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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 3 2016, 06:56 PM (63 Views) | |
| brumdog44 | Oct 3 2016, 06:56 PM Post #1 |
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The guy picked last in gym class
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Not really a healthcare topic, just a rant on a couple of medical things. Any fellow back pain sufferers out there? Don't know if anyone else out there has back issues, but I have had issues with my C6/C7 over the past year and a half. Spent from June to September of 2015 with a pinched nerve -- went to a chiropractor for about six weeks and they did deep tissue massage after each manipulation......one of the most painful things I've ever had done. They would be basically pushing HARD right into the pinched nerve....basically felt like there was a constant electrical shock going down my arm. It wasn't working, went to a GP who said it sounded like a pinched nerve. Went to a back specialist, had an MRI, said I had a pinched nerve between C6/C7 and a significant amount of arthritis. Sent me to physical therapy and within two weeks and started to feel better (they told me I had lost 30% of the strength in my left arm at the point when I came) and was actually released from PT early. About six weeks ago it flared up again -- got back into PT quickly this time and thought I would get better quickly because I was on top of it much quicker. Was in so much pain after a few sessions that PT was suspended until after a new MRI was taken. Of course nothing moves quickly with healthcare...even though I was able to get some strings pulled to get into by back specialist quickly, I had to wait to get the MRI scheduled until insurance authorized it (which took a week), then get it scheduled (which couldn't be fit in for three days), and then couldn't get another appointment with the back specialist until three days after that. That's a thirteen day turnaround just to get an MRI done and read. (and no, that's not an Obamacare thing....this kind of shit has been going on with insurance for way too fucking long). Anyway, went to have my MRI today. Don't know if anyone has ever had an MRI, but they sure as hell weren't designed for comfort. If you are talking about the standard MRI, basically they take someone with back and neck issues, make them lay completely flat on their back (which for most people with back and neck issues, is about as uncomfortable of a position as they can be in.......it forces the neck to go backwards, putting additionally pressure on the spine). You are then are pushed into a tube that is barely bigger than you. When I had it done in 2015, the tube was a little bit bigger than the one I was in today....but in that one, after you laid down, the back of your head went into a pit for your head and then snapped a face mask over you to prevent you from moving. I have claustrophobia and that combined with the intense sounds that the machine makes for large chunks of times had me hyperventilating (happens to quite a few people). I told them I could probably do it if they would not put the face mask on....they said they could try, but I couldn't move. I was able to do it without the mask, but it was still very, very tough. The one I had today had a much smaller tube. It literally was about three inches above my chest when I entered. No face mask this time.....instead, they put this heavy metal brace going from my chin to my chest. The table I was on made me lay even flatter than the other one and the pinched nerve was just shooting pain through my arm. Claustrophobia again got the best of me and only made it about four minutes before needed to be taken out. Will get the MRI redone in a week, this time with sedation. I fucking hate the MRI process. I know the newer machines are more open, but what an uncomfortable procedure. |
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| sirbrianwilson | Oct 3 2016, 09:13 PM Post #2 |
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Stemlerite
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i know EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! I am a frequent back pain sufferer...in the exact same location (C6/C7). About three-four times a year I tweak it which causes me to walk around like Ozzy for a good month or so. Then, oddly, it will immediately go away. I got an MRI earlier this year (my first) and couldn't believe how weird it is. Not just the confined space but the super loud (and nausiating) noise. Add the that the fact that it TAKES FOREVER. The one I had took 45 minutes. 45 minutes being stuffed in a tiny tube where there was probably 1 inch of space to spare. They gave me headphones to help with the noise and turned on a local radio station. The freaking thing was so loud I couldn't even hear the radio. Anyway, it's been about 2 months since my last episode which means I'm probably due for another flare up in the next month or so. The cold weather of Fall/Winter doesn't help. I feel your pain, brother. br |
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| brumdog44 | Oct 3 2016, 10:45 PM Post #3 |
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The guy picked last in gym class
