Dr. Jay

I found a chiropractor! Dr, Jay Dvorsky to be exact and he had an appointment available for me today. I had phoned the two contacts that I had been given. I didn't hear from one, and the other I didn't have a good feeling about.

I spent most of my morning making phone calls and checking online to see if the chiropractor was covered. Dr Dvorsky was a recommendation from the office of another chiropractor, Dr Lee. I got Dr. Lee's name and a glowing report from my friend, David's, wife's friend, Julie. Yes, that's right.

I was pleased at how helpful most of the people I talked to were. The decision came down to the earliest appointment. Unfortunately, Dr Dvorsky is out of network. I'll get reimbursed 80% of the cost after my deductible. That info came from the very nice woman at my health insurance company. Yes, she was pleasant and well informed.

I had a 3:00 pm appointment. I checked to make sure that Dr. Dvorsky's office was one-stop shopping - adjustment, x-rays, pain killers. They called back to tell me that he had no one to prescribe pain killers. At that point, it was almost a deal breaker, but I also didn't want to spend anymore time looking. Oh, well.

Kai had Douglas drive me to the appointment. We weren't sure if I'd be O.K. to drive myself afterwards. That was cool, because I got to take a ride in Mr Doug's new car - very comfy. Getting there wasn't much of a problem, but we were certain that the traffic on the way back was going to suck.

By time I was in the office and filling out paperwork, it didn't matter if I stood or sat. I was just in pain. Dr. Dvorsky came out and called me down to his office. He said that Douglas was welcome to come back. Dr. D looked over the paperwork and then asked me to fill him in.

I gave him the whole story about the on-again off-again muscle pain I was having in my hip/butt/lo back on the left side, and when it switched to the current state. He took us through a very detailed and informative lesson on the spine, and then took me to another room for my exam.

One of the great things about Dr. D is he's a smart ass. He'd rather have you laughing, since you're already in pain. The other thing is that he takes the time to explain things so you really understand them. The exam was more of the same I went through in NYC. Again when he pressed very low on my spine, I nearly leaped off the table.

He wanted to take some x-rays. Now here's something peculiar that he does. While examining me, he had me put a towel between my legs. He had me wear it like a diaper. As a matter of fact, that's what he called it. It made me laugh. But apparently it is to protect himself from being sued. It made sure I was covered.

But I had underwear on, so I was already covered. He said that I would be surprised at how litigious a city L.A. is. I just shook my head. To walk down the hallway, he had me wrap the same towel around me. I understood that. I didn't want to give everyone in the office a show.

X-ray's done, he had me go back to the table that now had a heating pad on it. I was given a switch to stop the heat when it got too hot. While I was lying there, I could hear him going over my x-rays with Douglas. I didn't have a problem with that, other than he got to see them before I did.

Then Dr. D came back in. He gave me the low down. Basically, the right side of my pelvis is higher than the left and rotated. So that has turned my spine, and it is putting a lot of pressure on the disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae. Also, there is a large spur off the L4 vertebrae.

That happens because the body is trying to support the place where it has too much pressure. This took a long time to happen - longer than a month. So he was going to do adjustments to properly align my pelvis. There was an adjustment need on my left leg - something with the tibia or femur I can't remember. I had never had an adjustment, so I wasn't sure if it would hurt or not. I just tried to relax.

First he went for my left leg. He basically yanked on it. I yelped. It was shocking, but caused no pain. Then he did a little massage on my butt and back. He was trying to help the piriformis to release. It was weird, because it hurt more for him to massage the right side.

He had me turn over to adjust my pelvis. He had me on my side, top leg bent, foot hooked onto the bottom leg, knee over the side of the table, and my hands one over the other on my chest. He put his knee in the nook of the knee that was hanging of the table, one hand on my shoulder and the other on my hip. He then used his body weight to do the adjustment. I can't really explain what it is that he does exactly, but he had to do it to the other side. He then went to work on my upper back.

You should of heard how much crunkling went on in the three pushes he did to release my spine. That was it. He helped me to sit up and had me stand. He checked the alignment of my hips. He was happy.

"You weren't that much taller than me when you walked in."

I walked a little for him in the room. I could take a regular step - no limp. Granted my stride was shorter, but at least it was closer to walking normally. We went back into his office. He summed up my problem. He wanted me to take a hot bath with epsom salt and to see him in two days. He also wanted me to have an MRI to see what is going on with the disc between L4 and L5. He showed me the misalignment in my pelvis and how it has turned the spine. I was surprised. But I felt better, because I had a plan of attack.

In the car ride back to Burbank, I phoned to let the folks no what was going on. They gave me a few pointers on how to remain calm during the MRI - another first for me. I told them that I would keep them up-to-date.

After an achy ride to Burbank, we stopped for dinner. It was the first time I was able to finish majority of my meal. I had very yummy salmon, with steamed veggies and a baked potato. It was nice to be able to enjoy my meal. It's amazing how much pain will kill you appetite.

A nice hot bath and hopefully a good night's sleep. More later.