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[Violet M]

DES, maybe you could call the pain clinic and make sure they received it. Also, tell them your story and see if they can get you in sooner since your doctor's office messed up - not you. Sometimes you just have to be a squeaky wheel (without the cuss words. )

Best,

Violet

[DoubleEdgedSword]

I've been a very good girl and haven't cussed out the clinic.. yet..

I will email the clinic (since nobody seems to ever answer the phone there!) and see if they've received the referral..

Apparently they don't deal 'directly' with the patients, but my own doctor, so that's where my info for when the appointment will come from..

[DoubleEdgedSword]

After seeing my doc last week and finding out my referral was sent July 20th, I decided to be "patient" again and just emailed the clinic last night to find out the status of my referral.

I got a phone message left that my appointment will be October 1st with Dr Gordon. I've called his secretary and left a message for some clarification if this will be the actual assessment, or if it's just the orientation. Either way, it's finally a date I can look forward to..

I'm promising to be a good girl and not cuss anybody out.. unless they really, really deserve it!

[DoubleEdgedSword]

One more month.. one more month.. I can do this thing!

*pep talk to myself* Oh, sorry! Was that out loud?

[DoubleEdgedSword]

I've got 2 more weeks to wait. In the meantime I'm doing some reading here and was wondering if there is anything I can take to Dr Gordon that will help him understand PGAD? I know he's a neurologist, but perhaps he isn't familiar with the PGAD aspect of PN/PNE..

Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks so much.

[DoubleEdgedSword]

Tomorrow.. tomorrow..

On one hand I'm looking forward to this (hoping for some answers).. On the other hand, I'm nervous. Nothing new about that.. I just hope it doesn't make me too sore to work on Tuesday.

[DoubleEdgedSword]

My appointment went better than I expected. Dr G was running behind schedule, but when I did finally go in (about 40 minutes late) I didn't feel rushed, and I was there for about 1.5 hours. I think I was his next-to-last appointment of the day.

Dr G took a full history of me, looked over the intake package, we discussed numerous things about it, he asked me lots of questions, then he did the exam. I'm happy there wasn't a rectal exam involved this time. My pain is widespread, but predominantly on the right side.

He wants me to have another MRI.. I think it might be an MRN this time..

I'm supposed to be having that test with the electrode 'down there' too.. Definitely not looking forward to that one!

He's going to refer me to another doc for 'Mindfulness' classes to help with my anxiety and stress..

He figures most of these exams will take about a month to organize..

He'd talked about adjusting my Cymbalta up to 90mg, but since I haven't had much pain since starting that, we're going to leave that for now and see how it goes.

Dr G also mentioned that if none of these above tests is definitive, we should consider a nerve block..

If anyone wants to comment or shed some light on this, I'd be happy for the input..

[DoubleEdgedSword]

Has anyone had the EMG with Dr Gordon yet, & if so, does he use the surface test or the needle test? This one has me stewing & worrying & it's not even booked yet!

If you care to share your experiences with me, I'd be grateful as to what to expect. How long does it last? How painful is it? Were you sore for very long afterwards? Just stuff like that..

The only thing I can liken it to would be a TENS treatment, I guess. Had those for lower back and shoulder injuries before. I guess with the EMG, you don't get to choose your level of stimulation..

[Lernica]

DES,
I had it done about 10 years ago when I was having sciatica symptoms (about 8 years) before PN came along. Dr. G has a technician do it in-house, a lady from the Caribbean. It's very low key and casual, and it's done in a comfortable, low-lighted room. I don't recall having any pain at all during the procedure! But it was sciatica, not pudendal, so I can't give you any feedback about that.

When are you having it done? Good luck!

[DoubleEdgedSword]

I just got the call Monday afternoon that it's going to be November 16th, so a month from now. All I could manage to ask was if it was going to be the needle one or the surface one (surface, thank goodness!), and if I had to do anything special for it. Just clean, dry and no lotions or oils..

I have a month to hone my worrying skills, because my stress-coping skills don't seem to be working!