An Update on Me

Wow, it's been 17 days since I last posted.   A lot has been going on and not all of it is good, unfortunately.  This back pain I've been dealing with since last May has gotten the better of me.  After several months of chiropractic treatment (don't do it!), physical therapy and two epidural shots into my back, I am now facing surgery on April 30th. My first epidural wore off just shy of the 2 month mark and the second one actually made my pain worse.  Where I was just  feeling sciatic pain all the way down my left leg, now I feel it on both sides.  Actually, right after, it felt like a mule kicked me right in the butt.  Good thing that's subsided.

 

The thing is, it's difficult to get comfortable and has been for quite some time.  Definitely no standing because the "buzz" in my leg quickly turns into pain around the 20 second mark.  If I stand long enough, I can no longer feel my leg.  It's as if it's fallen asleep.  What little benefit I got from the second epidural is now wearing off and sitting is becoming more painful as well.  My life now consists of trying to get through each day of work and then collapsing in a painful heap on the sofa.  Except for bed, it's the only place I am not in a lot of pain.

 

The orthopedic doc gave my Hydrocodone, which doesn't do diddly for the pain.  I've found good ol' ibuprofen takes the edge off but then I worry about what it does to my stomach.  I don't want to trade this back pain for an ulcer. 

 

The neurosurgeon, who specializes in minimally invasive surgery, was concerned that my pain was "on the wrong side" because my herniation is on the right but my pain is on the left.  I guess I'm one of the 3-4% that are weird like that.  He ordered another MRI which we did on the 11th.  I didn't see the pictures, but he said it shows that the disc herniation has gotten significantly worse since the first MRI in December.  Yea!  I'm not surprised...it's evident from the pain levels.

 

So, for now, I am counting days until the 30th.  I just have to make it through 10 more days counting today.  The surgery is minimally invasive and is over 98% successful.  The surgeon will make a 1-inch incision in my back, insert a series of tubes down to my spine by pushing my back muscles out of the way.  Then they will remove a small piece of bone over the herniation and remove the herniated piece of disc.  Just an overnight stay to make sure I come out of anesthesia, am eating OK, walking OK, etc. is needed.

 

I'm so sorry I've been absent and only posting sporadically over the last year, but now you know the whole story.  I have watched life pass me by for almost a year and can't wait to get back in the game.  And, if you don't mind me asking, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I go through this.  I haven't had surgery since having my tonsils out when I was 6, so I am scared to death.

A Step in the Right Direction

Today couldn't come fast enough for me.  This afternoon I was scheduled to have the first of several corticosteroid injections into my spine to see if it will alleviate the inflammation that is causing all this pain.  I hate needles and everyone at work was telling me they used a 2-foot long needle and that it hurts terribly.  So I wasn't surprised to see that my blood pressure, which is normally 118\80 shot all the way up to 208/120 at my last appointment.  Right before the procedure, it was 292 over 149.

J. had to wait for me, as you can't drive the first time you have one of these. Apparently, it's common for people to lose sensation in their legs temporarily.  Yep, that would be bad on I-35 during rush hour! 

The procedure actually didn't hurt that much.  I had a great doc that talked me through the entire procedure to tell me what he was going to do before he did it.  They have you lay on your stomach and then they swab your back with surgical disinfectant.  You feel a bee sting when they administer the Lidocaine to numb the injection area. While you're getting numb, a fluoroscopy x-ray machine on wheels is placed over you and the doctor uses this to guide the needle to right around the nerve.

I felt a pressure but no pain when he inserted the needle.  He then checks that he is in the right place by moving the needle against the nerve, which feels like intense stinging or burning going down your leg.  It's a really difficult experience to describe but, yes, it's uncomfortable.  When he releases medication around the nerve, you feel the same sensation for a few seconds and then its gone.  The doctor asks you to tell him when it's subsided and then he squirts more in.  It took 4 of those to get all the steroid in there.  Then the needle comes out and you are done.

Since some people lose sensation temporarily, they have you sit up immediately but not walk.  I was moving my toes and legs the whole time, so fortunately this didn't happen to me.  Then they put you in a wheelchair and wheel you into a recovery room where they monitor your blood pressure and make sure you can walk OK before you leave.  I felt like an old woman in that wheelchair.  But my blood pressure came down to an acceptable 129/89.  The pain was still there, but less.  It takes 24 to 48 hours for you to feel the full effect.  I'll have another one in a week.

