RE: How's our backs?

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I think you need to ask around, find a good chiropractor, and get in

there ASAP. Sounds like something structural is going on, and

chiropractic can often make it better. And no, I'm not married or

related to any DCs, LOL, but I did have one cure my daily headaches... I

had a problem in my neck, and six treatments in two weeks fixed it, with

further monthly treatments keeping the headaches at bay long-term. It

really was worth it. Pain meds, as you know, don't FIX anything, they

just take your mind off the pain. And I honestly think that long-term,

they can make it WORSE. Your body is in pain to tell you something. If

you ignore your body's wisdom, you run the risk of hurting whatever it

is even more.

Z

Open RNY 09/17/01

http://www.ziobro.us

How's our backs?

Hi, all! Pre-WLS, I had a lot of lower back pain. Stenosis (the

narrowing of the nerve channel) and assorted crumblings were discovered.

OK. Now, 14 months later, I'm down 157 and I've become quite a walker.

No back problems.

Labor Day, we go camping, and something clicks in my lower back as I'm

squatting to pound in tent stakes. Twenty-four hours of white-hot pain

in lower back, right hip, right thigh, then it goes away. Five weeks

later, I'm lifting my right leg to get into the tub, something clicks in

my lower back, four days of white-hot pain in lower back, right hip,

right thigh, then it goes away. Last Sunday, fooling around with my

husband, something clicks in my lower back.

White-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, but it has not

gone away, nor has it gotten better. I'm really hurting, and I don't

usually complain. The first two times, I guuted it out, and was able to

move around and used that as my therapy.

OK, doctor says Bextra is best to get rid of the pain in a hurry, and a

muscle relaxer at night. I'm going to take the Bextra for a few days,

only with food.

I'm going to eat only stuff that won't scratch my pouch, like cheese,

cottage cheese, lots of protein drinks, sardines, peanut butter, for the

next week or so. I'm very worried about Bextra because it is a NSAID, it

is in that class of med that will wash away the mucous lining of my

precious pouchie. But I cannot take the pain. So, whaddya think? Am I

doomed? Am I a wuss?

Sharon in D.C.

Open rny 9-17-02

358-201-whatever

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon,

It may be a sciatic nerve or a herniated disc problem if it keeps

cropping up and is effecting you from the back down to the thigh,

especially if the pain is radiating. I know how painful these can be

as I have had 2 disc surgeries on my back. A chiropracter may help,

some swear by them, I think they made my problems worse both times.

Physical therapy can give you wonderful exercises which often helps

the herniated disc recede. Sometimes just time and trying not to

aggravate it and a few days of medications like the bextra can make

it better and in other cases, nothing works.

I wouldn't worry if your taking a short term trial of NSAIDs. I've

been on vioxx and bextra, and while bextra is less prone to causing

ulcers, I prefer vioxx. Ask your doctor about cytotec. Its a drug

taken with the NSAID that protectively coats the pouch to prevent

ulcers. If the pain is bad enough though, the NSAIDs will not be

strong enough. And if the doc is giving you a muscle relaxer then he

may think the problem is muscular vs. sciatic.

Hang in there...pain sucks...

Cindy in Va

lap RNY 2/8/02

> Hi, all! Pre-WLS, I had a lot of lower back pain. Stenosis (the

narrowing of the

> nerve channel) and assorted crumblings were discovered. OK. Now, 14

months

> later, I'm down 157 and I've become quite a walker. No back

problems.

>

> Labor Day, we go camping, and something clicks in my lower back as

I'm squatting

> to pound in tent stakes. Twenty-four hours of white-hot pain in

lower back,

> right hip, right thigh, then it goes away. Five weeks later, I'm

lifting my

> right leg to get into the tub, something clicks in my lower back,

four days of

> white-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, then it goes

away. Last

> Sunday, fooling around with my husband, something clicks in my

lower back.

