And so, after a scant two and a half weeks of unbearable pain, the mystery is solved. I am filled both with profound relief, and with the urge to climb to the top of a mountain and yell, “SUCK IT, DOCTORS.”
Obviously that urge will go unfulfilled because (1) I’m in too much pain to be gallivanting around climbing mountains and (2) I’m pretty sure the nearest high point around here is a landfill anyway.
Why am I in pain? BECAUSE MY L5 AND S1 DISCS ARE PRESSING AGAINST THE NERVE SAC IN MY SPINAL COLUMN, MOTHERFUCKERS. Interested parties will note that the pain is NOT caused by a urinary tract infection, a kidney infection, a kidney stone or an errant muscle spasm, as various physicians have espoused and I have never totally believed. My friend the Chief of Neurology – who I am officially elevating to Bestie – advises that I just need to manage the pain for a little while and the problem should resolve itself. BOO-YAH.
Moving on: you’d think that will all my down time this week I would’ve been able to store up quite a cache of interesting links to share today, but I’ve been in thrall to Pinterest. It’s like Awesome Shit I Want Monday gone wild up in there. If you’re there, I invite you to join me. If you feel like the internet isn’t already sucking enough of your life away and want an invite, leave a comment.
Thanks for all the good wishes and crossed fingers!
Thursday Night Smackdown 
Hurrah for mysteries solved! Even if you can’t climb that mountain yet, you can still yell, “SUCK IT, DOCTORS” from the couch. And probably already have.
I’ve spent many an hour on Pinterest myself, and am glad to add you to the list of people I obsessively follow.
So happy you have a real answer! I hope the pain subsides soon, but it’s nice to know that you’re doing what you need to do. Rest and manage the pain. Hope you have some good TV piled up on your DVR or Netflix queue!
glad you figured out the problem. pintrest is dangerously addictive, more so then perscription pain killers (you have to leave the house to get those) so be careful. 🙂 feel better soon!
I already know how to waste huge amounts of time on the internet but I confess that the phrase “Awesome Shit I Want Monday gone wild” has piqued my interest and reeled me in.
(Glad to hear they’ve finally diagnosed the problem and hope the pain goes away permanently soon)
YAYAYAYAY! Pain management is a good thing. Dr’s who don’t persist are stupid.
Here’s to less pain and SOON.
Funny, i read your post the other day and thought that it sounded similar to my symptoms for the past few years. I’m recuperating from spinal fusion surgery because it finally got so bad. I hope that physical therapy will help you out- getting back to moving normally is crucial, otherwise its a long slide down a slippery slope. Good luck!
Congrats on finally getting the mystery solved! I hope that managing the pain is now easier since you have a diagnosis to wave around.
so glad conclusive findings are in – now on to less pain! Pinterest – confusing…… glad you enjoy
awww… i just started following you on pinterest (newest internet time wasting addiction) and i love that all of your boards have the word “shit’ in them. makes me love you even more.
p.s. glad you’ve at least been diagnosed.
i have no idea what pinterest is, but i’m glad to hear you’re doing better. “SUCK IT, LAZY-ASS DOCTORS!”
Talk about a good news/bad news scenario! I certainly hope that it resolves itself soon. Until then, enjoy Brian’s cooking. May you be blessed with narcotics!!
I feel for you. I had the same thing but mine was between the C5 and C6 and the C6 and C7. I was in constant pain and partially paralyzed in my right arm for almost 14 months. Getting the MRI was the best thing; now people couldn’t just say it was all in my mind. My doctor put me on bed rest with minimal physical therapy (which didn’t help with the pain but at least kept me from atrophying). Then one day I woke up and I was perfectly fine.
Hopefully you’ll heal up much quicker than I did. Good luck, get lots of rest, and let your loved ones wait on you. 😉
thanks for all the good wishes, everyone!
Holy shit, you have succumbed to the time-sucking maw that is Pinterest. Me too. I look forward to seeing all your…stuff. Ha.
I hope your back pain gets better – there are a lot of things they can do these days to help with that if you can’t heal on your own.
I just had surgery to get a mass removed from my abdomen after 2.5 months of 24/7 pain. It only took 1.5 months for me to convince doctors that yes, there was something in there, and yes, it needed to be removed, and that yes, this pain truly was incapacitating. It only took a month after that for my surgery date to roll around. I felt such sweet justification when my husband told me that after surgery, the surgeon told him “Well, after seeing where it was, and how it had distorted her anatomy, I have to say that she must have been in agony.” My husband replied “She told you so.”
I have so far resisted Pinterest, but I’m not sure that I can now. I always like your “Shit that I want” posts….dare I ask for it….yes, yes I dare. Please send me an invite!
@rachel, ugh, that’s awful! how’s recuperation going? also, invitation sent!
Thanks for the invite! Recuperation is going well…it is amazing how much nicer life is when when you know that the pain you’re in is only temporary. I bet you know what I mean now that you’ve finally got the correct diagnosis! I hope you are feeling much better soon!