Back gone half way through a job!

[AES]

OK, understood, best of luck with it.

Krgds
AES

 

[Graham Orm]

It's happened again, 3/4 of the way through a flooring job. I'm going to float my way through the rest on pain killers today (hopefully) but things aint looking good for my working future. The x-ray results show 'mild' arthritis. If this is mild I'm dreading what's next, after an hour in the chair last night I could barley move. I'm 'only' 54. Gizza (easy) job please!!

 

[riclepp]

Hi Grayorm

I concure with what Aes has said. I have a genetic Back disorder called Ankloysing Spondiltus and at times it hurt's like I can't describe. As a former paramedic and Manual Handling Trainer and what I have learnt through those experencies, it dosen't get any easier.

True the pain relief (hopefully anti inflamatory type pain relief) will mask the pain somewhat, and is a means to an end and not a resolution,

Exercise will certainly help and that can be anything, walking, running, jogging, swimming (if you go the running route run on grass and not pavements or tarmac),

Weight, (No offence meant here), keep an eye on your weight and keep it low (most self-employed person that I know are as skinny as rakes,

Alcohol, if one drinks, keep it in moderation,

Back/hip Pain (whatever the cause) rest for a max of 24hrs and then ease back into work (Difficult for self-employed persons I know), try to adjust what and how you complete the tasks.

I do all of the above as I know how maddening back/hip pain can be! I have been in such a state with the AS, whereby I physically need to lift my legs to turn over in bed and that is with taking pain relief as well. As Aes mentioned if you have been given some physio exercise then do them without fail.

The only others things I have done when the pain is really bad, is to keep the affected area warm by wrapping up as best as I can (difficult for me as I don't like wrapping up or tight restrictive clothing). For example if you had painfull wrist/knuckles the I would wear gloves as much as I could (even though I might have to take them off from time to time to carry out a specific task), possible have a hand warmer to hand (no pun intended).

I do understand your dilemma, as you are in a job you enjoy doing to have the pain getting in the way.

The only thing else I can add, is don't let it rule you, you rule the pain (I don't mind and the pain don't matter type of thing). In time you will get more resilient to it and the pain relief does help. I think that you will also suffer the pain (arthritus) more in cold damp weather than hot weather!

Anyway, I wish you the best for the future and that you don't get many flare ups of the condition.

 

[MickCheese]

I wish you the best of luck.

No fun this getting older. My birth cert says I'm 54 but I still think I'm 25.

Mick

Ditto Mick '59 er's rule. February 27....... You?

You're older than me, 27th March 1959, so I am but a baby

Mick

 

[paulm]

Thanks for your input AES. It's not my back specifically, it's my hip, the problem is a result of a motorcycle accident 30 years ago. I understand that the tablets simply mask the problem, but they've pulled me out of the proverbial this week. I'm having a week off now and expect the results midweek.

Sounds like it may be similar to myself, having had a very bad motorcycle accident as a teenager, suffered some permanent hip damage that got progressively worse over the years as the hip joint continued to wear and get arthritic. Eleven years ago (in my early forties) had a hip resurfacing operation done as mobility was much reduced and pain increasing. The op transformed what I was able to do and has been pain and trouble free since, though no doubt it will wear out/fail sometime. The resurfacing leaves the top of the leg bone (femur?) largely intact so that if the resurfacing does eventually fail you can still revert to a traditional hip replacement later.

Might be something different you are having problems with, but thought I would mention in case it's of any relevance/help.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Racers]

I wish you the best of luck.

No fun this getting older. My birth cert says I'm 54 but I still think I'm 25.

Mick

Ditto Mick '59 er's rule. February 27....... You?

You're older than me, 27th March 1959, so I am but a baby

Mick

March 1st 1959 for me!

Pete

 

[SammyQ]

Graham, sympathies. At 57, going 58, with a severe impact injury to my lumbar region aged 25, when the injury flares up, words are inadequate to describe it. riclepp covered most of the ground, but a tip for coughing and sneezing? Get into a door frame, shoulders/waist one side, hands and feet braced across to the other. The whiplash effect of even a gentle sneeze can leave me locked rigid if I don't take care and a cold is simply torture.

Those of you who think I'm over-egging this, just wait until you cannot put one foot past the other('cos it hurts) you can't stand up ('cos it hurts)... and you're busting for a pee and there are four stairs to negotiate on the landing, plus two corners...then try sneezing...

Sam, who has no faith in ostoepaths, witch doctors and Ibroprofen.

