It was September in 2006, after the injections (which did not help), just a couple of months ago. Something happened one day and I already knew what it meant.
This is what an exploding disc feels like.
It was morning — time to go to work. I woke up and sat on the edge of my bed and immediately felt a giant flash of pain in my low back. I was being conscientious as I reminded myself: I'll have to be careful today. I got out of bed slowly then stood up. So far so good. But when I bent over to pull a shirt out of my dresser drawer, something inside my lower spine popped, a hot flash. The pop felt like a coiled spring, the spring losing its footing, the coils expanding with the force of the pop. I stood there, afraid to move. I was already worried. I knew my body well enough to surmise what happened. I tried to brush it off and focused on getting to work.
When I got in the car it wasn’t too bad, but the pain increased quickly as it shot hot daggers down through my left butt cheek and the back of my leg. The ride was rough. I left the car in the parking lot and hobbled to the employee entrance. One of the security guards badged in for me and asked what was wrong — he could see I was hurting.
Within two hours at work, the nerve pain in my leg felt like someone forgot to turn off the iron. The pain seared itself, hot and deep, into the lower part of my body. My left leg was weak, semi-functional, and numbness spread throughout the left side of my left foot, heel, and small toes. I knew what happened and it filled me with dread. A work friend took me to the hospital, the same one I’d visited on prior trips. The ER attending ordered an MRI for the next day which gave me some relief; at least I would get an answer. He gave me a cane and sent me home.
The following day I had another MRI. These films showed narrowing, desiccation, new bulges at L3-4 and L4-5, and a new extrusion at L5-S1. The extrusion was impinging on the L5 and S1 nerves, which caused the neurological symptoms in my left leg and foot. I saw the extrusion on the films myself, and I knew what it meant before I read the report. My partner helped me carry the films as she drove me straight to Dr. Zimmerman’s office.
Dr. Z was right to be concerned. The extrusion could continue to grow, extending further up into my spinal canal. He urged me to have a steroid injection, with the hope it might stop the swelling and reduce the nerve compression in my leg. If it didn’t work, it meant another surgery.
He gave me the injection.
It didn’t work.