As mentioned previously, I am in the process of working on getting my back fixed. For the past three years, I have battled with a torn disc, and right around the time I didn’t think I could take any more poking, prodding, or pain, I was informed that I’d be a good candidate for Regenexx. Regenexx is a new procedure, still in the not-yet-FDA-approved family of procedures. The success rate is pretty high, and I’ve been in so much pain for so long, that if someone told me stabbing myself in the eye with a fork while break dancing in a tutu would make me feel better, I’d give it a go. Regenexx sounded a bit more tolerable than the stabbing and the tutu, so here we are. Welcome.
The first part of the Regenexx process was taking some bone marrow (from my Iliac Crest) to pull stem cells from, and drawing some blood (from my arm) to feed those cells with. Kind of like little baby vampire cells, the stem cells need blood to do their job, and since the inside of your spinal column doesn’t have a whole lot of blood flow, the area has to be seeded with blood from elsewhere.
Back on track. I arrived an hour early for my appointment so that I could take a Valium. (Erin is not a big fan of needles. Especially needles that are going through 
bones. Icky.) Spent an hour talking to my parents, who had joined me for the day, waiting for the Valium to kick in, reading trashy magazines, and chatting some more. We were taken back to an exam room, where I was given a very stylish hospital gown to change into, and then instructed to wait some more. I realized at this point that the Valium didn’t seem to be doing much. My dad informed me that sometimes it just doesn’t work. Are you kidding me? Nothing like telling someone who is terrified of needles that is about to have no less than eight holes DRILLED INTO HER BACKSIDE that sometimes the meds that are supposed to chill you out “might not do much.” Thanks for that. Awesome.
Right around when I started feeling like I was going to pass out from the nerves, they called me into the procedure room. The nice lady that got me prepped was very friendly and calm, which helped calm me down a bit. Or maybe it was the Valium, we will never know for sure, but I swear that stuff didn’t work. We chatted a bit while she prepped my backside to be poked and prodded.
I was laying face down, with my bum in the air, when I was introduced to Dr. Schultz. Dr. Schultz is the anesthesiologist at the clinic, and did a great job of calming my nerves and explaining how the procedure would go. I’ll be giving you my take on how things went, not the scientific version.
My lower back was numbed, x-rayed, and numbed some more. Dr. Schultz stuck a giant corkscrew with a needle on the end of it into my back, and worked the needle through the bone until he hit the center, where the gooey marrow-y goodness lives. He then sucked a bunch of it out. I didn’t see this, I was facedown, remember? Again, my take on the procedure.
While they had me already on the table, I was also given an injection into my disc, to prep it for my upcoming stem cell reinjection. Since I had been through many Epidural Steroid Injections, I was familiar with the routine for this. Again, facedown, so a bit fuzzy on the specifics, but one or two long, wiggly needles were directed into my spinal column, directly into the disc that has been giving me all of this trouble (L 4-5, if you’re wondering). Once the needles were in place, after one of them nicked a nerve (and I almost kicked someone in the face in reaction to the jolt of pain starting in my spine and shooting down through my right leg), some of the blood that had been taken several weeks prior was injected into the disc space to prep it for the stem cells that would be on their way in a few weeks.
Apparently, when my nerve got angry, I yelped a bit (or a lot) because my parents heard me from the other room. Awesome, huh? Not one to be hurting or nervous all by myself, I like to share the misery.
Shortly after, we were all done with that, I was moved back to my exam room to put some less drafty clothing on before I hung out in traction for a while. I was a little nervous about being strapped to a table and stretched out for a half hour, but it actually felt good. And at 5′ 2″, any stretching is good in my book. The traction was a very easy process, I just laid on a heated table, and the table did all the work. The machine used about 30 pounds of pressure to stretch me out, and expand my disc space. It was relaxing and the heat felt good on my tense muscles.
After traction, I was taken to another area, where they took more blood. A lot of blood. Way more blood than I have ever had removed at one time. They gave me juice and some cookies though, so it worked out for everyone. The blood will be used in my follow up injections, to keep feeding those little vampire-y stem cells so that they do their job and make me a normal person again.
Once the blood was taken, we were on our way. We stopped for ice cream, and all was good until we got home. I’d been resting on the couch quite nicely when I decided I needed to stand up for a little while. All of the sudden, I heard the ocean. Awesome, if you are near the ocean. Not so good in Colorado. I had started my day at 7 am, and it was now after 3 and all I had consumed since my appointment was some cookies and a half eaten dish of ice cream. Oops…
I had some grilled cheese (is there anything better than mom-made comfort food? I don’t think so.) and felt much better. I spent the next four days resting and recovering, and the following Saturday headed up to Frisco for the snowshoe race.
The marrow draw was pretty easy, since I was numb. The recovery was not so pleasant. I started getting sore before we got home from the marrow draw, and stayed that way for a few weeks. The first three days were the toughest -I had a hard time sitting, standing, moving, breathing. And nothing but a few needle holes to show for it. What the heck? I think some giant purple bruises would’ve made it more justifiable, but whatever. The pain was not fun, but if this works out, it will have been more than worth it. (that, and I was a good girl at the doctor, so I got a new pair of shoes -the big kid version of the lolipop)
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