I saw my doctor today and the diagnosis was as I had expected. I indeed have a herniated disc. Nicely ruptured, spilling material into the spinal canal, putting pressure on the nerve. At least I have confirmed results on the source of the pain.
For now I'm on steroidal medication, Prednisone, 4 times a day. I suppose guessing the results in advance helped to ease the bad news for me. I actually went for a slow jog last night and this morning I was experiencing some moderate pain, so I had a couple of Advils in the morning to dull the pain.
My doctor was pretty nonchalant about the whole event and that gave me some confidence in my prognosis. I suppose doctors see so many similar cases that they become rather accustomed to them. Other than the steroid pills, I am free to continue to with my activities, including jogging, as long as I don't have a great deal of pain.
This week's nominal pain is nothing compared to my condition in the past couple of months, so I'm thankful for that. I know that my herniated disc will be with me for the rest of my life. But as long as the pain is kept at bay, I can live with that. It's not like I'm in my 20's anyways. This is just a part of mid-life and I have to be prepared to deal with lots more problems than a herniated disc as I go forward. That I'm sure of.
*UPDATE: Herniated Disc - 4 Years on - Mar. 2012
Give a few Sats