Narcotics r us

Friday's post about relief was a bit premature. The leg pain kicked into high gear late that night and into this morning.
I woke up at 11:30, dizzy, disoriented, and nauseated. I got back to sleep about 12:30, but woke up at 2:30 and stayed up until 6:30 a.m. I tossed, turned, paced, whined, and whimpered. Caught a little sleep in bits and pieces until 8:30. The meds weren't working anymore, nor were the ice packs or the massage wand. The pain was crippling and I truly became desperate. I looked at all those bottles of narcotics and wondered for a few minutes - how many will it take so I don't hurt *any* more?
We headed to the ER. By the time we arrived, my legs were weak and trembling and I was shaking all over. Didn't have to wait long, thankfully. The intake nurse was great, and the PA who saw me was super as well.
I told him of the progression of the pain, all the tests and procedures I'd been through, including the cystoscopy with anesthesia on Monday, and the cysto on Friday sans anesthesia. I described the location of the pain, which had extended down past my knee, into my calf, and now, into my foot. He rolled his eyes when I related the urology nurse's prescription of Percocet and Tyenol on a rotating basis.
His diagnosis - when they gave me the spinal on Monday, they *nicked* a nerve in my lower back (where the nerves branch out into a "horse's tail") and irritated it, thus the pain. The medical term for my problem is lumbosacral syndrome (feel free to substitute my name for "dogs" when reading). Then he uttered the wonderful sentences that I will forever adore him for, "I have drugs. I can stop your pain."
He was almost right. I received two shots - one for pain and nausea, one for inflammation. One on each upper butt cheek. The shots sent me over the edge and I bawled like a baby, apologizing to the nurse through my tears. I didn't want to cry, but the pain of the injections was the proverbial last straw on this exhausted camel's back. The injection areas were sore for quite a while (still are 6 hours later). Within 15 minutes, a calm that I have not experienced in weeks came over my body. The PA expected the meds to knock me out, but they didn't. In fact, I still haven't done more than doze. Think I'm just too amped up.
The pain lingers as a dull ache, but the intense throbbing and shooting pains are gone. I'm doing my best to stay on bed rest today and tomorrow. Fingers and paws crossed, I'll be well enough to fly to New Orleans on Monday.