Last year he was diagnosed with a bulging disc, but apparently it has ruptured at this point and is considered a herniated disc.
And he also has disc degeneration.Lovely.
The doctor did not recommend surgery at this point, though. Instead, Andrew's getting a cortisone shot in his back on Friday. It's an epidural. (He might be the only man to have had as many epidurals as his wife.) Then he'll start physical therapy next week to strengthen his back and core muscles. He'll see the doctor again in April for re-evaluation.
It wasn't the quick fix Andrew was hoping for, but hopefully this shot will help and we'll be on the road to recovery.
12 comments:
At least now you know what you're dealing with. Hopefully this plan of action will help!
Thanks for the update! Sure hope this will bring some relief. Love you, Gigi
It'll be great if they can fix this without surgery. Can physical therapy really help a herniated disc?
Goodness gravaviness... What is it with these strong men and their weak backs? It's been rampant in Spencer's family and he's probably headed the way of Andrew... At least you're getting medical care! :)
Youch, Andrew. Sounds very painful and I do indeed hope you get some relief and soon. We'll keep you in our prayers.
yay for cortisone shots!! finally, somebody is doing something to help that poor man. i like the picture you found. very educational. since friday is the 23rd and i had that dream about having the baby on the 23rd, maybe andrew and i will be getting epidurals at the same time. weird. like, LOST weird, right?! :)
Cortisone shots can bring amazing relief; good to know no surgery is foreseen. Thanks for keeping us informed. (Where do you come up with all these amazingly detailed pictures?)
I hope the shots help!
Not fun! My mom had a neck fusion a little over a year ago. She ended up having a doner to help with the fusion. I don't know how they do it with the back part of the spine, but my mom was so much more happier once she got her fusion done. She had by far more movement after it was done. I hate back pain/sore muscles being pregnant, poor Andrew to have it all the time. I wish him luck with all of it.
Dear Boppy Gaco: I hope (and pray) that the steroid shot will give you some relief and you can get on with your life of wrestling on the floor with your kids, running up and down a basketball court, and just getting through the day without moaning/wailing, depending on the pain factor. I am sorry the diagnosis was all the way to the little blue ball of bubble gum stage on the illustrated picture of the back. Ouch, oweee, karumba. I have a great feeling of hope that you will be on track for a speedy improvement in 2009.
Love,
Mom
Amy--Apparently the body actually just resorbs the disc material that has burst. Andrew is already seeing some relief from that. He's much better than he was while we were in Utah and even walked like a 30-something man today instead of 90+. By strengthening the muscles, it will just help prevent him from "throwing it out" again. I guess in his case, that means losing more disc material???
Shelley--I think it's a sign. I'll plan on taking Shaelyn with me to the doctor's office. :) I think the blown disc is between vertebrae numbers 15 and 16. Agh! Just kidding. I don't know if that's true.
Grandpa--Google images.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We'll keep you posted.
Hopefully the shot brought some relief...for both of you! Keep us posted!
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