Let the Healing Begin

I got the epidural for my swollen disc today. For those of you not quite up to speed (or in case this ends up being the destination of someone's Google search,), let me rehash what's what...

Approximately a month ago, I started noticing intermittent pain in my right shoulder, and numbness in my right thumb. The pain primarily felt like a pullet muscle at the top or rear of the shoulder, and the numbness would start at the thumb, occasionally moving up the arm. In severe cases, the numbness would move all the way up to the shoulder, and would occasionally encompass a broader swath of my arm.

After a couple of weeks, I decided this wasn't due to strain and saw the family doc. X-Rays revealed nothing, but an MRI showed a bulged disc between the C5 and C6 vertebrae. I was not surprised by this... that's where my internet research said the problem would probably be located, and I had a hunch that it was a nerve issue because I could cause the pain and numbness by rolling my head back.

Anyway, fast forward to today... the epidural itself. This is information I looked for, but really couldn't find. The procedure took about three to three and a half hours, from the time I walked in, to the time I walked out. About an hour of this was waiting for the doc. About 30 minutes was post-procedure recovery, where they made sure I wasn't going to have an allergic reaction to the medicine.

The procedure itself was relatively quick... 15 to 30 minutes. They started by disinfecting the area... actually, they cleaned my entire back... a little bit of overkill, but oh well... they reminded me several times to stay very still, and were very good about keeping me informed of their progress.

Now, for the details. They gave me two shots... one was something like Novocaine to deaden the pain, the second was the epidural shot itself. The epidural was not exactly fun, but it certainly didn't hurt horribly. On a scale from one to ten, the original pain is somewhere between one and two. The pain from the epidural itself rates in two to three range. The epidural procedure feels like a highly localized backache. It was a little more painful if I took a deep breath.

The procedure finished about two hours ago. I feel a little bit of tightness in the middle of my back... more of a muscle ache, and I feel a bit of bone tenderness at the injection site, but only if I move my head down a lot from its normal position. Side-to-side range of motion is normal.

My muscles and nerves feel a little weak... kind of similar to how I feel after first waking up from a nap... but there is no noticeable difference when I use the muscles. If you're concerned about an epidural, don't be.

I also talked to the doc about alternate treatments... massage, chiropractic treatment, ice, etc.

-Ice is probably good.

-Massage (gentle) is probably good.

-Chiropractic would be good if it was a lower back issue, but is not recommended for the upper back.

-Tylenol and other anti-inflammatory medications are good.

-A home traction setup is probably the next long-term recommendation.

-Accupuncture would be a good "third line" recommendation.

Let me be clear that my pain, numbness and discomfort is not severe enough where I would consider surgery, and this is not medical advice. I'm simply relaying my experience and telling you what my doc said to me for my specific case. Use or discard my experience at your own discretion.