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What Made You Un-Happy Today ?


The Rover

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ally - of course i knew you were joking - all good :) i tell you, i wouldn't mind that injection RIGHT NOW, my back is really sore. dr said i have not only bulging discs, but also arthritis in the spine. oh, and don't forget the spur on the spine, too ..... :(:(

Just so you know Slave, even after having had back surgery, I will always have a certain amount of chronic pain so just like I did in the years prior to it becoming unbearable, pain management is the key to being able to function . The only difference this time, will be that I will deal with a pain management specialist. That may or may not include mild forms of medication but even if it does, massage therapy, physio therapy, accupuncture and other forms of non drug therapy will definitely be part of my life forever. I'd highly advise you to explore all of those options. Not as a replacement for your meds but as a compliment to them

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STZ,

Yes, it was these types of alternative remedies that I was referring to. If you go to your local health shop and fill up your basket with supplements, you can walk out with a big bill - they are not cheap. It is interesting to hear from you that they haven't made any difference, so anyone else reading this might save their money.

I wonder if deep tissue/sports massage would be beneficial. It would certainly help you relax. I have just remembered that one of my friends has arthritis three quarters of the way up her spine and she gets a TENS machine used on it for pain relief - you know these machines which use an electric current to stimulate the nerves and reduce pain. It would be worthwhile asking your doctor about referral.

Overall, I have to say that I really am so sorry to hear that your case has reached all over. I am sure I read on the forums before that you had had thyroid trouble. I don't know the first thing about medicine, but I am wondering if there is any link between the two conditions.

ally - of course i knew you were joking - all good :) i tell you, i wouldn't mind that injection RIGHT NOW, my back is really sore. dr said i have not only bulging discs, but also arthritis in the spine. oh, and don't forget the spur on the spine, too ..... :(:(

kenog - what alternatives are you referring to?

i've tried fish oil, krill oil, glucosamine ... nothing has helped so far :(

Edited by kenog
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Just so you know Slave, even after having had back surgery, I will always have a certain amount of chronic pain so just like I did in the years prior to it becoming unbearable, pain management is the key to being able to function . The only difference this time, will be that I will deal with a pain management specialist. That may or may not include mild forms of medication but even if it does, massage therapy, physio therapy, accupuncture and other forms of non drug therapy will definitely be part of my life forever. I'd highly advise you to explore all of those options. Not as a replacement for your meds but as a compliment to them

hi ally

i know you will have to always manage your condition, and i'm so sorry about that. how is it atm? are you glad you had the surgery? i guess you had no choice though ...

those things you mention - they all cost big bucks. maybe i should look into it though, thanks. :)

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STZ,

Yes, it was these types of alternative remedies that I was referring to. If you go to your local health shop and fill up your basket with supplements, you can walk out with a big bill - they are not cheap. It is interesting to hear from you that they haven't made any difference, so anyone else reading this might save their money.

I wonder if deep tissue/sports massage would be beneficial. It would certainly help you relax. I have just remembered that one of my friends has arthritis three quarters of the way up her spine and she gets a TENS machine used on it for pain relief - you know these machines which use an electric current to stimulate the nerves and reduce pain. It would be worthwhile asking your doctor about referral.

Overall, I have to say that I really am so sorry to hear that your case has reached all over. I am sure I read on the forums before that you had had thyroid trouble. I don't know the first thing about medicine, but I am wondering if there is any link between the two conditions.

hi kenog

while they haven't helped me, they may still help others. you kinda have to try everything, i guess.

i had thyroid cancer 20 years ago, so i had the entire gland and parathyroid glands removed. so far i've been cancer free! but because the thyroid controls metabolism and body temp, i put on a lot of weight after the surgery, and it's been a lifelong struggle to get rid of it. extra weight does not cause arthritis, but it certainly doesn't help, because the extra weight on the joints obviously is not good.

and my body feels the extremes of cold and heat a little more than others ... at night i rug up :freezing: and my hubby and son are barely cool.

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hi kenog

while they haven't helped me, they may still help others. you kinda have to try everything, i guess.

i had thyroid cancer 20 years ago, so i had the entire gland and parathyroid glands removed. so far i've been cancer free! but because the thyroid controls metabolism and body temp, i put on a lot of weight after the surgery, and it's been a lifelong struggle to get rid of it. extra weight does not cause arthritis, but it certainly doesn't help, because the extra weight on the joints obviously is not good.

and my body feels the extremes of cold and heat a little more than others ... at night i rug up :freezing: and my hubby and son are barely cool.

