shape
carat
color
clarity

Tell me your back story (if you're willing to share)

perry

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 19, 2004
Messages
2,547
OK; I've not been posting because I got so tired I was making all kinds of mistakes (and I needed to focus on work and trying to get enough sleep).

Currently I can't lay down without significant pain - so I'm sleeping in a chair (or snoozing short periods, getting up and walking off the pain, and snooze again).

I thought it was initially a repeat of a minor problem I had before; and went to Physical Therapy which after a bit concluded that there has to be more problems than out of alignment and muscles. I also had some meds too (but nothing real strong as that would affect me at work). Saw the Dr today and a MRI is being scheduled.

Now I know that I will beat this - but that it can go in many different directions - but I'd appreciate hearing how long it took people to recover to a more normal life... (for those who will admit to having a back story).

Have a great day,

Perry
 
Perry--I'm so sorry that you're in pain.

I've injured my back enough to keep me home from work twice in the last four years. (I really hate missing work, so that's a big deal for me.)

The first time was about four years ago--I was laid up in bed for ten hours straight before I could even get up to use the restroom, it was agony. (This may be TMI, but I was literally sobbing in bed because I had to pee so badly and I couldn't get up.) In all, I think I missed something crazy like five or six days of work, so I was out for seven or eight days total. I dictated my lesson plans to my husband, who typed them out and emailed them to work for me.

Most recently I injured my back not even a month ago. I was out of work for two days. The pain wasn't as debilitating as the first time, but it was bad enough to keep me in bed for two days straight, and then I hobbled around very slowly all weekend.

I have the good fortune of being married to a muscle specialist, so my husband treated my injuries both times. I have some imbalances in my feet paired with a horrible habit of ignoring that little twinge of back pain that has preceded both of my injuries. Both injuries happened when I was running somewhat regularly.

I really hope you feel better soon. I know how awful it is to endure back pain, and I'm so sorry to hear that you're dealing with it right now. Whenever I'm dealing with serious discomfort and pain I go on a movie watching binge. It always keeps my mind off of the pain.

Feel better Perry!
 
My DH had back pain and got an MRI right away. But he was in so much pain that he moved and the MRI was blurry. The first doctor couldn't read it and hemmed and hawed about maybe a neck brace, pain killers, therapy, etc. Second doctor said about the same thing. I used google and found him a neurosurgeon who was top of his class at an Ivy League school. He took one look at the blurry MRI, found a nerve that was pinched by slipped disk, and scheduled him for surgery two weeks later. My DH barely made it the 2 weeks. He was in constant, horrible pain and eventually had to resort to heavy-duty painkillers. He doesn't like taking anything.

The thing no one realized, is that the disk didn't just slip, it was in the process of shattering. That's why he went downhill so quickly. The pain was multiplying by the day.

The surgery was done on an OUTpatient basis, in by 6 am out by 11 am, because my DH just doesn't like hospitals. There was almost no scar, and he felt better within that day. He felt achy and twingy for 6 months, but back to his old self within a year. The surgeon took out the remnants of the disk and fused together his vertebrae. It was expertly handled and I think that is the key.

People are afraid of surgery, but in the right hands, it's a very effective tool. I didn't see why so many doctors were delaying a necessary surgery with needless exercises and drugs. No amount of therapy will restore a shattered disk.

I'm sorry that you are going through back pain. My DH, who will come break a toe without remarking on it, was in agony.
 
Perry,

I'm just writing to share I am very sorry. Though I have chronic lower back pain, I think this is common, and I do invariably get relief lying down, so it is difficult to imagine your circumstance.

Please get better soon!

Ira Z.
 
I thought you were asking where we came from to entertain you lol I was ready to start, "once upon a time in the early 70's in San francisco..." hahaha but it turns out I just need to upload some healing vibes and wish you well! I'm sorry you're hurting :(
 
Haven|1290476928|2776035 said:
Perry--I'm so sorry that you're in pain.

I've injured my back enough to keep me home from work twice in the last four years. (I really hate missing work, so that's a big deal for me.)

The first time was about four years ago--I was laid up in bed for ten hours straight before I could even get up to use the restroom, it was agony.

I understand the pain - and the situation.

