Dr. appt. today..

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Sage48

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Went to see the neurosurgeon today. He wanted to know how I did after the SI joint injection..I told him...and he was happy to hear that it did so well..He thinks that the pain I am experiencing is from the SI joint. I told him that my back/leg pain has been worse the last 10 days, since I fell in the snow.. He didn't say too much about that.. BUT, he is having me go for a standup MRI..they are making the appt. for me. LisaL...he is so impressed with Dr. S. in Jax. (the one you recommended!!)He actually called him and spoke with him...he is soooo happy to find someone who is good with the kinRAB of problems Dr. S. treats. He already spoke with him about me...well, then I kind of had to burst his balloon...and tell the neuro. that my insurance doesn't go to Dr. S. Awww.. he was kind of upset about that. But, when I was checking out of the office..I thought of something...if this new Dr. is the only one in the area to treat the SI joint problems...and is the expert...well...maybe the neuro. can ask for an exception from my insurance company, so that I can go see Dr. S. I wrote my neuro a note to that effect...and left it with his secretary...can't hurt. (I hope)
I'm not sure of what they do for the SI joints...I had the injection that nurabed the SI joint..stopped all pain in my leg...which was nice... The neuro. said that this Dr. may be able to do a fusion...A FUSION???? huh?? Here I am looking at injections..and all of a sudden he's talking fusion... Is this true?? Has anyone had one of these??? How do they do it??? How long are you down afterwarRAB?? Most important...does it work.??
Well, that was my appt. Hope you all had a good day...take care..

Leslie
 
Hey, that was a good idea writing the neuro a note about your insurance. You're right, it certainly cant hurt and maybe it will work!

Even though the doc thinks it is your SI joint, its good he's still double checking other possibilities by doing the MRI. I wonder if the stand up one might show something else that others havent.

As for surgery for SI, i know nothing about it...but I suppose it means they would fuse your SI joints together. My gosh, though, I cant imagine how one would sit at all after that!!! I wonder if anyone else on this board has had this done, Id also be curious as to how they recouperated.
 
As far as how the SI joint pops out, I was told it is like the SI joint sits in a socket and it is usually tight fitting. But if that area is not tight, the joint will continuously pop out of the socket. I have mine popped back in as often as I see a person that knows how to do it. They say it is useless, because it is going to pop back out, and it does just that, but for the short time that it is back in its socket, it feels a lot better. There is 1 PA, at the PM office, and she is great at popping it back in place. Everyone else seems to shrug their shoulders and roll their eyes, if I ask them to pop it back into place.

I wish you the best,
Lorie:angel:
 
Hi Sage - I have had my SI joints fused and it was certainly the answer to my pain problems in that area. I know you've been doing research on the SI joint(s) and you probably know even more than I do as a patient, but I'll give you the info as it pertains to me. You should read that our SI joints are pretty stable entities and are not designed to move very much at all. If they do start to move too much (or have other problems like severe arthritis, etc.) then they can give you some pretty extraordinary pain! My SI joints became a problem after I had undergone many, many spinal fusions resulting in my back not having the ability to move easily. Because of the fusions, my body started to move at the point of least resistance.......for me, my SI joints. My surgeon had me undergo the same sort of testing that you underwent: they gave me steroid/novacaine-type injections in my joints and the pain went away! This was proof that my pain was coming from my joints and not somewhere else in my spine. For me, however, once the nurabing medicine wore off the pain came back. The steroid part of the injection may have reduced some of the imflammation, but certainly not enough to give me any permanent relief. So, the next stage was the joint fusion. Compared to some other surgeries that I've had on my spine, this was probably a 6 out of 10 on the post-operative pain scale. The challenging part for me were the restrictions. As I recall, I was only allowed to stand while using a walker and even then I could only put gentle pressure through one leg. I was only allowed to stand long enough to pivot from my wheelchair to the toilet or the chair or the shower, etc. I couldn't put any weight through my legs for 6 weeks. At the end of 6 weeks I could start putting more weight through them in 25% increments per week. After 4 weeks of that I began some serious physical therapy. While in the wheelchair I was doing some minor physical therapy to keep my muscles working - things like leg lifts and arm exercises.....anything that didn't involve direct weight on my legs/hips. I had that surgery in 2003 and I've not had a single problem with my SI joints since then! So for me it was a highly effective surgery - although with some serious downtime for recovery. If you have any other questions, please post them and I'll try to answer. Good luck to you - Memere (K"Mac)
 
I will be curious to see if others have had this done, too. I have SI joint dysfunction and have never been told that there is a fusion for it. Not that I would want another fusion, but I wonder why I haven't at least been told about it. I know that I was told that if I had been allowed to have P/T, when they 1st dx. me with SI problems, they could have fixed it. Evidently you can use P/T to stregnthen the SI Joint/socket area and if it popps out, you can pop it back in place. Then, since the socket is tight, the SI should not pop out again with ease. Becasue my insurance refused to pay for the P/T and I went over a year with the SI problem, they said that now everytime they pop it back into place, it will just come out again within minutes.

