Things don't always go the way you hope they will.

We all think about situations before they happen. We imagine encounters with new people. We imagine what someone will say in response to a question before we ask it. It is a common thread I have observed in every aspect of my life. Having an idea of what to expect gives us a false sense of calm, If we were always completely surprised around every corner we would have a different outlook on life in general.

I had a follow up visit with my doctor this past Thursday. I was not expecting the answer I was told. During my previous visit I was advised to see a neurologist for an epidural injection to help relieve my worsening neck and shoulder pain. I knew that there were varied results to this procedure, some people had reported immediate relief, for some the relief took days or even weeks for others there was no effect at all and the duration of the relief varied even more then that. So, I knew that I had a chance at feeling better and the price tag applied to it was worth the sacrifice. Although Suzy did have to talk me into it a little, I guess for some reason she doesn't want me to be in pain. I certainly didn't want to be in pain but I guess I had a hard time with the notion of my feeling better being important enough to allot so much of our income to. Which is another problem all together , but enough about that.
So I had the injections. Three days later no relief, well I shouldn't say "no" relief I had relief but is was obviously not the result of the epidural, rather it was from the medication the doc prescribed for more immediate results. The problem there is that as soon as the pill wears off I am back to feeling like crap.
So there we were, back in the doctors office to hear what he thought we should do next.
I didn't know what exactly to expect, I thought, or rather I hoped he would say the best step to take from here was a disk replacement surgery, but that was not his answer. He said that what to do next was up to me, but my hope for disk replacement was not among the options.
The doctor told me that I could return to the neurologist for another epidural in hopes of better results, or schedule another spinal fusion to be placed below the one I already have. These were obviously not what I wanted to hear. Can I expect a different result from another uncomfortable and expensive injection into my spinal fluid? How am I to expect another fusion to resolve the problem, if the fusion I already have is causing the degeneration I have now. He said that the fusion would almost immediately stop the pain and constant need for medication. He also said that I may require additional surgery in the future but for now there are no other "real" options. The disk replacement I had hoped for was just not an option for me, since I had already had a spinal fusion. I did some research online and found that even in other countries where the surgery is more common and widely performed, the replacement of a multi level fusion with a artificial disk is just not done. Seems that the manufacturers of the replacement disk appliances do not condone it for that purpose. I guess that I am going to have the surgery and just hope that the future will bring a new type of disk replacement surgery for multi level injuries.