Duende action

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The Duende forum has started an action to help Teri with the extraordinary expenses related to her recent accident.
For any info please contact me at: duende1010@gmail.com or antoniaarnoldus@gmail.com.

thanks and regards

for the Duende
Tonnie, Luz, Baja
http://duende.forumotion.com/

If possible, please spread this message to other forums.

You are so very kind Tonnie- some people have contacted me privately because of your efforts- I appreciate so very much- last three weeks have been a challenge to say the least- all the things you take for granted being able to do- like even COOK or throw out trash have been hell to say the least
I had first physical therapy yesterday- oddly, it hurt after. I was surprised by this. Thanks to all the Duende folks and others from forums who have contacted me privately or in PM's
You all in the Susan Fandom are ONE heck of a wonderful group of people
Many hugs
Terijay

terijay wrote:

You are so very kind Tonnie- some people have contacted me privately because of your efforts- I appreciate so very much- last three weeks have been a challenge to say the least- all the things you take for granted being able to do- like even COOK or throw out trash have been hell to say the least
I had first physical therapy yesterday- oddly, it hurt after. I was surprised by this. Thanks to all the Duende folks and others from forums who have contacted me privately or in PM's
You all in the Susan Fandom are ONE heck of a wonderful group of people
Many hugs
Terijay

Teri--I cannot emphasize enough--stick with the PT--even with pain!!! Therapist knows the moves and exercises you must do. It worked for me!

thanks for the advice Fudge- I cannot sit but a minute- been updating my status to other forums
sorry this is a cut paste job - but i cannot sit for long
Maybe physical therapy is not a good thing for my back problems so soon- spasms seem to come more frequently since i did that- but it was last Monday- Jan- i am in the "twilight" zone of being senior-- to young for anything as far as govt services and too old for anything (LOL)
I agree root of problem thing needs to be taken care of-- i do not think this PT is qualified for that....the deep massage thing put my lower back in worse spasms than before--
And the pain reliever ( vidodin) really is crap- works for like two hours MAX- i am trying to wean off, but it is hard- the muscle relaxer- Flexeril works ok- but wears off before the next dose as well- have it twice a day- re-reading Susans book-- i read it fast the first time....reading it slower it makes you understand her a little and why she may have phobias about a LOT of things!!
I cannot sit long- back goes into spasms that are HELL pain wise which is why i have not written
Have PT appt Monday- if not helpful, may check into chiropractor as well.
Hugs to all!

terijay wrote:

Hugs to all!

__________________________________________________

And we return them,-----but very, veeeeeeeeery gently!--

Talk to your doctor about taking one flexeril every two hours or one half every two hours it helps those lulls when it wears off

bajaraquel wrote:

Talk to your doctor about taking one flexeril every two hours or one half every two hours it helps those lulls when it wears off

Mine are pretty strong-- 10 mg--

WAMcKinley wrote:

terijay wrote:

Hugs to all!

__________________________________________________

And we return them,-----but very, veeeeeeeeery gently!--

thanks WAM and wabbit
Better not press my luck- been on computer now a hour. Do not want the dreaded spasms t o return so early in the day

Gentle:

Hope you feel a lot better very soon!!!

thanks you great people! I really am a little annoyed, as I am finding out some things that maybe physical therapy is not what will work best for a compressed disc-- the exercises they have me doing are ones that mean lifiting your legs high etc and stretching your stomach- seems to me that is going to make a hurt disc worse.
Think of it like a wheel of a car- what it is like is your brake pads went out and the brakes are hitting metal to metal to the rotor
No disc cushion- hmmmm wonder if that is why they now call them disk brakes? (LOL)
thanks to many who have been helpful here- you know who you are.
There are those from several other forums who also are helping me- The Susan Fandom is really one great united group of great people.
Hugs
Teri

terijay wrote:

thanks you great people! I really am a little annoyed, as I am finding out some things that maybe physical therapy is not what will work best for a compressed disc-- the exercises they have me doing are ones that mean lifiting your legs high etc and stretching your stomach- seems to me that is going to make a hurt disc worse.
Think of it like a wheel of a car- what it is like is your brake pads went out and the brakes are hitting metal to metal to the rotor
No disc cushion- hmmmm wonder if that is why they now call them disk brakes? (LOL)
thanks to many who have been helpful here- you know who you are.
There are those from several other forums who also are helping me- The Susan Fandom is really one great united group of great people.
Hugs
Teri

All I can say Teri, is the PT really worked for me! They are exercises that work! You may not think so---please do NOT give up on it.

terijay wrote:

thanks you great people! I really am a little annoyed, as I am finding out some things that maybe physical therapy is not what will work best for a compressed disc-- the exercises they have me doing are ones that mean lifiting your legs high etc and stretching your stomach- seems to me that is going to make a hurt disc worse.
Think of it like a wheel of a car- what it is like is your brake pads went out and the brakes are hitting metal to metal to the rotor
No disc cushion- hmmmm wonder if that is why they now call them disk brakes? (LOL)
thanks to many who have been helpful here- you know who you are.
There are those from several other forums who also are helping me- The Susan Fandom is really one great united group of great people.
Hugs
Teri

