On Hold

 On October 14th, my spine doctor and I agreed to schedule a lumbar laminectomy. However, on October 17th, 18th, and 19th I had blood in my stool. My primary care doctor said she would not sign the clearance for surgery form until the cause of blood could be found.

Today I saw a doctor to schedule an upper GI endoscopy. That was the procedure for which the referral was made. However, after reviewing the "symptoms" he said he felt a colonoscopy should be done as well. I had been taking Aleve once a day for about 9 months but have stopped taking any NSAID or aspirin. If at least part of my problem is an ulcer, stopping these meds should help.

The earliest date available is November 22nd. Since both procedures will be done on that day, I have to do the prep for the colonoscopy on November 21st. 

With the Thanksgiving holiday, I am sure the results will not be transmitted to my main doctor until the last week of November. So the earliest any back surgery could be done would be mid-December. That assumes the treatment for the "blood problem" is not complicated.

The back surgery is on hold until my doctor feels confident about signing the clearance form. It is going to be a long wait. I have to trust that this is God's plan; it surely isn't the timing I would plan for myself.

A big downside is that the outdoor walking they want you to do after surgery will not be fun in January. I have no control over speeding things up, though I could put the back surgery off a few more months I guess. Going with the flow, but the flow is slow.