By Beauty Damned

Not on your account. Escapist.

I did two rounds of physical therapy for back and shoulder problems (mostly due to a work injury back in 2000). I felt great while I was doing it, but everytime it's over, I slowly go back to feeling like shit again b/c the home exercises just don't cut it. I wish my insurance would cover massage therapy, b/c that helps immensely.

Maria- before you get comfortable with the Flexerol, check into it. I don't have time until late this evening, but that name caught me as one that is being looked into just as vioxx was. Could be harmful. Have you also looked into a Chiropractor? My sister in law spent 6 weeks going to one that finally made her feel normal. No pain and no drugs.

One of my side jobs in college was commercial diving. I screwed my back up so bad I couldn't move. I went to several doctors who prescribed everything from drugs to recommending surgery. The last doctor I went to was at the suggestion of a friend. I went in, he did these odd contortions to me, gave me drugs, and told me to come back the next day. I did, and he repeated the contortions. Within a week I was fine and haven't had serious back pain since.

what kind of doctor was it, Geoffrey?

Pam, excuse me if I sound snippy here, but first of all I'm grumpy, second of all but OF COURSE I'VE GONE TO A CHIROPRACTOR.

In fact, I've gone to one on an average two or three times a week for the past year. I also do frequent physical therapy. The reason I'm exasperated is because people always ask me that and it's kind of a silly question. As if a chiropractor is something that people with back problems don't often think of until someone else suggests it to them. I have terrible back and neck problems. If I hadn't thought yet to go to a chiropractor, I'd have to be the biggest idiot on the planet.

As for Flexeril, believe me Pam, I don't trust shit that comes from a pharmaceutical company and I don't trust the FDA to do their job either, but I'm 26 years old with no history of heart problems or high blood pressure, and I don't intend to continue using it in the long term. Right now, it's a risk I'm willing to take to relieve the pain that I am in and to be able to sleep when I have backpain without taking a narcotic painkiller or sleep aid.

Thanks for your concern though and sorry for the verbal scowl.

Girl, there are massage therapists who work in chiropractic offices who most insurance companies will cover because they are WITHIN a chiropractic setting. I don't know about yours, my insurance company won't pay for me to get a swedish massage across the street at a parlor, but they'll pay for me to have therapeutic massage in my chiropractor's office.

I believe it was just a GP, girl. I went to him for a physical about a year later.

Ah, the back, I'm experiencing that very hell now, physical therapy does help, muscle relaxers help, pain killers help, surgery is opening a can of worms and everyone has advice. Heal & Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble! oxox

As the Queen of the Back Problems, there are a few sage words of advice I can give.

Stay away from Chiropractors until you have a full MRI of your spine. I didn't, and it made my herniated and bulging discs worse. I will never see a Chiropractor again.

Massage therapy is the absolute best way to go. It takes longer, but it's less stress on your discs. Sudden cracking and popping of your spine is NOT good for it, causes stress, even if it causes temporary relief. Massage trains the muscles to hold your spine where it needs to be and your back with naturally pop in place on it's own. Physical therapy and massage therapy together is a really good idea. Ask them about "Back Classes" that teach you how to lift, sit, stand, even sleep, for bettering your back situation.

Also look into acupressure and acupuncture for relief. Many of my friends have had great success.

I took Flexoril for a while, but stopped, for the same reasons as Vioxx. I am actually taking Methocarbamol now, a muscle relaxor that has been on the market for a long long time.

As for me - I am having a breast reduction to alieviate the weight on the front of me - in hopes that it will reduce the stress on my back. If you are large in that way, it might be a consideration, as well.

Feel free to email me and I would be happy to answer any questions as to the experiences I have had with back doctors, spine injections, etc.

BTW: Good for you on standing up for yourself on your blog. I am proud of you.

Connie, I've had three MRIs. I have a great chiropractor who knows what she's doing. I do massage therapy, physical therapy and exercise. I have also done acupuncture and found it to be extremely helpful. I've been dealing with this for a long time and have spoken to many good professionals and people who know what they're talking about. I was also raised in a family where we mostly subscribed to natural healing so I'm pretty well informed about what my options are.

I appreciate the concern, but I wasn't really soliciting advice.

Everyone has their own experiences and their own ideas about what works, just as I have mine.

I can relate about the snippy doctor thingy...the OBGYN I had that finally diaganosed me properly gave the worst first impression ever. He'd push down hard and say.."does that hurt"? I looked up and said.."you're kidding me right.." Anyway he was terrific and actually perfomed my surgery. It's nice when the Dr's are nice but if they know what they fuck they're doing they can be a prick all day if they want..haha..

