Back jack..aka Vertiflex....
I forgot my ear plugs. Got them from Costco, they are actually the molds they make hearing aids from. Years ago i had some custom ones made at a guns show...they were double the $$ from the ones I got from Costco...no better at noise reduction.
New machine was a bit larger. And a bit shorter then the last one I went in. Not that it made much of a difference but I went in feet first instead of head first. I took one of my 2mg Xanax pills as we were heading out the door.....and took the 1.5mg of Xanax they offered. Got thru it with no troubles...actually that is not true. I have a mild case of Asthma. The Neck Gator I wear, despite being just a piece of fabric, makes it very difficult to breathe after 25 minutes or so.
Also had some x-rays taken. This was the first time I saw any images of the Spinal Cord Stimulator inside me...
Seen the pain doc yesterday. Gave me another tune. So far this is the best one to date. Ever since they have started trying to get it dialed in I have had zero sciatic pain. That is still true. While I have not done much yet today, other than getting a 40 pound bag of pellets for our stove this morning, helped feed the 5 dogs and moved my truck in the garage, need to fix a few things, I have very little pain.
Doc asked me if I was sure I wanted to go thru with the upcoming Vertiflex implant...kind of a foolish question. Initially I was told that they were going to put 2 in, one at the L-3 to L-4 disc, the disc is showing signs of betting loose and the L-5 to L-5 disc, the disc is herniated out the front, pressing on my spinal canal. After looking at my MRI from 2018 doc decided to only to the L-4 to L-5. Lauren told me yesterday that, depending on what the new MRI shows is subject to change. I told her if that was the case to not even bother calling me, just plan for it.
I want to get off of these effing Opioids. So sick of feeling like I am brain dead. What I am hoping for is to be able to get off of the meds...even if I hurt some so that I can have a pain pump put in. Right now I am on 60-80mgs of Oxy a day as well as 900mgs of Gabapentin. These meds work by coating the pain receptors in your brain. Thing is they coat more then pain receptors. Which is why opioids can cause all sorts of other issues. The pain pump doses in micro grams instead of milligrams. It injects the meds into the area where the pain originates, so all of the side effects of the oral drugs are non-existent.
Spokane County Raceway already has a tentative schedule posted for 2021. I am hoping that, if I can get off the pain meds and have the pump put in that I can have it done prior to the start of the schedule next year. I really enjoy being the "official track fat guy with a camera"...aka the track photographer.
I forgot my ear plugs. Got them from Costco, they are actually the molds they make hearing aids from. Years ago i had some custom ones made at a guns show...they were double the $$ from the ones I got from Costco...no better at noise reduction.
New machine was a bit larger. And a bit shorter then the last one I went in. Not that it made much of a difference but I went in feet first instead of head first. I took one of my 2mg Xanax pills as we were heading out the door.....and took the 1.5mg of Xanax they offered. Got thru it with no troubles...actually that is not true. I have a mild case of Asthma. The Neck Gator I wear, despite being just a piece of fabric, makes it very difficult to breathe after 25 minutes or so.
Also had some x-rays taken. This was the first time I saw any images of the Spinal Cord Stimulator inside me...
Seen the pain doc yesterday. Gave me another tune. So far this is the best one to date. Ever since they have started trying to get it dialed in I have had zero sciatic pain. That is still true. While I have not done much yet today, other than getting a 40 pound bag of pellets for our stove this morning, helped feed the 5 dogs and moved my truck in the garage, need to fix a few things, I have very little pain.
Doc asked me if I was sure I wanted to go thru with the upcoming Vertiflex implant...kind of a foolish question. Initially I was told that they were going to put 2 in, one at the L-3 to L-4 disc, the disc is showing signs of betting loose and the L-5 to L-5 disc, the disc is herniated out the front, pressing on my spinal canal. After looking at my MRI from 2018 doc decided to only to the L-4 to L-5. Lauren told me yesterday that, depending on what the new MRI shows is subject to change. I told her if that was the case to not even bother calling me, just plan for it.
I want to get off of these effing Opioids. So sick of feeling like I am brain dead. What I am hoping for is to be able to get off of the meds...even if I hurt some so that I can have a pain pump put in. Right now I am on 60-80mgs of Oxy a day as well as 900mgs of Gabapentin. These meds work by coating the pain receptors in your brain. Thing is they coat more then pain receptors. Which is why opioids can cause all sorts of other issues. The pain pump doses in micro grams instead of milligrams. It injects the meds into the area where the pain originates, so all of the side effects of the oral drugs are non-existent.
Spokane County Raceway already has a tentative schedule posted for 2021. I am hoping that, if I can get off the pain meds and have the pump put in that I can have it done prior to the start of the schedule next year. I really enjoy being the "official track fat guy with a camera"...aka the track photographer.
