A day at the ER

My back pain continued to worsen on Sunday night. I took enough medicine to get me through the night, and decided to call the doctor first thing in the morning to figure out what was going on with me back.

Through choked back tears I called my general care practitioner, she could get me in, and then send me to a specialist to determine what steps to take next. This was not an option for me. I tried calling my orthopedic spine doctor, who was not in the Chicago office on Mondays, but I could travel to Elmhurst to see her. The mere thought of getting in a car was terrifying, let alone gallivanting around the city or state looking for a solution. It seemed that with my level of pain being at a 10, that my only option was to go to the Emergency Room.

I called my friend Lena in tears, with her nursing background and current job in medical sales, I knew she'd know where to take me. She picked me up and took me to the ER at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The ride there felt like days, every turn and bump sending shocks to my spine. I finally got into the ER, and waited to be seen by the doctor.

As soon as I was laying down in a curtained off room, the doctor asked me questions about my pain, my history, anything to help them understand what was going on. They immediately gave me an iv with pain medicine, and my pain went down from a 10 to a level 8, which was a much needed relief. They scheduled an xray for me and I tried to stay somewhat comfortable as I waited. I was in and out of sleep as they wheeled me to the xray room.

After my xray results came back, the doctor came to let me know that they were going to discharge me, as the xray showed no sign of skeletal damage. He said it was most likely muscular and that I was to rest and if I experienced the pain for several days then he would prescribe a MRI. I vehemently objected and demanded that they do an MRI while I was there. I knew that the pain I was feeling was different than any muscular strain or spasm I had ever felt in my back.

I received another dose of medicine in my iv, and was told it could be up to 5 hours before they got me in for the MRI. I told them I'd wait, what was the difference for me, either wait in pain there or go home in pain not knowing what was going on with my back.

I was woken up two hours later to be rolled to the MRI center. I was groggy and let them move me between beds and move me into the MRI tube while the buzzing, banging and clicking started. 30 minutes later they pulled me out and rolled me back to my holding room. I fell asleep again and was woken up by another doctor. She informed me that the MRI showed two bulging disks, between l4/l5 and l5/s1. This finally explained my pain, but I had a handful of new concerns.

I asked a number of questions:

Is this reversible? No

What caused this? Unknown

What were my options? If the pain worsens over time, surgery. Otherwise, physical/occupational therapy.

How long would this level of pain last? Unknown

Is bulging disks the same as herniated disks? Not sure

Were they bulging anterioraly or posteriorly? Unknown, I would need to see a specialist for these questions.

Finally, I asked it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer. "Can I still run?" She looked at me and smiled. She said eventually yes, that the worst thing I could do for my back would be to stop exercising. She said walking would be recommended at first, and that any kind of heavy lifting, sports with sudden movements and jumping were pretty much out.

They asked me to wait in the waiting room for my ride, again I insisted that I could not sit or stand and would need to stay lying down until my ride came. They needed the room so they rolled me into the hallway to wait. The pain medicine finally got to me and I vomited in the hallway where dozens of nurses, doctors and patients were buzzing by.

Alicia picked me up, I got home and have been taking pain meds, muscle relaxers and nausea pills every 6 hours as directed. I am terrified about the prospect of surgery and what the future holds for my back. My profession depends on my movement. I'll just take it one day at a time. For now, my movement is limited and pain is steady. Hope to update you with good news soon.