This is what I wrote in my blog on myspace:
"So, I've been doing my best to work on my music studies. I found a couple of really good theory books recently - Theory for the Contemporary Guitarist by Guy Capuzzo and Fingerboard Theory for Guitar by Mike Christiansen. They both have excellent information about how music works from the point of view of a guitar player. They explain intervals and construction of both scales and chords. They explain the relationships between scales and chords. And most importantly for me, they both explain how to learn to read music and apply it to the guitar. Needless to say I've been really enjoying studying these books, because I finally have the key to "putting it all together". I've had the scales and chords down for ages but could never combine everything in a sensible manner before. Now it is making sense and I am able to apply the knowledge right away.
Unfortunately (there's always an "unfortunately" for me), I suffered a physical set back this week. On Tuesday night I was reading in bed when I heard my sons fussing in the other room. I went to get up to go talk to them when I got a sharp, debilitating pain in my neck. It was so bad that it radiated down my right arm, making it go numb and rendering it useless. In addition, the pain radiated down my back adding to the difficulties I already have there.
So, I went to the doctor yesterday to seek relief. The MRI shows "degeneration of the cervical discs," according to the doc. So she prescribed a muscle relaxent and pain killers and told me to go back to my neurologist. I will see him on January 30th.
When I got home, I looked up disc degeneration and found a definition at http://www.necksurgery.com. Apparently degenerative disc disease (DDD) is when intervertebral discs lose their flexibility, elasticity, and shock absorbing characteristics. The ligaments that surround the disc become brittle and they are more easily torn. At the same time, the soft gel-like center of the disc starts to dry out and shrink. It can become painful and cause several different symptoms, including neck pain, nerve root issues, and spinal cord compression. This is caused by the fact that worn out discs are a source of pain because they do not function as well as they once did, and as they shrink, the space available for the nerve roots and the spinal cord also shrinks. As the discs between the intervertebral bodies start to wear out, the entire cervical spine becomes less flexible.
The common symptoms that suggest that degenerative disc disease may be responsible for a person's pain include neck pain, pain that radiates down to the back of the shoulder blades or into the arms, numbness and tingling, and sometimes even difficulties with hand dexterity or walking. Muscle weakness occurs at a later stage in the degenerative process than pain does, and it is a sign that disease is relatively more serious. In severe cases of cervical DDD, where there is evidence of spinal cord compression, individuals may experience symptoms of sciatica and back pain, and lower extremity weakness.
As it turns out, I have all of these symptoms. Which might explain why I have not been able to recover from my back pain after the surgeries I've already had. It will be interesting to see what my neurologist says at the end of the month. He's also going to do some electrical stimulation tests to determine how bad the situation is currently and what migh be done to rectify the situation. From what I have read, medication is used to reduce inflamation in some situations, while in other, more serious situations, surgery is required to relieve pressure on the nerves. There is a possibility of fusing the vertebrae and putting in a plate in some instances.
The good news is, if the degeneration and nerve damage isn't too bad, I could be well on my way to recovery 3 months after surgery. If an operation can remove my pain, I would be a very happy man.
So, for now it's time to wait and see - and deal with a bit more pain."
Thanks for letting me vent, I think I need some vicodin
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