As I write this, the pain is down to just a slight pinch in my hip.  I can stand up and sit down without pain.  Amazing!

From what I've been reading, these injections can last for weeks or even for years, but they are not addressing the real elephant in the room:  this nasty herniated disc.  So there will probably be surgery in my future at some point. But for now, the pain is mostly gone

On the Eve of 2015

Hello! I had two titles for this post wrestling around in my brain and the positive one won out.  The other was going to be "The Winter of Discontent".  Or Discomfort might be even better. It's been over 6 weeks since I posted here, so I wouldn't be surprised that there is no one left here to read these words. I do hope you've stuck around.

 

You may remember that I was complaining in May that my back was bothering me.  Carrying heavy solar panels and moving over 2 tons of plaster by myself during our laundry room renovation may have had something to do with being the last straw for an ailing back.  I've been in chriropractic care for over 7 months now only to see the situation continue to deteriorate.

 

This year, Santa brought me an MRI on the day after Christmas which shows two bulges in my L1-L2 and L5-S1 discs.  Bulging sounds so much nicer than "herniated", doesn't it?  No matter what you call it, my L5-S1, which is right at the base of your lower back, is so significantly herniated that it is now fully pressing on my nerves. 

 

The result is a tingling\numb left foot, pain down the left side of my leg and a feeling as if someone is sticking me in the ass with a hot poker.  8 weeks ago, it was intermittent.  Now the pain is constant and my life consists of sitting through the pain at work and coming home to lay on a heating pad on the sofa, which is the only place I feel relief.  Simply dragging myself up the 14 stairs to our bedroom is excruciating.  I'm only 44, but I hobble around like I'm in my 80's.  Grocery shopping? Nope. Laundry? Nope.  Cleaning the house?  Out of the question unless I drag a chair around with me.

 

But I couldn't bear to let 2014 leave me in defeat without leaving a post here to mark its passing. With the dawn of 2015, I am resolved to take back my health through whatever means necessary.  Pain only makes us stronger, right?  We've got new chicks coming in April, a new "old" house to renovate, and a garden to plan and tend to.  I hope you'll continue to come along with us in this new year.

 

All the best to you and your family in 2015.  Happy New Years, everyone!

Has It Been A Month Already?

 

Holy cow...this month has flown by and I certainly didn't realize it had been that long since I posted on here.  As usual during the summer, life happens and there's so much going on to take my attention away that the blog has taken a back seat.  But it's time to get back in the ol' office chair and catch up with everyone and also catch you up on what we've been doing these last 30 days!

 

We've been doing some solar work and it's been slow going because my back has just not been 100% this entire time.  3 weeks ago and after 4 weeks of back pain, I put on my big girl pants and swallowed my fear of chiropractors and went to see one.  He's a "no crack" chiro and it didn't hurt at all so I'm not sure what I was scared of.  In fact, it has helped immensely and I'm proud to say that I am now mostly pain-free.  I get a tweak every once in awhile but we're still working on it.  The only bad part about it is insurance doesn't pay anything until my $2500 deductible is met but after that they pay 100%.  The office visits are $42, so it's going to take awhile to get there.  I usually pay an extra $20 and have them do an ultrasound treatment on my lower back because it feels like a massage and those tight muscles just loosen up instantly with it. 

 

Wow, I've turned into my grandmother.  I seriously didn't mean to launch into a "what ails you" discussion but that's been the biggest hurdle I've been dealing with this month.  There's nothing worse than a bad back!

 

Anyhooz....I wanted to get a post up here to let you know we're still around.  My next post will be about our new project, and then I've got pictures of the trench we're digging for the solar.  We're hoping to get that project wrapped up soon.

Nothing's Worse Than a Bad Back

I'm going to ask you in advance to forgive my brevity in today's post.  Right now, I'm lying on the sofa chillin' with my buddy the heating pad.  How fun!  Apparently, I pulled a muscle sometime in between the time I rolled out of bed and went to work.  It was all I could do waddle through the day.  A friend at work helpfully suggested that I try Dr. Jack Daniels if the Advil and heat don't help.  I'm not a drinker, but I will say that it does cure a cold.  My grandmother swore by it.

Anyway, hopefully, I will be up and running around like my usual rambunctious self by Saturday.  I have to....I've got projects to work on this weekend!  (And I'm sure J. is getting tired of taking care of the critters by himself.)