My Pain Management Procedure
I could have never prepared myself for the injections for my muscle spasms. I got multiple injections on each side of my neck and down along the spasms on my shoulders. The neck ones were sore, but it was ok. I’m well used to pain. But I could have never prepared myself for the pain of getting my spasms injected. It was torture.
Even touching my spasms hurt
So multiple needles with liquid that burned was excruciating. It was the most painful, traumatic experience I have ever gone through. I was in so much pain, I was screaming, crying, and biting into the pillow. The nurse had to hold my head down so I would not jerk my head and end up hurting myself more. I really cannot put the pain into words. When I think about what happened I cry. I really felt like I was being tortured.
I got trigger point injections with nerve blockers, cortisone steroids, anti-inflammatories, long-lasting anesthetic, and other things that I cannot remember the name of. I really should have gotten the doctor to write it down for me.
I have had needles in my spasms before during acupuncture, and yes it hurt a little but nothing like this. This was more painful than anything I could have ever imagined. I have never endured pain like that. And I deal with pain every day. This is a painful procedure, but my spasms have been so bad recently that it made it a lot worse.
The procedure took about 15 to 20 minutes
I walked back to the car with my mam, feeling absolutely awful. I cried the whole way home and for a few hours after that. I spent the rest of the day in bed. I’d say I slept for two hours that night. I had completely forgotten about how much steroids affect my sleep. I was in absolute agony, so even if it wasn’t for the steroids, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.
After about two hours of sleep, I woke up in so much pain. It hurt so much to move my neck, to sit up, to move at all. It took me close to half an hour to get out of bed. I was screaming and crying from the pain. I felt absolutely exhausted, exhausted from the pain and from crying.
After this procedure, I was bed-bound for 10 full days
My neck, shoulders, and upper back were in excruciating pain. This pain then flared up all my other AS symptoms. My tailbone was on fire, my back was in agony, and oh the fatigue. I had no energy at all. I felt like how I felt before I was ever one biologics. A full 10 days of feeling like this. I was so sad and afraid. Sad that I lived a full year feeling like this before. Afraid that I would feel like this forever.
I was told that after one week I should feel some relief and full relief after four. It’s been three weeks and I’ve had no relief at all. My spasms are as bad as ever.
All that pain and recovery for nothing
Well, no. I need to remind myself that this is all trial and error. It may take some time and some more procedures to find what will work for me.
Do you see a pain management specialist?
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