After the Cortisone Injections

Well, as I am lying here 5 hours after my appointment, I definitely remember why I rebooked it.

Although the appointment itself was still brutally painful, and the ache in the right SI joint (the side they injected today) is pretty bad, there is already a difference.
It could still just be the freezing, so I am being cautiously optimistic, and it's not so much that I feel less pain, per se, it's more that the pain in my left SI joint seems to be a lot more prominent. I am guessing that my left joint feels more painful because the right one feels a touch less painful.
Only time will tell.
One more appointment and then after a couple of weeks I will know if it helps.

The doctor who injected me today as well as the nurse assisting were both really amazing.
My first time was awful, to be honest. It was rushed and no one had any idea how to deal with a nervous patient.
Today, I told them right away that I don't do well with these injections, that I will cry and might be a little shaky, but it's just from the pain. They were both really kind, really understanding, and talked through it all with me. Not only that, but the conversation to distract me when beyond regular small-talk (which I am not always keen on). Usually for me it's either - let's have a real conversation - OR - let me cry and breathe like I am going through labour in peace -.
But today we talked about This is Us, her kids, my hubby, and I even asked her if it is usual to feel as much pain as I'm feeling with this particular injection. The whole 'give it to me straight, is this normal or am I a total baby' kind of conversation.

As I look at the monitor and where the needle is inserted - you know, in between two bones in the space inside of the joint - I remember that going bone-deep with a sharp needle and having this substance injected in there is OBVIOUSLY going to be painful.

Either way, today was a painful appointment, but a good one.
I hobbled out of there, sniffling with tears running down my face, and Rj suggested we stop for Bubble Tea.
Now I am currently watching my PVR'd episode of This Is Us, grateful for health professionals who *get it* and who take just that extra second to be kinder.

Let's hope it's worth it.

P.S. This all made me wonder about if I will eventually get used to this kind of pain. The pain won't get better, but I will become accustomed to it and better equipped to handle it.
It happened with Methotrexate.
It happened with Lupron.
It happened with Humira, Enbrel, Cosentyx.
It happened with Berinert.
Who's to know - maybe in two years I'll be totally used to this painful procedure.