Degenerative Disc Disease

Long name for such a painful disease. I have worked in retail for 16 years and have always had back issues. I never really thought about it too much. The only two things I remember thinking before I discovered I had this issue are, "wow this is going to hurt", when I had to do something like scrubbing registers or lifting something heavy like boxes. Or ,"Ouch, that hurts- where is the pain killers?", after I did one of those things. Never did I think that it was something more serious. I discovered it was an issue four or five years ago. I was watching TV in my bed room and decided to get up for a drink. Half way up out of bed there was a huge cracking noise and I could not move at all. The pain was unbearable and did not stop. My husband had to move me due to my being stuck in that half in- half out of bed state. I was moving slow and it hurt but I was determined to do my job. Two nights later the same thing happened again only this time the pain was really bad and I could not move with out it hurting. I was hunched over and had to lean on things to move. That was when I decided that I had to go to the doctors to have it looked at. At first the tests showed very little and my doctor could not see what was wrong. But I hate being in pain and not knowing what is wrong. So my doctor saw me so much that he finally sent me to a specialist to find out what was going on-and to shut me up I bet. What my neurologist told me was not something I wanted to hear. I had Degenerative Disc Disease from the top of my spine to the bottom. As if that is not enough to upset me I also had a herniated disc in my thoracic and the last disc in my back was no longer pliable it was one solid mass and between the three the last disc was the worst. To kick a person when their down is not a nice thing but far be it for my body to stop there. While they were taking the last MRI and ex rays for my back surgery on the last disc they decided to look at my neck due to me having what I called phantom pains in my shoulders and neck. Wouldn't you know it, I had a herniated disc in my neck now. Then the doctor tells me it is hereditary and that it will get worse if I do not take care of my self. She then decides to tell me some more good news. If I do not loose weight I could end up in a wheelchair.
When I got done feeling sorry for my self I realized I had to make some major changes in my life to prevent what she described as my future. I have since changed my position in my job to lesson the aggravation on my back. Now I have to work on loosing the weight. I know what you are thinking-easier said than done. You are right. However having admitted that I am determined to make it work. I inherited the disease from my dad and I learned from him that no matter how much pain you are in you never give up. To all of you out there whom suffer from this- I understand and feel your pain. To all of you whom do not- be kind to those that do and do not judge them for leaning on the cart, or walking a little slower. Some times a little kindness goes a long way.
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