blog entry

Two Bulging Discs and A Bulging Belly!

For years now, I’ve dealt with a bad back. At times, it’s been worse than others. I spent half of 2005 on bed rest nursing two bulging discs. I’ve tried everything for relief, including epidural steroid blocks, physical therapy, painkillers, and massage therapy (still, I believe, the only thing that works!).

Unfortunately, there’s no permanent fix for my condition, except an experimental surgery that’s been practiced in Europe for years but is not FDA approved. I have chosen to forgo the surgery…someone else can be a guinea pig.

At times, it’s been better, allowing me to work full time, exercise, and manage pain with just Celebrex, Aleve, massage (when I can afford it), and the occasional prescription pain killer.

When I got pregnant, my doctor immediately took me off Celebrex. I was surprised at how well I held up in the beginning, without my anti-inflammatory medicine. Now (at seven months) with a bulging belly adding stress to my bulging discs, let’s just say I’m taking it one day at a time.

If you were one of the 25 people who left messages for me at the office last Friday, you probably know by now that I had to take the day off. I went to see my ob Thursday evening, literally in tears and not knowing how my back would hold up for two and a half more months. He prescribed a long weekend of bed rest, moist heat (sounds gross, just a wet heating pad), and a mild prescription of Darvaset. Scarred to take anything that could harm Isabella, but in so much pain I couldn’t breathe, I followed his orders.

Actually, I think Dr. Cook was on the right track. My back does not feel quite as weak as it did last week. And I’m back at work, which now looks a lot like home with pillows and my wet heating pad. I’m not really sure how I’m going to make it these last few months. But I know that somehow, someway, I will. And in the end, it will all be worth it! Right?