Herniated Disc Changes Everything

I am struggling today. I have been an emotional wreck this past week and things are just getting crazier.

I had my MRI yesterday. I have to admit, I was super nervous. Fear of the unknown. But I survived and it really wasn't bad at all. I was thanking God for not making me claustrophobic :) As soon as I was done the radiologist met me and said it was clear what was causing my pain-

This beautiful (huge) herniated disc. Totally obvious when you look at the image that it is pushing up against my nerve roots causing my sciatica issues and the pain down my leg.

 

So where do I go from here? Starting back at square one. My home away from home for the past 3 months, AFC Chiropractic, referred me to a new place that has the Lordex spinal decompression machine (I guess this is a state of the art machine) that hopefully will help with my herniated disc and other back issues. I am so sad to have to leave the comfort of AFC and start fresh, but my herniated disc is considered severe (8mm) and along with that I have some bulging disc and spinal stenosis issues which is just more than they can help me with.

 

So tomorrow I start a new journey to recovery. After looking at my MRI results I'm praying they will know exactly what to do to help me get better. My biggest fear right now is getting worse before/during my cruise. I am scared that whatever treatment they start might shift where the disc is pressing up against the nerve roots and cause more pain. Or that during my cruise my disc will just get worse all together. I know I can't live in fear but knowing I'll be in another country or in the middle of the ocean frightens me.

 

I pray as I leave the new office tomorrow I will have more hope and feel better about everything. I pray I will start to see some improvement before I leave next weekend and that while I am gone I have little to no pain. When I get back I will go full force with treatment to tackle this issue and get better once and for all. Until then please pray for me.