. But I get the pain all in the right side. I hate it.

 

[heapsreal]

it sux!, sometimes i think what the hell is going on with my body.
There must be people out there that never have any injuries or ill health until well into old age.
luck of the draw i guess

 

[Carrigon]

There are. I have relatives who have never been sick a day in their lives. And an old family friend is the same way. They have no understanding of people like us because they have never experienced real pain or anything. If they get a cold or flu, they are over it within two weeks. And the most pain they've ever had has been from a stubbed toe. They just aren't sick and in pain everyday.

 

[heapsreal]

There are. I have relatives who have never been sick a day in their lives. And an old family friend is the same way. They have no understanding of people like us because they have never experienced real pain or anything. If they get a cold or flu, they are over it within two weeks. And the most pain they've ever had has been from a stubbed toe. They just aren't sick and in pain everyday.

Exactly, i think thats why many of us have family members that dont believe us, but i sort of understand them as they will never know until they walk in our shoes. I know i have alot more empathy for others with different chronic conditions. My wife recently had a head cold for 2 weeks and after 3 days she felt that she felt like killing herself and then asked me if i ever feel like this, well i said its up and down but yes alot of days i do feel that crappy. i think she has a better understanding but they soon forget but thats cool, she has stood by me for this long, there must be something good about me, lol. it must be my horizontal folk dancing when im not in a fog, lol. also know as horizontal zoomba he he, maybe why my back is buggered.

cheers!!!