The leg thing.

I went into the doctor today, which was an interesting ordeal, given my level of Japanese proficiency and the staff and doctor's level of English proficiency. Fortunately, we made it through.

I apparently have a pinched sciatic nerve, which I suspected might be the case, but wasn't entirely sure. It's making my left leg burn and ache and it makes my left toes feel tingly and a little numb. It is usually caused by a slight herniation of the connective tissue between spinal discs.

The good news is that the condition is usually resolved without surgery. The bad news is that he thinks my knees are in the early stages of osteoarthritis, but I think I could have told him that myself. I also think that my left knee probably has some torn cartilage or something else going on...he thought that the symptoms were arthritic, but I'm skeptical of that. It feels like something else is going on.

So, anyway, nothing particularly earth shattering. I'm scheduled for an MRI next week, and I'm going to be practicing yoga fairly religiously from now on in an attempt to get this straightened out on my own. It feels better just to have a diagnosis, but I'm going to follow through with the MRI and his treatment suggestions. I'm on a vitamin b12 supplement and an anti-inflammatory. We'll see what happens.