This morning I went in and reviewed my MRI with my Orthopedist. The images were pretty cool. (And they did a quick look for cancer which I greatly appreciate.) You can totally see how the disc is messed up. So on Wednesday during lunch I'll be going over and getting a Cortisone shot into my back. He said I should walk out feeling an immediate difference (due to numbing the nerve), then it will go back to how I regularly feel. In a couple days though it should reduce the swelling of the nerve and of the disc. It will be something that works more over time.

Next follow up is August 18th. Depending on how this goes surgery might be next.
(The doc was saying the surgery would be minimal with no fusion of vertebrae, just cutting the inflamed part of the disc out.)