Teri, I have to agree with what you're saying about PT not being that good for a compressed disc during this acute phase of your injury. I myself developed a lower-back herniated disc 5 years ago & it was very painful. I found that "land" PT during that time seemed only to increase the muscle spasms & pain level. What finally helped me then was warm water PT &, also, just giving the body time to heal itself. I found later that ice packs applied for about 20 minutes at a time helped eliminate muscle spasms that still occurred. Finally, after the acute phase had passed, I discovered that doing very mild yoga stretches helped a whole lot. I'm still doing yoga daily as an ongoing therapy & it's worked great.

Wishing you the best... I have an idea what you're going through, but it will get better, believe me!

I, too, have to agree that PT isn't always the most helpful solution when in an acute phase. In my case, since MRI clearly demonstrated that there was indeed a ruptured (herniated) disc and since it was clear that some pieces of exploded matter had apparently landed right on sensitive nerve root areas, well.... the PT was only causing me more pain and distress rather than alleviating anything. Unless that splattered matter was cleaned up and removed from the nerve root endings, no amount of PT or anything else was going to be able to relieve my pain. In my situation, surgery was the chosen way to go and I have never regretted that. A situation with a bulging (but not herniated) disc is a different scenario, as would be other causes of disc compression, such as frank injury, which is what you've experienced. Now, that said, AFTER I had had surgery and returned to PT, that was a whole different story and I truly did benefit from the PT.

Clix Pix wrote:

I, too, have to agree that PT isn't always the most helpful solution when in an acute phase. In my case, since MRI clearly demonstrated that there was indeed a ruptured (herniated) disc and since it was clear that some pieces of exploded matter had apparently landed right on sensitive nerve root areas, well.... the PT was only causing me more pain and distress rather than alleviating anything. Unless that splattered matter was cleaned up and removed from the nerve root endings, no amount of PT or anything else was going to be able to relieve my pain. In my situation, surgery was the chosen way to go and I have never regretted that. A situation with a bulging (but not herniated) disc is a different scenario, as would be other causes of disc compression, such as frank injury, which is what you've experienced. Now, that said, AFTER I had had surgery and returned to PT, that was a whole different story and I truly did benefit from the PT.

Clix, it sounds like the surgery for your herniated disc was absolutely necessary, given the nature of the rupture you had. Good that you made the right decision to get the problem fixed.

From what I've read, though, most herniated discs do not require surgery & will get better in time. That was the case for me - though I still need to stretch my back every day to keep the flexibility & strength there.

Right..... When I first developed the symptoms, PT was recommended and I did it for a few weeks while also having the MRI and getting a second opinion, etc., interviewing docs, etc., and the consensus was pretty clear that in my situation that the best and most positive solution would be surgery, which wasn't what I wanted to hear, of course. It DID make the difference, though, and I am very glad that I went through with it. Afterward, the PT was very helpful in the healing process and in teaching me various ways to keep my back healthy.

chillin wrote:

terijay wrote:

thanks you great people! I really am a little annoyed, as I am finding out some things that maybe physical therapy is not what will work best for a compressed disc-- the exercises they have me doing are ones that mean lifiting your legs high etc and stretching your stomach- seems to me that is going to make a hurt disc worse.
Think of it like a wheel of a car- what it is like is your brake pads went out and the brakes are hitting metal to metal to the rotor
No disc cushion- hmmmm wonder if that is why they now call them disk brakes? (LOL)
thanks to many who have been helpful here- you know who you are.
There are those from several other forums who also are helping me- The Susan Fandom is really one great united group of great people.
Hugs
Teri

Teri, I have to agree with what you're saying about PT not being that good for a compressed disc during this acute phase of your injury. I myself developed a lower-back herniated disc 5 years ago & it was very painful. I found that "land" PT during that time seemed only to increase the muscle spasms & pain level. What finally helped me then was warm water PT &, also, just giving the body time to heal itself. I found later that ice packs applied for about 20 minutes at a time helped eliminate muscle spasms that still occurred. Finally, after the acute phase had passed, I discovered that doing very mild yoga stretches helped a whole lot. I'm still doing yoga daily as an ongoing therapy & it's worked great.

Wishing you the best... I have an idea what you're going through, but it will get better, believe me!

