This back thing better go away soon!
 

I'm getting friggin' tired of the pain! And I was so crabby at PT yesterday that I felt kind of bad about it. They were good sports and I actually felt a little better about everything at the end but boy, I just wanted to rip someone's head off yesterday. Grrr....

The upper back's much better and so is the neck. That's great. What's not great is the lower back--the lumbar spine area. I'm doing a piriformis stretch and thought that maybe I pushed it too hard because I'm getting this burning/stabbing pain right in my butt cheeks--sort of in the hip joint. It feels like I'm sitting on tennis balls and it's uncomfortable.

By sitting on them, I mean like I've been sitting on them for hours and should get off them. But I can't. It's been getting worse. Plus, I didn't say anything to the PT guy Paul (he's a sweetie) all last week because I thought that it was just a mild muscle strain and I didn't want to whine. So when he asked how I was doing, I just said fine. He called me on it last night at PT.

Last night he asked when I see my doc next and told me to give it a rest to see if it calms down. I have PT tomorrow. He said he didn't think it was muscle pain. Great, that leaves two choices: nerve or disc. And when I said sciatic, he didn't think that was it.

Today I took 600 mg of Ibuprofen 2x. I'm going to take another 600 mg tonight before bed. The pain in the butt has been a bit better today, but still not good. Yesterday it was to the point where I couldn't ignore it--it was just always there and was distracting.

This has been since the end of August. I'm SICK TO DEATH of this at this point. Someone make it go away for me, ok? Just wave your magic wand and take it away.

And you know what else? My feet were numb last night, my whole right leg was numb and my feet were numb today, and my left arm felt weird, and 1/2 my face (right side) felt weird, my lips felt sort of numb and so did about 1/2 my tongue, and I'm just NOT a happy camper. Plus, I'm so bloody tired.........

I couldn't even enjoy a walk with my dog. :mad::(

And last night at PT, I just wanted to cry--and almost did. Dang.

Sorry to hear your'e still having so much back pain, Gazzy! As a fellow back pain sufferer, I can only sympathize. My L5-S1 look like one huge disc, b/c they are bone on bone. Along w/my Osteoporosis and compression fx's, it's a daily thing for my back to hurt.

They put me on Darvocet, but after 2 pills, I knew that was a no-no. Next came Tyl #3 w/codeine. (another no-no) Ibuprofen seems to calm it to a duller ache, but I can't take it due to having one kidney.

Seems like chronic back pain is a no win situation. Guess I haven't been much help to you, but I hope you know that I hope your PT pays off and your pain subsides. It's miserable; how well I know.

Hang in there Gaz and take care. :hug:

Rip someone head off?:eek:

No takers here I am afraid!

That PT better start working soon!

Psst...FG....You are not planning any trips to see scary Chicken Women for awhile are ya. Kinda like your head!:D

That sounds like the nerve that goes from the lower back to the butt cheek, down the back of the leg, i.e. sciatica.

I've only had this on one side, but does the pain start about 1/2 down your butt (close to the hip), moving towards the bottom of the cheek on the inside? Maybe it would be easiest to look up sciatica on google, to see what I mean . . .

When I had TENS, they put those electric stimulators on four strategic parts of the back, hip, buttocks, and back of the knee (if I remember quickly), and that's how I know where that nerve runs. Also, if I pressed against it, I could feel the line where the pain went down my cheek, although couldn't tell where in my lower back it was coming from.

Tell the PT-guy, and try TENS, Gazelle. You will know by the end of the session if that is the cause.

Cherie

Thanks Twiffy...no trips planned for me for awhile...think I'm going to be tied to an IV....

CG should be calling the doc...or taking it easy at PT...or something. I'd be calling the doc and passing along what the PT guy says. But I'm not CG...


(ducking and running from room! I like my head!)

Hey Hoovered one.

I am sorry I know I promised you an email but now I have slacked. :rolleyes:

you are out of whack! Ha! Karacking myself up here :p (wait that's a pretty good imitation who am I????)

