It’s official, I have a fragment
Medically speaking, that is. I went to the official follow up on the MRI today. I have a herniated disk. So then my doctor says this….could be bad. So now my mind is racing! I’m thinking “oh no, surgery, back pain, wheelchair, end of normal life” and then she stops me with Let me explain. The thing is, I herniation happens when an opening occurs in the lining/outer wall and then a bit of your guts stick out of it. This is bad for your body on a few different levels and in a lot of different ways.
In my case the herniation is occuring on a disk in my back. The human back has 5 main vertebrae running down it. From top to bottom they (science nerds) number them 1-5. One being the top and five being the bottom. Underneath my number 5 vertebrae and above the first level of my tailbone there is a disk. This disk is herniated, meaning there is a whole in it and a bit of stuff (guts) is jutting out. To be a bit more precise without inducing a drool while you read this, the bit jutting out is jutting back and to the right. Now, running down the vertebrae of the human back is the spinal cord. The spinal cord passes each disk in the back on it’s way down and is contained inside a sac. This is called the thecal sac. In my case the bit of junk is not just poking out of the disk. It has removed itself completely from the disk and has become a free fragment. This fragment, according to the Radiologist report, is 13 milimeters in transverse diameter, 5 milimeters in AP diameter, and 11 milimeters long. Also according to my report, this fragment impinges upon the thecal sac origin therefrom the S1 nerve roots.
In other words, Ding ding ding ding! What do we have for him? This is undoubtedly the thorn (fragment) in my side (back). So now what. Dr. Niska is my general practitioner and therefore she officially is not really allowed to have an opinion on it. She just takes me through the proper steps. I had been throwing out my back approximately once a year, every year since I was in my early twenties. In 2004, I threw out my back in March, August, and Novemeber. three times in one year scared me into getting x-rays. X-rays came back showing a tiny bit of scoliosis. This was a generalized opinion and thanks to some excellent advice (hat tip: Carla) I escalated the incident and Dr. Niska said it was MRI time. Now, less than three weeks later I’m diagnosed properly and on my way to the bonus round! In my case the bonus room is code for a consult with a nuerosurgeon. I will go get my MRI results, fax them up to Eugene and then go consult with a professional.
My options? Still not too clear. Dr. Niska said that they could offer to microsurgically remove the fragment. They may tell me that my current new exercise regiment (hat tip: Evgeni) may well do the trick to keeping me healthy for the rest of my life. I’m not sure what will happen but I do have some feelings about the subject. I do not want surgery of any kind on the one hand. On the other hand, I am a very technologically inclined person. I may want to go through with the surgery in the back of my mind just to try and post cool pics of it here. But in the end, I don’t think I’ll opt for surgery unless two nuerosurgeons tell me that the damage will worsen with time whether I exercise or not.