well, procedurally, this appmt. went more like the lumbar punctures, in that
the pattern leading up to the procedure itself ,was more familiar and the
duration of the procedure was shorter than the first thoracic procedure.  i
was in and prepped by 3:30 and home by 5pm. (i live 3 miles from the
clinic), instead of in by 3:30 and home by 6:30pm because of the last
procedure.

mentally, emotionally  and with a pre-procedure valium cocktail, i was
prepared for what was coming during it.  i certainly didn't tighten/tense up
or hold myself back from surrendering to the experience.  but, somehow it
felt a bit more difficult than the first time, a bit more instense in the
procedure's pain element for me, even though this procedure was shorter.
i'm not sure why, though, maybe the larger dose of the longer acting steroid
had something to do with it.

before we began, dr. alex was very pleased to know that after the steroid of
the first injection procedure kicked in, after two days, that i did have
relief from back spams and the pain caused by sneezing and coughing (and the
spasms caused by coughing and sneezing pain) for the span of time between
when the steroid kicked in until two days before this second procedure;
which resulted in milder spasms, and even though my pain levels had returned
from coughing and sneezing to the same degree two days prior to this second
injection.  told me that the shortterm relief i had experienced let him know
he was on the right track and in the correct area.

during this second procedure, he went down to the same level, in the same
spot, but this time he used a larger dose of a longer lasting steroid, he
told me.

immediately after the procedure, while i was still on the table, he said, "i
believe you should have some questions to ask me by now."  however, because
of my pain level, i simply couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything except
dealing with my level of discomfort, trying to go inward to face my
discomfort and mentally lessen it.  so i asked him to pretend i asked the
questions, to go ahead  and answer what he thought i should be asking.  he
said, "no.  maybe you really don't have questions for me at this point."
truthfully, i couldn't find the mental energy to ask questions and you know
me and questions---i'm a question generating machine normally.

my neck had stiffened up on the table, again, with this procedure as with
the last one.  took me a couple of minutes to be able to lift my head (neck
spasms) and then, sit up.  i took a few minutes to regain my sense of being
perpendicular.  i stood up with the tech's assistance, was very wobbly.  she
helped me out to my son in the waiting room, while telling me to take my
pain pills right away and to minimize my movements and any exertions when i
got home.  i felt very disoriented.  alex guided me to the car and into the
house.  sweet kid.

got home and immediately grabbed something cold to drink and a piece of
cheese (had been on a nothing by mouth fast pre-procedural protocol since
the night before) sat down with my legs up.  ate the cheese, pain pills,
drained the liquid in nothing flat.  sat there and decided to surrender to
whatever my body wanted.  nodded off and awakened intermittantly yelping
when my head move towards my chest.  (it still hurts my mid-spine
dramatically, whenever my chin moves downward to my chest for any reason.
i'm still waiting for the steroids to kick in.)  alex had had enough of my
yelping and insisted i eat something more substantial that he put in front
of me.  i forced myself to eat, though i had no desire to, but i was touched
by his thoughtfulness;  wanted to please him because he was so sweet in
taking care of his mother.  i just couldn't tolerate sitting anymore and
decided to go directly to bed.  tried to read.  couldn't.  tried to watch
tv.  couldn't.  just shut the light and waited for sleep.

i awoke up at 3:30 a.m. and came in here.  been trying to write this with
constant and persistant interruptions from an automatic update wanting me to
restart my computer in the middle of this.

i'm sooo looking forward to the steroid to kicking in.  this particular
part of the process is unlike with the lumbar punctures, with their short
term and long term anesthetic which went a long way in helping me wait out
the process of the steroid kicking in.  it's been difficult to type, because
my head keeps lowering to see the keyboard and that upgrades my pain level
mid-spine.  so, i'm going back to bed in a moment.  seeeee? . . . i told you
guys i really am a wuss.

thank you for hanging in there with me and all your love and support.  i'm
very grateful for it.  catch ya all, when i can do this a little more
easily.

i love all of you,
kate