Today is the last day on the oral steriods - I took the final one this morning. They've made me feel varyingly nauseous and simply 'out of it'... so I'm glad to be finished with them. I don't think they were very effective. They *did* reduce the pain level, which is very good, but it feels like it's going to come back as soon as the pills wear off. Really I had about two days of feeling good, and now my back is tight and sore again. Still, less so than it was. It's *something* but I don't think it's enough. I'm going to give it some time before I decide if I need the shots or not.
Work is going ok. I have to learn to keep my voice down, since this place is basically one big room with relatively low cube walls and there's no sound baffling anywhere. And when people ask me how my back is doing I need to learn to give one word answers. My manager informed me that to talk about my 'ailments' is inappropriate. This is still a good place to work; I just have to get better at what they consider acceptable versus not. And when one of the analysts is known for making merkin jokes, that's a apparently a mixed bag.
Cuz you know, I'm taking steriods.
After thought and consultation with professionals, I decided to try the oral meds rather than just going straight for the injections, primarily because for the injections, I want Paul to be able to be there, and he's away for 8 days in Orlando. My doctor and another doctor Paul knows socially (who I harassed) (with his permission) (sorry, P!) both advised that the injections were better than the pills, but the pills were better than nothing. The course of oral meds is 6 days. I'll know within a day or two if they're going to help. So far, all I feel that's different is nauseous. If they don't help at all, I'll go for the injections once Paul gets back. If they do help, I'll go for the injections when my back hurts again.
So that's the plan.
Well I ain't dead yet. But.
The doctor called with my MRI results. My L5-S1 disc (the bottom spinal disc) is thinning and dessicated and bulging - ie deflated and no longer capable of being the shock absorber it's supposed to be, and is sticking out where it's not supposed to be. Both L5 and S1 have osteophytes - ie that joint is arthritic. And the vertebral foramina (the passages for the nerves on either side of the spine) are narrowed, enough so they are impinging the nerves, which are swollen and cranky.
So, three stages of treatment for me:
Stage One: Oral steroidal anti-inflammatories. Hit 'em hard, get the inflammation down, see how much of the pain that relieves. You can't do this too often, but it helps some people enough to get by.
Stage Two: Epidural injection of steriodal anti-inflammatories. This is done in a hospital as an out-patient, a maximum of three times a year. First they inject a long-acting local anaesthetic (lasts about two days) and then the steriod. By the time the freezing wears off, the inflammation should be less. Hit 'em really hard, see how much of the pain that relieves. The injection of the local anaesthetic also acts as an additional diagnistic procedure: if all the pain goes away when they do it, they know for sure they have the exact right spot, and are treating the right thing. Again, this is something that helps people get by.
Stage Three: Laminectomy. You can do your own research. Bear in mind it's done "minimally invasively" now most places. According to the doctor, this is pretty much a given, but he wants to put it off as long as possible, since it causes other long term impacts to the joints around it.
So. This isn't going away. It's now about managing it, finding ways to make it live-able with.
Humph.
I don’t like MRI machines.
I was apparently in there, with the machine actually running, for twelve minutes. Total time inside was probably only another couple minutes on top of that. The technician-guy (I don’t know what he is properly called) was *really* good; professional, helpful, and reassuring. He told us up front exactly what to expect, but wasn’t condescending at all. He said most people like a facecloth over the eyes, which I took after I was in the machine… the head end is open (thank god) and he came around that side of the machine and spoke to me to show me how close to the opening I was; he put the cloth on my face from there. He also gave me hearing protectors/headphones which could simply b quiet or could play XM satellite radio, so I opted for my favourite XM station (Fungus 53). Paul got hearing protection, too, and stood by the machine so he could stay touching me, you know, so I could get through the tests.
The space inside is pretty tight –maybe a couple inches clearance on either side of my shoulders, and maybe five or six by my face. Just being in the machine was enough, never mind the *noise*. I don’t know why it was so loud, but it made many different banging noises, and some humming, too. The start of each of the individual phases was the most frightening; the banging was *really* loud.
I expect a call from the doc today or maybe tomorrow with the results.
I’ll keep you posted.
*Hugs*
Good morning.
Today is lovely and sunny, but cold. It's Friday, it's payday, I'm wearing jeans, my back is only middling-sore, and my MRI is tonight. I found and bought (on ebay) a Starbuck’s teddy bear I have been wishing for… it’s wearing a tree frog costume. :o) You can see it by using the 2005 drop-down list, it's the Endangered Species Frog.
So things are looking up. And, in an excess of girliness (which you oughta know is *very* unusual for me), I found a pair of shoes I really love, and I'm wearing them, and so that's happy too.
Wish me luck for tonight… I’m a little claustrophobic. :o)
See, here's the thing. My back hurts. A lot. Has for a long time. And, no, I really never talk about it because it doesn't do any good.
The bottom disc in my spine is collapsing. The disc itself causes quite a lot of pretty intense pain. As the disc space decreases, that puts pressure on the nerves there, and makes them swell up and feel bad, too. Additionally, since the disc isn't keeping the bones far enough apart, the ligaments that are supposed to hold this whole structure steady have slack in them, and so the joint gets sloppy... which leads to muscle spasms (because the muscles think its their job to keep everything stable if the ligaments are dropping the ball). More pain, and a whole lot of stiffness too.
So. Chiro has accomplished a lot, but can't resolve the cause. Off to the doctor hoping for a spine-ectomy, but he says no. Big meanie. MRI instead.
In the meantime, painkillers and muscle relaxants, and take it as easy as I can.
Humph.