After the first dose of the Med pack, i had a follow up with the doctor, who asked me if I had any discomfort. I told the truth, and said that I had a mild sensation in my lower back. She said, well, that means that we need to kick it up a notch. She then decided to continue on with a ESI, or Epidural Steroid Injection, as well as a consultation with a Neurosurgeon. THe neurosurgeon would require an MRI, so we should get that done too.
So, even though my pain was pretty minor, I had the MRI, which requires you to be stuffed into a tube that you are SURE you don't fit in. I would not consider myself claustrophobic, but I really really wanted it to end about half-way through. However, things got a lot better when I opened my eyes and say that my head was out the back of the machine... I was convinced that the tube was closed in the back, and had some quiet internal panicking when I realized that I would suffocate... Needless to say, I was fine. However, the country music didn't help very much.
THe results were what they expected. A herniated L5-S1 disk pushing on my S1 nerve root. About 2 weeks later, I had my ESI, and the next day, had the consultation.
The ESI was neat, but they knocked me completely out for it. I'mnot sure if it's standard procedure, but it sure made it go quicker.
The next day, I drove to Sioux Falls to talk to Dr Mark Fox. He said that a Herniated disk is normally no big deal. 40% of all people seem to have a herniated disk, and it's only painful to a handful of them. He said that the litmus test is this: If I can not stand the pain, then I should have surgery. If I can stand the pain for the rest of my life, then don't have surgery. But make the decision soon. He said I should be able to decide within two weeks if I need surgery. However, the longer I stall, the less likely I will have a full recovery.
About 3-4 days later, the ESI corticol steroids kicked in, and I was again, feeling amazing. We were moving, so I was moving heavy items. However, last Wednesday, when I was carrying salt bags out to the car to move them to the new house, I felt a weird sensation in my back. Sorta like when you step on a loaf of bread, except that loaf of bread was in my back.
Wednesday, I felt some pain in my leg. Not bad.
Thursday, that pain felt a bit more. Not terrible, but I took an Ibuprofen to try and help.
Friday, I had super-extreme pain, 8-9 out of 10. It was awful. All through the workday it got worse. I took about 13-15 Ibuprofen, but still literally could not walk more than 30 feet without having to sit down. Sitting in the chair was even worse. I drove home after work and crawled in the front door and asked Rhonda for anything to kill the pain. She gave me my last Tramadol, an Ibuprofen 800, a Muscle relaxant (Flexor) and some Tylenol with Codeine. I passed out holding my leg in pain. I woke up again at 4:00 AM and needed some more medicine.
Saturday: About 8:00, I woke up in pain. Rhonda gave me another codeine, andI tried to get out in time for breakfast. After breakfast, I noticed that my leg pain was giving way to another sensation - numbness.
This numbness was better than the pain, but troubling nonetheless. Rhonda decided that I needed to see a doctor IMMEDIATELY, so off we went.After some debate, I decided to go to Mercy's Emergency Room because they had the technology to fix me if I was deemed broken enough to repair. Instead, all I got was an apology (we can't get you the MRI today) some reassurance (your nerve willbe fine) and a couple prescriptions (Hydrocodone 5/500 and Med-Pack).
I will see my friendly doctor (PA-C, actually) this week, hopefully. Until then, I am completely numb from the back of my left leg halfway up my butt, down to my knee, and feel tingling on my heel all the way to my little toe.
Two good things about my doctor - PA-C means that my PA is nationally certified. She was also on the class schedule for teaching several 700 level classes in the Med School. Extra cool, and an extra boost of credibility. PLus my hydrocodone is making me feel nice and pleasant right now...
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