It has been over six months since I began Regenexx. When I started treatment, I was having moderate to severe pain about 50% of the time. I haven’t posted in a while because there have been some other things going on around here that may be affecting the level of pain in my back that has nothing to do with Regenexx. I’ll touch on that later.
To date, I’ve seen an impressive improvement in my pain levels. (see previous posts for the beginning of my bad back saga, if you’ve missed out..) I’ve cut my pain medication usage by over half, and have a much greater tolerance for activities that six months ago would have put me in bed for days at a time. Although it was expensive and took me away from home for six weeks, I still feel that this procedure was worth it. I also think that I’d have started seeing benefits sooner if I’d have been able to continue with IMS treatments. Unfortunately, the treatments were very costly, and I was unable to find anyone within an hour of where I live to continue with the treatments once I returned home.
I have not gotten a follow-up MRI. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but I am not a fan of the MRI. Not even a little. I have to be medicated to be stuffed into that tube, and its just not something I’m interested in doing right now. I’m judging the success of this procedure purely on the way I feel right now, since that is really all that matters to me.
Changes I’ve Noticed:
- Decreased pain
- Increased tolerance for riding in the car
- Increased tolerance for exercise
- Better sleep
- More positive outlook
- Still paying off a big huge bill
Changes I’m Still Hoping To See:
- No pain. At all. For at least one whole day. (seriously, I can’t wait for that day!)
- Even more improvement in my tolerance for car rides, exercise, and sitting still for long periods of time.
- That huge bill I mentioned? It’d be nice to have that gone. All gone.
All in all, Regenexx has not been the magic fix that I’d hoped for, but it has helped me quite a bit. Chronic pain is frustrating, and is often underestimated by people. It is miserable. If you know someone that is struggling with chronic pain, encourage them to get help. No one should live in pain if they don’t have to.
It has been ages since my last post, and I promise you, those follow up injection, IMS, and other treatment updates are coming soon. Everything is rolling around up in my brain, and until it is ready to come out, I figured I’d post a little update on how I’m feeling right now.
Since the end result is probably what most people want to know about anyways, this little break in continuity will probably welcomed. If not, whatever, wait a few months and read everything in order.
What spurred this random and extremely overdue piece of literary masterpiece? I had an appointment with Dr. Karli today to discuss how I was feeling and to check if some of the pain I’ve been having may be related to my SI joint, and not
the disc they’ve been treating. We talked about that, and some options for testing and treatment, and then we moved on to the more important stuff -Me, and how I am feeling about my progress so far. (not sure if you’d noticed, but a lot of this website is centered around my feelings. Its all about me, and I’m totally okay with that.)
I’ve been extremely frustrated lately, as I’m still having a lot more pain than I expected to have by this point. Lucky for me, about a week ago, I had a bad pain day. That day was not at all fun, but it did help me realize that I am getting better. Because it is such a slow process, and I do still have pain, I hadn’t really realized how much it had decreased until I had a day where it was bad enough to notice the difference. The bad pain day was much closer to the level of pain I’d been having before starting Regenexx. I am by no means “all better,” but I am seeing improvements. The intensity of my pain has gone down, but the frequency has not. I still am feeling pretty uncomfortable by late afternoon and through the evening, but it is not as bad as it used to be. I am terrible at estimations and at math, but I’d say I have seen somewhere in the neighborhood of a 15% 
improvement. Dr. Centeno and Dr. Schultz both were expecting me to see results somewhere around July or August, and being the end of July, Dr. Karli seemed to think that I’m heading in the right direction.
He reminded me that this is a very slow process, and patience is key. I am not a patient person, especially with regards to this constant pain in my backside. I’ve been hurting every day for three years, and off and on for much longer. I am still very optimistic about this, even though it can be discouraging at times. (like every day from about 2 pm to bedtime)
I am still waiting for the day that I have a whole day without pain. Will it come? I
don’t know, but I am very hopeful.
What’s next? Waiting. More time, continuing to try to strengthen my body and take care of myself in hopes that one day this will all pay off.
Did I mention that I am not a patient person?
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
