So I went to the doctor today, and I guess the good news is, it seems like the back is the most likely culprit for the renewed and varied discomforts I’ve felt this week. Because of the placement of the disc, and the surrounding nerves that can be pinched by the bulge, there’s all sorts of radiating pain and mixed signals. I’m not particularly enjoying this, and I think I even preferred when it was just sciatic pain or feet that fell totally asleep, but it’s easy to mistake this for something other than a problem with the spine, even when there’s some accompanying discomfort in the lower back.
I want to reiterate that this could be much, much worse, and I’m not strictly speaking in pain. I’m not bedridden or incontinent or paralyzed, and I’m not even all that terribly inconvenienced by this. I’ve just had more (and different) discomfort since about Tuesday.
So today I called my doctor and scheduled an appointment. Of course, it meant that I had to leave work early, since they wanted to fit me in today, which was a little awkward, since I’d already planned on taking Monday off. (It’s a three-day weekend, just to use up some remaining vacation days.) And despite being a rainy day when lots of people were out of the office, I’d probably could have found plenty of work to do.
Then again, yesterday’s Forgotten English desk calendar page was “zouch,” meaning “an ungenteel man; a bookseller.” And lord knows, I don’t want people thinking my momma raised no zouch.
But still, it’s good to know that I don’t appear to have a bladder infection. Don’t worry, this post won’t get more graphic than that, beyond acknowledging the existence of my bladder, and that it was one of the things we tested for today. Too much information? Well, let’s pretend like this paragraph never happened, then, okay?
Anyway, after that, I scheduled an appointment with my spine doctor…which, unfortunately, isn’t for another two weeks. My main concern, beyond what I do between now and then, is that he’ll just want me to have another MRI before we discuss anything, which means it could be the end of this month or even next before we get down to actual treatment. And, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m concerned that there won’t be much, if any, treatment to discuss beyond referring me to a surgeon.
On a happier note, though, I’m preparing the latest issue of Kaleidotrope for mailing to contributors and subscribers over the weekend. And SFRevu had a lot of nice words to say about the issue already. And you still have an hour — provided you read this before midnight EST on October 1 — to use the promo code “KAL102010” to get a free e-book copy of the issue at the Kaleidotrope website. Just scroll down to the bottom of the front page, add the e-book option to your cart, and then enter the code when checking out via PayPal. One-day offer only!
That’s great news (all things considered) about your back – I’m glad it’s not the bladder. Was this just indicative of the original injury, or is the change in sensation because things are healing?
Thanks! It’s tough to say, especially without consultation with my spine doctor, but my instinct is that this is it getting worse, not better. Whether that’s temporary or degenerative, whether it can be improved with exercise and rest or suggests more drastic measures like surgery, that I don’t know. The disc bulges and pinches the nerve, and that can cause all sorts of crazy things. I seem to be a little better today, and I’m hoping the kneeling chair, the ice, and the exercise ball I bought today will help shrink the bulge and relieve some of the pressure and discomfort caused by the pinched nerves.
Herniated discs are tough things to “heal'” from all accounts, but I’d like to get this back to a more manageable level.
Ick. That sounds awful. And yes, I know, you keep saying that it’s not too bad, but it’s awful nonetheless. Discomfort is disquieting.