Becky out of action

[HARO]

Hope you're up and about before long, Becky. I can sympathize with you, having spent some 15 years with severe back pains. Careful with those painkillers.... sometimes the "cure" can be worse than the problem.
John

 

[Gordo33]

Hope you have a speedy recovery!!

 

[Becky]

Hope you're up and about before long, Becky. I can sympathize with you, having spent some 15 years with severe back pains. Careful with those painkillers.... sometimes the "cure" can be worse than the problem.
John

Yeah I know what you mean, John. They seem to be helping so far, but I'm still quite restricted on what I can do. Hopefully it'll just be a short term solution, I'm seeing the consultant in a couple of weeks.

 

[addy1]

Please be careful.
My late hubby is a late due to pain killers. He was on them for over 18 years disabled. because of back pain. The last one they had him on worked great, methadone, but he started drinking coffee, the caffeine interacted with the methadone which made him a late hubby.

 

[Lisak1]

@addy1 that's terrible! What a sad story. Pain meds are so over prescribed in this country - not sure about the UK, but it's a problem in the US for sure. I just came home from the ER - slight hairline fracture of my wrist - and the first thing the doctor asked was "are you taking anything for pain?" and when I said "no - haven't needed it" he replied "would you like something for pain?" Um... no?

I know that there are times when pain meds are very necessary, but they need to be way less eager to pass them out. Now they have medications to deal with the constipation that results from opioid abuse. Too crazy!

 

[addy1]

Now they have medications to deal with the constipation that results from opioid abuse. Too crazy!

He just took extra magnesium, OTC, cured that problem ..................

 

[Lisak1]

He just took extra magnesium, OTC, cured that problem ..................

Now you know darn well no drug company is going to get rich on THAT plan!

 

[Tula]

@addy1 , I'm so sorry that happened to your late husband, very sad. My daughter has had 5 back surgeries and it was hard managing her pain

 

[Ian]

Very sorry to hear that @addy1 .

 

[addy1]

Thanks, he is at peace now.

@addy1 , I'm so sorry that happened to your late husband, very sad. My daughter has had 5 back surgeries and it was hard managing her pain

He had 5 surgeries, ended up with scar tissue wrapping around his nerves = chronic pain. Pain management for 18 years, they finally did the methadone which worked.

Take care of Becky. My hubby was not good about "behaving" when he felt decent he over did a lot of things. Which meant back to pain again.

 

[Becky]

Take care of Becky. My hubby was not good about "behaving" when he felt decent he over did a lot of things. Which meant back to pain again.

It's a shame advice like this comes from such a sad place, but I will truly take it to heart. I'm pretty good at coping with pain - I only ever have painkillers as a last resort, only ever take the bare minimum needed to control the pain, and I always come off them as soon as possible. After my last spinal operation I was off all painkillers one week after the op - the surgeon was really surprised! Here in the UK they don't like long term opioid use.

Plus I don't drink caffeine anyway

I'm currently taking things very easy, and I have a new device which allows me to use my laptop lying down. So I can get a bit of work done, but not too much. In between resting today I made some fig roll biscuits (similar to what you'd call fig newtons I think) to help with the... ahem... side effects of codeine My step dad has just had a shoulder operation, so I'm sending some to him too

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I just had to speak up.
I sympathize with anyone who suffers back pain, I've had my share of it over the years. The root of my problem was an accident I had when I was 19 when I was thrown off the back of a truck that jackknifed on a mountain road and was thrown down the bank and landed on my back against a log. Being young I recovered quickly, but later in life I had problems with my back doing simple things that would put me out of commission and turn me into a cripple for days and weeks at a time. This would happen sometimes doing things at work and sometimes just walking in the shopping mall. After talking to all kinds of doctors and back specialist about the problem, which was related to bone growth around the old injury, I had basically three options before me to try and treat the problem, surgery, drugs, stretching and muscle building exercises. I'm happy to say I chose that latter.
Every possible morning for the last 8 years I do about 15 minutes of stretching, Pilates, and various back muscle building exercises, especially before heading off to work. My job requires me to do heavy lifting and climbing and all kinds of physical stuff all day long, if I head to work without doing these stretching and warming up exercises I will , sooner or later, end up laid up in bed for a week or more. Even if I manage to not end up laid up in bed if I go without doing my daily routine of stretching and exercising I will start to stiffen up and start walking like an old man. The difference is too pronounced for me to ignore, so I've come to the realization that if I want to continue working and enjoying some quality of life for as long as I can I must carry on with this morning routine even though it's not always convenient to do. I hate to think what sort of shape I'd be in if I had not started or maintained this regime of stretching and exercises.

Becky I hope you recover quickly and fully. I have no idea what the cause of your back problems are, but all the people I've met with good back surgery recoveries put a lot of emphases on getting and staying mobile and flexible.

 

[Becky]

Sorry to hear about your back troubles @Mucky_Waters, but I'm glad to hear you have things under control. Since my back problems began physio and pilates was the first thing I turned to - in fact if it wasn't for my physio things would have been very different! When I had the first set of problems I lost partial muscle function in my leg, but the doctor didn't think it was anything serious. My physio couldn't believe it, so she got in touch and told him to urgently refer me, which he did, and when I saw the surgeon he said the damage could have been permanent if it wasn't operated on asap. Eek!

Since then I've done everything I could to stay strong and flexible. I have a pilates reformer at home, and my core strength is good. However I think my weak discs and scoliosis mean that even with pilates I'm still going to have problems unfortunately. It could be a lot worse though, and I'm thankful it's not

 

[Gordo33]

but all the people I've met with good back surgery recoveries put a lot of emphases on getting and staying mobile and flexible.

Being a physical therapist and also recently dealing with back issues I can concur 1000% with your comments and recommendations . Making the exercises part of your daily routine and as important as eating meals or brushing your teeth is the pathway to success with any recovery.
@Becky once you are able to get the pain under control continue to work at staying strong and flexible. Even if there maybe another surgery at some point your recovery will be more successful the stronger and more flexible you are going in.

 

[Lisak1]

Amen to that @Mucky_Waters . I started having issues with my back when I was in my 30s. I've always enjoyed physical work, but I quickly learned that just doing every day work wasn't enough to stay strong and keep my back from acting up. Whether it's yoga or Pilates or just stretching exercises (which is what yoga is at it's core anyway) the phrase "use it or lose it" definitely applies. My grandmother lived to 94 years old and she started each morning with a routine she devised of stretching and bending - the day she died she could still bend over and lay her palms flat on the ground. She worked hard doing the things she loved every day of her life and she attributed her ability to do so to the fact that she never stopped using her body. I get my love of gardening from my grandma and learned so much about living a good life from that lovely lady.

The chiropractor my husband sees says he can gauge how long someone will live based on how well they are able to sit down on the floor and get back up again. He says so many problems are made worse by our lack of movement. I read a story a while back about a man with terrible back trouble - he had multiple surgeries and was left barely able to walk more than a few minutes and in excruciating pain. He went to the beach one day with the intent of drowning himself - he was so depressed. The beach access was a long staircase - over a hundred steps down. By the time he got to the bottom, he realized his back felt a bit better, so he climbed back to the top. He started doing that every day, adding sets as he got stronger. Within a short time, his pain was gone and he was able to function normally again. Obviously not the solution for everyone, but it is inspiring and a good reminder - doctors don't know everything. They can't measure your spirit or your will.

Glad to hear you are recuperating well @Becky ! I