Read my MRI results earlier this morning. Severe degenerative disc disease. Has a kind of alliterative ring to it, right?. In essence, the pix in my lumbar region show the discs to be dried up ("dessicated"). Where my operation occurred 30+ yrs ago there is a "seroma" filling some of the space where half the disc was removed in what is called a hemi-laminectomy. A seroma is a mass consisting of blood and sera, a sort of self-contained tumor if I understand it correctly. There is no space between the vertebra there. There is very little between L4-5 as well. When I read this I was amazed that I don't feel worse. When I had my hemi-laminectomy my pain was off the charts. An operation was absolutely necessary. Today I function with a little low level discomfort--except when my knees give way or I sit in a car for extended periods. In the latter case, my pain ratchets up to maybe 8 of 10. And I function with not being able to walk long distances. (Let's be honest here!) But it is also possible that some of my tiredness is due to living with--you guessed it--chronic pain.
A number of friends have had epidural injections for their back pain. Their results and their opinions of the docs who do them are all over the map. Mostly they are cynical. If I were to abstract a common outcome it would be this: good results on the first shot with diminishing returns with each shot thereafter. Nevertheless, if such a course precludes or even postpones surgical procedures for a number of years, I'm for trying it.
The MRI procedure? Uncomfortable but necessary for the extra detail. Of course they couldn't get it done in one pass: the radiologist wanted more, specifically an inked one. So after 20 min back in I went with an injection, for another 7 min. Hopefully, there won't be another in my future for some time, as I barely fit in that tube now.
So it is onward to the epidural this afternoon....more afterward
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