Personal Who else has a Fu#@!*up back?

[Grateful Dude]

Tis the season.....to be crippled again.

I know I'm not alone - who else at TMMAC has to deal with back/spine issues?

FRAT

I've been dealing with this for 9 or 10 years now, and I have two herniated/ruptured discs in my lumbar. I have always been too scared to have any type of surgery, and I have treated the issue with a series of cortisone injections (mostly transforaminal epidurals, but also some caudal) and PT/exercises/stretches. For the first few years I was averaging about 3 injections per year, and then they spread out over longer periods in the following years.

I'll have a flare up, get a shot, and then get back to living life normally.

I had bad flare up two and a half weeks ago, and this may be the worst episode I've ever had. Can barely walk, let alone do things like put my shoes on. I am extremely sleep deprived, I just can't find a way to sit, stand, or lay down that doesn't hurt. My leg is totally numb from my calf down, and I can barely feel any sensation in my foot. I have only been able to sleep for an hour or two at a time. That is almost as bad as the pain, and the cabin fever is in full effect.

I had an injection two weeks ago, and it did help some, but things have been getting worse again the last two days. Due to the intensity of this flare up, I'm getting another MRI this afternoon (haven't had one in a couple years), and a second injection tomorrow. Fuck I hope this one does the trick.

I just needed to vent....thanks for listening TMMAC. Merry fucking Christmas.


Today I am researching stem cell injections and back pain/herniated discs/lumbar issues. Any of you docs know if this an available option? @Splinty @SC MMA MD

 

[sparkuri]

Hi.
My name is sparkuri & I have back problems.
I got my suction cups an hour ago, and am currently taped up from S1 to C4.
Started in 09

 

[Robbie Hart]

I don’t but I think @Leigh has a blue belt with a “fucked back” as it was described to me

 

[Grateful Dude]

Hi.
My name is sparkuri & I have back problems.
I got my suction cups an hour ago, and am currently taped up from S1 to C4.
Started in 09

By S1 to C4 I assume your problems are in your neck and arms? I have a minor herniation in my cervical spine. I've had a couple of trigger point injections for that, but I don't have issues with that often. But on the other side of the coin, my lumbar spine is a fucking mess right now.

What are suction cups and what does that do? Tape? is that kinseo tape or whatever it's called? does that help?

I'm not that smart, so talk slowly please

 

[Grateful Dude]

I don’t but I think @Leigh has a blue belt with a “fucked back” as it was described to me

After about 10 years I should almost be a black belt, right?

 

[Robbie Hart]

After about 10 years I should almost be a black belt, right?

Are you the blue with the fucked back?

 

[Grateful Dude]

Are you the blue with the fucked back?

I haven't made that comment on the forum if that's what you're asking - but I definitely have a fucked back. If Leigh has a blue belt, I should be close to a black belt after almost 10 fucking years with this god damn back of mine.

Apparently this is what happens when you crash mountain bikes for 25 years. Definitely don't bounce back like I used too

 

[sparkuri]

By S1 to C4 I assume your problems are in your neck and arms? I have a minor herniation in my cervical spine. I've had a couple of trigger point injections for that, but I don't have issues with that often. But on the other side of the coin, my lumbar spine is a fucking mess right now.

What are suction cups and what does that do? Tape? is that kinseo tape or whatever it's called? does that help?

I'm not that smart, so talk slowly please

S1 is sacrum, so the initial bulges were L5-S1 & L4-L5.
In 2011 Thorrassic, from T3-T5, T7-T8, & T9-T11.
Recently my neck is an issue, MRI on that in the morning.
Yes, Kinesio tape.
Suction cups are what they put up along your spine to tighten the skin while you stretch the fascial tissue from the muscle & intercostal muscles.

 

[Grateful Dude]

S1 is sacrum, so the initial bulges were L5-S1 & L4-L5.
In 2011 Thorrassic, from T3-T5, T7-T8, & T9-T11.
Recently my neck is an issue, MRI on that in the morning.
Yes, Kinesio tape.
Suction cups are what they put up along your spine to tighten the skin while you stretch the fascial tissue from the muscle & intercostal muscles.

