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So, I suffered a savage back injury about 6 weeks ago (compression fracture of a vertabra), and although I'm, uh, back at work and the pain of the fracture has diminished some, my whole back is pretty much in constant pain. I've got barrels of pills I'm unwilling to take unless the pain is unbearable, so I'm wondering if any wisened (or likewise broken) HTers have any suggestions to help get me, uh, back to 100%. Anything. I have great medical coverage.
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Don't be mean,
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Re: Oh, My Back!
I have the name of a guy I really like, recommended by my doctor at Kaiser. He does lomilomi, Hawaiian healer, lives in Waimanalo. And I think you'll like him because he stinks like cigarettes. The number is at work, I'll get it to you tomorrow.
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Re: Oh, My Back!
Oh man...bummers.
I have no medical suggestions other than to try and get as much quality sleep as you can, any way you can. I think that's what I'd save the pills for. From first hand experience I know that lack of quality sleep increases pain and even causes pain. Take care.
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Re: Oh, My Back!
acupuncture. massage therapy.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
thank you both...i'm a firm believer in the power of good vibes...and you're right, tutu, the lack of sleep is a most unfortunate byproduct of the injury...as tempting as it is to load up on the pills to get some sleep, i just lost a dear friend who suffered a similar injury...he died of heart problems, but most of us who consider him a dear friend suspect that synthetic opiates were a contributing factor...i certainly don't want "the big sleep"...plus, i like my beer...my doctor, a severely straight shooter, told me soberly, "yeah, i wouldn't drink when you take them"...the combination of that admonition and my profligate ways is ominous...i suspect a happy medium exists between temperance, physical therapy and carefully moderated pharmaceuticals...send along that doc's number, paula! mahalo!Don't be mean,
try to help.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
. . . . . . . . . . . .Originally posted by jdub
dude, i strongly recommend that you take very good care of your back/health and take every step possible to be informed. this site http://www.spine-health.com/ is pretty good for general information but the forums there are eye opening. just go to this page and spend just 15 minutes reading some of these people's stories: http://messageboard.spine-health.com...QuPwawoTbGC.0@
if that doesn't sober you up, nothing will! those unfortunate people thoroughly know the meaning of suffering. imagine having pain so great and lasting so long (years) that serious pain killers no longer helps and one woman even lost all of her teeth as a side effect! that is some serious stuff. if you continue to read their stories, you'll often hear people saying that they've had back surgery and that they're now in more pain than before the surgery! one person wrote about how it takes her something like an hour or two just to take a shower! and the stories go on and on.
it appears that you're condition isn't too bad but don't take anything for granted. see your doc, get some good advice, and follow through with physical therapy, etc.
this site has some good general info...
http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/backpain/
good luck jdub!525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
As mentioned recently in this HT thread on the subject, an EPSOM SALT SOAK works well for muscular back strains. It may also help losen and ease the tension of irritated vertebrae.
It worked for me.sigpic The Tasty IslandComment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
Originally posted by jdub
Rapture. It's the only thing that will guarantee 100%...at least for one thousand years
Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
I stayed out of this thread due to a reason. As everyone knows I suffer from many ailments. I need not repeat them all. For many years I was slave to medications up the yangs yangs. One of them - "Soma." It is used primarily for back pain. 100 per month I was given to pop into my mouth to ease the pain on top of the other meds I was taking. I became a walking pharmacy and zombie.
The past nine months, I have stopped cold turkey on taking Soma's and Ambien. The pain is still there but I rather take the pain and be focused than be half in reality. I'm already mentally unstable as it is.
Hot baths, massages and walks have done me good. I've notice too much sleep is no good for me. Keeping active and focusing on positive things instead of the pain is beneficial.
Sometimes, I have no choice because my other illness sets in and I have to fight back even harder. I guess what I'm trying to convey is...less medication is better. Try to use massages, therapy, acupuncture, lomilomi, etc. etc.
Good luck and God Bless you.
Auntie Lynn
Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
thank you all for your kind words and well wishes...if i've learned anything, it's that once i get to feeling better, i'll no longer take my health for granted...i'm gonna get fit and stay fit...
mahalo, HTers!Don't be mean,
try to help.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
Acupuncture is good. If you cant stand needles then accupressure. learn the pain points so you can massage yourself in the interm. Sometimes them pills can add to the cause. go on the net and read what each pill does. I have elimated most of the in my life by reading the side effects. sometimes the MD web sites have other suggestions that I discuss with my doctor. remember they dont always know all the new remedies. print it out when you find it. they dont believe you unless it is in black and white.Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
jdub, i was wondering how you're doing these days. i hope your back is feeling much, much better.525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
most kind of you to ask...my back is feeling much, much better in recent days...i'm going to attribute that to the fact that i was able to get a full 4 days of bed rest at Queen's after my appendix ruptured...i didn't actually know it until i went to my doctor 6 days after it ruptured...i figured the pain was a result of my back injury...besides, i'd gotten used to living in agony...Originally posted by shaveice
at any rate, my doctor marveled at the fact that i hadn't yet dropped dead from toxic shock, and checked me into the hospital immediately...4 days, 2, um, violations, 4 bags of IV antibiotics and about 20 percocets and 8 morphine pushes later, i was released...made it to work the next morning and to my gig the following night...turns out i still have my appendix, as it was so badly inflamed that an apendectomy posed a significant risk...i guess i'll go back in for removal in about a month...
anyway, i'm feeling better than i have in months...waking up without excruciating pain has been wildly liberating...i haven't needed pain pills since my release from QMC, and i start physical therapy for my back tomorrow...i'll be back in the lineup, charging the sets at sandy's and embarassing myself on the golf course in no time (that's what we call "positive self talk")...
wow...now that i think about it, the whole ordeal was pretty heavy...yep, it's been a brutal summer so far...
shaveice, i'll regard your concern with gratitude and appreciation...thanks, brah!Don't be mean,
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Re: Oh, My Back!
dude! you're nuts! like your docs, i'm amazed--and very thankful--that you're still alive!!!!!!! man, you sure know how to push your luck!!!!!
man, i can't believe it! you are so lucky you're doing so well!
stay healthy, please!!!!525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?Comment
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Re: Oh, My Back!
Yipe, Jamie! Definitely a summer to remember (no matter how hard you try to forget). Gotta be an album's worth of material in your head, now, at least. Glad you're still with us!Originally posted by jdub
I can imagine those four days of bed rest were strangely blissful. Once I landed in the ER for some stress-related dysfunction or other, and the short two hours I was in there, passed out and hooked up to an IV, afforded me the deepest sleep I'd had in years! Sadly, I was tossed out as soon as I could stand again.
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