That's a picture of me in happier times before I injured my back. The funny thing is that I injured my back a few years ago without even knowing it and because i was unaware of the injury, it is healing all wrong which is causing me so much pain that I can barely stand it.

My life as I know it is in limbo...can't work...can't sleep and I am praying that the pain management doctor I will see next week can bring me some relief. My back doctor told me that I will have to endure painful shots directly into my lower back area. I'm scared as hell but I'm so tired of being in pain 24/7.

I've cut off all communication with friends and even managed to piss off my sister because I said something I shouldn't have said.

And on top of all of this shit, my back doctor told me that I am probably going to have to see a spine specialist for possible surgery. What I would love to know is how can a person hurt their back and not freaking know it?

I'm at my wits end with being in pain, with being a burden on my family and not knowing how to be pro-active in getting my life back. I have even considered just ending all of this shit but I couldn't go through with it for two reasons....I'm a chicken shit and I just couldn't do that to my husband.

So I am turning to all of my fuckfrance comrades who might be suffering with back pains and how they have handled it.

Just so you know, the pain is in my lower lumbar...two bones are fusing together from the unjury I never knew about. Any tips from anyone would be so appreciated. I turn to fuckfrance because I don't have to worry that any of you will constantly call me to see how I am feeling.

This post is done out of desperation...so mock me, make fun of me, but at the very least your advice will mean the world to me.

Meechie (Michelle)

So I am turning to all of my fuckfrance comrades who might be suffering with back pains and how they have handled it.

I am not sure this is the best idea you ever had: Whatcha will now be all over you!

Hope things get better for you real soon though.

Sleep on your back on a firm mattress with a pillow under your knees.

Thank you WilyB...desperate times call for desperate measures. I have a high tolerance for pain but it seems like that tolerance is disippating at an alarming speed. I have pain pills but they don't work for shit...they just leave me in a fog with pain. Might as well be clear headed and in pain, then doped up on a pain killer that does nothing.

I went thru a lot of c-spinal back pain and then after seeing orthopedists and neurologists, getting nerve block shots and exercises and options for endoscopic fusion surgery, it was finally a chiropractor that cured me...much to the bemusement of my physician father, who always called them quacks along with anyone else who didn't have an M.D., including psychologists.

I am not a medical professional



I fucked up my lower back by sneezing once. I guess all that BMX and crashing mountain bikes and football and rugby finally takes its toll. Getting old not for wimps.


Anyway if your xrays show that you have fusion already occurring then what you need is spinal fusion surgery, or an artificial disk with lumbar bridge implants, or a combination of the two. Talk to your doctor.

I am not a medical professional

I wish I knew something... I wish you well and prompt improvement.

Once hurt my back (don't laugh) trying a rather demanding sex position. Couldn't walk for three days, and my back was noticeably weaker for one year after that.

But I guess that you're way beyond that point. So, I'd say:
1. I think you are getting close to your fifties, right? Osteoporosis due to menopause will weaken your bones. Have you had any measurements of bone density?

2. You've suffered enough, if you're even thinking about ending it all. Don't waver, go see the spine specialist FUCKING NOW. Hell, go into surgery TOMORROW, you'll have your life back within a few months. You'll have to go easy on your back from now on, but do something NOW before it gets worse.

3. As FL said, maybe you'll get your vertebrae properly fused. Happened to one aunt of mine after years of back pain; you lose some flexibility, true, but unless you're a pole dancer, you'll be fine.

That sucks. Wish I could offer you some helpful advice. All I can tell you is do a lot of shopping around before you select the surgeon. I know some people with back surgeries that weren't successful and every new surgical attempt that is made is only that much more difficult because of the damage of previous procedures. Commonsense I guess. Just curious, did the pain meds ever help and did they stop being effective when you developed a tolerance or did they only ever just add fog to the pain? Whenever I've been given an opiate for pain I've never felt it did anything an over-the-counter pain killer couldn't do except distract me with the buzz.

Meechie92 wrote:

My life as I know it is in limbo...can't work...can't sleep and I am praying that the pain management doctor I will see next week can bring me some relief. My back doctor told me that I will have to endure painful shots directly into my lower back area. I'm scared as hell but I'm so tired of being in pain 24/7.

I've cut off all communication with friends

I can totally relate. Eight weeks ago started unbearable pain. After going to a chiropractor, doctor and two orthopedists, physical therapy brought me some relief. Finally an MRI showed two herniated disks. The L4 and L5, leading to sciatica.

For at least two weeks I was on my left hand side unable to even scooch away from the edge of the bed. A 20 foot walk to the toilet would leave me squirming with spasms and cramps from the hip down.

Just writing a few bills or answering emails were a big deal because constant pain just takes over your world.

I'm back at work full time but still can only sleep for about 4 hours a night.

me to car accidents to wiping out on horses to falls to fights

fearless is right about the old and chiropractors
getting old when i was young my grandma used to warn me about this whole getting old thing

Know what she say ?

dont get old

you and your doctor(s) /or chiro back crackers ya gotta properly identify fix /work the problem out first before you figure out a physical threpy and eventually a regular excesise regiment

doesnt matter if you are in your 50s personally i feel its even more urgent you do but remeber i play with rags for a living im not a doctor.

shit im going out jack lalane style .... for as long as possible

movement and steady slow strength building always helps with the pain and mobility not to mention good for your health all around

lack of movement and any muscle a weakness in the area will always make it worse

the stress will amplify any real physical injury


stress is a killer
i don'tt care what they say

no sleep alone will stress a body mentally and physically

she has personal stress added on top of no sleep stress + a physical back injury .....stressed

beside your doctor go see a nice jewish chiropractor have him check ya out and give yer back a rub . thiers 6 million jewish back crackers up by you

vitamins and what you eat can all help to

tozer with the pills
pills are not always the answer
maybe think about dumping the pills and go with the
ocassional few puffs of a doobie & glass or two of wine at night


but absolutely the sooner you're able to get into some kind of physical routine and build on it the better

get rid of that fuckin stress


take a deep breath
ohhhhhmmmm


mind, body, soul & volcanos baby

I would look at surgery as a last option.

