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please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 2:00:24 PM

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I'm 37 and have been having lower back pain off and on for the last 10 years. My chiropractor took an xray and it showed a curve at the bottom of my spine. I'm prone to pinched nerves which cause painful spasms. Last Friday evening, I spent 4 hours trying to get off the couch to use the restroom. Every time I tried to get up I had spasms so painful they made me scream. So far, I still have my job providing in home care for disabled adults, probably because I haven't yet injured my back at work. It's one of the best jobs I can have right now because I can sit and stand as needed when my back feels uncomfortable instead of having to wait for scheduled breaks. I work at the easiest house, but the executive director made me lie and say I could work at any of the houses or she was going to terminate me (yes I did mention my back problem on my job application). Since then I've proven I can do the job and have a fairly good reputation at the company, but I've never forgotten being forced to lie to keep my job. I'm convinced that if my back goes out at work, they will find a reason to get rid of me. I do have one idea I'm hoping might work. When I pinch a nerve in my lower back it always seems like it happens when I have extreme stiffness in my lower back. The rest of the time I'm fine. It's my hope that taking strong prescription muscle relaxers may significntly reduce how often this happens to me. Anyone with a similar problem know if this would work? I discussed this possibility with my chiropractor, but he can't prescribe meds and told me any doctor I went to would insist on taking his own xrays and doing his own tests, which would cost hundreds of dollars. I work 28 hours a week and don't have health insurance. In this economy I know I'm lucky to even have a job and I can't afford to lose it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

< Message edited by defiantbadgirl -- 6/2/2010 2:06:07 PM >

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 2:12:16 PM

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How much stretching do you do? And how much exercise do you get?

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 2:25:22 PM

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Not enough. I am overweight, especially in my abdominal region, but I was told that sit ups and crunches are unsafe for someone with my problem and might result in injury. If I had some prescription muscle relaxers to take as needed when I feel extreme stiffness, I'd be less afraid of injuring myself. Right now I feel like it's a waiting game. I could take a position with less hours and qualify for medicaid or buy health insurance, but neither will work for another 4 years under Obama's health care plan (medicaid for childless adults not available for 4 yrs, pre-existing condition denial not elminated for 4 yrs).

< Message edited by defiantbadgirl -- 6/2/2010 2:27:58 PM >

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 2:47:09 PM

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You can do far greater damage to yourself by masking your symptoms with muscle relaxers or pain killers....not to mention the effect they have on your mental status. In a job where other people depend upon you for their care that would not be such a great idea.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 3:07:32 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: defiantbadgirl

Not enough. I am overweight, especially in my abdominal region, but I was told that sit ups and crunches are unsafe for someone with my problem and might result in injury.

I didn't ask about sit ups or crunches. Check with your doctor to see if stretching and walking would be safe. Then start doing it. A lot of it. If your doctor clears it, I also suggest a Body Blade for strengthening your core.

I was getting seriously overweight a year and a half ago. I decided that being healthy and strong was more important than eating poorly and sitting on my ass. I used to have a lot more back problems. Now I feel so much better and the bonus, my belly is almost flat again!

< Message edited by LaTigresse -- 6/2/2010 3:09:00 PM >

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Just because you are well educated, articulate, and can use big, fancy words, properly........does not mean you are right!

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 3:10:24 PM

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I realise this sounds kind of new age - but have you thought of taking yoga classes? They increase flexibility and strengthen muscles without excessive stress. At least they do if yu stop when something hurts. Yoga contrary to popular belief is very strenuous.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 3:11:18 PM

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Yoga is awesome!

And you can do it free, at home.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 3:47:34 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: mistoferin

You can do far greater damage to yourself by masking your symptoms with muscle relaxers or pain killers....not to mention the effect they have on your mental status. In a job where other people depend upon you for their care that would not be such a great idea.

Yes narcotic pain killers would negatively affect me at work so I can definitely understand your concern. I'm not trying to mask the symptoms, I'm trying to prevent or at least lessen the freqency of pinched nerves. Pain killers don't kill this type of pain anyway. My idea is that if my muscles in my lower back are relaxed by use of a muscle relaxer only taken as needed, the nerve won't pinch in the first place. As I said it rarely occurs unless my lower back muscles are extremely tight. Prevention is my goal, not masking. If I don't lessen the freqency of pinching nerves in my lower back, I'm afraid I will lose my job. I constantly read about people actively seeking work who have been unemployed for over a year. Losing my job is my biggest fear.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 4:00:08 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LaTigresse

I didn't ask about sit ups or crunches. Check with your doctor to see if stretching and walking would be safe. Then start doing it. A lot of it. If your doctor clears it, I also suggest a Body Blade for strengthening your core.