 

[AES]

Graham,

That's really pineapples, very sorry to hear that (I wrote "pineapples" there in the hope that "the system" would work in reverse and come up with a more suitably pungent word!).

From his comments it seems like Riclepp is pretty much like some of the health professionals I've been lucky enough to have been treated by. As he suggests, it's not "only" a matter of medication and exercise, in my experience it's also a lot "in the mind". Not that I would in any way minimise the pain (without being over-dramatic there have been a few times when I've been collapsed on the floor in tears like a child) but if your condition is anything at all like mine then I think you will have to face up to some changes in your regular routine.

When your Dr told you about the arthiritis did he mention anything about tablets? I know very little about this but I believe there is medication which, rather like painkillers, will not solve your problem but will at least slow down the degeneration.

And did your Dr mention exercises? By that I mean stuff shown to you by a professional physiotherapist rather than what we tend to see over here when the so-called Personal Fitness Coach found in the typical chromium plated life style gin palace blathers on? (Although it must be said that if you're into tight Lycra there's a few sights around those places, the consideration of which should manage to divert your attention from your own pain for a while - grin :lol: ).

In other words I suspect that, as above, what you're looking at now is making some changes to your life, e.g. MAKE time for some regular exercise/s of the sort an expert recommends as being relevant to your particular condition; think twice before taking on some of the jobs that today you just accept as "the norm"; perhaps even find a part-time helper/labourer if you can organise that; and think about some different clothing to protect the weak area; etc, etc. Keep a positive attitude and if you're as "lucky" (and strict with yourself) as I've been then you should be able to go on working, albeit in a "slightly modified" way, for as long as you wish/as is necessary.

But if your Dr did not talk about medication and exercise/s at your last visit then I strongly recommend a new appointment to discuss the above asap.

None of the above is meant as an implied criticsm of your present life style Graham but simply as a way to point out that with luck these problems can likely be overcome.

Good luck

AES

 

[Graham Orm]

Many thanks to all of you for your input. AES I've not seen the doc yet, I rang for the x ray results and the receptionist read it to me as I couldn't get to see the GP until next Thursday!
I've just got home (2pm) I was up at 5am with pain and stiffness (leave it!).......The pain killers sorted it and I was able to go to work and complete the flooring, I was dreading letting another customer down. I'm going back Friday to put the scotia round the edge, but they can put there lounge back together now. My hip was starting to get bad again and if I'd done any more I would probably ended up in a mess again. Thankfully the customer understood.

I'll ask the doc where I go from here. he's made an apt for me to get a raise in my shoe. The accident left me with uneven leg lengths which is the main cause I think. I wore a raise for about 5 years after the accident, but it means taking every new pair of shoes to the hospital, parking if you can find a space, leaving them there and going to collect them again a week later. As I say I lasted 5 years and the doc said most people get fed up of it and stop doing it.

I'm resting up for the next 2 days, so no doubt will be on here a lot. Thanks again everyone for your genuine sympathy.

 

[RogerS]

I wish you the best of luck.

No fun this getting older. My birth cert says I'm 54 but I still think I'm 25.

Mick

Ditto Mick '59 er's rule. February 27....... You?

You're older than me, 27th March 1959, so I am but a baby

Mick

1959? You are indeed a baby :wink:

 

[Graham Orm]

1959? You are indeed a baby :wink:

We're all still 25 Roger don't worry :wink:

 

[Graham Orm]

Update for the sake of it. Sleeping in the chair as I can't lie down, struggling to stand for any length of time and have to take stairs one at a time. I finished the floor but still have the scotia to do, at least they can get the room back together. I told them Friday for the scotia but that's not happening, have postponed to Monday. Also have 2 bathrooms to quote on good recommendation, very, very p****d off right now.

 

[RossJarvis]

Update for the sake of it. Sleeping in the chair as I can't lie down, struggling to stand for any length of time and have to take stairs one at a time. I finished the floor but still have the scotia to do, at least they can get the room back together. I told them Friday for the scotia but that's not happening, have postponed to Monday. Also have 2 bathrooms to quote on good recommendation, very, very p****d off right now.

Sorry to hear things are bad and on-going, so I hope things ease up a lot soon.

I'm just wondering how good you feel the medical support is? The reason I ask is that sometimes going private or getting a second opinion can be very beneficial (although there are risks, as with everything). I do everything through the local NHS, which is generally fabulous, particularly my GP. However on a couple of occasions referrals to "specialists" have ended up pointless. I know a few people who've gone "Private" for physiotherapy due to back or shoulder issues and have ended up a lot better than they would have through the NHS. Maybe asking around or researching for local physios might help. It might be a good investment if you can afford it.

regards

Ross

 

[Graham Orm]

Thanks for the input Ross. It's early days with the NHS as yet. I've been for an xray and am going back to see the doc today to discuss it. It was originally scheduled for next Thu but have got in with an alternative doc this morning.