Ok lets go over the stretches because some where you are short (I know you are tall) but some muscles are short and its putting extra pressure somewhere

1. Stretch the hamstrings...leg up on chari bed bend over and stretch those puppies. COuld be these are really tight esp if pulling on the piriformis as the hams shorten up. And chair sitting (office work) is notorious for shrotening the hammies.

3. Quad stretch....do in conjunction with ham stretch its the opposite stretcha and sometimes doing one after the other helps. Try bend leg behind you grab at ankle and pull up towards butt

2. Hip flexor stretch lunge position front leg bent back leg straight lean foward.

4. Psoas stretch - lay on back legs out straight grab one leg behind the knee and pull towards chest. Or lay on back and cross one leg over the other and grab behind the knee of the lower leg and pull towards chest. There is also a stretch for the iliopsoas muscle. I'll try to find.

5. Do some Bridges - lay flat and Lift hips to the air and hold for 3 sec and rollback down. Should help realign the pelvis but dont squeeze the butt too hard it could aggravate the piriformis muscle

Another thing is I have often found that when neck and t-spine feel better the lower back is the worst and locked up. It all connected and when one area is loosened up the other area tightens to maintain posture.

6. So based on the above your lats are one of the longest muscles in your back and maybe because you loosened the upper lats the lower lats (connect to lower back) have tightened up to hold you upright.


Try to concentrate on your core and how you are holding your pelvis. Is it jutting back and you are arching back? If so try to bring it back to a netral position.

PT guys needs to work the muscle groups in opposites. If they only work one half of the equation they other half will tighten up.

They could also maybe try some ultrasound on your lower back to help.


Ok these are just my first thoughts I will send you some more stuff in a PM. :hug::hug:

Have they given you any steroids at all to reduce inflammation in the muscles? I forget cause I can't remember my flippin' name anymore. When my hubby hurt his back, they gave him a Medrol pack and that helped more than pain relievers. Even if it is nerve related, the steroids could help.

I also agree with Cherie that the TENS woudl be a good thing to try. Also, when I hurt my shoulder, the PT used some kind of ultrasound heat that helped.

I hope this goes away and they figure it all out soon. Sorry you are dealing with this. You have my number if you want to vent!

Thanks gals. I'm at work so will respond later when I can talk freely!

This is where the sciatic nerve (and branches) follow:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...4/sciatica.jpg

It was the gludious medius, gludious minimus, and pudendal nerve branch areas that caused me the worst problems.

Cherie

ah, Gaz, my heart aches for you!

it's a &%$# being in pain, makes it hard to relate calmly to your loved ones, and hard to get through the day without SCREAMING.

:eek::rolleyes::eek:

wish I had some helpful suggestions...

well, maybe I do...

have you tried visiting a chiropractor yet?

when I had pain in that "area" it turned out that I had been TRYING too hard at PT, and had partially dislocated my hip joint.

the ball end had popped back into the socket, but the surrounding cartilage, tendons and muscles were swollen, sore and tender from the overuse and overextension.

ice packs, first day, then nuked wet dishtowels the next few days, alleviated substantial amounts of my pain.

:grouphug::hug::grouphug:

to cheer you up, check out this HAIRY CHICKEN:

a poultry breeder in Hyderabad successfully crossed a Polish chicken with a Naked Neck, and the results are hysterically funny-looking!

http://syedakbarindia.blogspot.com/2...reeds-new.html

:D:p:D

hope you feel better soon, dearie-oh!

Gaz! :hug:

I'm trying, Gazzy..Feel Better..:hug:

you just described my body! I haven't enjoyed the walk with the dogs either for over a month!

I hope you get better soon! :hug:

How goes it today Gazzy?

I took another 600 mg of ibuprofen last night and lay on the heating pad last night before bed with it right under my butt. Benefit of that was that it also warmed up the bed. Today, it felt a little better. I could sit there and not be distracted. I knew it was there but could manage to block it out. YAY!

PT tonight. I'm thinking that something in there is really irritated and that some of the stretches (Shilly One--thanks for them!) I've been doing were exacerbating things over time.