I know 2 people who had back surgery, and both are worse off than before.

FrogFryer wrote:

tozer to with the pills
pills are not always the answer
maybe think about dumping the pills and go with the
ocassional few puffs of a doobie & glass or two of wine at night

Jeez, you think I'm a pill head. There's a lot of shit up in the Bronx, it's easy to come by but it's not my cup of tea. I don't have a go-to thing for stress relief other than sex.

tozer wrote:

FrogFryer wrote:

tozer to with the pills
pills are not always the answer
maybe think about dumping the pills and go with the
ocassional few puffs of a doobie & glass or two of wine at night

Jeez, you think I'm a pill head. There's a lot of shit up in the Bronx, it's easy to come by but it's not my cup of tea. I don't have a go-to thing for stress relief other than sex.

not what i meant man

I meant you were right how theyre not always the solutiuon

do you want a pill now though ?











tozer

OHMMMM

Oops, totally misread that. Seriously dude, dinner.

....i'm not a doctor either. but i would go the excercise PT route too, unless it was doing no good. my wife had a car accident last year. her pain is cervical. after months of PT he recommended an epidural steroid injection. my wife hates needles. she researched it and most of online respondents had negative reviews. ??? who knows how accurate online info is. maybe patients who have positive results are less likely to file in online.
anyway i would hold off on needles ,injections or going under the knife as long as possible. definetly last resort. if they're off by the slightest it could be irreperable damage.
i fell off a moving truck when i was young. cracked my coconut and had a concussion. no neck problems. years later road a roller coaster and all hell broke loose. i had damage to my spine i didn't know about until the thrill ride. went to a chiropracter for several months. helped tremendously. (i must tell you it got worse before it got better,just like the chiropracter said)
my wife is on oral steroids. some people they work for months. others a couple weeks. but the doctor will only give her a script twice a year. they are hard on the liver. talk to your doctor about alternatives. good luck.

I thrashed my back in 1994.
L4, L5, S1.
Annular tear, protruding disk.
Have had several epidurals and three bi-lateral, multi-level facet injection procedures, the first one was without any anethstesia (a lot of fun that was!).
After a while (several years) you get used to the pain. Some days are better than others, but at least you can predict the weather to some degree of accuracy (no B.S.). The doctors won't give you anything to ease the pain, so you'll have to chow down on Aleve/Motrin/Tylenol, just be careful on how much you take in a 12 hour period.
Good luck.

Fearless and Meechie,

You will never see a pain management MD that will recommend a chiropractor. Most pain management people are really trained as anesthesiologists (gas passers).

Tylenol can kill you and has already killed thousands of livers. If taken with alcohol the damage doubles.

Aleve will work the best of OTC meds but you might want to take a couple of Rolaids with it because it can cause stomach problems including bleeding. (so can an aspirin) The OTC label dosage for Aleve is exactly half of the Rx dosage.

Celebrex is a powerful NSAID (like naproxen sodium) and is available by Rx only. If you take it, be advised that either one or two caps per day are the common dosage BUT there have been few problems with one per day and most problems start with a dosage of two per day.



I am not of this earth.

Way back when I was in a semi high speed car accident and was just able to brace myself with my right arm against the dash - wrong. All the energy went up my arm into my neck and back.

Couldn't pick up a Kleenex. Couldn't bend - pain was awful. Lots of doctors, specialists, pills, etc.

Until.....a colleague recommended a chiropractor (I too thought this witch doctor stuff). She was a beautiful Taiwanese woman - which is a plus when she's all over you

No doubt there are many qwacks, but if you can find a good one they can be miracle workers. I am more scepitical than most and I figured I would never be able to run, play tennis, travel ever again. But I'm 50 and I do all those things now.

Pain pills will turn you into a vombie after awhile - short term maybe, but not a lasting solution. I hate surgery - just don't like it.

Trick is to find the right one. Gal I used is still in S.F.

Feel better!

Might sound strange, but a really good acupuncture treatment helped me.

The pins went into nerve pathways and then were hooked up to a pulsating electrical charge. Periodic treatments kept my back calm so it would heal. Haven't had a treatment in 4 years.

I had a bad landing on a night jump, I misjudged my landing position as it was dark, and performed a perfect landing in exactly the wrong direction. In addition to fracturing my left ankle, I fucked my back up big time. I was taken off the LZ on a stretcher, then to a Bison, and then off to Edmonton via civvie ambulance to Royal Alexandra hospital. Got lots of morphine, they plastered my ankle, and they put me in traction for my back. I was out in 2 weeks, on crutches for 4, back to business 2 months later. So I guess the traction helped.

BTW, I'm back. I have noticed a sufficient level of frunch bashing to grace you fucks with my presence.

I can see why your back hurts. You're wunderful alot

Walk it off, that's what the coaches in H.S. always said,

Walk it off, that's what the coaches in H.S. always said,