> White-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, but it has

not gone away,

> nor has it gotten better. I'm really hurting, and I don't usually

complain. The

> first two times, I guuted it out, and was able to move around and

used that as

> my therapy.

>

> OK, doctor says Bextra is best to get rid of the pain in a hurry,

and a muscle

> relaxer at night. I'm going to take the Bextra for a few days, only

with food.

> I'm going to eat only stuff that won't scratch my pouch, like

cheese, cottage

> cheese, lots of protein drinks, sardines, peanut butter, for the

next week or

> so. I'm very worried about Bextra because it is a NSAID, it is in

that class of

> med that will wash away the mucous lining of my precious pouchie.

But I cannot

> take the pain. So, whaddya think? Am I doomed? Am I a wuss?

> Sharon in D.C.

> Open rny 9-17-02

> 358-201-whatever

[Guest guest]

Bextra, while not a good idea for our stomachs, is not a pain medication.

It is used to reduce inflammation and reduces the pain by helping with the

underlying problem, not covering it up. I have a herniated disk in my lower

back and a bulging disk in my neck. When I could no longer handle the pain

and was missing too much work, my doctor suggested Bextra and Flexeril(sp?),

a muscle relaxant.

While I was very concerned about taking the medicines, I have been lucky and

not had any problems so far. I take the usual precautions of eating first

and taking as few doses as possible. If I take my meds when I feel " an

attack " start, I usually only need one or two doses. As I have lost weight,

the time between attacks has increased but they still occur often enough

that I can't just put my life on hold when they occur waiting for the pain

to go away. I am willing to just suffer through the daily low-level pain

and accept that as a necessity but the intense pain of an " attack " is a

whole other level of pain.

I know every time I take the Bextra I am gambling with my pouch but

sometimes, the gamble is worth it. I had the bypass so that I could live

life again. Life without the Bextra is not livable. I try to minimize

problems, pay extra attention to my body after I have used the Bextra, and

be aware that problems can happen suddenly and with no or little warning.

All I can say is that we each have to judge what we can and can't handle and

the amount of risk we are willing to take.

B.

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

While I have not really had any severe back pain in my life (knocking on

wood!), my ex had years of it. My sister deals with it as well. First and

foremost, rest and relax. Don't try doing much until the pain goes away and

even then take it easy. It won't heal properly if you don't. I know the pain

is horrible. You want it to stop. Whether it's muscle or disk, physical

therapy to strengthen your back is important. From what I have seen, the

doctors almost always start by treating for muscle problems. Both I saw had

disk problems in the long run.

I can't help with the medicine since I've never had that. You are not being

a wuss. No one likes to be in pain. I know, I don't.

Feel better soon,

Dawn

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

Have you tried a good chiropractor? A good one is worth his/her weight in

GOLD! I can't tell you how often I used them over going to the general

practitioners to be put on drugs. Not saying drugs are not necessary, in my

cases they were not and two trips in a week to the chiropractor brought the

pain down to a more tolerable level.

Hopefully someone has the answer for you on the pain thing, I don't know the

answer but I'd be afraid of the drugs on " the list " . Having to go through

ulcer troubleshooting would really suck .

Sherra

How's our backs?

> Hi, all! Pre-WLS, I had a lot of lower back pain. Stenosis (the narrowing

of the

> nerve channel) and assorted crumblings were discovered. OK. Now, 14 months

> later, I'm down 157 and I've become quite a walker. No back problems.

>

> Labor Day, we go camping, and something clicks in my lower back as I'm

squatting

> to pound in tent stakes. Twenty-four hours of white-hot pain in lower

back,

> right hip, right thigh, then it goes away. Five weeks later, I'm lifting

my

> right leg to get into the tub, something clicks in my lower back, four

days of

> white-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, then it goes away.

Last

> Sunday, fooling around with my husband, something clicks in my lower back.

