there is no day 3

As of approximately 8:39pm last night, I am off the #$&*%! diet.

MHPT owner Ralph had given me his cell phone number to call if I didn't feel well, had questions, etc. I called him yesterday when I got home from work and was feeling continued symptoms of nausea, headache, and dizziness -- all combined with extreme hunger. Downed a shake and some broccoli and still felt like absolute crap. I usually take my medication every twelve hours around 7:30 but did not want to take anything while feeling that way. Waited and waited for a return phone call and finally realized that life is too short to suffer in that way for questionable benefits. I stumbled down to the Co-op, grabbed a salad and some soy milk to put in a real smoothie (with fruit) and returned home to eat a somewhat more substantive dinner with my meds. And sure enough, I felt better almost immediately.

The amazing thing is that my back feels improved today. I took a brief walk this morning and sat in a GIS class all day, and my back still feels better than it did on that stupid diet. And my disposition is light-years improved. So, the question now is whether I keep these twice per week appointments at MHPT or if I cancel them all and bail on that program. I'm leaning towards the latter. I really do like the staff there personally, but the fact that Ralph has still yet to return my call does not speak well to their empathy or professionalism.

In the meantime, I have made another appointment with Dr. Rick Delamarter of the L.A. Spine Institute one week from today. I will have to take the day off and make the hell-drive, but I need to hear what he has to say. Virginia here at work recommended Oasis Sports Medicine saying they've worked on the Chargers, Padres, etc. So, I made an appointment with their spine guy Dr. Mark Nelson for this Friday.

It's time to get something done, and I feel OK about it. I've been reading more about disc replacement, and it can supposdly be done on an outpatient basis with an 8-10 day recovery time. That is absolutely stunning compared to a fusion procedure. Of course the 800 lb. gorilla in the room is the long-term prospects which nobody really knows. They just haven't been done long enough.