Famous last words: "This will just sting a little"

Today I had the epidural steriod injection for Mr. L4-L5 Disk. This is an outpatient procedure. Janis drove me down to the surgery center in Austin for the 8:45 procedure. We arrived at 7:30 a little earlier than directed. The procedure itself didn't take long. In the operating room I mounted the operating table, still fully clothed, but with my pants unfastened. The area to receive the needle is slightly below the belt line, so one assistant said he was going to pull my pants down "a little." This was the first lie. I felt by the cold air that "a little" was pretty much all the way that mattered.

The next "little" was the shot to deaden the skin. This stung "a little" as advertised. Then the second lie. "There, that was the worst part of the procedure." As if!

After a minute or so to allow the local to deaden the skin, the doctor began to insert the needle into my back. Prior to this, the other assistant gave me two little star-shaped yellow balls to squeeze because "sometimes there is some discomfort with this procedure." The first hint of this was an odd sensation -- not a sharp pain but uncomfortable all the same -- as, Dr. Esther Yaniv explained, the needle was going through some tight muscles. She assured me there was just a little muscle to go through. Then came the real surprise, a sudden shooting pain down my entire left leg. I remarked to those present that this was uncomfortable -- not in those exact words, not in words at all, in fact, but they got the message. The doctor asked if the pain had subsequently disappeared and I remarked that it had. She seemed to think that this pain was good, because it meant the needle was going the right way. I'm sure glad I didn't stifle my reaction to the pain, which seemingly would have left her wondering if she was doing it right! This charming sensation suddently reoccured a second time and after that it was about all over. She said I might feel the same thing again when she inserted the medicine, and I hope she wasn't too disappointed when it did not!

Soon thereafter I moved onto the provided gurney and to the recovery area. There wasn't much to recover from as my vitals seemed to show, so I was allowed to go on home.

So now time will tell how Mr. Steriod likes living with Mr. L4-L5 Disk. I sure hope they like each other.