I was getting seriously overweight a year and a half ago. I decided that being healthy and strong was more important than eating poorly and sitting on my ass. I used to have a lot more back problems. Now I feel so much better and the bonus, my belly is almost flat again!

Great advice thanks. Since my spine has been curved my entire life (without my knowledge) there has to be a reason I didn't have symptoms until I was 27. My weight may be aggravating it. I've just been afraid to exercise much because of fear I will pinch a nerve exercising. I am extremely careful of my back and live in constant fear of the pain a pinched nerve brings. I will definitely take that advice as a long term solution. Unfortunately, I also need a fast solution as well. Any idea how I could get a muscle relaxer without paying hundreds of dollars for tests?

_____________________________

Only in the United States is the health of the people secondary to making money. If this is what "capitalism" is about, I'll take socialism any day of the week.

Collared by MartinSpankalot May 13 2008

(in reply to LaTigresse)

RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 5:05:51 PM

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Living in constant fear of your back is creating actual physical stress upon that same back.

You need to begin doing stretches every single day. If you don't know how to properly stretch (many people don't) then Google images or look on YouTube for videos. Basic stretching exercises will not hurt you, just take care not to force things further than you can readily do. Stretch for 15 minutes every day for 2 weeks, increase to 20 minutes then 30 minutes etc.

Any doctor can write an RX for a muscle relaxer, whether they will write it is up to them. But even a doc-in-a-box can write the basics. However you really should do what you can before resorting to that.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 5:17:34 PM

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Excercise on a stationary bike at a reasonable pace (low impact on the back) and call around to doctors to see who will NOT insist on fresh x-rays and tests; you're chiropractor, god bless him, is in business, and like any businessperson would rather do without too much competition. Doctors are, likewise, in business. When doing business, ask questions and always negotiate.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 5:33:18 PM

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 5:52:06 PM

Rule

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Any medication nearly always has side effects that often require other medication and so on.

Bicycling is a good suggestion. Perhaps swimming also is an option?

I used to get back-pain when eating two packs with four sweet cookies.

I cannot dance, but when I had dancing lessons, I did dance with a couple of women who were completely stiff and cramped instead of supple. These women had in the past suffered from extreme back or neck pain. I suggested one to follow yoga classes. After the first yoga lesson I again danced with her and a miracle had happened: she was completely supple. I asked what had happened and she told me that she had gone to a yoga class as I had suggested and that one of the exercises had been a tapping treatment. So when dancing with another woman with the same condition, I advised her to take a yoga class and to ask for a tapping treatment immediately. She did and she became supple as well. They both needed repeat treatments.

So my suggestion to you is that such tapping treatments might have a preventive function as regards the occurrence of stiffness in your back.

Also: prepare for the future. Indications are that your medical situation may cause you to have to stop this particular kind of work. Get some schooling that will enable you to perform another kind of job.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 6:27:54 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: defiantbadgirl

Great advice thanks. Since my spine has been curved my entire life (without my knowledge) there has to be a reason I didn't have symptoms until I was 27. My weight may be aggravating it. I've just been afraid to exercise much because of fear I will pinch a nerve exercising. I am extremely careful of my back and live in constant fear of the pain a pinched nerve brings. I will definitely take that advice as a long term solution. Unfortunately, I also need a fast solution as well. Any idea how I could get a muscle relaxer without paying hundreds of dollars for tests?

Muscle relaxers have a very similar effect of your mental state as narcotics. I get the feeling you are thinking that you can just pop a pill when you start feeling tension in your back to avoid a pinched nerve. It doesn't really work like that. What has your chiropractor suggested you do? While it is understandable that you can't afford to have additional tests done, it is also possible to provide this other doctor with copies of the x-rays your chiropractor took.

I have a serious back injury and know how you can reach a point where all you want is relief from the pain. There are treatments and while muscle relaxers can be part of the treatment, they are in no way a quick fix.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 6:29:17 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LaTigresse

If your doctor clears it, I also suggest a Body Blade for strengthening your core.

