By the time our guests arrived, I was exhausted and in a lot of pain, despite 3x the normal dose of OTC painkillers and a lot of stretching. I had a wonderful time but I was not at my cheery best. To our guests and my lovely wife, I hope I wasn't too disappointing; I really was doing my best to smile through it all and you made my evening wonderful despite it all.
I've had back issues for about 12 years now. In a technical sense, I have a herniated disc at L4-L5 and a bulging disc at L5-S1. Basically that means my lower back is really messed up. I've managed this pretty well with exercise, physical therapy, pharmaceuticals, spinal injections, care in activity and a stiff upper lip for all of those years. I buy automobiles based on how good the driver's seat is. I have a lumbar support on every chair I inhabit on a regular basis and use an inflatable one on airplanes. I lift with my legs.
(this is not actually my MRI, but you get the idea)
None of this works any more. And back pain itself isn't the big issue. The herniated disc is sitting on a nerve that travels down my right leg. In the past, this has caused some intermittent pain, to the point of having to use a cane at times to get around. Now and for the past three months, pain is a constant and unwanted companion, ranging from merely bothersome to excruciating -- and trending more and more towards the latter. Picture a knife stuck into the back of your hip. And twisting. And continuing to your toes.
I have a few friends who have chronic pain issues from fibromyalgia, arthritis and the like. I have a (small) appreciation for what they are going through and they've been a help and an inspiration. I also know several people that have had spine or neck surgery and they've also been a source of great encouragement and advice. And it's now time to fix me.
So in late January, I'm going under the knife. I have a superb surgeon who is doing what is now the most conservative option; a partial laminectomy (removal of some bone from my L4 and L5 vertebrae) and removal of the bulging part of the offending disc. There were other options, but this is the one he recommended and the one I chose. We discussed my MRI and played with a spine model for 30 minutes; it was great and I have full confidence that this is right for me. He's also a PharmD and we spoke of that for a while too; I have the right guy.
This may not fix me permanently; the other disc is still a potential issue and the herniation could recur there or in the "repaired" disc. But it's a start -- and it's not fusion, which I am not willing to concede to just yet, and my surgeon tells me I do not need. Yet.
This should give me immediate relief after the recovery period and allow me to live again without constant pain and enjoy being a functioning human again; I'm not a fan of being opened up but I can't wait to do this. I will stay one night in the hospital and then I'll be ambulatory but I won't be able to drive or fly for 2 weeks (this was originally quoted as a month but I appealed to the jury and he admitted that if I get help handling bags and such the 2 weeks was reasonable). I may stretch it to 3 weeks.
To everyone who has offered me encouragement over the last several months, and sometimes helped me do the things I couldn't do on my own, I can't thank you enough. This especially goes for my wonderful wife, who has put up for a long time with my inability at times to get things done around the house, my waking up shouting in the middle of the night, and the really foul moods that chronic pain can put me in. For her especially, I'm hoping that this works.
To my friends: come visit me! If anything is going to kill me, it's going to be the stir-craziness of 2-3 weeks in the house.
Cheers, good fortune and especially good health to all of you for 2012.
Best wishes on the surgery. My back surgery DID take almost all my pain away. Granted, you never get rid of back aches, but its way more manageable.
ReplyDeleteDinner was outstanding.
ReplyDeleteYour back, not so much. Let's get it fixed!
I had no idea that you have been in so much constant pain. I am praying that all goes well! Lorrie
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the kind words and encouragement! And come visit me!
ReplyDeleteYou are a very brave and resilient man, Christopher! You may be feeling pain all the time, but you have a positive outlook in life. The world needs more people like you.
ReplyDeleteRodger Funderberk
Yowza! I've had problems with back pain since I was a teenager and I can easily say that if surgery was an option to stop it or even lessen it to a large degree I would go for it.
ReplyDelete