 

[KevM]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Clearly everybody's different and thus their response to different drug and treatment regimens will be different. That said, and speaking purely from my own experiences, I recently had a shoulder problem that was not resolved through rest, drugs and NHS physio. In some desperation, I wasn't sleeping, could barely drive and work was severely affected, I consulted a local private physio on the recommendation of a friend. This physio started on a combination of deep tissue massage (probably not useful for your hip problem) with some self-paced home exercises. After a week or two of this, which saw some mild improvement, she asked me if I wanted to try acupuncture. Now, I'm a card carrying, professional sceptic but I saw a significant decrease in pain, not immediately, but the next day. As I said above everybody's experience is different, there were no double blind trials, but it was worth the punt for me. The costs were not trivial, but nor were they rock star territory. I was charged £35 per session - and I think I had six sessions over ~4 weeks, which for me was money well spent. Another option that works for some people is TENS treatment, you can pick up some pretty inexpensive units these days. Whatever route you take my thoughts are with you, sometimes small modifications to lifestyle can make significant improvements. I was involved in a rather unpleasant multi-car pile up 20 odd years ago and suffered with all sorts of back problems subsequently. One of the most dramatic improvements I made was at the suggestion of a former Swedish policeman - I changed to driving an automatic and almost immediately my lower back pain cleared up. The cumulative hours per week of using a heavy clutch in traffic was exacerbating a small problem to make it a large one.

Good luck, Kev

 

[Graham Orm]

Thanks Kev we do have a Tens machine, I'll get the wife to dig it out later.

 

[Graham Orm]

Update for those interested.
Worst of the pain gone, but still constant. Left leg now in a much weakened state and feels like your arm when you have slept on it. I struggle to get up the stairs so work is out of the question. I have done 2 x half days in the last 2 weeks and it has been a nightmare, just getting in and out of the back of the van with tools & materials is hard work, never mind climbing a step ladder or getting up and down from the floor.
I've been in the workshop but can't stand for long and just get bad tempered and see no point in struggling. It's frustrating as I have all this free time. As you may have seen in another thread I'm an executor in a will, which meant a drive the length of the country and back last week. This was no problem as I have no pain whilst sitting or driving.
I have no back pain at all, it's all in my hip, buttock and thigh. I'm waiting for a date for a scan to 'find the trapped nerve'.

P****d off & Worried in Manchester.

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks guys, full wall of wet plaster to sort! I have a plasterer going on Wed to sort that bit out. Then have to organise the bathroom suite and tiling! Just seen the doc, managed to get in today, he's given me some horse tablet pain killers. Hope they work. X-Ray as well, he thinks it's Arthritis.

Ask to see a surgeon Gray. Your Doc has no option but to give you a letter, to take with you.

My doc thought my knee problems were arthritis. She was right, but wanted to wait until the problem was 'ripe'! In the meantime, I'd have to suffer and ruin my stomach lining with ibuprofen! I told her I preferred to pay for a private consultation and asked would she write me a letter. The whole episode cost me £75.00. After that I was soon on the NHS waiting list, and sixty days later, I was coming out of hospital with a metal knee. (Since had the other one done btw.)

Why suffer if you don't have to?

I surely hope your problem won't need drastic intervention, because hip-surgery is no walk in the park; and it's quite a long 'none-walk'. So I wish you the best of luck. Take care.

 

[MickCheese]

I wish you the best of luck and if it is possible a speedy recovery.

Would I be rubbing salt into the wounds if I asked if you have insurance to cover you whilst off work?

Mick

 

[pip1954]

hi i have a good idea how you feel had back pain for years and ended up with spinal fushion 5 years pain free then it has came back on and off been getting head aches went to doc check me over then sent me for xray turns out got arthritis in right shoulder and elbow i'm lucky i only work part time now (59) 2 days as handy man in hotel (mainly decorating) kills the shoulder doing ceilings (hammer) ,
went for injection at doc's and he said if it gets to bad then can have op his words were they cut you here(on top of arm shoulder joint ) and says they stick a grinder in there :lol: it is a joint where the bones don't join but just touch each other that where they stick the grinder according to doc he seemed to find it funny #-o
hope you get sorted asap all the best mate
pip