I have never heard of a Body Blade. Where did you get it? What does it do? Probably most importantly, is it expensive?

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 6:46:35 PM

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Is this a different problem with your back than you wrote about in this thread http://www.collarchat.com/m_2342026/mpage_1/tm.htm from 2008. In that thread you said that you had a disc that is prone to tearing. If that is the root of the pain you have now, muscle relaxers will not help a torn disc.

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There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

(in reply to defiantbadgirl)

RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 7:48:27 PM

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In 2008, I didn't know what was causing my reoccuring back pain. The xray was taken and the abnormal curve discovered within the last year. According to my chiropractor, I have 2 weak spots because of the curve. One is a disk in my lower back, the other is on the left side of my spine. The last 3 times my back went out, it has been the weak spot on the left side of my spine that causes a pinched nerve. Before that it was the disk. Muscle relaxers work much better for me than pain killers. The first time my back went out years ago, I was still with my ex. He went out and got me some muscle relaxers. While I still felt some pain in my disk, it was tolerable. All the muscles around my spine relaxed. I was able to get to and from the bathroom easily without screaming in pain and there were no spasms. Last Friday when my back went out, I took some prescription pills that were prescribed to me by my dentist for tooth pain. I took one 325 mg hydrocodone and one 800 mg ibuprofin at the same time. I don't take narcotics unless I absolutely have to because I know they're addictive so my drug tolerance is low. All it did was make me sleep between muscle spsms and didn't kill the pain or stop the muscle spasms. That's how I know I need muscle relaxers. They work. Regular pain pills (even narcotic ones) don't.

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Only in the United States is the health of the people secondary to making money. If this is what "capitalism" is about, I'll take socialism any day of the week.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 8:41:40 PM

atractivenuisane

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I am prone to throwing out my back and suffer occasionally from pinched nerves due to that problem (though not nearly as badly as you). I found the key, as far as my problem goes, is absolutely exercise. I'm not fit by any means, but having at least a bit of core strength provides the extra support my back needs, so even when I do something that stresses it, I just get sore instead of completely knocked out from the pain. Nearly any sort of movement is going to help build core strength, and I recommend yoga, or even pilates.

Additionally, if you haven't seen one, I recommend seeing an orthopedist or a neurologist. While many people swear by chiropractors, a traditional doctor might be able to provide different treatment options that may help you.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 9:28:48 PM

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You seem to have your mind set on the muscle relaxer. Believe me I am not judging you because I know serious back injury and pain. But I have also known that my first answer was not medication for a number of reasons. I kept my back going well on my own and none of my doctors, including a chiropractor could believe it. I maintained it with aerobics/dance, but if I had a pull, injury or spasming muscles, I had to treat them first. I couldn't use a heating ointment like bengay. I used aspercream, hot water and massage. I did my own massage. (If you have no swelling, try a heating pad for a short time and some recommend ice packs, but I could never do them because of my skin.)

I first went for the hot water to get as relaxed as I could, then used the aspercream and kept moving, slowly but constant until I was more relaxed and then I did the dance. I had sprung and tore every muscle and ligament in my back... talk about hell. Then I was injured and curved my spine and eventually five disk herniated and had to be removed. But I had kept my back going for many years without the medications. After a time nothing worked and I had to go to the medications, which I don't have now. Still hot water and aspercream when I dare use it because I am not supposed to, help.

Try everything you can do to help yourself before you go to the easier, but if you do get the medication, do strengthen your back or you are in for a lifetime of pain you haven't even known yet. Yes, it can be worse then what you have now. So take care of it and be serious about it or you will end up like me far faster than I did because I did take care of myself.

You can also lay on your back on the floor and use a box or the sofa, put your tail end up to the box or side of the sofa and bend your knees over the box or sofa. This relieves pressure. Do this a number of times a day.

Eat well, sleep well, learn how to position yourself to ease the stress on your back, try not to stress emotionally, get off your spine... as in sitting, have a decent bed and pillow and massage, massage, massage... then stretch.

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RE: please help afraid of losing job - 6/2/2010 10:40:17 PM

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Read this book:

http://www.healingbackpain.com/

I don't have any back pain but three people who I gave the book read it and all have seen positive results. Two of them ended up canceling surgeries. All were under the "care" of a chiropractor.

Akasha

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