DM--sucks that you still have the back pain too. :hug:

Cherie--my PT was pretty sure it wasn't sciatica. It only hurt right in the hip joint area and didn't radiate anywhere else. Of course, my stupid leg was numb so I couldn't really tell. :rolleyes: But that IS right where the sciatic nerve travels. I'll see what Paul the PT guy says today and maybe mention the TENS unit. I hated that thing when I had it after my car accident in 94.

Taffy--yeah, I was scary Chicken Girl the other day. But I talked to FG and didn't bite her head off. IF I had, you would have gotten it in the mail, gift wrapped! (Oh... and I would have stuffed some Godiva chocolate in her mouth just to make it palatable. <--- good pun that is)

FG, if it persists like this, I'll call the doc. I looked on my schedule and I don't see him until mid-November. Thought it was next week.

Holly, nope. But I guess the ibuprofen would help too. The physiatrist told me that I could take up to that amount (600 mg. x 3 doses per day), so I will if it seems to help. The PT has stressed ice, but I've been intermittently icing and using heat depending on how I feel. Heat seems to make it feel better the longest time. Ice only works for a very short time.


Cayo, Yeah, that's how I felt--I just wanted to scream (and then I wanted to cry just due to frustration--and I'm not a crier!).

I haven't been to the chiro while I've been in PT. My PT has adjusted things that have been out of place. He told me that my hip and pelvis were in place. Other times he's told me they were out and has put them back in. He's great! Plus, he's adjusted my back and I've felt tons better when he's done that.

The chicken made me laugh. Why did Elton John and Prince pop into my head right away? You gonna try that? They'd be hilarious and really add an element of fun (not that you don't have that already) to your menagerie.

Sandy, thanks. Some days it really just gets to ya.

Sally-- Appreciate the Wizard. At least he wasn't turning himself into toast or a toad! Maybe some of it worked. :)

Yabbit--You too. I can handle a lot of sensory stuff going on at one time but combined with the back pain.... well, I just sort of snapped and it killed my mood. I'm significantly less crabby today. Less pain helps.


I'll let you know how PT goes tonight. Paul told me to just skip the lower back exercises yesterday. I am doing upper and lower back stuff. Neck stuff too. Stretching and strengthing as well. So it's not just a one part and not the other thing. ;)

Sorry for whining. It really does just get to me occasionally. I can go for long periods of time where I don't let it out but this stupid back pain just did me in. Thanks, y'all. :grouphug:

well, sometimes it can be out of place just a SMIDGE, and send shooting pains... and sometimes it's back IN, but the "movement" caused swelling and damage, and that hurts, sometimes a LOT.

I'd love to breed them (Polish/Nekkids and Silkie/Nekkids) but it's just too darn tropical around here... chickens with lots of featheration would be miserable.

my rabbits and guinea pigs are very short-furred varieties, and all the dogs and cats that live around here have short fur, except for one woman with a Cocker Spaniel, and she keeps him shaved for comfort.

now me, I dun wanna be shavin' no hairy chickens, girl!

nuh-uh!

:D

glad to hear your acute agony has abated somewhat.

:hug:

a GOOD day for me is when I'm able to screen out the pain signals.

hard for my loved ones to comprehend, I'm in pain almost *all* the time, to some degree or other, from one thing or another, neck, back, TN, headache, leg spazzes, foot/toe cramps, etc.)

my GOAL in life is to get through my day with GRACE and serenity, and not a fake rictus of a ghoulish ghastly smile.

:D

/signed Que Chic (aka: Kay Chick)

You are so right, Gazzy~ it suckeths big time. I'm going to DeKalb tomorrow for the GTG, but even driving 1/2 hr today, gave me back and hip pain.

I had a steroid injection in my hip in May and it didn't help a bit. I'm kind of like you, at my wit's end. It's either be hopped up on meds or tough it out. I'm on the heating pad right now and my tushy is toasty.

