Bulging disc.
Same disc that re-injured last year.
Same disc that I had surgery on in 2006.
Same disc originally injured in a car accident in 2002.
I didn't realize it'd been hurting for six months (that long?!?) until I stumbled across this blog post from February.
The pain gets better, gets worse, but never goes away. I'd say it stays steady in the 3 range, sometimes down to a 1 or 2, sometimes spiking to an 8 or 9.
Six months. I was thinking it was only three. See, this is why I blog. My memory stinks.
Anywho, I had my MRI, it's a bulging disc, and with no big surprise he's referring be back to my neurosurgeon.
I don't really want to go thru a surgery & recovery again. But I can't go thru life in constant pain either. Especially with a munchkin depending on me.
And (I know I should wait to talk to the surgeon before I even think about it, but...) I also am pretty sure that the surgery won't be as bad this time around, as (I think) it would be a routine discectomy.
My original surgery took more than twice the estimated time, my scar is double the size I was told. They got into my spine & found my injury was more complicated than originally anticipated. The hardest part? Scraping the calcified gunk (annulus fibrosus) off of the nerves surrounding the disc. My disc had exploded into my spine, and over time the gunk (not a medical term, my term) had calcified on the nerves. My surgeon said one nerve was actually cemented onto the bone, unable to move. In addition, the center of the disc (nucleus pulposes) was no longer in the middle of my disc, but was bulging out of the opening left by the absent gunk.
Long story short, it wasn't a routine procedure. And recovery was long. And miserable.
All that to say, I'm
So, that's my update for today. As always, thanks for checking in!
2 comments:
Best of luck! I hope it's nothing more than a simple, routine surgery with a quick recovery and permanent pain-free results.
Let's hope that whatever is decided on, that you get relief for the long haul.
We know more than we wish we did about long term issues that need some tweaking over time. And yes, it was much easier the second time around....
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