(no subject)
So with each passing year I've come closer and closer to my breaking point as far as my back goes (absolutely no pun intended, I swear). I have an extremely high threshold for pain, but I find myself becoming a little less tolerant of the pain with each passing winter. Today, I think I reached that breaking point. Because this week is the first of the season boasting snow and sleet and slush I've been damn near crippled with the back pain. The pain sharpened and increased dramatically at work this morning (I remain convinced that we have the best anti-ergonomic desk chairs money can buy. I swear that they INCREASE the pressure to the lower back rather than relieve it), and I burst into tears because I just became so overwhelmed with the thought of how I'm going to cope with this for another 4 months. Because frankly, I don't think I CAN cope with it for another 4 months. And then another 4-5 months next year. And the year after that.
Long time readers may remember the frustrations I've had with doctors in the past. My original orthopedist was great, I was totally fine within a few months of the original fracture, but after the 2nd one, he seemed to think that aside from major intensive surgery, the only option was physical therapy and narcotics. PT didn't do anything for me except mess up my work schedule and drain my wallet (those copays add up when you're shelling them out 2-3 times a week for four months). So I decided to soldier on and deal with the wintertime gimpiness. Last winter, I realized I couldn't keep on with this pain and severely reduced mobility, and I tried my luck with a coordinated health group, hoping for a second opinion and news of new advances in treating compression fractures in the lumbar region of the spinal cord. All I got there was an infuriating series of visits with a chiropractor (even though I kept asking for an orthopedist) and a recommendation for an MRI (which no one would schedule for me, and I got a lot of runaround when I tried to schedule it for myself). The chiro himself told me flat out that "there was nothing [he] could do for [me]" since it was pain from a fractured bone, but he still wanted to see me "two times a week indefinitely." Awesome. Way to restore my faith in the medical system. Once again, I resolved to just suck it up and deal.
I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or if I'm just completely worn out from the pain and the limping, but today I realized I really can't go on like this for much longer. So I did what I should have done a long time ago and called my primary care physician. And the visit to his office reminded me why I adore him so much. First of all, he's the first doctor to recommend applying heat to my lower back. Now, I've ALWAYS known that heat helps my back, and so I have heating pads and microwavable wraps at home and those ThermaCare wraps for work. All of these heat treatments have always been used in direct violation of my previous doctors' orders. My original orthopedist and the chiropractor both insisted heat was BAD and that I should always ice my back and use cold gel packs. In fact, the chiropractor actually had a freaking subzero wrap tied to my torso for 20 minutes at the second (and last) appointment I ever granted him, even though I expressly told him the cold intensifies the pain. When Dr. T, my PCP, told me to use heat for my back, I wanted to kiss him. That was my signal that I was in good hands. I knew that already since my PCP is the best I've ever had, but this just confirmed it.
He pointed out that I really shouldn't be experiencing this level of pain from an old fracture since even spinal fractures do heal eventually. Yes, it could still be bothersome now and then, but not nearly to the extremes that I've been experiencing. I knew this since I was perfectly pain-free and back to normal levels of activity a few months after the first fracture. He said that there has to be something else going on in my lower back, some side effect from the fracture itself, to cause this kind of pain. His hypothesis is arthritis-- he suspects there could be some calcification on or around the fracture site that's causing this pain (which makes sense given the way the pain changes with the weather). So he scheduled me for an MRI and gave me muscle relaxers in the meantime to reduce the muscle spasms I experience when the weather gets crummy.
At least it feels like some progress can be made. He's actually going to look for other underlying issues so that a treatment plan for the pain can be devised. I'm trying to keep myself from getting my hopes up, but this is the first time in years that a doctor has said, "Hmn, fractures are supposed to heal and the bone is supposed to adapt, let's see what else is going on that could be causing you so much pain" instead of just throwing narcotics and physical therapy exercise sheets at me. Yes, it would suck horribly if it does turn out to be arthritis. But it would be funny in a way: my Grandpa Svendsen had arthritis in his lower spine, and I'd never heard of that until he was diagnosed with it ('cuz, you know, isn't arthritis supposed to be mainly in the joints?). As my mom joked, "Must be a Norwegian thing." Man, no wonder the Vikings were so angry and out maurading all the time.
Long time readers may remember the frustrations I've had with doctors in the past. My original orthopedist was great, I was totally fine within a few months of the original fracture, but after the 2nd one, he seemed to think that aside from major intensive surgery, the only option was physical therapy and narcotics. PT didn't do anything for me except mess up my work schedule and drain my wallet (those copays add up when you're shelling them out 2-3 times a week for four months). So I decided to soldier on and deal with the wintertime gimpiness. Last winter, I realized I couldn't keep on with this pain and severely reduced mobility, and I tried my luck with a coordinated health group, hoping for a second opinion and news of new advances in treating compression fractures in the lumbar region of the spinal cord. All I got there was an infuriating series of visits with a chiropractor (even though I kept asking for an orthopedist) and a recommendation for an MRI (which no one would schedule for me, and I got a lot of runaround when I tried to schedule it for myself). The chiro himself told me flat out that "there was nothing [he] could do for [me]" since it was pain from a fractured bone, but he still wanted to see me "two times a week indefinitely." Awesome. Way to restore my faith in the medical system. Once again, I resolved to just suck it up and deal.
I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or if I'm just completely worn out from the pain and the limping, but today I realized I really can't go on like this for much longer. So I did what I should have done a long time ago and called my primary care physician. And the visit to his office reminded me why I adore him so much. First of all, he's the first doctor to recommend applying heat to my lower back. Now, I've ALWAYS known that heat helps my back, and so I have heating pads and microwavable wraps at home and those ThermaCare wraps for work. All of these heat treatments have always been used in direct violation of my previous doctors' orders. My original orthopedist and the chiropractor both insisted heat was BAD and that I should always ice my back and use cold gel packs. In fact, the chiropractor actually had a freaking subzero wrap tied to my torso for 20 minutes at the second (and last) appointment I ever granted him, even though I expressly told him the cold intensifies the pain. When Dr. T, my PCP, told me to use heat for my back, I wanted to kiss him. That was my signal that I was in good hands. I knew that already since my PCP is the best I've ever had, but this just confirmed it.
He pointed out that I really shouldn't be experiencing this level of pain from an old fracture since even spinal fractures do heal eventually. Yes, it could still be bothersome now and then, but not nearly to the extremes that I've been experiencing. I knew this since I was perfectly pain-free and back to normal levels of activity a few months after the first fracture. He said that there has to be something else going on in my lower back, some side effect from the fracture itself, to cause this kind of pain. His hypothesis is arthritis-- he suspects there could be some calcification on or around the fracture site that's causing this pain (which makes sense given the way the pain changes with the weather). So he scheduled me for an MRI and gave me muscle relaxers in the meantime to reduce the muscle spasms I experience when the weather gets crummy.
At least it feels like some progress can be made. He's actually going to look for other underlying issues so that a treatment plan for the pain can be devised. I'm trying to keep myself from getting my hopes up, but this is the first time in years that a doctor has said, "Hmn, fractures are supposed to heal and the bone is supposed to adapt, let's see what else is going on that could be causing you so much pain" instead of just throwing narcotics and physical therapy exercise sheets at me. Yes, it would suck horribly if it does turn out to be arthritis. But it would be funny in a way: my Grandpa Svendsen had arthritis in his lower spine, and I'd never heard of that until he was diagnosed with it ('cuz, you know, isn't arthritis supposed to be mainly in the joints?). As my mom joked, "Must be a Norwegian thing." Man, no wonder the Vikings were so angry and out maurading all the time.