More waiting....

I finally was able to meet with my neurosurgeon today. It took me about 2 weeks to get in to see him this time. I had previously been meeting with the PA. He had me get a new MRI, a disco gram (not fun- look at WebMD.com for a description), and then after reviewing the results at my last appointment finally concluded that I was a good candidate for surgery, so I was able to meet with the doctor. He seems very nice, and doesn't seem like he's a slice and dice doctor who is only interested in a payday. I felt very comfortable talking to him. (And once again, I was the youngest patient there by at least 30 years. Not the way I want to feel young.)

Anyway, we discussed my MRI, the results of my disco gram, and then talked about treatment options. At L5-S1 the disc is bulging, leaking, and degenerative with a pinched nerve and arthritis. Fun, fun. This shouldn't happen until you're at least in your 70's or 80's, and I have been dealing with it since I was 19. Yikes! I also have similar problems at L4-L5, but they aren't as severe. At this point Dr. Thomas recommends that we do a less invasive surgery. It's called decompressive laminectomy (again, see WebMD.com for a description). He said this surgery is a lot easier to recover from, and it should relieve enough of the pressure and pain running down my left leg for me to be able to fix my back through exercise. If I can get the pain to a 4 out of 10 I can live my life normally again.

However, because I did not have Kent with me Dr. Thomas wouldn't schedule surgery. He wants to have a face-to-face with Kent before he proceeds. So, I scheduled my next appointment... for October 9th!!!! That was the next available appointment, so I also had my name put on the cancellation list. Hopefully we can get in there sooner so that I can get it over with, and feel better by Christmas.

Anyway, that's what's new with the back issues now. I'll update again when I have some exciting news! (Not back related this time, I hope!)