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Yeah, cold weather/rain makes it rough. For me, I can take the back pain....it's the accompanying arm pain that kills me. When the pain flares up, from the pain/spasm cycle there are two spots in my left arm that knot up -- one in the middle of my bicep and another a little lower down. The one lower down causes my elbow to hurt and any slight touch of it causes the lower part of my arm, index finer, and thumb to tingle. Currently I have to sleep in a recliner.....I wake up in too much pain if I lie flat to sleep. Even Hana recliner, I get two or three hours at a time max. The first time I wake up at night the pain is intense. I have to get up and walk around a little bit to loosen up and the rest of the night it's a little better. Worse news is I got called for jury duty starting a week from Tuesday. Back Doctor won't write me a note until he gas read the MRI results, which since I have to redo it won't be until after jury duty starts. This is my third time with jury duty...think I've already done,y part. Will do what I have to this time to not be on a jury.......will make it very known that back can't take being in. Box test long and the pain medication won't allow me to concentrate the whole time. |
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| brumdog44 | Oct 3 2016, 10:47 PM Post #4 |
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The guy picked last in gym class
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BTW, forme, the music made it worse as well. It was now the horrible sounds of the machine plus loud music that made me feel that I would not be able to communicate with the tech if I needed pulled out. I have heard that you can bring in your own music to listen to, which is a route I might go.....at least then I can keep track of time. |
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| Mr Gray | Oct 4 2016, 09:27 AM Post #5 |
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Coach
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I'm also a back pain sufferer.....2 years of my right leg/foot tingling and then going numb. Intense paid if I stool still for more than 3 minutes, which was great when I had to work trade shows...etc. Anyway, I did pretty intense physical therapy along with a series of steroid shots for about 6 months and one day....suddenly....the pain was gone. Oddly it wasn't a gradual decrease in pain. Literally, my last steroid shot, I walked out without pain (as I always did, but it usually came back in a day or 2) and it never came back. I stay with my back exercises regularly, and also use an inversion table 3-5 times per week, because I am going to do EVERYTHING in my power to stay on the right side. Only back pain sufferers know what others are going through....it's one of the worst experiences, and completely changes your mood on a daily basis. |
![]() The body knows what fighters don't: how to protect itself. A neck can only twist so far. Twist it just a hair more and the body says, "Hey, I'll take it from here because you obviously don't know what you're doing... Lie down now, rest, and we'll talk about this when you regain your senses." It's called the knockout mechanism. | |
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| brumdog44 | Oct 4 2016, 08:41 PM Post #6 |
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The guy picked last in gym class
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Yeah, for me my mood changes aren't only day to day, but hour to hour or minute to minute. This morning my back was doing pretty well and even with the pinched nerve was able to go a couple hours past when I could take pain medication even though I had been teaching and on my feet most of the day. Only took half the normal dosage then and with icy hot (back pain sufferers -- I will tell you by far the best over the counter ointment that I've found is advanced relief icy hot) and I was really good until the end of school. My son was playing in tennis regional tonight and immediately after school the pain, muscle tightening, and arm/hand tingling came out in full force. At the match, it didn't matter what I did -- sit, stand, etc -- the normal dosage of pain medicine wasn't even touching the pain. Got home four hours later and sitting in a comfy chair and it's a lot better. I really feel for those that have jobs with heavy physical labor who suffer from back pain.....have no idea how they could work. I haven't officially been cleared for doing my back exercises as I haven't had the MRI yet, but am doing a little of them as well (I stop when it gets painful because I don't want to further complicate it if the MRI shows a bigger issue than a pinched nerve). I don't want to have the back and arms to lose too much strength while I'm waiting for results. |
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| brumdog44 | Oct 4 2016, 08:44 PM Post #7 |
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The guy picked last in gym class
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BTW, there is a chance I will be looking at steroid epidural shots when I get the MRI results. They are really hit and miss....some people get a few days relief from a shot, some get a few months. The goal is to get it to improve enough that it allows me to properly exercise my back relatively pain free to help heal it. |
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| Mr Gray | Oct 7 2016, 09:50 AM Post #8 |
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Coach
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yep, but you also get inflammation relief which allows proper bloodflow into the area, which is what lets your body do some of its own healing. |
![]() The body knows what fighters don't: how to protect itself. A neck can only twist so far. Twist it just a hair more and the body says, "Hey, I'll take it from here because you obviously don't know what you're doing... Lie down now, rest, and we'll talk about this when you regain your senses." It's called the knockout mechanism. | |
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