Mind if I whine a little?

[luvmyshiner]

I found out a few weeks ago that I have a herniated disc. I have an appointment on March 3 with a neurosurgeon, and I'm hopeful that surgery can be avoided. I went through CB's back surgery with her six years ago, and she swears that if she had to do it over again, she wouldn't.

What's frustrating is how much this limits me. The weekends have always been the time for me to take care of chores and things that need to be done around the house. You know, mow the lawn, wash the cars, fix all the stuff that breaks down around the house. But now it seems like the slightest bit of physical exertion sets me off.

One of the things on my list for this weekend was to drain the hot tub and clean it. When I got home, all I did was unwrap the garden hose and hook it up to drain. Now my back is screaming like a friggin' banshee. This is very frustrating for someone who is used to doing things himself.

Ok, thanks for letting me vent. Whine over.

[Rockette]

A scalpel will never fix a back. I have 3 friends that have all had back surgery--same story--only worse.

[mrmudcat]

Yea my mom just had 3 verts fused together over the summer . She is worse if that is possible and still suffers greatly

[oldguy]

Really sorry to hear that, Shiner. I have only known 1 person helped with surgery, and he was run over by a car and spent 6 mos. in a full body cast before the operation...... he's better, but not great.
I hope you can find another way to improve your back...... I'm not a fan of surgery, either. Maybe some of the others here will have some suggestions.......

can anybody chime in here and help???

[luvmyshiner]

I agree Rockette and Mud. I understand there will have to be lifestyle changes, and I'm willing to do that to avoid the knife. Plus, I just don't trust doctors. Every time I go to the doctor they find something wrong.

Another issue, I know we have a lot of self-employed people on the Fret, y'all will understand, down time means I ain't bringing in clients. No clients, no money, bills don't get paid.

I know there have been a lot of advances in the field since CB had her surgery. And I hope there are alternative treatments. I plan on trying every last one of them until I find something that helps.

But it's still frustrating to think that I may never be able to do certain things that I enjoy again (and I wouldn't be able to do them even if I had surgery).

[luvmyshiner]

Thanks Oldguy, that puts a little perspective on things. It has been a little embarrassing walking with a cane the last few weeks (I can't feel my foot and that's caused some balance problems). But it's a helluva lot better than spending six months in a body cast.

[Cal]

I found out a few weeks ago that I have a herniated disc. I have an appointment on March 3 with a neurosurgeon, and I'm hopeful that surgery can be avoided.

: Shiner, find the best physiotherapist you can... keep away from the men with knives!
I found a brilliant Physio AFTER I'd had the knife job... if only I knew then what I know now.

[Katastrophe]

Have you looked into a chiropractor? They can do some amazing things to fix a back without surgery.

Hope you heal up soon, man.

[ted s]

How about a chiropractor Shiner ?

[warren0728]

Another issue, I know we have a lot of self-employed people on the Fret, y'all will understand, down time means I ain't bringing in clients. No clients, no money, bills don't get paid.

absolutely....i dislocated my elbow....my billables went down considerably for a couple of months....try to not go under the knife....all though with my mom...it did help...guess it depends on the specific condition...

ww

[just strum]

Shiner,

You and I have discussed this and as I said before, back problems are some of the worse health issues when it comes to trying to remain active. I really hope you find relief because I might start feeling sorry for you and not poke fun anymore:

Now with OG's friend in mind, I do own four cars

[luvmyshiner]

Kat, Ted, I've never been to a Chiropractor because I worked for a personal injury lawyer in law school, and I've always had a bad feeling about them. The guy I worked for would send me to hospitals to sign people up, then send them to a Chiropractor who would "automagically" declare them healed when the insurance ran out. I had to take a lot of showers to get over that.

HOWEVER, I am willing to try one as a last resort.

The only treatment I've had so far was a week of steroids and muscle relaxers, which have helped TREMENDOUSLY. The pain is very manageable now, and it wasn't at first. I stopped taking the muscle relaxers when the steroid prescription ran out because they made it hard to concentrate and do my job.

I haven't seen a physical therapist yet Cal, but from what I've read, that should be the first thing the doc tries. If he doesn't, I'll be looking for another doc.

NOW, not to be all doom and gloom, the good news is . . . all of my guitars are light!

[just strum]

NOW, not to be all doom and gloom, the good news is . . . all of my guitars are light!

[luvmyshiner]

I knew you'd catch that one Warren. That's the same reason it's so hard to take time off for vacation. You lose clients.

I really hope you find relief because I might start feeling sorry for you and not poke fun anymore:

I don't believe this crap for a minute strummy.

You and I will be emailing each other on our death bed trying to see who gets the last jab in.:

[sunvalleylaw]

I have done PI work on both the plaintiff and defense side. Not nearly all chiros are that way. My wife is one, and she does very well without being a PI shop. She is not pushy, and if does not work for a given person, she will not push it. Doesn't hurt to find a good referral to a conservative one. On the other hand, I have had clients (more than one) go through back surgeries, and I can say you want to avoid getting cut as long as you can. Here's to your feeling better!

Kat, Ted, I've never been to a Chiropractor because I worked for a personal injury lawyer in law school, and I've always had a bad feeling about them. The guy I worked for would send me to hospitals to sign people up, then send them to a Chiropractor who would "automagically" declare them healed when the insurance ran out. I had to take a lot of showers to get over that.

HOWEVER, I am willing to try one as a last resort.

The only treatment I've had so far was a week of steroids and muscle relaxers, which have helped TREMENDOUSLY. The pain is very manageable now, and it wasn't at first. I stopped taking the muscle relaxers when the steroid prescription ran out because they made it hard to concentrate and do my job.

I haven't seen a physical therapist yet Cal, but from what I've read, that should be the first thing the doc tries. If he doesn't, I'll be looking for another doc.

NOW, not to be all doom and gloom, the good news is . . . all of my guitars are light!

[just strum]

You and I will be emailing each other on our death bed trying to see who gets the last jab in.:

Cool, that means we have a good 60 to 70 years to take jabs at each other:

[luvmyshiner]

Sorry Steve, I didn't mean that to sound the way it came off. I will try a chiropractor before I consider going under the knife. Just like every profession (including ours), I guess there are good ones and bad ones.

[Cal]

I haven't seen a physical therapist yet Cal, but from what I've read, that should be the first thing the doc tries. If he doesn't, I'll be looking for another doc.

Shiner, I don't know what it's like in the US but in the UK most doctors only understand drugs and knives.
Here, if they ever do refer you to a physio he/she is UNLIKELY to be an expert. The one I use I found out about by fortunate accident, and have used his services a couple of times to wonderful effect. He has a tiny clinic... but clients worldwide!

[marnold***]

Whatever you do, don't do nothing. My grandfather, being a stubborn German, did nothing about his back problems for far too long. Eventually he had surgery which turned out well, but by that point the damage was done to his hip so he had to have that replaced. An ounce of prevention . . .