> White-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, but it has not gone

away,

> nor has it gotten better. I'm really hurting, and I don't usually

complain. The

> first two times, I guuted it out, and was able to move around and used

that as

> my therapy.

>

> OK, doctor says Bextra is best to get rid of the pain in a hurry, and a

muscle

> relaxer at night. I'm going to take the Bextra for a few days, only with

food.

> I'm going to eat only stuff that won't scratch my pouch, like cheese,

cottage

> cheese, lots of protein drinks, sardines, peanut butter, for the next week

or

> so. I'm very worried about Bextra because it is a NSAID, it is in that

class of

> med that will wash away the mucous lining of my precious pouchie. But I

cannot

> take the pain. So, whaddya think? Am I doomed? Am I a wuss?

> Sharon in D.C.

> Open rny 9-17-02

> 358-201-whatever

>

>

>

>

> Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

>

> Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Well,

I am married to a chiropractor - but I fully agree - you can effectively have

your stenosis controlled with chiropractic adjustments.

Marjie

How's our backs?

Hi, all! Pre-WLS, I had a lot of lower back pain. Stenosis (the

narrowing of the nerve channel) and assorted crumblings were discovered.

OK. Now, 14 months later, I'm down 157 and I've become quite a walker.

No back problems.

Labor Day, we go camping, and something clicks in my lower back as I'm

squatting to pound in tent stakes. Twenty-four hours of white-hot pain

in lower back, right hip, right thigh, then it goes away. Five weeks

later, I'm lifting my right leg to get into the tub, something clicks in

my lower back, four days of white-hot pain in lower back, right hip,

right thigh, then it goes away. Last Sunday, fooling around with my

husband, something clicks in my lower back.

White-hot pain in lower back, right hip, right thigh, but it has not

gone away, nor has it gotten better. I'm really hurting, and I don't

usually complain. The first two times, I guuted it out, and was able to

move around and used that as my therapy.

OK, doctor says Bextra is best to get rid of the pain in a hurry, and a

muscle relaxer at night. I'm going to take the Bextra for a few days,

only with food.

I'm going to eat only stuff that won't scratch my pouch, like cheese,

cottage cheese, lots of protein drinks, sardines, peanut butter, for the

next week or so. I'm very worried about Bextra because it is a NSAID, it

is in that class of med that will wash away the mucous lining of my

precious pouchie. But I cannot take the pain. So, whaddya think? Am I

doomed? Am I a wuss?

Sharon in D.C.

Open rny 9-17-02

358-201-whatever

Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

[Guest guest]

I hadn't thought about a chiropractor but it may be a good option if you

find the right one. The first time I used a chiropractor, the person turned

out to be unethical and incompetent. Since then I have avoided all

chiropractors. However, my husband's family doctor is an Osteopath that

does chiropractic adjustments as well as regular medical treatment. He is

the one that realized there was a physical problem with my neck and

immediately sent me for an MRI which found the bulging disk.

My husband forced me to go to his doctor because I wouldn't take the

medicine my regular doctor prescribed for me, Vicoden and Vioxx, and the

pain wasn't getting better on it's own. I wouldn't take it because I knew

what they could do and I was more scared of the problems the two together

could cause than what I was already dealing with at the time. My primary

care physician had been aware of my pain for over 6 months but assured me it

was just muscle tension even when I stopped being able to wear a bra or

carry an over-the-shoulder purse because of the pain they caused. When I

thought it was muscle pain, I kept thinking I could outlast the pain but in

the end, I couldn't.

His doctor did a single adjustment and I felt immediate relief. Not all the

pain went away but it eased enough that I could move with a manageable

amount of discomfort. His doctor suggested the medicine in addition to the

adjustments with return visits as needed. Unfortunately, my husband's

doctor is too far away to see on a regular basis but there are times when I

will make the drive and pay cash for the relief he can offer. Medicine is

always my last choice and the right chiropractor can be a much better choice

if available.

B.