Basically, I knew the first time that I had to figure out a way to get out of bed. So by small movements I managed to roll, slide out of bed (slowly) onto my knees on the floor. Then how to stand up (when the pain is so great that you can't).

My current method is to brace myself half up with my arms - but even then; it can take 10- 15 minutes to get out of bed and get standing. Then there is the first step... and the second. I believe they made walls to lean on.

Getting dressed (even now when I don't lay down) is also an exercise in pain and motion control. Back against a wall, arm against a door - then with the other arm and slow leg movements I can get undies and pants on... painfully "enjoying" getting dressed all the way.

Have a nice night. I'm off to bed in my favorite chair (it only took a week to figure out how to prop the cushions so it is reasonably comfortable...).

Perry
 
Cehrabehra|1290480939|2776100 said:
I thought you were asking where we came from to entertain you lol I was ready to start, "once upon a time in the early 70's in San francisco..." hahaha but it turns out I just need to upload some healing vibes and wish you well! I'm sorry you're hurting :(

I could use the entertainment: So once upon a time in the early 70's.... (I can't wait to hear the rest of it...). Note there was a reason I chose the tittle I did - and only you seemed to catch on...

Perry
 
I rolled a small pick up going 85 mph 13 years ago. I walked away, miraculously, but my back has never been the same. My doctor started talking surgery -- my vertebrae are misalligned (sp) -- I said no way. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising, yoga stretches are great, regularly work wonders. I'll always have problems -- I have spasms daily, pain if I walk too much or carry things I shouldn't, etc. -- but I've learned to manage without medication, which I took immediately following the accident but hated and ceased using within a month, aside from motrin on occasion. I've gone to physical therapy on and off, mostly off, and that's helped when I really need relief.

Hang in there.
 
Oh, Perry, I'm just so sorry you're in SO MUCH pain.

I have a little wooden stool that I shoved into the kitchen this last go around so I could lean forward on something while getting myself some water to drink.

All I can say is that now, only a few short weeks after I was in all that pain, I am completely pain free. I hope that you are pain free very soon, my friend. Please give yourself time to heal--stay home as long as it takes to get better. That is the best advice I can give.
 
My back story in brief:
1. Scoliosis
2. First husband throwing me back first into a wall when I was pregnant
3. Several car accidents
4. I work for the postal service throwing heavy things.

What works? Chiropracters, and finding a good one is a challenge. Ask your local postal office, someone there knows a good one. I am also very conscious of my posture. John has learned how to feel bad spots on my back and uses an accupressure massage he has developed. It really helps.
 
I have lower back pain, but nothing like yours...my hubby had really bad pain years ago and he had surgery and it helped his, I am so sorry about your pain, I recently injured my foot and the pain was beyond anything I have ever felt, I cant image back pain like that, take care and hopefully you will feel better soon.
 
I thought the same thing Cehra did. :bigsmile: I hope you feel better Perry!

Here's the short answer to your question: I injured my back in June and spent the summer in physical therapy.

And my longer answer: It was the last day of school and a coworker and I were moving furniture out of my classroom. For some reason, it's the teacher's job to clear out the rooms before school ends so they can be properly cleaned over the summer. Anyway, we got it done in an hour, and we were so proud of moving everything out so quickly.

My husband and I were moving north the next day, so I had been in a hurry to get home on the last day and finish last minute packing. As it turned out, I woke up on moving day with horrible back pain and back spasms. I could barely walk, so I went to the doctor and he gave me a prescription for heavy-duty meds and told me not to drive long distances. What?! We had a 16 hour drive ahead of us that day. The movers came, packed up the van and headed north, but we stayed behind. I was so irritated. Anyway, I took whatever I could take so I could drive and we left the next day. I made another doctor appt. a few days later in my hometown when we arrived. My doctor sent me to PT and I spent the summer going twice a week. Luckily, I was released from PT right before the new school year began in the fall. I feel much better but my back still seizes up when I'm really cold.
 
Perry -- I know what you mean about it taking so long to do normal, everyday stuff. Over the summer, when I was in a lot of pain, it would take me 5-10 minutes just to get into bed. I would try to sit down and then slowly lie down without twisting my body -- not an easy feat if you stop to think about it. I would burst into tears every night, not wanting to go to bed because I knew how much it would hurt.

