I saw my spine NP today and came out with some new interesting info and one a very annoying revelation.
The annoying part. Either NM Orthopaedics didn't submit the records request from my dr's in IN, which I've asked & saw them fill out & who have told me 3xs they did. They being the front desk lobby folks. Or, my hospital network in IN, never followed thru even though they said they received the request. All this has been going on since Jan and yet it wasn't until today
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that my NP tells me, after I told her that I thought the Branch Block & RFA procedure I had last year, was to treat my sacroiliac joint pain, "I have no idea. I only have what you've told me." Turns out she's never seen all the spinal treatments, tests, and procedures I've had since 2018. 😡 Fucking hell.
Soooo, needless to say, any future treatments are now on hold until she gets those records.
I'm left trying to understand why almost 7 months on, my records haven't been
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shared and why, she and my other dr (hip ortho), there at the clinic have not once mentioned this?
I go to these appts and I tell them about all the years I've had pain, the treatments I've had, and not one single PA, NP, dr, thought to say, "Oh? I've never seen any of your previous records." J-F-C
I like my spine NP. She's compassionate, helps me understand all the different terminologies, why I have XYZ pain instead of ABC pain, and answers my questions
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but this "I have no idea because I've never seen your past records..oh and yeah I've been seeing you since end of Dec." WTF
*grumble*
On to the interesting part.
I don't have sciatica. Apparently, sciatica is pain that radiates down the back of the leg, from the back. What I'm experiencing is called Radiculopathy. Sounds like something out of Harry Potter. 😏
I've never had pain going down the back of my leg. It's always been from the right side of my spine to the right
@see_the_sus Sounds closer to what I had, and looks like it's often treatable with minimally invasive surgery or no surgery. OTOH, if it goes away on its own in a couple of months and yours has been years, that sure doesn't match. Maybe it's all a question of what causes the narrowing.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/radiculopathy#:~:text=A%20common%20cause%20of%20radiculopathy,can%20also%20help%20some%20patients.
hmmm.... "When radiculopathy occurs in the lower back, it is known as lumbar radiculopathy, also referred to as sciatica because nerve roots that make up the sciatic nerve are often involved."
@walterbays
The numbness is fairly recent, by which I mean since about 2021 but has become more prevalent this year when I've been sitting or walking, (shopping usually). I'm fine when laying down.