STILL...HURTING...

I know, I know. I've been using this blog as a forum to complain about my ailing back for the past several months. But at this point, every time Erin has to pickup Grant or bend over to retrieve my discarded ice cream bowl or empty beer mug, she throws me a glance which says, "Either get your back fixed, or there will be other things that will be far more difficult to repair or reattach." So on Friday, I visited the Midwest Pain Institute to see what could be done.

It's never good when the doctor's first words are, "Your MRI is impressive."

Impressive? You mean like, I have such a stunning body and frame that it showed up as such in the MRI? Or, my body is in such perfect alignment that I should have my own statue next to David?

His next words were, "You have two herniated discs, and an additional small tear in one of the two discs. Both discs are badly dehydrated and degenerated." Not good. Apparently the reason my back "goes out" every few months is that just about the time this tear heals, I rip it back open while shoveling snow, chopping wood, or reaching across the table for another cheeseburger.

The solution, which you can watch performed in detail by clicking on "Patient Education," then "Orthopedics," then "Non-Surgical Procedures," then finally "Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection" on the Midwest Pain Institute website, is to have some steroids pumped directly into my back to try to reduce the inflammation caused by all of this. You'll note if you watch the video that it starts with a small needle then proceeds to a larger, thicker needle. Not good.

If they can reduce my inflammation and get me upright once again, I will be starting an exercise regime to "strengthen my core." Basically, I support everything (mostly carried by spoon and fork) using my lower back, rather than my largely ignored stomach and other core muscles.

The good news is that the doctor doesn't think I have permanent damage, I just need to get in shape. I have this first procedure in about a week. I'll let you know how the "larger, thicker needle" feels.