Looking forward to epidurals the end of next week. Months have slipped by me and I can't remember my last epidurals. I need them badly.
Tonight I'm going crazy with my right lumbar nerves L3 and L4 getting compressed or contacted in the typical manner they do.
TENS unit on for hours today; elastic lumbar support snug; hard lumbar brace on and off throughout the day.
Ice pads on and off today, as usual; I've been trying the hot pads that go in the microwave for a minute, then put over the electrodes & strapped under the elastic support.
It all really doesn't do jack shit but serve to distract me at times from the piercing nerve pain. Rx meds also daily but they don't do more than give me a couple of hours of relief.
I checked the mail tonight and the university magazine arrived from the school I attended. It comes every 3 months or so to alumni. I read a brief article inside about a psychological researcher at the university who was involved in a formal study of chronic pain patients--only a few specific types of conditions--that reported benefits of pain relief with cognitive therapy and hypnosis.
That type of stuff really ticks me off. Why are these academics making light of pain conditions that debilitate and cause loss of employment, along with depression that often accompanies the endless pain.
Maybe you fellow pain people have been through these recommendations for your pain. Only a pain-free person with some goal or objective would sell these ideas. Such garbage...