Hope tomorrow is a better day for ya. If you find a magic pill/solution, let me know.
(oh, a little of the ''spirit's'' helped the pain last Sat night while we were camping.) So, I could turn into a lush to dull the pain. :D

My pain was worse at PT today on the right side. He put my hip back in place. It was out just a tad.

Love the description. Completely understand too. I had that goal for months after my car accident. I've just forgotten how to manage that (I'll blame it on MS for now). ;)


Have fun at the GTG. I think that laughter will be very good medicine for you. It always is for me. Makes the pain a bit more bearable. :)

Hey, if you're gonna turn into a lush do you want company? I have a strong family history of lushes and am quite sure I'd be a great one! :p:rolleyes::D

i can commiserate with your pain.
i hate to say it but i have pain like that and i was dx'd with a bad lumbar disc.
i have butt and hip pain.

it's aggravated with bending and i can't walk too much.

i hope yours gets better soon.

Are those other symptoms better now, Gazelle?

I'm sure he knows better then me :)

Cherie

me, I'm parked on a nuked wet dishrag at the moment. (Mi cola es enfermo y cansado, mi cadera lastima también.) *

...due to overexertion of an indelicate nature, last evening....

hope the warm wet towel doesn't make me piddle.

:o

I've seriously contemplated that option, but the expense is beyond my budget, for proper spiritus sancti which causeth no acts of contrition the following morning.

example, a 1 litre bottle of Grey Goose goes for $99 bucks here, Sauza is $62, and Absolut runs $79...

thus, I can't *afford* to be a lush due to my expensive tastes... and I deeply disdain and dislike the cheap and widely available Night Train or Mad Dog 20-20 **

:eek:

plus, I don't *need* the extra agony of a hangover added to the equation.

:winky:;):winky:

* my tailend is sick and tired, my hip hurts too!

** aka: "Bum Wine" suitable only for intoxication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-end_fortified_wine

I'm truly hoping it's not that, and boy I really sympathize with the pain you're dealing with. It really puts a crimp (no pun intended) in everything.

ITold the PT guy the other day that if this is what getting old's like it really sucketh (to borrow Cayo's term).

Somewhat. The face thing is now gone and the right leg is mainly feeling again, but the feet are still numb and the left arm's still feeling funky. And hang it all, I forgot to tell him about that stuff. So it's on the agenda for tonight.

That was the problem when I was talking to the physiatrist--I told him I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the stupid MS numbness and any numbness from a disc problem. Sometimes my feet can be numb for weeks.

Nothing wrong with an educated guess and sharing, Cherie! And I'm sure he's making an educated guess too, so you two are even in my eyes. :)

Lo siento, amiga. Pagar al gaitero es una perra! :D (I confess I had to look up "al gaitero.")

Hey, it would save a trip to the microwave! :D

Ouch! I'm a Tanqueray and Maker's Mark person, but Grey Goose tain't bad. I forget what the stuff is with the clear bottle and the etched trees on it, but that's not bad either. And Bell's is pretty good as well but you can't get that in the States.

Hmm..... If you don't like Night Train or MD 20-20 you could always resort to Thunderbird! LOL Or.... you're resourceful--how about Moonshine. :eek:

um, isn't Grey Goose the one with the etched bottle?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Goose_vodka

:D

Que hates to pay the piper, for imbibing or other erstwhile frolicksomeness.

this gentleman claims there's not much difference:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyl...521_901688.htm

but duly noted, his taste-test panelists didn't over-indulge.

the TRUE ratings should be on whether there's a piper to pay, the next day!

on MY list, Stoli ranks at the bottom, for punishment exacted later.

:(

oh, and sucketh is a Frankism, ie: "sucketh mucheth"

I borrowed it.

:o

Awww, my Gaztastic is not feeling well? :( Poor thang! :hug:

Get better /waving magic fairy wand around frantically!

Actually, it's Belvedere! (I googled "What vodka has trees on the bottle?") ;)

That article was interesting. Somewhat similar to the article on wine--price and taste don't necessarily go together! http://www.newsweek.com/id/129535