18*Please ignore this post, i just need to vent my feelings*
I’ve been researching disc herniations and degenerative disc disease after finally getting a diagnosis last week. I felt that i didn’t understand the diagnosis enough. I mean, i never knew, well, anything about discs. I certainly didn’t realise that they were made up of matter that could rupture. When i was little, when adults referred to slipped discs i actually thought the discs were metal! The herniation presses against the spinal nerves causing agonising pain for most people (including myself. I’ve been suffering for 14 weeks with more pain then i’ve ever had in my life- combined); although for a very lucky minority, some never realise anything has happened! I’m still unsure about what degenerative disc disease means for me, but i hope in time the doctors will help me to understand if it’s anything to worry about.
For the past 12 weeks i’ve been absent from work. I can’t stand or sit for very long, and for this reason i’ve lost so much of my independence. I spend the majority of my time in bed but yet i struggle to sleep as lying down is so painful, too. Whatever i do there is a burning, stabbing pain from my lower back to my neck. Some days are much worse than others and unfortunately, no drug has given me any relief so far. It took 8 weeks of sick notes, medication and blood tests until i was sent for an MRI scan, which led to a diagnosis. I never thought, at twenty- six, that i would be faced with a herniated disc as well as several other problems! I always thought it was something older people got! But I remain in good spirits and i’m hopeful that things will improve once i begin treatment with the pain clinic. I honestly can’t wait to regain some sort of normality and to get my life back. I can’t see an end to this but i hope to prove myself wrong. I just want to be back on my feet again, living life. I miss little things like going for a walk, leaving the house, looking after my pets. And i really miss having the freedom to travel. My life has become quite a lonely existence.
I’m sorry for venting my thoughts on my blog but i needed to get that out. I just wondered, if there is anybody else on here also suffering with the same or a similar condition?
