No Surgery...Yet

Went over the MRI images with a neurosurgeon Friday. Herniated C5-C6 and C6-C7. Same as the January results, but apparently something decided to give during sleep. Doc doesn't want to operate...yet. Says I'm young enough that there's a good chance the symptoms will recede with traction and rest. I see him again in two weeks and then in a month. If after a month I'm not completely (or near completely) symptom free he'll start talking other treatment options. Says the surgery would defintely be a two-level fusion (ACDF). I'm pretty sure Peyton Manning and Tito Ortiz only had a one-level fusion. I asked about long-term prospects for active living including BJJ (assuming no surgery). He said to follow the common sense rule: If it hurts, don't do it. In other words, so long as I'm symptom free I can continue training. First sign of symptom reemergence I need to rest. Makes sense, but I'm not entirely sure he knows what BJJ is and the pressure it can exert on the neck. I'll discuss more with him in two weeks.

Trip to the ER

Woke up Sunday in the worst pain of my life. I couldn't see straight. Just laid on the ground moaning and kicking the floor. Did this for almost 12hrs before I agreed to go to the ER. Docs gave me three shots in the butt and three scripts for some powerful stuff. Dilaudid, Zanaflex, and Ativan. These on top of Amitriptyline and Methylprednisole I started taking last Thursday. Pain is now barely tolerable. I'm not working. Hardly moving around. Feel sick to my stomach. Generally miserable. Had an MRI on Monday. Get results tomorrow. I'm almost certainly heading for surgery.

Down for the Count...

...and this time I may not get back up.

Woke up Saturday with a slight kink in the neck. Slight kink turned into excruciating pain. Think crawl out of skin and bang your against the concrete until it stops pain. Left hand and fingers numb. Achy shoulder, elbow, and forearm. Spasmy deltoid, Tricep, and pec. Almost now strength in my left arm. 2-3 hrs of broken sleep per night. Misery.

Dragged myself into the doctor today. Started a steroid pack (methylprednisolone) plus amitriptyline to help with sleep and pain. He wants a new MRI. Said the MRI I got in January doesn't explain my current symptoms. The herniated discs shown on that MRI explained the symptoms in my right hand, but nothing that could suggest current symptoms on the left side. Dr. says additional damage must have been done since. Hmm... The only neck trauma since January happened a couple months back when a Purple tried to escape a triangle via front roll. But that strained the muscles. I didn't feel any nerve pain or have numbness in the arm/hand. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Have no clue how long I'll be out. At this point - given the crazy pain - I'd say I'm out indefinitely.

Getting Heavier

Literally... 224.5lbs today before class (with gi). That's sick. I have my heart rate between 150 and 170 for at least 30 minutes six days per week: 3 days of jits plus 2 days strength and condition and 1 day mix shoulder PT and strength/conditioning. Throw in a 2-3 mile jog if I can't make a class or PT/conditioning session. Can't imagine where my weight would be if I wasn't so active.

Training's been good. Gave a younger (27-30), slightly smaller (190-200lb) Brown a heckuva a time this week. A few sweeps (Butterfly, knee push, and spider sweep off a pass). Passed guard twice. Survived, escaped side control, knee on belly, and turtle a few times. Movement and open guard felt great. Subbed a more experienced Blue who used to destroy me. Cross choke from top half. Set it up to pass but he held the guard and tapped instead. Brand new Blue triangled me. Same guy who caught me with a Kimura a few months ago as a White. He dominates me every time we train. Glad to see him promoted. Purple triangled and armlocked me at the same time (sick stuff). Got subbed a few other times I'm sure. Overall, the game is feeling good. Strength and conditioning seems to be helping the BJJ stamina, especially the top game.

Gonna have to alter my diet. It's hard right now because we're remodeling our home. Living at the in laws. Routine all messed up. I'm committed to improving my diet (especially portion size) when we move back into the house in a couple weeks. I want to be at 200lbs by Pans and 185lbs by Master/Senior worlds. But...I'd settle for 210 by Pans and 200 by Master/Senior worlds. None of this Ultra Heavy non-sense...