The Diagnosis
So, I'm sure most of you know about my back problems, right? If not, long story short, for about three months now, I've had a dully, aching pain in my back and a sharp pain down my left leg. I've done pills, which only worked short term, and am currently doing physical therapy.
I had an MRI over a month ago, but apparently, they sent the results to the wrong doctor, and so mine never called me. He's cute, though, so I'll forgive him (the MRI technician was cute, too).
The diagnosis is . . . . Degenerative Disc Disease. It's also known as arthritis of the spine.
I. AM. TWENTY-THREE. YEARS. OLD.
And I have arthritis. -_-
WebMD has a description of the disease here. I'd like to highlight a couple of points:
"These changes are more likely to occur in people who smoke cigarettes and those who do heavy physical work (such as repeated heavy lifting). People who are obese are also more likely to have symptoms of degenerative disc disease."
Okay. I am overweight, I admit that (according to my BMI, I'm obese, but I'm a lot stronger than most people my height, so I say pooh to my BMI!). My job . . . certainly puts repetitive stress on my lower back. It did when I was a cashier, it still does as a bookkeeper. The problem? I highly doubt I can prove that my job caused this condition. I'm just stuck with my life-long debilitating condition. At age 23. -_-
Wow. Didn't realize that I was so bitter about this. ^^;;
Anyway, this condition tends to cause bulging discs, which I have right now in my lower back. It's pinching my sciatic nerve, causing the pain in my leg.
Also, I'm strongly considering getting a dog.
Anyway, I should probably go. I've got physical therapy soon.
I had an MRI over a month ago, but apparently, they sent the results to the wrong doctor, and so mine never called me. He's cute, though, so I'll forgive him (the MRI technician was cute, too).
The diagnosis is . . . . Degenerative Disc Disease. It's also known as arthritis of the spine.
I. AM. TWENTY-THREE. YEARS. OLD.
And I have arthritis. -_-
WebMD has a description of the disease here. I'd like to highlight a couple of points:
"These changes are more likely to occur in people who smoke cigarettes and those who do heavy physical work (such as repeated heavy lifting). People who are obese are also more likely to have symptoms of degenerative disc disease."
Okay. I am overweight, I admit that (according to my BMI, I'm obese, but I'm a lot stronger than most people my height, so I say pooh to my BMI!). My job . . . certainly puts repetitive stress on my lower back. It did when I was a cashier, it still does as a bookkeeper. The problem? I highly doubt I can prove that my job caused this condition. I'm just stuck with my life-long debilitating condition. At age 23. -_-
Wow. Didn't realize that I was so bitter about this. ^^;;
Anyway, this condition tends to cause bulging discs, which I have right now in my lower back. It's pinching my sciatic nerve, causing the pain in my leg.
Also, I'm strongly considering getting a dog.
Anyway, I should probably go. I've got physical therapy soon.