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A Timeline

Saturday, March 16th, Sunday, March 17th — I went to get of bed Saturday morning and was greeted with that oh-so-familiar twinge of "something's not quite right." I walked around a bit in the hopes that I was just too sore from being a lazy bum and sleeping in.  I jumped in the shower in the hopes of shaving my legs and knew it was less "something's not quite right" and a bit more "something is wrong."  I spent the weekend in bed.  It was unbearable getting in and out, having to turn over.  I used up many spoons, a few forks, and was eyeing up the knives.

Wednesday, March 27th — MRI time or as I like to call it "Napping with Magnets." Get the CD right away. 

Thursday, March 28th — Got the MRI report much quicker than expected. 

Tuesday April 9th — Follow-up with my spine surgeon. 

I don't know about everyone else with chronic issues, but do you ever feel like the world sees you as a hypochondriac? 

I always worry that when I say that I'm in pain or that something is wrong, that I won't be believed.  Some of that fear is personal to my life and the rest is just society and how it treats people who say they're in pain.  I feel like for every ailment, I need definitive proof.  And even when I have proof, I feel like I need to become an expert on what it means. 

Imagine discs are jelly donuts.  There's the pastry (the annulus fibrosis), the jelly (nucleus pulposus), and the glaze covering it all (the lamella).  

L1-L2:  That's one healthy looking donut. 

L2-L3: This donut is newly misshapen, and it's hanging off the plate and interfering with a very important back straw.  

L3-L4: Your pastry is a bit misshapen and dried out, as is the plate it is resting on. 

L4-L5:  Your pastry is a bit misshapen and dried out, and hanging off the plate.  Also your plate and its lid are a bit messed up. 

L5-S1:  Very surgery, much shiny.  Ugh, but we still have some issues with the pastry and rogue jelly. 

Bonus round: 
Wee bit of scoliosis!
You have a 4-cm ovarian cyst!