I hope you feel better. I'm just getting over a horrible pregnancy induced backache. I walked liked a hunched over 90 year-old for three weeks. It sucks. I used Flexeril for a while last spring when I was stressed out and grinding my teeth. It was the only way I could sleep for a few weeks. It did the trick.

Take care, grumpy. :-)

Wow - no need to jump on my case, was just trying to be of service. I certianly wasn't saying anything negative about you or your treatments. Just trying to help.

I've dealt with back problems my entire life, as I am sure you probably have to. I also work in a hospital and see the results of back treatments. I am relieved you have had the MRI's. Unfortunately, the bad experience I had with my Chiro was repeated by many people I know and seems to be the rule more than the exception. I am glad you have found a really good Chiro.

Wish you well.

You'll have to excuse my edginess today Connie. Patience isn't my strong suit and I'm in a little bit of a funk. I know you were just trying to be helpful. Unfortunately, as Cupie said, everyone has advice (and sometimes it's not advice you need or want). Perhaps next time I'll think twice of mentioning my physical ills, knowing that people have no way of knowing that I've tried everything under the sun to cure the problems. People love to dispense advice. It's a favorite passtime. So I don't blame you for wanting to help, I'm just easily aggravated today. My intention was not to be a bitch, though I'm sure it came off that way. Sorry for that and thank you for your good intentions.

I don't think you should have to stop mentioning your physicial ills, just put a disclaimer like I sometimes do. tell people that just b/c you're publicly displaying your gripes doesn't mean you're looking for advice. sometimes people just have to be told beforehand to avoid this type of snippy confrontation. or, turn the comments off, which is even easier. of course, there are always the types that think that's an invitation to leave a comment on a different entry. those are the ones whose eyeballs I always want to stab out. I tend to think that Connie's not one of those though.

one more thing. no, this isn't advice, so you needn't take it as such if you've already gone this route. I found that my new bed which is very firm with memory foam on top has helped my nighttime discomfort a great deal. before that purchase, I was having terrible "pressure point" pain and could never find a comfortable position in which to lie. my fiancé and I spent a great deal on it though so it's certainly not for everyone's budget (thank jeebus for 1 year of no interest).

Well I told you about that chiroflow pillow didn't I? Or maybe I didn't. Anyway, it has a water pocket in the bottom and a fluffy pillow on top so that it molds to your head when you lay on it. It is so heavenly. My chiro actually gave it to me as a gift and I plan to buy one for my boyfriend because it's not fair for me to get such a great nights rest while he has to sleep on the same old down pillows that provide little head and neck support.

As for the bed, it's true it makes all the difference in the world. I need both a new bed and a new sofa. My current sofa sinks when I sit in it, causing my back to curve ever so uncomfortably, and my bed, well I don't know what the hell's wrong with it because it's relatively firm and only two years old, but I'm in the process of buying a new one anyway because I'm definitely not happy with what I have. Half the time Rob and I camp out in the living room on the Aero mattress because I actually like it better.

hm. I've never heard of that type of pillow. I have a curved memory foam pillow from the same company from which we bought the bed (Select Comfort). it has two heights for side sleepers and back sleepers, but I tend to only use one of them no matter which way I sleep. it has helped a lot of the neck and shoulder pain I used to have.

I've got the best mattress on earth.

What's the name of that pillow, though? I've yet to find a pillow I like.

****Unsolicited advice alert*****

I got major relief on my back by changing my sleeping position. It may only have worked because I'm pregnant but what the heck. Try sleeping on your side with your knees bent, then put a pillow between your knees. It helps take pressure of your joints and re-aligns you a bit. It took a couple of nights to get used to it but within a few days my back felt better.

My doc said that I sit at my computer for too many hours and that screwed up my posture a bit so the sleep adjustment was supposed to help with that.

Back pain is the worst, I'm truly sympathetic. :-)

Geoffrey, it's called Chiroflow. You can find them on the net for like 35 bucks but if you buy them in a store they usually run around $50-$60. Medicflow is basically the same exact thing. Try it. I think you will really love it. Listen to me, I'm a walking fucking infomercial.

Rosemary, it is true about the sleeping position. I am a stomach sleeper and have been told by every doctor I see that it is the worst possible sleep position because it compresses your discs while you sleep. Bad. I still can't help it sometimes, no matter how much I train myself with the side sleeping and the pillow between my knees, I still wake up half the time on my stomach, back aching like hell. it's not easy, but I'm working on weaning myself off the stomach sleeping altogether. Fetal position is best, but I'll work on that once I have the side thing down. Hahaa.

