Thursday, October 23, 2008

And the winner is... Herniated Disc!

So I got my MRI back yesterday -- and it confirmed I have a herniated disc in my neck (cervical section of the spine to sound technical).
I will be going to a orthopedic surgeon next week to go over options. I hope he just recommends physical therapy and not surgery as I'm not a big fan of spinal surgery. I'm a little sore in the morning, but am able to function with hardly any pain during the day and am now sleeping much better. So I am optimistic I won't have to face the knife.
I haven't been on my bike in three weeks. Depending on what the doc says, I hope to be back commuting by bike next week. So if you see me out riding, go REALLY WIDE around me (da terminator) -- don't need any tumbles for awhile.
My MRI experience last Friday sucked. I've never had one of those before so I was nervous. As soon as they laid me down on the hard plastic "plank" and shoved me in the tube (which felt like a casket) a searing pain shot through my shoulder, down the arm and to my thumb. Knowing I had to lay absolutely still for the next 30 minutes, I knew I was in trouble. After about 5 minutes, I didn't think I could handle another 25 minutes so I had them pull me out and put some pads under my shoulders. It didn't help, though. So, I had to gut out the last 25 minutes. After awhile as I just accepted the throbbing pain, it sort of became numb -- hard to explain.
I did pick up the new kit from BobK (thanks Bob) -- it looks great. Hopefully I won't get so fat over the winter that I'll be able to fit into it next spring.

6 comments:

Bob K said...

Are you still on the muscle relaxant or can you drink beer now?

Adrian Olivera said...

Ouch man. I hope you heal quickly.

kevin said...

I'm drug-free so the casual drinking has resumed.

Thank God, my wife was starting not to like who I was becoming.

nicol said...

Dang, Kevin. Muscle relaxants? That's a lot of pain you were/are having.

kevin said...

I was a walking pharmacy for a few days. Muscle relaxant, Hydrocodone (addictive narcotic) and some pill that had a warning for causing a bleeding stomach and coughing up something resembling coffee gounds.

There is no shortage of pills in this country.

da terminator said...

Now Tinkerbell, if you didn't want me to beat you at b-ball you could have just said so. The herniated disk is a little excessive don't you think? :) Heal quickly!