Fentanyl Patch not really working!
A couple of weeks ago I felt another piece of disk break off and it hurt like hell, I finally gave up trying to tough out the pain and not take too many Lortab so the doc just gave me some new meds, a Fentanyl patch. I put on the new pain relieving Fentanyl patch last night (Friday) and woke up at 5am in real bad pain! Even Lortab usually gets me through to 7 or 8 am!
21 days and counting……
We found an apartment that had all the things we needed, a lift, good internet (a must as we still have to work), air conditioning, and not too shabby lol. Here’s what we booked from the 3rd to 26th June. http://www.shbarcelona.com/vacation-rentals-barcelona-Les_Corts-EMP00001-3581-1.htm
They advise you to stay for one week after you leave the hospital which should be around the 10th to 12th meaning flying home around the 19th but as I am of ‘advanced years’ and don’t bounce back as quick as you young’uns we are staying an extra week.
I’m hoping it will mean I don’t have to be sedated in order to manage the flight home ;o) they also advise on the forums to come back to the US in first class so you can lie down as sitting 10+ hours for the first flight and then another 4+ for the second would be a new kind of hell. I haven’t booked a first class seat yet as I am really hoping we get an upgrade, Tim is Silver Medallion and we got upgraded to first on the trip back from England last summer (bliss).
I may have to bite the bullet though and pay whatever it takes to upgrade just me when we get to the airport. I think they require your arm, your leg and your first born to secure a first class ticket, I haven’t told Rosanne yet.
Which Disk Hurts Which Part of Your Leg?
So I said in my last post that I would show a graphic that depicts which part of your leg pain comes from what nerve exit in the spine, well here it is:
Distribution of Skin Innervation
When I found this picture all those strange shooting pains in my legs suddenly made sense. Why is it I have been visiting Orthopedic and Neurological surgeons for over 12 years and no one explained this to me???
I have a specific pain in my back and they will tell me it is L4/L5 or L3/L4 but they never point out that the reason your left shin is numb and has been for 2 years is that the L4/L5 nerve is being pinched and therefore making the shin numb.
Now I don’t know about you but for me it’s nice to know these things, so you don’t worry, as in maybe I have some strange disease causing the numbness or I have cancer in my back too that they can’t see causing it or who knows what!
Anyway, I hope you find this as useful as I did.
Here’s a bit of the info I found with the picture:
Pinched Nerve Pathology
The two nerves most commonly pinched in the lower back are L5 (lumbar 5) and S1 (sacral 1).
Pinched nerve at L5. The L5 nerve supplies the nerves to the muscles that raise the foot and big toe, and consequently, impingement of this nerve may lead to weakness in these muscles. Numbness for L5 runs over the top of the foot.
Pinched nerve at S1. Impingement of the S1 nerve can lead to weakness with the large gastronemius muscle in the back of the calf, causing difficulty with foot push off (view the distribution of skin innervation). Numbness for the S1 nerve runs on the outside of the foot. The S1 nerve root also supplies innervation for the ankle jerk (tap on the achilles tendon and the foot goes down), and a loss of this reflex indicates S1 impingement, although it does not create loss of function.
Mother’s Day Evening
Even with the Fentanyl patch my back has been agony today, I have been taking half a Lortab every 6 hours which is taking the edge off but I’m finding it hard to walk. Walking is hurting my back more and more which is very frustrating.
Jeanette came out today for mother’s day and her present to me was to weed my flower beds which really needed it and they look so good now. Best mother’s day present ever!
Tomorrow I will try to post the pic that talks about the distribution of disc herniation’s and their frequency.