Day off

I had a day off from work on Tuesday. I could have spent it at home, sitting down in front of the television catching up on shows on Netflix, or watching one of the many movies I have but haven't seen yet, but I decided I needed to have a couple doctor's appointments.

I had my first appointment with my Gastroenterologist in the morning. He is thinking that my enlarged liver and spleen is because of Fatty Liver. This isn't the first time I have had to deal with this. 

About ten years ago, I gave blood for the first time, and it was rejected due to liver enzymes in my blood. This started some good times with visits to the doctor where I had Fatty Liver, and after some diet and exercise, it went away. Going through the process, I got all kinds of questions from the doctor.
I'll never forget being 18 years old, sitting in the doctor's room, and him asking me...
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"No."
"Have you ever used any illegal drugs, like cocaine, heroin, or meth?"
"Uh. No."
"Have you had multiple sexual partners?"
"Uh.... No. I've never had sex."
"And you're sure you don't drink alcohol?"
"I'm a pretty boring guy."
At least I felt that way.
He asked these questions because Fatty Liver is usually a symptom of Hepatitis, and he wanted to rule out getting sick due to a wild and crazy party life on the weekends
"Like I said, I lead a low-risk, boring life."
So when the new doctor started asking me similar questions, I just laughed.
"Have you ever snorted coke?"
"No."
"Have you ever injected heroin?"
"No."
"Have you ever solicited a prostitute?"
"Heh. No. Not at all"
And I found myself repeating my famous words from ten years ago.
"I'm a pretty boring guy."
The doctor thinks it is fatty liver, and that weight loss will help. He also wants me to avoid alcohol for the next three months. I don't drink much, but he wants to make sure this isn't a cause.
He said the same thing my primary doctor has said: "Diet and exercise should help."

This is where my back issues come into play.

The results from my MRI came back saying that the disc between my L5 and S1 vertebrae is bulging into the nerves of my lower back. Instead of sending me to a specialist, the doctor referred me out for physical therapy, which I started in the afternoon.

I wasn't sure what to expect, this being my first time going to a physical therapist and all, but I expected more questions, which is how my session started out. 

First he wanted to know how long I've had the pain, the location of the pain, how bad the pain was, and all that wonderful stuff. After a deep tissue massage, I had a device strapped on that basically did the same thing an Inversion Table does, without blood rushing to my head. I laid flat on the table, with one belt strapped around my stomach, and the other around my waist, and then the two would separate, lifting pressure from my L5-S1 disc. I sat there for about 30 wishing I had a book with me. 

Afterwards I got some exercises to straighten my core, which will take some of the pressure off my back, give me better posture, and (this is just my hopes) some rock hard abs. 

It all lasts about an hour and a half, by which time I hate everything. But, Michelle keeps reminding me that this will only be for a short while, and the results will last for a long time. I'll try to keep that thought in mind as I'm doing these exercises that borderline on torture.