Well, it turns out I might have made a decent radiologist! But in this case, I wish I was wrong. The official word is that I do indeed have another herniated disc, in the same exact spot, only much larger this time. Go figure! Thankfully, I do not have as much pain and am functioning ok for now. The problem is that at any moment, just like last time, any special movement might suddenly push me over the edge back into that awful debilitating type of pain.
And so it is that I will be repeating the microdiscectomy surgery for a second time in about 10 weeks. Not exactly the end of summer bash that one plans, but that's life. I will have the surgery with the same surgeon and procedure, just a little more in depth, on August 14th. This time around is a little easier because I know what to expect. Prayers are still very much appreciated, but in particular that this time will fix the problem for a good long time. Because if I herniate the same disc again, the surgeon told me that we'd have to talk about doing a fusion and that involves rods and screws and bone grafts....and other ickiness. I don't think I'm a wimp, but that just does NOT sound like fun at all. So pray that this one holds.
2 comments:
Oh my goodness. OH MY GOODNESS. Definitely praying for you, my friend!!
Thanks. I'm an overachiever. I appreciate the prayers and I will keep you in my prayers for your dental work as well. It really isn't all that terrible. Your gums will be sore for a few days, but ibuprofen is your friend! I have a regular cleaning this week myself and honestly, after having everything done, I think I'm finally mostly over my fear of the dentist. But I do understand that with your TMJ that makes it worse. I have another friend who has the same issue and always dreads dental work because of it.
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