Howdy:
I had a doctor's appointment and physical therapy appointment this morning and thanks to all of that I cannot concentrate at work. I've been here for 1.5 hours and haven't got much of anything accomplished. I decided to vent via blogging so maybe I can refocus myself afterwards and not completely waste the afternoon.
I saw a different doctor this morning and not the usual physician's assistant. I was actually happy to see someone different. Long story there...I won't get into it. The new doctor spoke to me for a little bit and based on my symptoms decided that I should start some physical therapy. Not only does he want the PT to help relieve my issues but my insurance requires I give it a go for a few weeks before they will pay for a CT or MRI. They had an opening for PT appointment later in the morning so I took it so I could get the process started pronto. My therapist (Jill) is so nice and was wonderful to work with.
The symptoms that have led me to go to the doctor recently are related to issues with my lower back. It's not a chronic pain. I haven't had pain today (until my back was manipulated during PT) and I had a pain free day yesterday. It seems to be hit or miss. My back issues have been scaring the hell of me to be frank. My back suddenly just gives with no warning. I can be on stairs or on a flat surface. Sometimes the "giving out" is accompanied with severe pain or sometimes it just causes sudden weakness or numbness in my lower extremities. It's really not cool. Not only does it hurt but it's embarrassing because I've fallen down due to it. It's also contributing to my sleep issues because I'll roll over in the middle of the night and trigger that pain and it disrupts my sleeping patterns.
I did an assessment with the physical therapist and got some more information about my body that I don't care for:
-- one of my legs is longer than the other (may be due to my spine or hip displacement)
--my hips are not aligned properly (not sure if they caused back problems or if back problems caused the poor alignment)
--my reflexes on my right side (below the waist) are poor or not existent. She whacked away with her little hammer on things and my body wasn't responding.
--my pain response on that same side is poor too. I didn't feel them poking me or sticking me.
--I have horrible spasms and tension in my lower back. She couldn't work through it to find important landmarks. She was stunned that I was living with that discomfort. Well it's not really discomforting to me. I can't tell that I have that tension. She said a typical person would be in constant pain that would prevent proper walking and function. Apparently my threshold for pain is high or I've adapted to the issue.
She realigned my hips and used electrodes to try and ease that tension in my back. Sadly I think I'm back to point A though. It worked for a bit but not long term. I have some simple exercises/stretches to do at home. I've been doing some of them already but I'm hoping the addition of others will prevent my back from giving out. I really need to work on my core muscles so my back is stabilized from the front. I have a horrible imbalance due to my craptastic hamstrings and lack of core strength.
They are trying to expedite the MRI because she does think there are disc issues and she doesn't want physical therapy to irritate anything. I wish insurance wasn't such a bastard. I'm grateful to have it but the politics behind it are frustrating.
I've very down lately and I'm very pissed at myself today. I've had an attitude for years that almost allowed me to condone being overweight because I didn't see it adversely affecting my health. It may not be entirely the fault of my weight status but my weight isn't helping the matter. If I didn't have an extra 100 lbs compressing my lower discs, I'm sure they'd be much happier. I'm feeling very discouraged but my appointment with the physical therapist did provide some hope and motivation. I do have strength to work with...I'm not having to start at the drawing board in regards to preparing my body to fix my back. Even when I lose my weight, I may have constantly reminders of the harm I've caused. My back may improve and get better but it's never going to be 100% again. It's so disappointing. I want to be spry and active until I'm 113 and back issues won't help with that.
Venting complete!
3 comments:
I'm glad you got to the doctor and I'm glad they recommended PT. I feel like the healthcare/insurance world is so messed up. They push and often times pay for chiropractic work but not PT. Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for it but I think PT is generally overlooked and under utilized.
I'm glad they were able to locate some of the alignment/abnormalities that you have. I think it will help in the long run as they try and get you in fro the MRI. Insurance companies suck. It's nice to have insurance but you're right, he politics blow. What's scary is that the general population don't know half of why they blow. Working in the healthcare industry has opened my eyes to a lot of things. It makes me really angry some times.
I know it's easy to be down and hard on yourself but try not to be. You are a great person and have made this one mistake in life. And, on the plus side, a lot of the damage can be erased or at least improved. Don't get too discouraged. You're a wonderful person and deserve respect from those around you, including yourself!
p.s. make sure you comply with your at home exercises...if not I'll have you add you to my list of people who I'm going to call their PT and rat them out :-)
Your doc visit really makes me wish I could find the time and money to get myself checked. I need my back cracked. I wouldn't mind a massage too. Maybe I can pay Ryan.
It's the second time I've heard someone say they found a much better doctor or dentist today. Sometimes it's hard to find the good ones. I've been mostly embarrassed by my knees. I can't bend down, and when I'm on the floor, I have a hard time getting up.
I don't think you should be embarrassed or pissed. I think you should look at this as a step in the process. You have more information, so you can proceed from there. I guess you'll need to know more yet about your discs, but you still know a lot more than you did previously. Good luck.
P.S. Damn the insurance man.
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