Wednesday, May 28, 2008

An update, if you care.

So, here's an update on the back.

It's apparently not from a herniated disk, although no one would give me an x-ray.  I've gotten all sorts of verdicts, like the one mentioned, muscle inflammation, or something with the sciatic nerve. 

To me, it just feels like all of the above.  

What I've learned:

-Back pains are often undiagnosable and, in the end, no one knows jack shit.
-It's expensive to try to find out what the hell is wrong with the spinal area.  
-Everyone has their opinion about the cure.  

Here's what I've been suggested and tried:
- Sulfur pills (I don't think it's working.)
- Massage (Maybe it was the skill of the masseuse, but it didn't work.)
- Daily exercise (Sometimes it makes it worse, sometimes it makes it better.)
- Rest (Like the exercise, it can make it better, and it can make it worse.)
- Mangosteen juice (I don't think it's making any difference, but it's yummy!)
- Less meat and shell fish (I haven't really eaten any thing in this category, but since I really never did, I don't have a basis of comparison.)

The only thing I can say for sure is that staying stationary is the worse.  I had to stand with little movement for 4 straight hours for a work event last week, and that induced the worse pain since I've hurt myself.  The funny thing is, after I walked around for a little bit, it got slightly better.  I have to say though, it hasn't felt the same since.  

The other thing I've learned is that I have to be patient.  Patience used to be a great asset of mine but I've realized that I only have patience for other people.  I have practically none for myself.  

Ah, such is the process of being wiser with experience, I suppose.  All I want to do is whine like a kid, though, which I've successfully done here, so I'll stop and leave you all for now.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My mom suffers from back pain similar to what you talk about. Definitely a difficult thing to diagnose. Some visits to PT, and she does these leg/lower back exercises in bed before getting up in the morning. She said that they have helped her a lot. She recently went on a trip and a man started having back pain. She recommended these stretches/exercises to him and he never again complained of pain for the rest of the trip. If you want I can try to get a list of instructions for you?

As for resting, it IS important to rest the affected area. However, it just means that you don't put pressure on the existing problem right? Maybe instead of going for morning runs, you should go on leisurely morning walks. These might help with the patience you need for yourself too!

See you at the wedding?

Y