OUR BACK PAIN
Our back pain is just our journey from real people who have lived to tell the story. Hi my name is Dawn Wolf and my husband Bill has lived with back pain for the past 14 years. I'm not a medical expert this is just a no BS of what we have expereinced.Story began when Bill was then just 33 yrs old. He injured his back while roofing and had to be taken off the roof in a boom truck because the muscle spasm was so bad. The ER doctor did an X-Ray and said he "pulled" a muscle. Bill went to the chiropractor and had an adjustment the chiropractor said he had a "slipped disc". He took a few days off work and it wasn't long before he went "down" again. Bill was back to the emergency room the ER doc did an X-Ray and told him to follow up with the orthopedic doctor in a few days. The visit to the orthopedic doctor didn't go very well he asked Bill to bend over and touch his toes. Bill looked at him and said I can't do that, his diagnosis a "pulled ham string". Bill went back to the chiropractor and took a few days off. It was just a little while later again Bill went "down" again and was taken to the ER and this time I said he need's a MRI and if you don't do one I will be your biggest nightmare. Diagnosis three herniated discs. L-3 L-4 L-5. B because Bill didn't experience any leg pain is one reason I believe he didn't receive prompt medical care when this first happened. Bill was then to follow up with a neurologist and was off work for three months with extensive physical therapy. We put a mattress on the floor because Bill couldn't climb the stairs to go to bed. He used a urinal until he gained strength to get up off the floor. During this time off Bill got severely depressed suicide visited his mind frequently. We had two young children and I worked at the hospital as a student of respiratory therapy. It was weeks before workman's compensation checks came in. We were thankful that our family helped us out during this time. The physical therapy Bill received was moist heat to loosen up the muscles then he got ultrasound and massage, then they started to strengthen his back muscles. He had therapy three times a week. And he did get better and was able to return to roofing for another 6 yrs. If you're just beginning this journey this is my humble opinion on what to do. Next. Again let me say not a genius here but hindsight is everything as they say and we made some perhaps critical mistakes during this time.Frist of all let me talk to you about depression. Something Bill didn't talk to his doctor about pride maybe? I should have recognized it sooner, remember I said he was suicidal, he didn't know if he would be able to work again, or if we would be living out of a cardboard box and he thought we would be better off without him. Back pain can be debilitating for the whole family. Depression medication is not a failure it can get you through this horrendous time. Talk to your doctor about it, if the meds they give you don't work tries something else. Some of the symptoms include sleeping all the time, not sleeping at all, weight loss, feeling of gloom and doom, anger. I almost lost my husband, because we didn't see it. Secondly you have to get the inflammation down, I can't stress that enough! For the first 24-48 hours ice, ice and more ice gang 20 minutes on 20 off. After that you can alternate heat and ice again 20 minutes on 20 minutes off. Also ask your doctor about a steroid shot or steroid pack. You won't look like Shriek doesn't worry! Another hindsight thought is that I would have made sure he was comfortable, to be honest I can't remember what pain meds he was given during that time, but he was always painful, you have to be able to control the back pain so you can function and participate in therapy. Unfortunately for you there have been "fakers" who have tried to pull a fast one, so some in the medical field are suspicious. Just be honest with your pain on a scale of 1-10. Let me say this too not sure when Bill first hurt his back he should have went to the chiropractor. His physical therapist explained his discs like a water balloon and when you manipulate that it bursts the fluid out of your disc possibly causing more pain and more damage. We have friends that wouldn't go anywhere else but to a chiropractor. You have to weigh all care with caution ask questions and do what is comfortable for your situation. Since his first bout with back pain we have purchased a chair that is like an inversion table but it's a chair. Best investment we have ever made it's the only chair Bill now sits in. I have recently been using it for a back injury (my story later) heck I have even slept in it. This chair takes all the pressure off the lower back. Finally after saying all that let me say if you have just injured your back or have been trying to work through the pain doing a hard labor job please look at doing something anything else. If you're scared of going back to school or changing careers be more scared of doing more damage in the future. A crystal ball is what we needed in "93" to show us that his back would be able to withstand more hard hard work. His back lasted another 6yrs and then it just said sorry Bill I'm done adios, see ya later, bye, bye. I'm sure you don't have a crystal ball either but let me just encourage you to look at different options. Working at home at your own pace, have you thought of working on line doing something, I'll also be covering that aspect. I have told Bill that "if I win the lotto I would love to open up a clinic that would help people with back pain". Some place where people could go to get great physical therapy like he had in the early years. A place where folks could get information on medications. Maybe they need legal counsel. Maybe they just need to talk. Well folks I haven't won the lottery but this is Our Back Pain this is our story and in the following pages you can see what we have tried, what worked what was bunk and junk. What happened in 1998 and beyond? How Our Back Pain became my personnel story and impacted me as a spouse of someone who lives with chronic pain... I hope this site helps you, I hope we can become friends through our sufferings. And how Jeremiah 29:11 hit me like a bolt of lighting one night. Thanks for stopping by and reading our journey.