After the disappointment of realizing that the first set of nerve blockers did not work, I am scheduled for another set of nerve blockers to be injected on Monday. Am I thrilled? No.
I did follow my back specialist's suggestion to see a chiropractor that he was recommending. The chiropractor is really nice. He actually listens to me, so that helps. I mean, I have been trying to tell my back specialist that my back pain is only an issue if I stand and/or walk for long periods of time. (Right now, a long period of time is now 5 minutes.)
During the initial visit, the chiropractor returned to the room after looking at my back X-Rays and MRI and tells me I have a very bad back. Well, that was no new news to me. I shook my head and he said, "Did you know you have a degenerative disc?"
At first, I got upset, then I remembered, yes - I knew about it, but that was why I was here. The chiropractor is supposed to help me readjust the discs so that one goes back into place. I was told by the chiro that I needed to get my hips opened up and so forth. He popped both hips, then my lower spine.
It did not hurt, but at the same time, when I stood up, I felt so stiff - worse than before that. I am to the point where I cannot trust my body anymore. It definitely has a mind of its own.
My second visit was yesterday. I explained that I might have had 5 minutes of relief, but that was about it. I sat down and I looked him straight in the eye and said "Look - I am going to tell you this. I have no pain when I sit in a chair or lie down on my bed. If I am not on my feet, I do fine. However, if I am standing or walking, I have excruciating pain in my lower back that radiates down my legs."
It is at that point he tells me that I have a joint issue - When we stand, the discs in our lower back start to "stack", which makes sense. Of course, I have that one degenerative disc in the group, so there is no telling what is causing the issue with the back pain, but it is there.
Nutshell, I get really depressed because my range of activities is being severely constrained based upon my pain. I feel I am hitting rock bottom. I am trying to eat less and work on that area in some small way to help me reduce the weight on my frame. Nothing is going to happen overnight - I know that. I just get frustrated with dealing with the sharp pain while trying to do something that really needs to be done.
Tomorrow, I have another appointment with the chiropractor. Maybe he might be a bit more gentle with my right leg when attempting to "pop" it. We will see.
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