Wednesday, March 14, 2012

MARCH UPDATES! Carnaval, Facet Blocks, etc.

Hello my fellow followers. Bow down to your guinea pig! lol There's a few things I want to cover with this post. But first I wanted to apologize for not updating more often.

It's been 1 year, 4 months, and 10 days. 496 days with my M6-L at L4/5. I've been in contact with Mr. Boeree every so often, updating him on my status and condition, notifying him of pain episodes and following his recommendations. I started having pain a few months ago. Boeree suspected facet pain. And surely, it was! The facet block 4 months ago got rid of it 100% for a few days. It came back very slightly with muscle tension alongside the two main lower back muscles to the vertical sides of the spine. Bear in mind, it came back VERY SLIGHTLY.

And so, I decided i'd go to brazil for carnaval. I'll tell you this, i've NEVER had a more physically strenuous trip in my life. 5 days and I drank 4 liters of alcohol and walked 20km, whilst jumping and screaming and falling and what not. When I got back to miami, NO PAIN AT ALL. Well maybe a 1 or 2 out of 10, but definitely manageable! I was due for a facet block before the trip to get rid of it entirely, but the stupid Dr. Castellanos in Miami cancelled mid-procedure. YES. HE CANCELLED MID-PROCEDURE.

Mid-post rant:  This is him. Don't ever bother going to him. He makes you wait 3 months for an appointment, 3 hours in the waiting room, and then cancels MID-PROCEDURE because he has a meeting. He won't apologize or even offer to re-schedule. I decided to stay quiet and just leave.

Anyways, I went to brazil without my facet block and came back just fine. A week later I start getting the 1-2 level pain (more muscle tension than anything) and I decide to fly to honduras for another facet block. This was 5 days ago and I feel great! The main culprit for my pain: THE RESTAURANT. Don't work in a restaurant if you have back issues.

Other than that, i'm doing wonderfully. There's no limitations to what I can do, but I am a little worried about my facets long-term. Don't let this deter you from considering the M6 though, i'd get a 2nd M6 implant in a heart beat.

Please if you have ANY questions, do ask and I answer back in less than an hour. I am paying special attention to the blog this next week, so ASK AWAY! I get an email every time someone comments so i'll answer ASAP.

Also, congrats to all those that have gotten the M6. Can you please do me a favor and add a link to your blogs in the comments section? Thanks!

And for the grand finale, here are some pictures and new angles from my facet block!