I have not kept up on my journaling of my fight over pain. Before Thanksgiving, I had my Neurostimulator programs adjusted. I now have 8 programs, although some of the middle programs are just there - not new and I think the same as the other programs. I tried several of the new programs, and just returned to my favorite program, which is now program 3 (it used to be program 1). I tried these different programs because I could not get any relief from my pain, anywhere in my body. From this I learned, sometimes pain is just that - pain. That being the case, it is just not going to be relieved. This pain was caused by medication I received for a MRSA infection. I had gone to the grocery store, and when I came home I thought I had gotten a bug bite, because I was really itchy on my lower middle back, and I had a small pimple type bump on my lower left butt cheek (really itchy there!) By the morning this "pimple" was a lump the size of a quarter, and it kept growing! It got so uncomfortable and large, I went into my doctor on a Saturday and got Doxycyclin. I soaked, and used moist heating pads, and I hurt all over. I tried and tried to get the device to cover the (literally) pain on my butt-to no avail! My bones hurt, my spine hurt, everything hurt, and pain pills did nothing for any of my pain. The medication completely killed my desire to eat or drink, and began causing stomach problems. I returned to the doctor on Monday, by which time we had named the lump Hugo, and it was the size of a baseball, and the whole left side of my butt was affected. The nurse practitioner called in the doctor I saw Saturday, and they pushed and poked Hugo. To say the least, this angered Hugo! They told me I most likely had MRSA and gave me a second medication, Ramifin (?). This medication made me very, very nauseated and I couldn't eat or drink. I returned to the doctor on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving to have Hugo checked and poked. He was starting to get smaller, he was definitely MRSA, and the doctor said to keep taking both medications - regardless! That evening, I was in so much pain I was rolled up in a ball and couldn't move without excruciating pain. I held on to the Neurostimulator remote and tried every setting to get some relief. Nothing helped, but I tried, by taking more Tylenol, Advil and Percoset. Then the nausea took over and I told my husband I was not taking the Ramifin again. After 8 hours of dry heaving, he agreed, and I considered going to the hospital. We missed Thanksgiving, and I never took Ramifin again. I was really dehydrated, and in excruciating pain all over my body. Hugo was doing better, I still could not sit, but I soaked and soaked all day through Friday. By Friday, I had eaten 2 Ritz crackers, but I drank Gatorade and started feeling a little better. I checked both medications on WebMD for side effects, and found that Ramifin said not to take narcotics with the medication. That explained why I wasn't getting relief from the pain meds! I did not take the Doxycyclin again, since I had every side effect and I decided I would rather have MRSA then take those medications. We missed tree decorating on Saturday, but Hugo continued to get smaller and softer. I went back to the doctor on Tuesday (after Thanksgiving) and Hugo was down to about golf ball size. My doctor told me, I should have called, and I should have gone to the hospital, there were many other medications that could have been given through IV. My bad! Once I had stopped both medications I started feeling better, the all over pain was going away, and my Neurostimulator was helping. I got a 14 day prescription for Levaflaxin in hope that Hugo would continue to go away.
I am back to "normal" now - spinal pain is being helped and is responsive to the Neurostimulator, for which I am immensely thankful. Hugo is almost gone. I will not miss him. The whole experience was awful, and made me realize that sometimes the cure is much worse than the problem!
There is a point where I must learn that new pain is not the Neurostimulator failing, but it is there for a reason, and will likely not be permanent.