This is why I'm doubling up on my running/swimming and exercising now. Plus, now that my trip is over, it's back to sensible, healthy eating. More fruits and veggies...less french toast and ribs and burgers and pasta.

So far I've been spared the aches and pains of arthritis and knee/back/joints trouble. But I'm already 50...I'm only going to get older. Best start preemptive measures now.

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This is why I'm doubling up on my running/swimming and exercising now. Plus, now that my trip is over, it's back to sensible, healthy eating. More fruits and veggies...less french toast and ribs and burgers and pasta.

So far I've been spared the aches and pains of arthritis and knee/back/joints trouble. But I'm already 50...I'm only going to get older. Best start preemptive measures now.

Yup. Eat less. Move more.

Advice at no extra charge. :)

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Jules, we've talked about our back injuries before and as you know, after many years of various medications, treatments, injections and nasty proceedures, i'm now managing my pain relief with Panadol Osteo and 5mg of prednisone (steroid) daily. Mostly it gives me relief, other times it doesn't.

Be careful with those anti-inflam tablets, they can give you ulcers. Make sure you take them on a full tum, otherwise your stomach will feel like you've drunk paint stripper. I can't take anti-inflams, because it feels like the lining is being stripped off my stomach ...... much like too much Tequilla does to me, in fact thats probably what caused the problem in the first place :rolleyes:

I'm surprised your doctor hasn't put you on steroid medication. It was my miracle cure in a tablet, absolute instant pain relief. Unfortunately it's a very nasty drug, in that yes, it's incredible relief, but it also has horrible side effects, especially with high doses. Even my long term minimum small dosage comes with adverse side effects, but it's the price I pay to be mostly pain free. It took me a long time to wean off those high doses though.

As far as your arthritis, one possible crazy thing I would recommend you try, is to go see an authentic Chinese herbalist doctor. You will be given the most gross, foulest tasting liquid medicine you have had, but these Chinese doctors are truly incredible and their medicine works. I can recommend one for you, but he is in the Darling Harbour/Chinatown area of Sydney (close to where we met up actually).

Phone me if you want to talk about it ..... and get your butt into bed with some heat packs :console:

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it's not that black and white for me :(

While eating a healthy diet is obviously important to one's general health and well being, when a person has a back injury, or arthritis, moving more is not going to help, in fact it makes the pain worse.

I'm sorry if you mistook my meaning...I wasn't blaming Jules for her predicament and I'm fully aware that her recovery involves something more complicated than just exercising more, blah blah blah. Amd Jules, you have my complete sympathy for the pain you're enduring and I can only hope solace is on the way.

What I was saying was that Jules'(and others that I know) predicament was exactly what I want to avoid and I had better start taking my health seriously.

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it's not that black and white for me :(

No, you are absolutely right! But it's still the foundation for a healthy balance. Believe me, I get it. Pain and chronic illness is a huge issue for many people.

Many medications screw with your metabolism among other things.

I didn't mean to project a black and white rubber stamp. I was giving Strider some encouragement.

:)

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While eating a healthy diet is obviously important to one's general health and well being, when a person has a back injury, or arthritis, moving more is not going to help, in fact it makes the pain worse.

Depends.

Degree of injury and the motivation of the patient.

There are different types of arthritis, some are disfiguring and very restricting. And, some medications to treat it can cause more serious health issues, ie, cancer.

I have found very few people who cannot tolerate yoga or Pilates.

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Depends.

Degree of injury and the motivation of the patient.

There are different types of arthritis, some are disfiguring and very restricting. And, some medications to treat it can cause more serious health issues, ie, cancer.

I have found very few people who cannot tolerate yoga or Pilates.

I was talking more about back injury and the subsequent pain that shoots off from the injured discs over the hips and down the legs (kind of like sciatic nerve area).

In my case, I couldn't even stand mild hydro therapy, light massage or heat treatment and it wasn't from lack of motivation, because I tried everything to get rid of the pain. I had cortisoid shots in both my hip joints and also directly into my L4/L5 discs, which didn't help at all and then finally a discogram, which is the equivalent of legal torture (solely designed to inflict pain)

The aches in my muscles, from my hips down to my feet was the same whether I was laying in bed, sitting or walking and the more movement or exercise I did, the worse it became .... and that wasn't even the actual injury, but the nerves and muscles that led off from it.

