Here is the short version: the ablation has been worth it for me. I have experienced some reduction in pain and some changes to my pain - enough that makes the procedure worth it.
Here is the long version: the ablation reminds me of certain medications - what it is doing is masking the pain or, more specifically, preventing the feeling of the pain from reaching my brain. This means that my body is still responding to pain that I feel in a different way. Instead of feeling like a knife or frozen skewer running through my SI joints, it is more like an ache, and my body remains stiff, but the pain is dulled. It's an odd sensation. It has been helping me move better around the house, and walking or climbing stairs isn't so excruciating. With that said, I will notice my body having difficulty with stairs at times, from pain that is higher than it feels.... I'm not sure if this is making sense, but it is the only way I have been able to describe it all.
The pain still exists, and my joints are still deteriorating, but I feel less of it because my nerves cannot send those pain signals to my brain.
Of course, one of my initial reservations of this procedure is the entire idea of killing nerves. If there is an injury or pain unrelated to my illness, will I feel it?
I have been assured that these nerves do grow back, which is why I was willing to give this treatment a try. Also, this procedure is allowing me to move my joints more (which is good for AS). I can slowly increase my activity levels without feeling as severe of pain and without causing any more damage - unless I were to repeatedly subject my lower back to physical trauma (in athletics like snowboarding, for instance).
The injection sites also remain numb - which is super weird - but not truly bothersome. I am unsure of how long that is expected to last, but I'll find out in the coming weeks.
Fingers crossed that the effects of this procedure are able to last 6 months to a year.
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