I take it you get some relief from the cups? I've never tried those or the tape. At this point I am so desperate for some relief that I will try just about anything. One of my buddies offered me an "internal massage".....but I didn't take him up on that

And welcome to the "TMMAC Cripple Club", your spine sounds like a mess too. All different injuries, or the same? Or is it degenerative?

 

[sparkuri]

I take it you get some relief from the cups? I've never tried those or the tape. At this point I am so desperate for some relief that I will try just about anything. One of my buddies offered me an "internal massage".....but I didn't take him up on that

And welcome to the "TMMAC Cripple Club", your spine sounds like a mess too. All different injuries, or the same? Or is it degenerative?

It is said to be degenerative, but I do not think that anything is degenerative in this life. I believe that your lifestyle and willpower and mind and spirit in the things that you do and the things you intake into your body can have an impact and that you will always be growing and improving. I'm driving so sorry about the typos.
Several different injuries, but they can all be attributed to working too hard, too fast, etc.
Yes the cupping helps for A-day, but not much longer, the tape absolutely helps. It's like a brace.
So far I've had every therapy known to man Short of acupuncture.

 

[Grateful Dude]

It is said to be degenerative, but I do not think that anything is degenerative in this life. I believe that your lifestyle and willpower and mind and spirit in the things that you do and the things you intake into your body can have an impact and that you will always be growing and improving. I'm driving so sorry about the typos.
Several different injuries, but they can all be attributed to working too hard, too fast, etc.
Yes the cupping helps for A-day, but not much longer, the tape absolutely helps. It's like a brace.
So far I've had every therapy known to man Short of acupuncture.

I appreciate your viewpoint and insight. I'm having a hard time being that positive in my sleep deprived and frustrated state. Desperation for relief is a bitch - I'm cranky, have little patience, and my OCD mind just dwells on this shit. Hoping for some relief soon so I can get back to my jovial self.

My wife has been taking great care of me, and my 4-year old son is "being good so papa will feel better". That's about all that is keeping me going as far as the state of my mental health. Hoping that the MRI today gives my doctor the info he needs to get this treated properly. I already feel like shit because I wasn't able to take my son to the Trail of Lights to see Santa (christmas thing downtown Austin, Tx). Have family coming in for the holiday, so I hope I'm not gimped out the whole time.

Thanks for the info/discussion, bud. Be safe driving, and wish you some relief for your issues.

 

[Rambo John J]

Hi.
My name is sparkuri & I have back problems.
I got my suction cups an hour ago, and am currently taped up from S1 to C4.
Started in 09

was wondering who you were

avatar is disturbing to say the least

 

[sparkuri]

I appreciate your viewpoint and insight. I'm having a hard time being that positive in my sleep deprived and frustrated state. Desperation for relief is a bitch - I'm cranky, have little patience, and my OCD mind just dwells on this shit. Hoping for some relief soon so I can get back to my jovial self.

My wife has been taking great care of me, and my 4-year old son is "being good so papa will feel better". That's about all that is keeping me going as far as the state of my mental health. Hoping that the MRI today gives my doctor the info he needs to get this treated properly. I already feel like shit because I wasn't able to take my son to the Trail of Lights to see Santa (christmas thing downtown Austin, Tx). Have family coming in for the holiday, so I hope I'm not gimped out the whole time.

Thanks for the info/discussion, bud. Be safe driving, and wish you some relief for your issues.

Oxycodone is your friend, if you are wise and disciplined.
There are a million scripts that can help.
Kratom can be helpful.
Most helpful is a regimen that consists of LOTS of water, stretching, exercise...movement, posture, and consistency.
Eastern methods, look into them.
Anti-inflammatory Foods such as incorporating turmeric and so on is very important.

 

[Grateful Dude]

was wondering who you were?

