Update on me and my Old Lady Back Issues

For those of you wondering...... I had an MRI done yesterday. It was rather difficult to make it as that morning I was in so much pain I almost passed out, and the roads were so bad because of all of the snow. I knew if I failed to appear for this one, it would take too long to schedule another one. When I got there, those folks took some pity on me. I think they saw I was in a lot of pain and wasn't feeling well (I was still queezy from almost passing out an hour before).

Just FYI to all those big people in the world....a closed MRI is no joke. When I got into the room and saw the tunnel that I would be laying in I laughed and asked the tech, "am I even going to fit in there?!" He replied, "it'll be tight." Haha - I just had this image of him starting to move the table with me on it through this tube and it cutting off my shoulders because I was too big! I made it in there, but he was right. It was a tight fit! I had to curl my shoulders up, which left my arms to drape over my waist. I swear my boobs were grazing the top of that machine! Haha. I had to lay as still as possible like that for a half an hour!

When it was time to come out, I had to get two little ladies and a guy help me up. What a great moment for my self-esteem! I asked the tech how it looked, and even though they aren't allowed to say anything, I could tell it was bad. He apparently called my doctor right after I left and sent her the films to take a look at asap. I made it to my car and pulled the films out. I'm no doctor, but I believe my response to what I saw was something like, "holy s***!!!!"

When my doctor called me personally yesterday, I knew it was bad. She was apologetic because I told her I thought it was bad three weeks ago (and she kind of dismissed it with a steroid pack and a speech about weight loss) and she couldn't have imagined it would be THIS bad. I have a degerated disc putting so much pressure on my nerve, that it's shocking I have any use of my leg at all. Not only that, but my lower back is so degenerated that at my age (turn 25 in February), it is so rare and unseen. She's concerned about my pain now, as every day it gets worse. She was nice enough to prescribe me Hydrocodone (Vicodin) a week ago, to which I told her would not be enough. I knew it wouldn't touch my pain. Not that I have taken any without a prescription, or anything....... Moving on: she prescribed my Perocet now. However - I have to go to her office, pick it up, then go to the pharmacy and take care of it. I guess she cant just call this one
in. Getting in the car and driving may not sound like a big deal to you, but rolling over in bed is a big deal to me. So - my dad is coming to save the day today. He is going to pick me up, run me around to get this Percocet and then take me back to his house in Parker. Passing out with no one around is a scary thing. I think it's best if I'm monitored for awhile. Plus - I really shouldn't be driving with those drugs in my system.

After she saw the films, my doctor called in a favor and was offered an appointment for a neurosurgeon on 2/15. She explained how much pain I'm in and what my back looks like and the neurosurgeon offered to see me on Monday. WOW. Must be bad. Apparently though, if my situation fits the specs, there is an outpatient surgery that gives instant relief. That's the rumor on the street.

So - it's now up to him...the neuro-dude...to decide if I'm eligible for surgery. If so, I hope it happens sooner than later. I'm ready to get rid of this awful pain and get back to work.

Thanks to all of you for thinking of me. I've gotten a lot of questions and concerns, so I figured it's best to blog about it. I'll keep you all updated through this....

Lindy
PS. Sorry if there are any typos, blogging from a phone can be challenging.

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