Margali's Griffin Wood Ranch

[Margali]

Monday morning I slipped on the dewladden steps and went down hard. Gave up and went to ER around 1pm. X-rays of low back, hips, and leg done. No accute damage found but now I know why my low back has been bugging me.

"Degenerative joint and disk disease at the L5-S1 level. There is hypertrophy of the facet joints at the L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 levels. There is narrowing of the intervertebral disk space at the L5-S1 level."

Still made it to New Years services but in fair amount of pain. I enjoyed services anyway.

I'm back at work now. They prescribed muscle relaxer and pain pills which let me get a decent night's sleep. Wearing my posture back brace and it's helping some. The bruising is EPIC but you'll have to use your imagination.

 

[SageHill]

Monday morning I slipped on the dewladden steps and went down hard. Gave up and went to ER around 1pm. X-rays of low back, hips, and leg done. No accute damage found but now I know why my low back has been bugging me.

"Degenerative joint and disk disease at the L5-S1 level. There is hypertrophy of the facet joints at the L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 levels. There is narrowing of the intervertebral disk space at the L5-S1 level."

Still made it to New Years services but in fair amount of pain. I enjoyed services anyway.

I'm back at work now. They prescribed muscle relaxer and pain pills which let me get a decent night's sleep. Wearing my posture back brace and it's helping some. The bruising is EPIC but you'll have to use your imagination.

eeeeeyouch on so many levels!

 

[fuzzi]

Monday morning I slipped on the dewladden steps and went down hard. Gave up and went to ER around 1pm. X-rays of low back, hips, and leg done. No accute damage found but now I know why my low back has been bugging me.

"Degenerative joint and disk disease at the L5-S1 level. There is hypertrophy of the facet joints at the L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 levels. There is narrowing of the intervertebral disk space at the L5-S1 level."

Still made it to New Years services but in fair amount of pain. I enjoyed services anyway.

I'm back at work now. They prescribed muscle relaxer and pain pills which let me get a decent night's sleep. Wearing my posture back brace and it's helping some. The bruising is EPIC but you'll have to use your imagination.

But is the DJD age appropriate?

When I had both hips x-rayed prior to my hip replacement it was stated that the right hip was advanced, the left hip was age appropriate.

 

[farmerjan]

But is the DJD age appropriate?

When I had both hips x-rayed prior to my hip replacement it was stated that the right hip was advanced, the left hip was age appropriate.

I don't think it is age appropriate with someone as young as @Margali ... she's like 30-40 age range I think...

 

[Margali]

I'm 42. I injured my low back once in high school to point they gave me muscle relaxers. ER doc was focused on if I had actually broken anything. He did the standard "you're fat and overweight, what do you expect" speech then sent me home. I'm going to find a spine doctor to follow up with.
I weigh 243lb at 5'6". But I'm down from 260lbs since my new endo in July acknowledged I'm Type 2 and adjusted my meds correctly. Endo actually looked at the other 2 diagnostic criteria besides A1c: fasting BG and post meal BG. GP just saw A1C in prediabetic range and refused to acknowldge the dieting and exercise I was already doing to keep it there and would not prescribe anything. That's like saying someone no longer has high blood pressure just because their taking their meds.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sure hope you can find some relief. Sounds like you found a good endocrinologist who is willing to look beyond the basics.

 

[Baymule]

The fall was at least beneficial in getting a diagnosis on your back. Now you can seek treatment. Weight loss, congratulations on losing some of the weight, it is a battle. Is the new doctor in Fort Worth ( old home) or Houston area ( new home)?

 

[Margali]

This endo is in Forth Worth but I plan on staying with her as long as possible. It's all Texas so no licensing issues for her. I'll gladly burn a day of vacation every 6months.

 

[Ridgetop]

Find a good spine surgeon in Houston. Doctors connected to teaching hospitals are the best ones. Keep a calendar of the days you are not able to do much due to pain and discuss eventual spine surgery with your orthodpedist. While you are not ready for spine surgery now , it is important to find out all you can about what to expect in the future.

I injured y back in the early 20's and about 20 years ago after a rear end crash I began having severe trouble. This lasted several years and I finally had to keep a calendar of all the days I had to lay down with pain meds unable to doanything. When I was spending half my time doing so, the doctor said we woud have to do L4-L5 surgery. When he did the surgery he told DH it was much worse than shown on the x-rays. The discs were grinding together cutting through the spinal cord and a fall or other injury could have resulted in paralysis! The surgery was painful, rehab was painful, but I recovered enough to ride my horse again, and do all the things I used to do.

Be careful and make sure to be on top of any changes in the deterioration.