Yesterday saw my follow-up with Mr Casey, or so I thought. I actually saw one of his registrars, who started off by saying Mr Casey had gone (to lunch?) and hence I was seeing her, and then proceeded to tell me she knows little about the type of surgery I need, and that I would need to see Mr Casey about that!
She then asked how I was getting on at the pain clinic, so I had to explain that the GP won’t refer me whilst I’m still under the care of a consultant and having active treatment (which of course I’m not at the moment). She reviewed my recent images and said the report noted there was little change in the thoracic region – it’s as bad as it was but not noticeably worse – but there is signs of an narrowing of the cord in the cervical region. This explains the sporadic tingling in my arms and minor numbness I feel in hands at times. However, overall she says that is insignificant compared to what is going on between T1 and T4. We reviewed my symptoms and my recent change of medication. Her view is that, with a complex pain case such as mine, medication alone is unlikely to be the answer, and with surgery being a risky option, I need to be seen by the pain team. She will write to the GP to tell them to refer me. She said she would refer me herself, but she could only refer me to the Camden team, and I don’t want to be traipsing up and down to London for anything else. Hopefully the GP will take notice, I can get an appointment with the pain team in Southampton, and then see Mr Casey (perhaps) in 6 months.
The journey back wasn’t bad in itself, but I was in horrendous pain on the train coming back and was glad I’d taken some oramorph with me. When we got home I had to go to bed for a couple of hours.