Back Surgery...

[DON SVO]

Dave's heard this one, but it still boils my blood...

I ended up having a thrash session on one of my cars the day directly after heavy dead lifts at the gym. I remember taking a shower before bed and thinking, "goddamn it hurts to turn/twist to the right." when scrubbing and soaping up. Anyone who's done heavy weight lifting knows what I mean when I initially wrote it off as just "heavy dead lift day and working on the car"...

I went to bed and my left glute and lower back just ACHED, throbbing worse than any muscle pump from lifting I had ever experienced. I woke up that night around 2am, and it HURT. It hurt so bad I would doze off and a sudden stab of pain would jar me right back out of La-La Land. This went on for a couple hours, and it got progressively worse. I was sweating profusely and getting nauseous from how bad it was hurting. At this point it was like the worlds worst powerlifting back muscle pump ever, CONSTANTLY, times ten... For over 5 straight hours.

I finally decided something was wrong and went to the hospital. I drove myself and, considering my car is a manual, realized this was a stupid fucking idea. The third or fourth time pressing the clutch felt like someone was trying to stab my left hip bone with an ice pick... Starting from the rib cage. I coasted through the last two red lights. I vomited in the parking lot from how fucking sick the pain made me.

I checked in and was taken to a room. I couldn't sit up straight without getting light-headed. I finally saw a doctor after about 30 minutes. I explained what happened and where it hurt. He wanted to give me Ibuprofin. I told him I had already taken 8. I wanted an MRI, he thought it was a fucking cramped muscle and gave me a shot of morphine. Morphine did nothing but knock me out for 10 minutes, it hardly touched that pain. I begged him to give me a shot of cortisone and he said it was pointless, even though my lower back on my left side was swollen up so tight you couldn't press on it and get any "give" or do it without making me want to cry.

He finally gave me a low dose script for generic Vico-profen and an anti-nausea drug and released me. No MRI, no x-ray, no muscle relaxers or any quality narco. I went to my primary care doc two days later (after the swelling had subsided enough) and found out I had a torn lat muscle. Worst fucking pain I've ever had in my life, kept me out of the gym or pretty much anything athletic for 10 weeks.

I feel like there are so many opiate junkies out there that someone like me... Clean-cut white guy coming into the ER at 430 am complaining or back pain instantly gets written off. Lots of other legit back pain cases also get written off. It sucks. It sucks when they won't even TRY to diagnose what's wrong. I was so pissed at that doctor for not even humoring the idea of finding out WHY I was in such pain. He would rather just toss me a 30-day for bullshit Vico-profen and push me out the door.

[dmh165638]

About 45 days ago I got my first pain pill prescription (Oxycodone) in 10 years. I drove to Tom Thumb, Walgreens, and CVS to be told they didn't have it (no stores within 20 miles had it either) and would take several days to get it. Finally Albertsons told me they could have it in two days. Every single one of them acted like I was some addict looking for my fix because I was upset about the situation and having to drive all over Lewisville looking for it. The situation sucked. Since then I have taken no more than one pill a day at bed time to just ease the pain for sleep. It really gives me warm fuzzies to know we have doctors out there with attitudes like davbrucas. I really hope I don't walk into an ER with an ailment that has the "9.5/10" or 99% stereotype associated with it so I just automatically get treated that way.

[Captain Crawfish]

I always thought back pain was bullshit, until it happened to me. That shit is no joke. I'm glad I don't have a chronic problem. (Back or Dr. Dre)

I've had pain so bad I couldn't walk. went all the way down my leg. Take care of your lower back once it gets messed up its never the same

[Chas_svo]

I always thought back pain was bullshit, until it happened to me. That shit is no joke. I'm glad I don't have a chronic problem. (Back or Dr. Dre)

Same here. I always thought people just whined about their backs. Back pain sux, and that is after one successful surgery. Don't get me started on the surgeon not wanting to really fix the long term issue, and insurance wanting to preapprove everything. What is the point of med school if a non-medical doofus at an insurance company can override them?

/rant.

[Mike]

I always thought back pain was bullshit, until it happened to me. That shit is no joke. I'm glad I don't have a chronic problem. (Back or Dr. Dre)

Vodka keeps you limber.

[BradM]

I always thought back pain was bullshit, until it happened to me. That shit is no joke. I'm glad I don't have a chronic problem. (Back or Dr. Dre)

[black2002ls]

Regardless whether you want to admit it, Eric, you have been suffering from depression since the divorce. Until you seriously address that, you will continue in the rut you're in.
Start with swimming or cycling 3 times a week. Change your diet. Add in weight training (light weights) and progress from there. You'd be amazed at how much your back pains will improve if you strengthen your core muscles.

I second the cycling comment. I started cycling after my surgery, and it helped me feel better than I had in years. It is low to zero impact and helps to strengthen your core.

[Sean88gt]

I win more than I lose. What's your call on sugar bowl?

Whalabama by 15.

[Captain Crawfish]

Not sure you're the authority to call anyone out on their football pics. If you carry the burden of your shitty picks, you're going to blow your back out.

I win more than I lose. What's your call on sugar bowl?

[Captain Crawfish]

We will see who pays whom later tonight.

Good luck

[davbrucas]

listen to dr Dave. Everything except his football calls lol

We will see who pays whom later tonight.

[Sean88gt]

listen to dr Dave. Everything except his football calls lol

Not sure you're the authority to call anyone out on their football pics. If you carry the burden of your shitty picks, you're going to blow your back out.

[Captain Crawfish]

listen to dr Dave. Everything except his football calls lol

Regardless whether you want to admit it, Eric, you have been suffering from depression since the divorce. Until you seriously address that, you will continue in the rut you're in.
Start with swimming or cycling 3 times a week. Change your diet. Add in weight training (light weights) and progress from there. You'd be amazed at how much your back pains will improve if you strengthen your core muscles.

It might surprise you, but pain aside, I'm in the middle of a Renaissance, and have been since last Spring. The last few months have been especially good. Things really started turning around after the Alaska Trip, and that was in August of 2012, right before I bought the house. I'm way better off now than I was even before getting engaged. Hell, I still even make more money!

[Sean88gt]

I think Eric is suffering from appetite suppression, he will stop at nothing to avoid feeling hungry