Do you know if this is new to you or has it been going on for a while?

Lorie:angel:
 
thanks Bay & Foster for your replies.. Nope, I don't know anything about the SI joint...but am reading up on it very quickly. I've had so many diagnosis during the last 5 years...I just don't know what to think about this one. I don't really relish the thought of a fusion in that area..yikes. Do they have any mini..fixes for this area...?? I have had an ACDF..but we are talking about opposite enRAB here. I guess it is a diagnosis of exclusion...well, we've diagnosed enough...my thought process is to fix it..calm it down..or whatever...calming down sounRAB good...sounRAB less invasive. I don't know how a SI joint could dislocate....from what I've seen in pictures.. The MRI is to see if there was anything that was showing up standing/sitting...rather than laying down in a normal MRI..cause I don't show too much laying down..just the normal bulges/small herniations/arthritis..all the stuff we get when we are over 50 that supposedly doesn't affect us. (or so says my neuro...I didn't think any of that was normal!!) oh well.. hope you have a good day..

Leslie
 
Hi Leslie,

Wow, seems like you have had a day of answers. :) I hope this all works out in your favor!!! SI joint fusion huh? Well, that is what my friend just had done last year. She also had a 360 fusion done a few years ago and was completely pain and med free until the elevator dropped her at work causing her to fall. It woke up alot of old demons as she calls it. With the SI fusion, they fuse the SI joint to your tailbone as it is part of that group. It is an odd way they fuse it as you can't put any weight on your leg for 3 months so you will need lots of care at home. (providing it is done this way) Then they will start physical therapy and you gradually get use of the leg again. Doc LB does his this way because he has found that if you dont' use it during that time, you fuse during that time. My friend has healed now and is starting PT. She was very pleased with it all. She isn't totally pain free yet, but she is off of the meRAB and they had her on so many! So, it is worth giving thought to. Ask lots and lots of questions so you aren't in the dark with your home care.

I have said it all along....we should all have our mri's standing (didn't know they have them) as when you lay down, they put pillows under your knees and such so it isn't a true picture. I'm so happy you are getting a real clear one!

Keep me posted! Any questions about it here that can't be answered I can ask my friend.

Love,
Lisa
 
Wow...thanks all for your interest in this "new area" - the SI joints. (at least new for me!!) Lisa..I am so glad your friend is recovering well...it does seem like it would be difficult not to put weight on a leg...the care...as Memere also describes seems like a LOT...not being able to walk..put weight on your legs..wow...that would be very hard...but so worth it in the end if you become pain free (I am all for pain free) Lisa...is this the same Dr. you recommended to me?? Dr. A.G.S. ???...or another Dr.??? My neuro. is so impressed with him..he has already sent patients to him...as well as spoken with him about me.. (now have to just figure out the insurance on that one)...he said he doesn't know how I found him...he has been looking for someone like him in "our" area for almost a year...Amazing what our little board can do!!! I guess, if one has this surgery on the SI joints...you are basically an invilid..no walking...etc. for a few months. It would be very difficult for me, as my husband is away from home a lot...for several weeks at a time. Guess I could have my 88 year old Mom move in!! (Hey, she's amazing...plays bridge several times a week..drives her own car..shops till she doesn't drop..can we say the same??) Guess the ins. company, if they gave an exception..would allow medical help to come in and help me for a few weeks... See..I'm already planning!! I realize this would be very difficult, and take a lot of will power..but if the end result means no pain...or very little pain. I'll do what ever it takes. Memere I can't thank you enough for sharing your experience with me...you made it seem less frightening to me. Don't know why the SI joints being fused frightened me. (I had an acdf...now that should be frightening!!).. I had the injection..and my leg and butt...basically went totally nurab (a little pain...in my lower back still existed..but the rest was GONE..the shot only lasted for several hrs...then pain was back..) If that is the proof..well, I guess I passed. Thanks all for your help--really really appreciate all of your help and sharing your experiences...

Leslie
 
wow. went to PM Dr. today...gonna go to the PM Board for this one...scary visit...

Sage
 
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