Thanks Chillin!!! Then why did they not tell me they were not qualified to help de-compress my disc???? My brother's ex wife is a chiropractor in Arizona- I found her email address and told her about my L5/S1 lumbar disc compression and she was kind enough to reply late last night- as i suspected, Physical therapy is NOT treating me to de-compress the discs and the exercises are making it worse-it is doing nothing for the core problem- She advises me to find a chiropractor or wellness center that has a machine called DRX 900- anyone else ever heard of this before? She thinks i may need a lot of treatments, but that the most important thing is to stop the discs from moving together "metal to metal" like brakes do on a car when your brake discs go out

Here is part of what she said:
Teri,
I am sorry to hear of your troubles........
I would stop the medication......if you can...
Definitely stop the physical therapy.....From listening to your history it sounds like you would benefit from spinal decompression therapy and some Chiropractic adjusting of the spine IF, and only if, you are doing the decompression at the same time.
Here are my suggestions....best to find it in a Chiropractor's office and not a clinic designed to do it...the machine is the same..then tell them you have no insurance and would they give you some special price for a series of treatments?? Tell them your sister-in-law is a Chiropractor (out of state) ...that may help>>?? You should need at least 12 treatments...I cannot know without doing an exam on you'

Clix Pix wrote:

Right..... When I first developed the symptoms, PT was recommended and I did it for a few weeks while also having the MRI and getting a second opinion, etc., interviewing docs, etc., and the consensus was pretty clear that in my situation that the best and most positive solution would be surgery, which wasn't what I wanted to hear, of course. It DID make the difference, though, and I am very glad that I went through with it. Afterward, the PT was very helpful in the healing process and in teaching me various ways to keep my back healthy.

yOU WERE LUCKY! My SIL, the chiro also had herniated discs and the advice was surgery but since she knows less than 50% of back surgery is successful ( i have a friend who had it a year ago and she is worse off than before) she did the Spinal Decompression herself, and said that she is now fine- surgery would have been $30K- and I have no insurance, live alone, and do not heal fast, and have to climb stairs to the bedroom!!

Teri-I am not going to give any advice. Every case is different as you and I are learning here. You should probably listen to your sis in law. It is too bad you cannot get to where she is, nothing like family to watch out for your best interests. Just sorry it is taking so long just to find some course of action. Hope you start doing better.

fudgemeister wrote:

Teri-I am not going to give any advice. Every case is different as you and I are learning here. You should probably listen to your sis in law. It is too bad you cannot get to where she is, nothing like family to watch out for your best interests. Just sorry it is taking so long just to find some course of action. Hope you start doing better.

Good advice....

I was fortunate in that (1) the problem was so clearly shown on the MRI that the solution was pretty obvious and (2) that it indeed worked for me! Surgery is indeed not without its risks and hazards, so certainly it wasn't something to be lightly considered, especially when I have some airway issues with anesthesia and am considered a "difficult intubation." I think one reason that I responded so well to the surgery was that aside from the herniation, I was in pretty good physical condition and also was underweight rather than overweight, which made it easier for the surgeon and easier for me later in the healing and recovery process.

Definitely none of us on here can give medical advice and all we can do is offer our own stories and what has or has not worked for each of us. Definitely you do have an unfortunate situation in that you don't have insurance, which will obviously have an impact on your options.

As for the chiropractic and DRX-900, I would do some googling on all of this, get an idea of what the DRX-900 device is and what it is meant to do, what the costs are likely to be for a series of treatments and how long that series of treatments would be needed. I have never been to a chiropractor so cannot offer any thoughts on that one way or the other, or about the techniques and equipment that they use. If you find one or more practices in your area which utilize this machine in their treatments, see if you can talk with some of their current or previous patients to get an idea from the patients' perspectives as to the efficacy of this procedure.

Good luck and I hope you will be able to find some relief soon!

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Please remember this, also the members of the "new" forum:


The Duende forum has started an action to help Teri with the extraordinary expenses related to her recent accident.
For any info please contact me at: duende1010@gmail.com or antoniaarnoldus@gmail.com.

The action is running fine, but is not finished...

thanks and regards

for the Duende
Tonnie, Luz, Baja
http://duende.forumotion.com/

If possible, please spread this message to other forums.

fudgemeister wrote:

Teri-I am not going to give any advice. Every case is different as you and I are learning here. You should probably listen to your sis in law. It is too bad you cannot get to where she is, nothing like family to watch out for your best interests. Just sorry it is taking so long just to find some course of action. Hope you start doing better.

I think so too, but she is actually my EX- sister in law-- (LOL) She and my brother broke up about two years ago- he is now with a MUCH younger woman....so i gotta be careful (LOL)
I just read everyones posts since my last one, and i have allotted 30 min max online including all forums and emails, etc
and i have two minutes left for this afternoon
Yes, everyone has different stories, age differences when their experiences happened, and all of that- PLUS- I believe the medical profession is out to make a buck at all times.
With the exception of the old family doctors we all knew as kids- i recall Dr. Smith who made housecalls.
basically, all information is good, and you need to sift thru it all to make informed choices!
I am not nor have i ever been someone who just goes along with "guesswork" -- my experience with physical therapy when i fractured my upper left shoulder falling off a step stool was NOT this painful this long
Plus, PT was started at least FOUR weeks after the injury and after the pain was essentially gone.
It did a lot of good as it was for range of motion- not working with a body still in pain and spasms-
I WOULD RATHER BE TALKING ABOUT SUSAN BOYLE!!
This too, will all pass.
Love to All!