Pain, Part 3

So, what's the latest? A "cervical epidural steroid injection". I have never in my life felt anything like it before and I don't want to feel it again. It felt like someone was injecting acid into me and it ran from the place of injection all the way to my leg! Thankfully, that sensation lasts less than 45 seconds because when I felt it, it shocked me so much I held my breath. Having endured the pain of that injection...it didn't work. Oh...and by the way, that was the 2nd attempt and the Dr did it while I was face down on an operating table.
So...yesterday, the Dr did something similar except he did it around 3 facet joints in my neck. Yeeeeaaahhh...I got to feel that sensation 3 times. Yippee! Oh yeah...and I'm awake the entire time! They only give you enough "happy juice" so you can't swing at them or jump off the table but it felt like liquid FIRE! (It gave me a new reference for the phrase, "like fire shut up in my bones". lol) I'm glad I was warned that I would feel worse before I felt better, however, I got a little bit of a reprieve from the pain a couple of hours after the procedure and started planning my day (the NEXT day, that is). Wow! If I feel this great, I'll clean the house, drive for the first time in almost a month, vacuum, etc, etc, etc. I woke up this morning and wasn't diving for the Percocet bottle, so I thought I was on the road to recovery. I felt GREAT! Then 4 hours after that, the pain came back with a vengence! I don't know if I was crying out of pain or anger and disappointment. I guess this was that "feel worse before better" stage. I have a full serving of pain with a side of fatigue (for no good reason) and a dash of disappointment. I rolled my eyes at the Vicoprofen bottle and begrudgingly took my normal dosage. I guess I should be grateful because at least I wasn't grabbing the Percocet bottle. I grab my usual artillary against pain...moist/heating pad, re-heatable bean bag, and an ice pack. (The ice pack is for the injection sites. I look like I've been bitten by a 3 fanged vampire!)
Now I wait for another 5-10 days to see if these injections will get rid of the pain. If not, the next procedure is called a "cervical radiofrequency neurotomy". Now this one scares me a little because it is literally burning the nerve at the point of pain. I'm not so sure I like that because I may need that nerve to warn me of pain in the future, ya know what I mean? What are the risks? Infection, nerve damage (to the wrong nerve), numbness...yadda, yadda, yadda.
I see now how people get addicted to pain killers. I often wonder if I am or not. I don't suspect I am because I'm always torturing myself and periodically halting my dosages to see if the pain is really still there or not. I don't like taking pills and now having to take them at 4-5 hour intervals is just ticking me off! I take the meds, an hour later I'm sleepy as heck, I only sleep about 45 minutes, I wake up long enough to eat, go to the bathroom and check my Facebook page and the cycle starts ALL over again. I'm glad www.hulu.com exists because rarely am I able to view a one hour show without falling asleep. Reading? Fahgetaboutdit! I never get passed 2-3 pages and usually end up reading the same pages at least twice before I just give up. Then I thought, books on tape is the way to go...well...same response as watching TV. I fade to black and never hear the complete book.
So, what's a girl to do? I hulu, I cry...and I pray...myself to sleep. Tee-hee!