Another Update

That's the latest picture of me. I'm officially old. And if the pink pants (ha ha) and pill bottles all over the house weren't proof enough, this is the third post on my blog about my continuing back pain. You know you're old when all you can think to talk about are your aches and pains.

But, for those who care anyway, I went back to the doctor on Wednesday and they x-rayed my spine this time. She said I have a degenerated disc right at the site of my worst pain in the middle of my back. "That wasn't caused by the fall, but the fall probably triggered the problems you're having" is what she said. She didn't use the word "herniated", but after I came home and did some reading on the internet- I'm almost positive that's what has happened to the disc and what she was trying to say. When they're already in bad shape, discs are even more susceptible to being herniated if you bang them up the way I did.

P.S. According to the internet, degenerating discs happen to everyone "as they age". See? More proof.

Back to the story at hand- she gave me steroids for a week and more pain medicine and said to come back in two weeks if I am not better and she will send me for an MRI. The only way to see a herniation is with an MRI, as opposed to an x-ray. Although, most things I read said a herniated disc will heal on its own.

I started the steroids Wednesday and Thursday morning I woke up pain free for the first time in two weeks! I felt this weird sense of freedom. Now, I could still feel something wasn't right in my back- because I can actually feel what I think now is the bulging disc when I sit back against something. But, of course, I didn't care! I was free!-- and so I think I overdid it yesterday. Last night, I was in pain again and took the pain meds for bedtime. This morning, I'm okay again. I'll try to be nicer to my back today.

So... that's where I am.

And for anyone following the saga of my sore, sensitive tooth ... I also went to the dentist yesterday and do not need a root canal! Yay! He made me a mouth guard to sleep with- he thinks I am causing the pain by grinding my teeth at night.

There you go. My health history for today. :-)