It has a name!

I suffer from spinal stenosis. And I am delighted. I don't mean I'm happy to endure a stabbing sensation up and down my calf, or stiffness in my hip or pain in my knee. Of course I'm not. But I'm happy to know what's causing it! All anyone has been able to tell me up until Tuesday is that it's not DVT.

My friend Barb recommended her chiropractor, who took a pair xrays and did some manipulations and voila! I had a diagnosis and treatment plan -- with no additional meds. That's important to me. I don't want to take another drug in addition to the fexofenadine for allergies and the statin for cholesterol and the NSAIDs always in my bag in case my kidney stone flares up.

What I didn't expect was to be greeted by Anthony Rizzo's jersey! I fangirled so hard when I saw #44. Aside from loving Rizz, I found this enormously comforting. Between them, Anthony Rizzo and Jonathon Towes make nearly $13 million/year. That makes these two men very expensive assets. If the Cubs and the Black Hawks have faith in this doctor, I do, too.

So what's going on? It seems my spine curves to the right and probably has for decades. This angle has caused the spinal canal to narrow and this is messing with nerves up and down my right leg. It's also had a negative impact on my balance, which is why I've been falling down more lately.

The doctor feels that eight or so decompression therapy sessions will help reshape my spine and alleviate the pressure and therefore the pain.

If I'd dealt with this when I was younger, he believes he could have had more success actually correcting it. I'm 61, so that's simply not going to happen. But there's no reason to believe that he can't reduce the pain. And that is very good news.