I really hope you feel better soon!
 
Oh Perry! Your pain sounds terrible!

I have been going through some back pain these last few weeks but nothing like you are describing.

Usually when it happens I am able to do some stretches and exercises and work it out myself but this last episode I haven't been able to do much to heal it. I think it was caused from sitting at my desk at work for an entire week, something I have not done in a long time, and pulling a heavy suitcase packed with my work equipment long distances.

I tried the physio but that didn't do much. Had a massage which helped a little but the real relief came from going to the chiropractor. He massaged the tight areas (hamstrings and lower back and he told me that I had the tightest hammys he had seen in a while which were a major cause of lower back pain) and then gave me a full body adjustment. He told me to take it easy, do some stretches but no real exercise and to keep up with the pain killers and an anti inflammatory for a few days in order to keep the area soft so that it could heal. I was 95% healed for about 5 days until yesterday when I lugged my work suitcase around and put my upper back, shoulder blades and neck out. Lucky I had another appointment already booked for that afternoon. He adjusted me again and prescribed massage from the hubby, heat packs and stretches.

So in short, things that help me are:

1. My chiropractor, he makes the biggest difference.
2. Heat packs on the affected area, they provide relief and also help loosen up the area.
3. Massage, helps with the tightening of the surrounding muscles.
4. Stretching, helps keep me properly aligned and prevents further injury.
5. Pain killers, allows me time to heal.


I would also suggest that when you do get to be a bit more pain free and some of your mobility back that you take up a pilates class.

I have been doing pilates for about 14 months now and the frequency of my back and neck problems has reduced in this time, also if it does happen, 90% of the time I am able to employ the techniques I have learned in order to sort out the problem myself. Pilates is great for your core muscle strength and I do believe it is a great prevention tool when it comes to my back and neck problems.

I can certainly sympathise with what you are going through and I hope you find something that works for you soon.

Good luck!
 
Aww Perry I hope you feel better.


I was in a car accident 2 years ago. Severe injury to my sacriliac joint-basically the immobile joint that connects my hip bone to my spine doesn't hold tight and slips and seperates. I went from hiking and parks every weekend to barely able to walk around siteseeing for a day. I have severe pain sitting too long, car rides, movie theaters are the worst. It affects every single moment. I've gained 30+ lbs because of it which I am very unhappy about.

For the first year I went to therapy and chiro treatment 3 times a week, which probably did remove a lot of the chronic pain. Also for the first 8 months, once a week, I went to trigger point needling therapy. This was brutal... they insert needle (like accupuncture) but move it around causing the muscle to cramp, then weaken, and finally release. I did get some relief with this, but the soreness was unreal.
I'm told the only thing that can relieve my pain is to 1) deaden that nerve, 2) fuse that joint, or 3) cort shots, which are very temporary.

So I feel your pain!
 
Sorry you are in pain. I have never experienced this first hand, but DH went through this recently. He isnt sure exactly what did it, but the pain would throw up straight down onto the floor. He said that a spasm would come and literally he would have to just drop to the ground. He has bruises for a long time. He didnt work for about 10 days. It took him about 30 minutes to get out of bed. He ended up laying a blanket on the floor and sleeping there. He said everything else was too hard to get out of. We went to patient first and of course they were no help. It continued and eventually I had to take him to the ER. They couldnt find anything. His back was so messed up that he was literally crooked. His top half was about 6 inches to the left of his bottom half. The ER gave him dilauded(sp?). They also gave him this list of exercises to do. So he would take his pain killers and then lay on the floor and put his leg up and I would have to push it towards his chest. He also did the ones where you put your leg over the other side of your body. It took a few days, but it worked.

Good luck to ya Perry!
 
Back pain is terrible :nono: , for me I keep voltarol very handy and pop one or two. DH has had great success with steroid shots.

I really hope you feel relief soon.
 
studies indicate back pain is alleviated with acupuncture....of course, it could depend on what is causing the back pain.

the contractor we use for our housing projects has had back pain for years and recently was incapacitated. he decided to give acupuncture a try and he said the relief for him was immediate. he is a complete advocate for acupuncture now.