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I'm sorry if you mistook my meaning...I wasn't blaming Jules for her predicament and I'm fully aware that her recovery involves something more complicated than just exercising more, blah blah blah. Amd Jules, you have my complete sympathy for the pain you're enduring and I can only hope solace is on the way.

What I was saying was that Jules'(and others that I know) predicament was exactly what I want to avoid and I had better start taking my health seriously.

strider, i knew what you meant. it's all good. :)

No, you are absolutely right! But it's still the foundation for a healthy balance. Believe me, I get it. Pain and chronic illness is a huge issue for many people.

Many medications screw with your metabolism among other things.

I didn't mean to project a black and white rubber stamp. I was giving Strider some encouragement.

:)

planted dear, i understood what you were saying. i just meant that because of my thyroid ( or lack of! ), i find it harder than most people to lose weight. what works for most people, cutting back on junk and moving a little more ... it just doesn't work for me. i have tried every diet out there, good and bad and stupid. i get a couple of kilos off after weeks and weeks of trying, and others doing the same would have lost triple what i do. then i get dissheartened and think, stuff it all.

what medications are you talking about causing cancer?

I was talking more about back injury and the subsequent pain that shoots off from the injured discs over the hips and down the legs (kind of like sciatic nerve area).

In my case, I couldn't even stand mild hydro therapy, light massage or heat treatment and it wasn't from lack of motivation, because I tried everything to get rid of the pain. I had cortisoid shots in both my hip joints and also directly into my L4/L5 discs, which didn't help at all and then finally a discogram, which is the equivalent of legal torture (solely designed to inflict pain)

The aches in my muscles, from my hips down to my feet was the same whether I was laying in bed, sitting or walking and the more movement or exercise I did, the worse it became .... and that wasn't even the actual injury, but the nerves and muscles that led off from it.

oh whoopie, you poor thing. you sound like yours was worse than mine, i really feel for you. sounds like we have something similar though, as i just found out i have arthritis in the spine. and i thought i must have had it in the hip, as that's where the pain was, as well as the knee and ankle, but doc says it is caused from the spine problems. today i think the main pain is from the bulging discs - they play up now and again.

i went to bed with the electric blanket on high and lay there for two hours. it was ok, but the knee started paining, so i've gotten up again ....

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Mine is under control now, thanks to the medication i'm on. It's taken a while to get to this place though. I now walk my dog everyday and am quite active in other ways, but i'm still restricted in certain activities. It is frustrating, because I have always been so active and on the go, but I stubbornly refuse to give into it ...... unless i've done something stupid and have actually hurt my back (like digging up the garden .... ooops)

I always found heat packs and the electric blanket a wonderful relief though, even now if i'm particularly achey.

Jules, seriously ...... ask your doctor for a course of Prednisone, or at the very least talk to him about it. If he won't consider it, go to another one and ask his advise.

Don't make me phone you up and yell at you! :smack: ..................... ;)

Love that smacking over the head smiley ... hahaha

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hi ally

i know you will have to always manage your condition, and i'm so sorry about that. how is it atm? are you glad you had the surgery? i guess you had no choice though ...

those things you mention - they all cost big bucks. maybe i should look into it though, thanks. :)

No regrets at all but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. As your friend, I'm just trying to say that what works for me or somebody else, may not work for you but, it's absolutely essential that we make pain management an individual, proactive experience. The way I look at it, dealing with chronic pain is absolutely no different than dealing with any other disease that we may be confronted with. Thing is, we probably wouldn't hesitate to be proactive with those other diseases yet, chronic pain will almost guarantee that our immune systems will eventually breakdown to the point that it makes us prone to other health issues. Listen my friend, I can't speak for you or for anyone else but I will say this, chronic pain can eat you up and spit you out so the way I see it, you may as well flip it the bird and give it as much of an ass kicking as you can along the way :yesnod:

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Julie,

Like others on here, I have had a slipped disc which was quickly followed by sciatica. I went for physio, and the method which physios in the UK use is the Mackenzie Method. It was devised by a New Zealander, so I suspect Aussie physios will be using it too. It got rid of my sciatica in days. It is basically a carefully structured series of back stretches. I have put the Amazon AUS link here for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Own-Back-802-9/dp/0987650408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372327701&sr=8-1&keywords=mackenzie+back+book

I notice Planted has mentioned yoga. Yes, it works a treat and you would only go as far as you are comfortable. So many people with arthritis and back pain benefit with it. I don't go to classes, but I have lessons on cd, so it keeps the cost down. I tried learning Pilates from cds, but that wasn't too successful in that the movements are better taught in a class because they are a bit more precise and subtle than yoga.

