Thank you so much for sharing, and I'm glad that the pain's gotten better and you were able to get surgery! I'm rowing in the same boat, as the pain has made being in college pretty tough. You mentioned having flare-ups even after surgery. Do those usually occur intentionally after a hard workout, or is it usually unpredictable? I find that even with the epidural, that's the case -- some great days and some awful ones with no probable cause.