My back always hurts–that’s because I have degenerative disc disease and neuromuscular problems.
I am currently in PT (ongoing) for my low back and my TMJ.
Over a month ago, though, my back got worse–I thought it was just prepping to go out, like it did over Christmas break. One day, I wore a brace to teach so I didn’t bend over and exacerbate it.
But on February 13th, I woke up in crazy pain. My physical therapist worked on it that day, but it didn’t get better. Over the next few days, my massage therapist and my chiropractor also worked on it, to no avail.
And then I found myself in the ER–they gave me the usual shot for a back that’s going out and sent me home.
And the next day, I got the same shot again at my doctor’s office, because the first one hadn’t done anything. My doctor gave me oral versions of Toradol (the shot) to take through the week. At this point, I realized that the pain was really familiar–it was like when I herniated a disc 20 years ago.
I was able to drag myself to work, but my back was still awful.
So on Monday afternoon, my doctor gave me another shot and sent in an urgent request for an MRI.
Here’s what it said–three of the discs are worse than they were the last time I was checked there. However, one of them has a big bulge–it’s pressing on the nerve root in my spine.
Now I have an urgent referral to the pain clinic. My doctor would like to try injections to reduce the bulge, but I won’t know more until I get in to see the specialists.
When this happened 20 years ago, I didn’t have insurance (even though I was a full-time graduate student and employee of a university). Thus, there wasn’t much I could do but suffer.
When I started work at Davis, though, I had access to care, because my union had fought for that.
Still, it took a year to get me into an MRI. Because no one believed me. I was young and thin. They told me to do yoga and to exercise. They said I could lose five pounds.
When I finally got the MRI, I was scheduled for an emergency surgery the next day. A massive herniation was pressing way into the spinal column, causing nerve damage that has never healed.
Me: I TOLD YOU SO!
My surgeon bragged about how big the herniation was–he said he’d showed it to everyone.
It was probably so massive because it had been allowed to get bigger for over a year.
So this sucks. And it’s affecting my mood and cognition and abilities.
But I’m also thankful for healthcare, for a doctor who knows and trusts me and who sent a message about the MRI results late on a Friday night, so I would know what they revealed on the same day he did, for options for what to do now–and I’m not worried if they say surgery–cause last time it took the average pain from a 9 to a 6, right away, and for my friends who are offering me so much love and support right now.
After working all week in incredible pain, I slept for 11 hours last night. And I’m ready to face more work.
