Back to back

Well, I went to see the consultant orthopaedic surgeon yesterday to discuss the results of my MRI scan. Amazing things these, a complete picture of my lumbar region and he was able to show me exactly where the problem was. One of the discs in the lumbar region is protruding between the vertebrae and is putting a great deal of pressure on the nerve that comes out at that point, which pretty much explains the agony I have been in recently, not only in my back but all the way down my right leg, especially in the calf area. This has eased a bit over the last week or so, as I have basically been lying in bed doing less that sweet f.a. Anyhow, he said to me that I had three options, the first being leave it alone and see if it heals itself, which wasn't an option as that's pretty much what I had been doing anyway and it clearly hadn't worked! Option two was to have an epidural and pumping a load of steroids and stuff into the area, which apparently can help, however he did explain that it was only likely to be a temporary measure and that the problem could re-occur. So, that left option three, which is surgery, a lumbar decompression they call it, where he will basically take a slice off the disc, patch it all up and hey presto, job done. Apparently there's a 90% success rate with this kind of operation with no further problems, so I have decided to go for that. So, in three weeks time, I'll be off to the hospital. Seems like a decent chance of returning to normal, or at least as normal as I'll ever be, but as most of my friends know, that's a completely different issue....