Friday, December 01, 2006

Surgeons Blow

I have now seen the MRI for myself. The herniation of the disc is quite ugly and it protrudes significantly in to the spinal canal. No wonder I hurt like hell. That said, surgeons blow.
I went to a surgical consult, only because the orthopedist wanted me to. He is convinced that he will do surgery on my owie some day. AS IF! I cannot remember anyone I know who has had back surgery who said, "wow, I'm glad I did that. That was a great idea."
I have apparently bitch slapped my owie enough that the mere threat of a knife has hopefully frightened the healing process into beginning. One week ago, a dose of vicodin would have worn off after two hours. Even Tuesday, I needed the newly approved higher does of vicodin and an afternoon sleep off to manage the pain. Today, I have had no vicodin since noon yesterday, because I have not needed it. I have had no pain meds of any type since 8:30 last night, because I have not needed them.
Actually, the most effective relief for the condition thus far has been endorphins. I feel great and have absolutely no pain after a good run, or after . . . uhm . . . you know . . . certain other recreational/procreational activities common to grownups. If I could just figure out how to live perpetually in a post run high or post-whoopie afterglow, I'd have this thing wired. If I have any medical readers who would like to pursue such research, I am willing to donate my body to science. I'm sacrificial that way.
And so it goes. By the time you actually navigate the hoops and hurdles to gain access to a physician, you are either dead or you don't actually need them. And this holds true even if you're a highly paid uber professional with copious medical insurance.
And forget about even getting enough cooperation or information from a physician to permit you to make judgments about preparing for long course triathlon. Just try and get them to understand the training. They're used to treating Americans--i.e., people who sit eat on their couches while watchin the Bachelor, and/or complain while they waddle from prescription to prescription, waiting to expire.
I however, prefer 8x800 yesterday and a 20 mile long run this weekend. (Holy crap, wish me luck). I'm going to do it until it hurts or until someone I trust tells me to stop.
Wow, that was kind of a rant.
In a more positive vein, I know that all you guys out there like to support your significant others. In particular, if your girl has complained about her gear, and if you want to be supportive of those special qualities about her that you find so desirable, go here. She'll thank you for it. I'm just sayin'
Word? Ladies?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again I have to mention NPR. They just had a story about how therapy is just as effective as surgery in treating herniated disks.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6519896

Get better!

shelek said...

Um, where's the adult content warning on this entry? ;-)

I've recently renewed my hunt for the perfect sports bra (at this point I'd settle for an adequate one). If you have any knowledge on the subject, share by all means.

greyhound said...

It's ART, Michele!!!!

Sersly, I have it on good authority from a trainer who has, er . . . need . . . of adequate support that Title Nine is the best in the business for the titanium sports bra.

the Dread Pirate Rackham said...

I'll talk about the things I know about...

Title 9 does rock, it is true.

But. For the record: so does WalMart. I know, I know. I despise Wal-Hell, I would not go there if I were on fire and they were the only place on the planet with water. However, they have $10 running bras with excellent support. And they fit perfectly. I made a special trip there to clean them out of the bras in my size, so that I would never have to go there again. (that's 4 great bras for the price of one Title 9 bra).

Or, I just layer the non-running bras. Two squisher bras gives The Girls enough support for running. It's True!

OK. TMI.

Sorry.

shelek said...

Hey, your info sharing is helping others so it's a-okay. I'm getting pretty desperate at this point... desperate enough to comment on a dude's blog about my chafed little ladies. Thanks for the help! I'll make a wally world trip tomorrow and ask for the expensive bra for Christmas. :)

Born To Endure said...

Gawd yes..I can relate, LOVE those sport bras!!

Iron Pol said...

When I started looking for a non-VA primary care physician, their bio had to somehow mention having completed at least a couple of marathons to stay in the mix.

I settled on a DO who is an avid marathoner, partly because the MD with sports medicine focus who is an even more avid marathoner wasn't taking patients. He's been great about two things. First, fixing broke things. Second, steering clear of words such as "shouldn't," "can't," and "too much."

Instead, he says things like, "We might get better results with such and such orthotics," and "Hey, that training is really helping, keep it up."