As for your weight, in the past I have used supplements of the amino acid l-carnitine. You get them from health food shops. Basically, l-carnitine burns fat. It works big time if you take it in a high enough quantity. However, because of the other medication you are on (specifically any thyroid supplements) I would check with your doctor before using this. The dosage is usually 500mg a day, but I was taking 1g-2g.

I am pleased to hear your employer let you go home. I am not familiar with how supportive Aussie employers are obliged to be. Do Aussies have to pay for medical insurance like the US, or do you have a national health service like us in the UK?

strider, i knew what you meant. it's all good. :)

planted dear, i understood what you were saying. i just meant that because of my thyroid ( or lack of! ), i find it harder than most people to lose weight. what works for most people, cutting back on junk and moving a little more ... it just doesn't work for me. i have tried every diet out there, good and bad and stupid. i get a couple of kilos off after weeks and weeks of trying, and others doing the same would have lost triple what i do. then i get dissheartened and think, stuff it all.

what medications are you talking about causing cancer?

oh whoopie, you poor thing. you sound like yours was worse than mine, i really feel for you. sounds like we have something similar though, as i just found out i have arthritis in the spine. and i thought i must have had it in the hip, as that's where the pain was, as well as the knee and ankle, but doc says it is caused from the spine problems. today i think the main pain is from the bulging discs - they play up now and again.

i went to bed with the electric blanket on high and lay there for two hours. it was ok, but the knee started paining, so i've gotten up again ....

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No regrets at all but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. As your friend, I'm just trying to say that what works for me or somebody else, may not work for you but, it's absolutely essential that we make pain management an individual, proactive experience. The way I look at it, dealing with chronic pain is absolutely no different than dealing with any other disease that we may be confronted with. Thing is, we probably wouldn't hesitate to be proactive with those other diseases yet, chronic pain will almost guarantee that our immune systems will eventually breakdown to the point that it makes us prone to other health issues. Listen my friend, I can't speak for you or for anyone else but I will say this, chronic pain can eat you up and spit you out so the way I see it, you may as well flip it the bird and give it as much of an ass kicking as you can along the way :yesnod:

i hear you, ally.

it's 3.40 am, and i've been tossing and turning since 10.30. got a bit of sleep here and there, but got up to take a pain killer. so tired....

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Julie,

Like others on here, I have had a slipped disc which was quickly followed by sciatica. I went for physio, and the method which physios in the UK use is the Mackenzie Method. It was devised by a New Zealander, so I suspect Aussie physios will be using it too. It got rid of my sciatica in days. It is basically a carefully structured series of back stretches. I have put the Amazon AUS link here for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Own-Back-802-9/dp/0987650408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372327701&sr=8-1&keywords=mackenzie+back+book

I notice Planted has mentioned yoga. Yes, it works a treat and you would only go as far as you are comfortable. So many people with arthritis and back pain benefit with it. I don't go to classes, but I have lessons on cd, so it keeps the cost down. I tried learning Pilates from cds, but that wasn't too successful in that the movements are better taught in a class because they are a bit more precise and subtle than yoga.

As for your weight, in the past I have used supplements of the amino acid l-carnitine. You get them from health food shops. Basically, l-carnitine burns fat. It works big time if you take it in a high enough quantity. However, because of the other medication you are on (specifically any thyroid supplements) I would check with your doctor before using this. The dosage is usually 500mg a day, but I was taking 1g-2g.

I am pleased to hear your employer let you go home. I am not familiar with how supportive Aussie employers are obliged to be. Do Aussies have to pay for medical insurance like the US, or do you have a national health service like us in the UK?

hi kenog

i think a slipped disc is slightly different than a bulging disc ? not sure.

we have medicare here, which made the dr fees and ct free, but medications and things like physio are not.

the reviews for that book were really good, might look into that one. thanks so much!

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