Oh yes, and the computer is the worst culprit of provoking backpain. I sit on one all day at work and then I come home and sit at one some more. It's truly ridiculous.

Being pregnant does wonders for learning how to side sleep!

Hard to sleep on a basketball, ya know?

HAHAHAHAHA! Rose, that just made me laugh out loud. I really did picture how you'd look trying to sleep on your tummy. What a hilarious image. I guess I'll have to wait and see...I always thought of pregnancy as something that would make my back problems worse! But you've now given me a ray of hope. :o)

Did you picture a big blonde teeter-totter? :-)

Precisely. ;o) Damn that's some funny shit to visualize. Do you just laugh your ass off at all the weird things that happen when you're pregnant? I remember my chiropractor (who just went on maternity leave by the way) coming in one morning and as she was helping me stretch she made small talk by mentioning the fact that she wasn't wearing any socks because she could no longer reach her feet and needed her husband to put them on for her, and if he was in a big hurry in the morning she was shit out of luck. It made me laugh, but I'm sure it can be frustrating!

OMG, yeah -I need help with socks. I've already given up on my bikini area but I can still shave the legs, barely. Last time I was preggers, I had my hubby shave them for me because I didn't want to give birth with hairy legs. He'll be tending me soon. All my shoes are slip-ons now because I can't tie them anymore. My son helps me get off the couch and he makes sounds like he's a tow truck. Funny kid. I rolled onto my back once and had to scream for help - my hubby said I looked like a turtle. He made me wait two minutes so he could laugh at me before he helped me up.

It's really fun. :-)

All those things are so minor though, because when the little guy kicks me it is so thrilling to feel that little life, I forget the other stuff. The best part is now when my hubby or my son talk to my belly - the baby reacts with a kick or a punch. Everytime.

It is so incredible. I can't wait for the day that you can experience it. The love you feel for someone that you haven't met, it just can't be described. I truly hope you know what I mean, someday.

Happy Thanksgiving, Maria.

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you Girl!

Holy shit did I eat. I hope everyone else chowed as much as I did.

You know, I really didn't eat as much as I usually do. I just wasn't feelin' Thanksgiving dinner this year. Not that it wasn't good or anything, I just wasn't in a stuff your face mood I guess.

I was lying in bed this morning before falling asleep (I work third shift) and thinking about ways to keep you from rolling over onto your stomach. Have you tried curling up next to a body pillow? I keep the bottom half between my knees to stabilize my spine and hug the top half like I'm "spooning" it or something, to keep my shoulders from getting sore. The only downside is that my fiancé hates how much bed space it takes up. ;)

I do sleep with a pillow between my knees and I hug Jimmy the seal (yes I still sleep with stuffed animals) and that keeps me pretty stable, until I toss Jimmy off the side of the bed and wrench free of the pillow only to find myself wriggling back onto my stomach. Hard habit to break. I definitely want to look into the body pillow though. I don't know...Rob might think I'm trying to erect a barrier and poor Jimmy will be lonely...hahahaa! Thanks for the suggestion, it seems like something that might work for me.

Maria - no problem. I was actually considering not coming back to visit, but a mutual blogger told me you've been in pain, and your response was not really a personal one toward me. So, I understand. MUCH LOVE TO YOU - hope you are feeling better.

Trust me, I understand your pain, living with it myself, and having surgery to try and relieve it. If I can spare someone one less minute of pain because of what I've been through, I would much rather give my advice than not. I hate to see lovely women like us in such pain!

We really need to get a better bed, and thanks for the hat tip about the Chiro pillow. I am sure that would help me a lot. I am going to look for it.

girl - how do you like your Select Comfort? Is it worth the money?

My worst problem is my lower spine locks up, so I can't even move, I am rocking back and forth just to sit up in bed. Imagine the teeter totter - the other way! More like the Rocking Horse! It's not very fun, but looks extremely funny!!

we absolutely love our bed. my fiancé prefers a much softer mattress than I do and we were having a horrible time figuring out how to make both of us comfortable. I still have some back pain when I'm sleeping, but that's just something I think I have to live with. I just the firmness up and down every month or so to see what the best setting is. no bed in the world is going to alleviate all back pain, no matter what the advertisements say. but yes, I do feel like it was worth the money, especially since it has such a long guarantee, much longer than that of conventional spring mattresses. my favorite part of it is the layer of memory foam on top. that stuff rocks. (we got the 7000 model, by the way.)