What? Me, Worry?

[farrandy]

So, for the past couple of months, I've been having this annoying pain in my left hip. I went to the doctor and he said "You put the lime in the coconut, you drink it all up!" Okay, he didn't say that; he said he thought I might just have pulled something and to use some pain killers, and continue the physical therapy I had been doing to keep my back from going out, and check back with him. So I do that and around the time of the great February Snowblitz it started to get worse. Like shooting pains down my leg, my left foot being constantly numb, fun stuff like that. I was scheduled to see the doctor anyway, but I got some wifely loving persuasion to go ahead and schedule an MRI. [Translation: "Stop trying to MAN your way through this. Its not getting any better! DO something about before it gets worse!"].* So I scheduled an MRI.

Ever had an MRI? It's like being crammed in a test tube and forced to listen to industrial music. I'm kidding really. Industrial music is much worse.

Anyway, my doctor gets the results back from the MRI and he said "Ooo-Eee-Ooo-Ah-ah! Ting Tang, Walla-walla Bing Bang!" Okay, he didn't say that either. He told me that I was the proud father of a bouncing baby bulging disc. It's pressing on the Sciatic nerve. Oh, the pain! The pain!

So. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) I'm going in to HAVE A NEEDLE SHOVED INTO MY SPINE (not that I'm concerned about it at all, except that, you know, its a freakin' NEEDLE. In my SPINE, fer Gaia's sake!) for a shot of cortisone to see if that will cause the swelling to go down in the disc.

I know, it's a fairly common procedure. Barb had it done on her neck just last week, in fact, and I've heard from other people who've had it done. It' just that IT'S A NEEDLE! IN MY SPINE!
I'm not overly fond of needles (I can watch all kinds of gross things on film but I always turn away when they show someone getting a shot--with A NEEDLE!), and I -am- really fond of my spine (connects my brain to some of my favorite organs, fr'instance). Its just that these two things just shouldn't be allowed in the same sentence, let alone one of them allowed to go into the other. Particularly when one of them is in ME! I'm just sayin'.

Anyways, that's my day for tomorrow. Ain't lookin' forward to it(in case you hadn't gathered), but if it allows me to sit, or stand, or walk, or lie down, or drive without so much pain I suppose it'll be worth it.

*Just to clarify, I am grateful for the wifely loving persuasion.

Comments

[starseeking.livejournal.com]

You could always try to think about it as a hypospray from ST. Maybe that would help?

In other news Yay for finding it before it gets worse ANeD for getting it treated. My current GF has one of those and I know how it can affect her.

[apocalypticbob.livejournal.com]

Hoping all went smoothly, hon!

[efamar.livejournal.com]

For the record, I would have exactly the same reaction. Hope it went okay, and that it will make you feel better!

[jormungandr83.livejournal.com]

Yea, I've had 3 MRIs. They are loud! Then I heard from a friend who had one in California, and she got to watch TV on a small screen while she was in the tube. Jealous, I was. Hey, make them give you the films. They are yours anyways, and MRI prints are way more detailed and awesome than Xrays.

As for the needle in the spine... been there too. It does sound crazy and painful, but it really isn't so bad nowadays. (Realizing now that as I write this, you must have had the procedure yesterday so you've already ben through it all. Oh well.)

Seriously, I know you have this aversion to lying around when you're not feeling well, but don't push this one. Drink a lot of caffeine and stay on your back as much as possible. You want that needle hole to patch up as quickly as possible, and being up and moving just means you'll be leaking more cerebral-spinal fluid than you really want to. Losing CSF pulls on the brainstem, which is somewhat important as I hear.

OK I'll stop lecturing now.

Get well!