Pain, depression and life

Foraminotomy
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Foraminotomy is a medical operation used to relieve pressure on nerves that are being compressed by the intervertebral foramina, the passages through the bones of the vertebrae of the spine that pass nerve bundles to the body from the spinal cord.
A foraminotomy is performed to relieve the symptoms of nerve root compression in cases where the foramen is being compressed by bone, disc, scar tissue, or excessive ligament development and results in a pinched nerve.
The procedure is often performed as a minimally invasive procedure in which an incision is made in the back of the neck, the muscle peeled away to reveal the bone underneath, and a small hole cut into the vertebra itself. Through this hole, using an arthroscope, the foramen can be visualized, and the impinging bone or disk material removed.







On June 24th while celebrating my Ironman accomplishment I injured my back at a water park. The short version of the story is this: I become injured in Idaho and return home. I see a Dr. and am told to take 2 days off from work and to take steroids, muscle relaxants and pain medicine. I take the 2 days off and return to work. Things get a bit hazy here. On the day I return to work I pass out from the pain and am taken to the hospital. At the hospital I had a MRI and was sent home awaiting to talk to a Neurosurgeon. Angela and I met with Dr. Wayson, my Neurosurgeon, and I checked into the hospital a couple of days later(?) because of the holiday (July 4th) and scheduling. Anyhow, I was admitted to St. Vincents hospital and was a patient there for 6 days. Numerous tests were ran and nothing specific was found other than they knew which nerve in my back was injured from my symptoms. After those 6 days I was home for 3 weeks trying to heal. I didn't heal and I slowly became worse. I returned to work and was taking 3 medicines to take care of my pain and back spasms. I begain physical therapy and found some relief but not much. I returned to see Dr. Wayson and was sent for another nerve conduction test. This test determined that my nerve at C7 was being pinched. I returned to Dr. Wayson about this and he determineed that I needed surgery to correct the pain, numbness, tingling and atrophy. Angela and I decided to get a second opinion which turned out that they couldn't see me until October 14th for a consultation. This was not acceptable to me and with my trust and belief in Dr. Wayson I chose to have the surgery without a second opinion. I now am waiting to schedule my surgery date with the Dr when he returns from his vacation September 23rd.



It is very strange to go from working out 6 to 7 days a week, being in the best shape that I ever have been in and finishing a Ironman to doing nothing. Not only is this strange it is depressing. I miss that part of my life and realize just how important it is to me. One of the medicines that I take is called Gabapentin. One of the side effects of this is weight gain. I have put on about 10-12 lbs and really don't fit into my pants anymore. The pain medicine that I am taking is a opioid called Oxycodone. This medicine gives me a sugar craving that is worse than when I stopped drinking so I am tending to eat more sweets now. So let's see, a medicine that makes you gain weight and another that makes you crave sweets. This pisses me off!

I received a call from my Dr.'s office today and they have contacted my insurance company to get approval for the surgery. I am hoping that this isn't a drawn out process because I am so ready for this to be over.
Here is a link to a video describing the surgery I am going to have.
http://www.spine-health.com/video/cervical-posterior-foraminotomy-video