Bulgy has been cut in half

What a shame I neglected this blog! I think my story might have given some hope to others in a similar situation.

A few years down the track, I am drug free and in a much better place.

About 6 months after the "trigger event" (when bulgy was conceived) I had a couple of epidurals that provided some temporary relief for 6 to 8 weeks.

For the first 2 years I was on a list of different drugs for pain relief and inflammation. I eventually settled in to a routine of daily drugs twice a day. I was also doing very little exercise this entire time so I tried to be careful in what I ate.

I moved to New Zealand (not for reasons related to my back) and started exploring a more permanent fix that would help me live without pain again. After more X-rays and MRIs a specialist recommended I fuse not one but two discs! That concerned me as it seemed extreme, hence I kept getting medical advice. In the end I chose to get a micro discectomy done. Through an inch long cut in my lower back the surgeon removed half of bulgy. It then took 6 months and some light gym work before I started feeling better than I was prior to the operation.

Another 3 to 6 months later I started trying to run. I was a great runner as a teen so it was disappointing to only be able to do a slow 1.5km at first. It hurt my back but my doctor helped me realise I should carefully persevere and be ready to deal with set backs as they came.

After a few months I was doing 5km runs at a casual pace. I then indeed hit a set back! It was a full week of pain and I was back on the drugs. But I quickly came out of it again and actually gained in confidence, reflecting on my doctor's advice.

These days I can comfortably run 10km at 5 mins per km pace and planning to do a half marathon. To this day I still carry my drugs in my work bag as I travel a lot for work and don't ever want to be in massive pain without that safety net. I rarely take any drugs for my back, perhaps once a year?? And more importantly my back pain and frankly my poor outlook is no longer top of mind. Days and weeks go by where I don't think about my back... and that is awesome!

Bulgy is half what he use to be and I'm back to normal, for now...