MoZo
 
My back trouble started about 10 years ago. I was working for one of the "Big 5" consulting firms and was on a plane every Sunday night and Thursday afternoon. Those were the days before laptop backpacks and I was schlepping 40 lbs. around on one shoulder. My parents were in town, helping me close on my first home and my back was killing me...shooting pain...I took a muscle relaxer just so I could try to sleep. Well, in the morning, I tried to stand up and passed out cold. My parents couldn't revive me and called 911. I had slipped a disk and the pain was more than my body could handle. I couldn't even lift my arms to feed myself or wipe my own tush...I ended up living on my sister's sofa so that she could take care of me (at the time, my parents lived in a different city and had to go home). I was out of work for weeks (luckily, my boss was VERY understanding) and did PT everyday. A few months later, I was back to normal, though I was warned that I needed to monitor my activity as it was more than possible that this could happen again.

I was fine for 6 years. Miraculously, I made it through my first pregnancy with no problems (it helped that I made sure I only gained 26 lbs.). A year later, when I got pg. with our daughter, I was pretty sure that this was our last baby and my last chance to indulge in anything I wanted (really bad choice, btw!)...I gained 40 lbs. and by the time I was 35 weeks pg, I was in agony again, unable to care for my 17 month old son, with all of that weight out in front and putting strain on my back. The midwife induced me at 37 weeks, hoping that delivery would relieve my pain, but it actually made it worse. I went home with a hospital bed and a walker, totally unable to care for myself or our kids. Luckily, my parents now lived about 2 miles away and moved in to help us out.

At the recommendation of one of the OBs in the practice, I went to see his chiropractor, since the OB said he didn't do manipulation (I had always been very leery of chiropractors...just my own bias). So, I went to see him, he took x-ray, Mri, etc. and said that he thought he could help me. To this day, I don't know what he did (although I can tell you I felt no pain from whatever he did) and within 2 months, I was back to "normal"....it's been 4 years since that time and while I'm certainly careful of my activities, I function perfectly well for day to day life. Will I ever sky dive or bungee jump? Nope, but I'm not sure I'd be doing that anyway, lol!

All I can say is that I've been where you are...in chronic agony...I can't even tell you how sorry I am that you're going through this. My computer is broken, so I'm borrowing hubby's and don't have time to read through all of the posts, but have you gotten a second opinion to see if something else can be done for you? I'll be praying that you find some relief soon...hang in there Perry.
 
My vertebral story : Earlier this year I fell down a small flight of stairs and knocked my back into such a bad tilt it was 45 degrees off of straight. :errrr: I had to go to the chiropractor for 3 months of correctional work. It also pinched a nerve so severely it hurt to walk, hurt to sit, hurt to do anything. I had to quit working out. I couldn't sit on a couch for very long. I am finally getting back to where I can work out several times a week, and am starting light jogging work again. My nerve still pinches at least once a week which sucks.

My back story in brief : Born in the 80s, few friends as a child, I was made fun of for liking books, horses and nature, rode horses, excelled at art and photography, was at a high school reading level in 3rd grade, showed and trained horses with some success, had some horrible experiences in the latter part of high school and freshly graduated, not much recollection of those times, dated a guy for four years, was really happy, back in school, taking up photography again, and.... here I am.
 
I'm sorry you're feeling this kind of pain. Back pain is hard to endure; you have my sympathy. I hope you'll find some relief soon.
 
Oh my gosh, Perry, you must be in complete agony!! I'm so, so sorry!

My back is fused (scoliosis) so I have chronic back pain and come out of alignment every 5 years or so. I understand how completely miserable it feels to not be able to move. To dress. To take a step. And also be in fear of moving a all because you know it will result eye-watering pain.

I hope the pain subsides very quickly--I'm thining of you!
 
Thanks everyone; I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

Love to answer some of the replies in person; but I just got home a bit ago (working my normal hours while juggling medical and other appointments can lead to some long days).

As long as I don't lay down the pain is not that bad. But, if I lay down then agony is a good description. I've avoided laying down for days now (but tired of sleeping sitting in a chair all night - which is a lot better than the pain).

Have a great Thanksgiving and weekend.

Perry
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Top