Biting the Bullet

If you follow this blog, you may have read about my back pain issues.  While a doctor said back in March that nothing new was wrong, she was 'wrong' in her assessment.  An MRI was eventually ordered by my primary physician and the degenerative disc disease has spread to the S1 vertebrae, pinching the sciatic nerve.

In April I had an injection into the spine to relieve the pain.  I no longer have the pain in the lower back.  Unfortunately, pain in the leg still exists.  Stay on my feet too long, bend the wrong way, sit in the car, and the pain takes days to subside. 

After more tests and more consultations, I have opted for the surgical solution.  I have had numerous people (none of them medical professionals) tell me that I can recover by trying chiropractors, massage therapy, physical therapy, swimming, prescription drugs, using Aspercreme, icing for 20 minutes at a time for hours on end, sleeping on the floor, traction, whatever.  Well, not one of these is going to correct the bulging disc or the pinched nerve.

The surgeon feels that the longer I wait the more damage I can do.  So now I am on a tear to get everything done before I spend six weeks recovering. 

I've been making a list of what I will not be able to do and also a list of what I need to relocate in my home so I can get to it.  Since I can't bend, lift, or twist, this involves a lot of tasks and reorganizations.  I dropped my comb on the bathroom floor this morning and decided I need to go buy one of those 'grabber doo-hickeys'.  No doing laundry, using the dishwasher or my oven, making the bed, or even getting the milk out of the lower shelf in the refrigerator. 

By the time this is over, I will be ready for the loony bin.  I think I was able to do more when I had my leg in the cast.  Maybe not. 

But on the upside, next Spring I should be able to work in my yard all day and not worry about straining my back.  I haven't been able to do that for the last 18 years.