Today I went to work and calmly explained I had to leave as I had a consultation with my Dr and it was important. I was informed I was taking a lot of time off and I should be doing this on my off days, and if I could probably wait it out and it would get better on its own. But, me being me, I ignored all this ‘advice’ and went to the Dr at 3:30. And I now have more information. Not much but a little more.
First off, this is serious, not wait around and see what happens serious, but take action now serious. And second it is not going to be simple to solve. I have an appointment with the Northside Spine Center tomorrow morning at 8:30! And I am going to discuss options. My Dr feels that it is to severe for physical therapy or chiropractic help, and apparently so does the MRI technician. My Dr is also out of his depth he said, and that he has never come across this before, and I can tell from my googling this is rare. A lumber hernia is fairly common, but thoracic is a little unusual. So no gym, no lifting and no straining. I asked what the worst case scenario was, and was told paralysis, so, I plan on being careful.
The treatments I have read about and spoken about are: cortisone injections, epidurials, and surgery (laser and other) plus collagen injections, it all sounds very very expensive and I have no medical insurance, so now I am seriously fretting.
The good thing is it is not really sore today, it just aches a little and I did not take any pain pills. I am really worried though. I am scared of knives and people touching my back, so this is all those in one.
A happier note is that I am baking cookies on Sunday with my sister, who wants to learn to bake, and I am helping her plan her wedding.