Wednesday, July 09, 2008

7/9 Doc appointment

Saw him at 6:30 AM.

Guess it's worse than I thought. A lot worse.

The stenosis and arthritis aren't pushing against nerves like I thought. They're pushing against my spinal cord. That's why my shoulder and neck hurt too. If it was lower on my spine, it would be pressing against individual nerves.

Recommended I see a neurosurgeon ASAP and also recommended I make an appointment at Barnes or somewhere else out of town so I can get a second opinion immediately regarding the necessity for surgery. Will talk to my private consultants about other doctors out of town. (Jan and Jane, get ready.) :)

Also, he said the main thing to remember is--"If it hurts, don't do it." Told him my house is a wreck because of that very reason. Originally I thought I could do stuff and just pain would result but no additional damage, but he said that's not true. I could hurt myself worse.

The good news? My systolic blood pressure is 110. I attribute it to my puppy.

I know there's more, but I need to get back to work. Love you all.

9 comments:

Jill and Todd said...

You never know, you may be calling my old company to get our SCS implant to take that pain away :-). Love you.

Anonymous said...

I know several people that have had this same surgery, including 3 co-workers, Todd and my Uncle Bill, who waited so long he has permanent sciatic nerve damage. He has his done in Columbia and loved his doctor. Dr Abernathy I think it was. The good news is you will live. :-) I know Gussie is a big help, but I'd bet if your kids would come and fuss over you it would help too..maybe Jill can bring you that SCS implant when she comes.

Dave said...

At least you are getting answers. Much FS -- take care of yourself.

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

Love you both. And Cindy, is it Todd K who had the surgery, and what kind of surgery are you talking about? Thanks.

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

Gee, Dave, we were here at the same time. Psych!

Thanks for the FrogSpit and the warm wishes. I'll lick this thing.

Anonymous said...

I WOULD SEE IF THE EPIDURAL HELPS. I KNOW IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL FOR A LOT OF PATIENTS. DR ABERNATHY DID A RUPTURED DISC ON TODD K. HE IS THE BEST ALL AROUND BUT YOU WOULD NEED TO MAKE SURE ON YOUR INSURANCE LIST. GET AN OPINION HERE AFTER EPIDURAL AND SEE. DO NOT RUSH INTO SURGERY RIGHT AWAY WHICH IS JUST MY OPINION. THERE ARE BETTER DRUGS THAN LORTAB IF NEEDED.

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

I sent you an email, asking questions. And there's no way I'm rushing into surgery. Just want to get a few opinions so I can make an informed choice.

My concern is that the epidural is only going to help with the pain but not the underlying problem. So I'm hoping I'll get rid of the pain, but also want to get rid of (or at least diminish) the underlying problem. Don't know, but that's what I hope.

Kelly said...

I'll ask Todd but I think he had a ruptured disk and had to have two discs fused together and they scraped the inside out of the one disc. He recovered really quickly though. I was sitting there when he came out of recovery back to his room and they got him right up and walking. His surgery was in Columbia MO

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

Kelly, turns out Todd's doctor isn't on my approved list. But there are two in St. Louis I'm going to investigate.