Thanks for your reply Amnesia. Replies to your questions…
“ Where are things at pain wise and what is the plan from the hospital team? ”
With the rest in the hospital bed and holding back from anything other than minor movements and to a large degree the pain meds, the pain went down to a 3/10 which is very manageable. It even went down to a 1/10 last evening. I cannot sleep on my back, even with a pillow under my knees because I then get the sciatica like symptoms - the intense shooting pains down my left leg. So I sleep in the fetal position on my right side. This morning my pain was at 8/10 and I believe that is because my left leg was a riding slightly over the right leg and this put a pull on SI joint. I forced myself to walk the hospital hallways and the pain went down to a 6/10. The plan from the physician in the ward I am in that is caring for me is to get the pain meds figured out. I believe they have that figured out now. The team has been outstanding in their care. I believe they, along with good teachers, are the saints of society.
I would rather go home but as much as the world waves a flag at how glorious socialized medicine is (I am in Canada), there are some serious flaws in the system that cannot be ignored. It is almost impossible to get a designated family doctor due to lack of supply and without a family doctor, one is forced to go through the hospital emergency. I experienced the hospital emergency 3 times in the past week and every time they make you wait 4-5 hours in the waiting area chair before checking you in and then another 3-6 hours before a doctor sees you. When one is experiencing nerve pain which is 9-10 out of 10, that simply is not doable. As a result of a lack of family physicians, more people are turning to hospital emergency for non-serious issues and this is crippling a health care system that is already significantly hampered.
I like you advice about getting a proper bike fit. I did my own bike fit based on lots of reading, but if it can be tweaked for the better, I am for it. Perhaps the saddle needs changing too, even though the saddle is one of the top in the reviews.
I am also going to ask about steroid injections tomorrow. I feel the doctors in Canada are in a compromised position because I feel financial pressures from the government which then put pressure on the governing bodies, result in delays in getting the ideal care and often that care never comes. For instance, the wait for an MRI can be over a year depending on the condition. I have a torn meniscus in my left knee and the wait was 14 months. I never got the MRI. Hopefully steroid injections will not fall into the same category where the doctors hold back due to financial constraints. I am guessing that is a minor cost in comparison to MRI so financial cost will not be an inhibitor.
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Adrian in Vancouver
“ Where are things at pain wise and what is the plan from the hospital team? ”
With the rest in the hospital bed and holding back from anything other than minor movements and to a large degree the pain meds, the pain went down to a 3/10 which is very manageable. It even went down to a 1/10 last evening. I cannot sleep on my back, even with a pillow under my knees because I then get the sciatica like symptoms - the intense shooting pains down my left leg. So I sleep in the fetal position on my right side. This morning my pain was at 8/10 and I believe that is because my left leg was a riding slightly over the right leg and this put a pull on SI joint. I forced myself to walk the hospital hallways and the pain went down to a 6/10. The plan from the physician in the ward I am in that is caring for me is to get the pain meds figured out. I believe they have that figured out now. The team has been outstanding in their care. I believe they, along with good teachers, are the saints of society.
I would rather go home but as much as the world waves a flag at how glorious socialized medicine is (I am in Canada), there are some serious flaws in the system that cannot be ignored. It is almost impossible to get a designated family doctor due to lack of supply and without a family doctor, one is forced to go through the hospital emergency. I experienced the hospital emergency 3 times in the past week and every time they make you wait 4-5 hours in the waiting area chair before checking you in and then another 3-6 hours before a doctor sees you. When one is experiencing nerve pain which is 9-10 out of 10, that simply is not doable. As a result of a lack of family physicians, more people are turning to hospital emergency for non-serious issues and this is crippling a health care system that is already significantly hampered.
I like you advice about getting a proper bike fit. I did my own bike fit based on lots of reading, but if it can be tweaked for the better, I am for it. Perhaps the saddle needs changing too, even though the saddle is one of the top in the reviews.
I am also going to ask about steroid injections tomorrow. I feel the doctors in Canada are in a compromised position because I feel financial pressures from the government which then put pressure on the governing bodies, result in delays in getting the ideal care and often that care never comes. For instance, the wait for an MRI can be over a year depending on the condition. I have a torn meniscus in my left knee and the wait was 14 months. I never got the MRI. Hopefully steroid injections will not fall into the same category where the doctors hold back due to financial constraints. I am guessing that is a minor cost in comparison to MRI so financial cost will not be an inhibitor.
________________
Adrian in Vancouver