[treefrog]

Mary,
You have had a number of good suggestions. I'll add one. I don't know what sort of doctor you are going to, to discuss your MRI and medication. But for the medications, it may help for you to ask your doctor to refer you to a pain management (PM) specialist. They deal with chronic pain, and can be life-savers. General Practitioners sometimes get weird about prescribing heavy-duty medications (some by law, aren't even allowed to prescribe them), the kind that unfortunately, you may need. PM docs deal with people on meds for the long-term, as well as short-term, and should have no problem trying different meds until you find the one(s) that help control your pain. My PM doc is also the one who does epidural injections, recommended acupuncture, and also did my discogram.

I also lost my husband at a young age, when my son was 2.5 yrs old. But his was from diabetes, and was not totally unexpected, as he was ill for quite some time. I was lucky though, that I had my Mom and my sister close by to help me out. I'm glad that you have your sister, I'm sure she is a god-send to you.

Let us know how your visit goes tomorrow, and what plan of action they recommend. I highly recommend getting more than one opinion, but having that first one, gets you started. And we can help you understand what the pros and cons are of different options.