Shortly after returning from Philly, I found my back mysteriously tightening up, to the point that it became impossible to sit, stand, walk or lie down without considerable discomfort. I've injured myself plenty of times, but I can usually pinpoint the cause. This came seemingly out of the blue. Within a day I was pretty miserable.
The docs who do backs at my institution told me they could see me sometime in May. So I found another place that could take me in a few days. I was feeling much better by the time my appointment rolled around but was worried about the unknown origins of the pain. So I went and got x-rayed and stuff. Good that I went.
The x-rays revealed that I have mild to moderate degenerative disc disease at the L4 and L5 vertebrae. It's not quite as dramatic as it sounds. But it does mean that I may have to expect some future back episodes like this most recent one. The discs in question are spongy little shock absorbers for the spine but as we age they start to dry out some and the space between the vertebrae shrinks. I have to visit a physical therapist to get the lowdown on working with it in the gym. The doc did say that exercise is the treatment so I guess I've got a head start. But in the meantime I haven't been able to go to the gym for a while now.
This is bad. The gym is my poor-man's Prozac. Without it I get squirrelly real fast. The last week or so has been rather miserable. All of this has coincided with some new projects at work that meant a bunch of work that had to be done quickly. I am now in the 12th hour of a 13 hour day. But most of it is done now and tomorrow will be an easier day. I might even be able to hit the gym on Friday. I am very tired and a little loopy--which is good, as anything that impairs my normal mindset usually results in my feeling better.
