saucey26
06-28-2009, 08:40 PM
Long time listener, first time caller...
Med History: I'm a 31 year old male who has been extremely active my whole life. When I was 13 I broke my T9 and doctors did not find this out til 2 years later. I developed kyphosis, but it never really slowed me down. It was always just a low aching pain in the middle of my back.
Recently, I've been getting older and I haven't been able to do the things I used to do, physically. Some days my back would ache more than others... This drove me crazy. I was put in an outpatient treatment program for weeks and sat through many psycho babble sessions with my psychologist who put together the fact that I have bi-polar 2.
After trying to do some explaining to my PCP that I really just think there is something wrong with my back and that this would explain my highs and lows. He agreed to put me on some pain relievers (a very low dosage of vicoden). He also said that when I wasn't in too much pain I should excersize more.
I tried:
Lifting - Pulled muscle in my shoulder was completely immobile for a week.
Yoga - Pulled a muscle in my neck after three supervised sessions.
Personal Trainer - Burning in my lower back caused the trainer to get worried and told me to get a referral from dr. to see a certified physical therepist.
So I met with a physical therapist and she told me to do 4 really basic excersises involving stretching, a foam roller, a pillow and a funny looking rubber band with handles. I did these excersises for a week and felt good about it.
Then I felt the most intense pain I had ever felt in my lower back. Numbness and tingling in left leg, from buttocks to foot. It happened on a sunday night the pain didn't go away even with vicodin... I went to the ER got an MRI and they found T9, T10, T11 all compressed and fused and a slipped disc. I was hooked up to morphine and spent the night there. The ER doctor gave me Percocets and told me to take it easy but not for too long???
I got a follow up with my PCP and now have an appointment on thursday with a physiatrist... I really don't mean to offend anyone. But I just feel like I am going crazy. I have lost a lot of friends cause all I think about is back pain and how everything I do to be proactive fails me. I don't like feeling like I am handicapped in any way. I don't like my doctors telling me I can't do the things I love to do anymore. I have turned into such a sour and negative person... I always thought that anyone who took their lives were so selfish and pathetic, but now I am gaining a greater understanding of why people do end there life. Its just not worth dealing with the pain, the explaining, the judgement people give you because you like the way you feel on percocets better than being in pain everyday. And now that MJ is dead we are under more scrutany than ever... I am a burden to my family cause I have to constantly ask for money for medical bills and food. And I'm about to lose my job because I can't pick up a freaking box of soda.....
AH....
Wow, that felt good.
But seriously if anyone has any advice about what to say to the physical medicine doctor that would be great. I just want to be strong again and have my life back.
Sorry for the melt down... Must be my Bipolar 2.
Med History: I'm a 31 year old male who has been extremely active my whole life. When I was 13 I broke my T9 and doctors did not find this out til 2 years later. I developed kyphosis, but it never really slowed me down. It was always just a low aching pain in the middle of my back.
Recently, I've been getting older and I haven't been able to do the things I used to do, physically. Some days my back would ache more than others... This drove me crazy. I was put in an outpatient treatment program for weeks and sat through many psycho babble sessions with my psychologist who put together the fact that I have bi-polar 2.
After trying to do some explaining to my PCP that I really just think there is something wrong with my back and that this would explain my highs and lows. He agreed to put me on some pain relievers (a very low dosage of vicoden). He also said that when I wasn't in too much pain I should excersize more.
I tried:
Lifting - Pulled muscle in my shoulder was completely immobile for a week.
Yoga - Pulled a muscle in my neck after three supervised sessions.
Personal Trainer - Burning in my lower back caused the trainer to get worried and told me to get a referral from dr. to see a certified physical therepist.
So I met with a physical therapist and she told me to do 4 really basic excersises involving stretching, a foam roller, a pillow and a funny looking rubber band with handles. I did these excersises for a week and felt good about it.
Then I felt the most intense pain I had ever felt in my lower back. Numbness and tingling in left leg, from buttocks to foot. It happened on a sunday night the pain didn't go away even with vicodin... I went to the ER got an MRI and they found T9, T10, T11 all compressed and fused and a slipped disc. I was hooked up to morphine and spent the night there. The ER doctor gave me Percocets and told me to take it easy but not for too long???
I got a follow up with my PCP and now have an appointment on thursday with a physiatrist... I really don't mean to offend anyone. But I just feel like I am going crazy. I have lost a lot of friends cause all I think about is back pain and how everything I do to be proactive fails me. I don't like feeling like I am handicapped in any way. I don't like my doctors telling me I can't do the things I love to do anymore. I have turned into such a sour and negative person... I always thought that anyone who took their lives were so selfish and pathetic, but now I am gaining a greater understanding of why people do end there life. Its just not worth dealing with the pain, the explaining, the judgement people give you because you like the way you feel on percocets better than being in pain everyday. And now that MJ is dead we are under more scrutany than ever... I am a burden to my family cause I have to constantly ask for money for medical bills and food. And I'm about to lose my job because I can't pick up a freaking box of soda.....
AH....
Wow, that felt good.
But seriously if anyone has any advice about what to say to the physical medicine doctor that would be great. I just want to be strong again and have my life back.
Sorry for the melt down... Must be my Bipolar 2.