The name changes....I can't keep up. I also didn't know that was him

Sparkuri is a good dude, I've always enjoyed his posting on the forum.

 

[sparkuri]

was wondering who you were

avatar is disturbing to say the least

It's the only time I'll change my sn, it was literally a life-changing movie(Split), indirectly.
I'll be back to myself in a few days...

 

[Grateful Dude]

Oxycodone is your friend, if you are wise and disciplined.

I've got 10mg vicodin, which I don't think is as strong as oxy. When the pain is real bad, it doesn't help much though. I think some nerve pain is not responsive to pain killers. But yes, I understand the discipline and I do not abuse the medicine. I know too many people that have gone too far with pain meds, so I am cognizant of that.

There are a million scripts that can help.

The doc also gave me gabapentin to help me sleep at night. It is supposed to relaxe the nerves or something. I've had some good results with that. I've only taken it twice so far, but it did help me rest a little easier.

Kratom can be helpful.

Never tried this

Most helpful is a regimen that consists of LOTS of water, stretching, exercise...movement, posture, and consistency.

I have been staying super hydrated. Excercise and stretching are pretty limited at this time, but I will get back to that hopefully when this second shot kicks in. I have been staying as active as possible. Even if it hurts to hobble around, it feels better than just sitting around.

Eastern methods, look into them.

Will do

Anti-inflammatory Foods such as incorporating turmeric and so on is very important.

This is part of how my wife has been helping. She's been preparing healthy meals for me. The first few days I was having a hard time eating much, but my appetite has returned. I have also been drinking turmeric tea


Thanks homie!

 

[Ted Williams' head]

Not me I always made sure to lift with my legs

 

[Gay For Longo]

I know exactly what you're going through bud
Last MRI showed 5 bulging/degenerative disks, I have spinal stenosis, severe scitica, developed arthritis all through my lower back, blah blah blah
Pretty much from my mid back down is fucked up
Hasn't been a day since 2009 that I haven't been at least at a 6-7 on a scale to 10 on the pain scale, with it getting worse as I do, anything except lie down lol
Every step I get a shock down each leg all the way to my toes, if I walk on my heel and allow my leg to straighten out, that leg goes numb (this is why I now use a cane, mostly for stairs)

Because I was born with some hip problem that I didn't even know about until all this shit started that makes my legs point outwards, there is no surgery that can even help
I tried injections and they did nothing, steroid and nerve blockers
They wanted to start burning the nerves away and I told them fuck that

Besides that I've been told by the top surgeon around the Toronto area that they only thing that could somewhat help was to loose weight (let myself go since the accident since I can't even exercise besides aqua), so I lost 65lbs in the past 5 months and even that isn't helping with the pain, much easier to move though mostly due to less inflammation from cutting sugar out of my diet


I found the only way to get by it is to find the shit worth caring about in your life and focus on making that as positive as you can and trying not to focus on the bullshit that comes along with back problems
My back has progressively gotten worse since the accident but it's also gotten easier to deal with over the past couple years by accepting it and focusing on the positives

Hope you feel better bud

 

[Grateful Dude]

Last MRI showed 5 bulging/degenerative disks, I have spinal stenosis, severe scitica, developed arthritis all through my lower back, blah blah blah
Pretty much from my mid back down is fucked up
Hasn't been a day since 2009 that I haven't been at least at a 6-7 on a scale to 10 on the pain scale, with it getting worse as I do, anything except lie down lol
Every step I get a shock down each leg all the way to my toes, if I walk on my heel and allow my leg to straighten out, that leg goes numb (this is why I now use a cane, mostly for stairs)

Fuck man...that sounds brutal. I'm sorry that you had an accident that left you in this condition. My situation is episodic, but recurring. I am very familiar with the shock that goes down the leg. I tell ya man, nerve pain is a different animal. I've broken all kinds of bones, destroyed my shoulder (required reconstructive surgery), etc. and nerve pain is worse than anything IMO. It's not permanent for me, but I have been using a cane just to get around the last couple of weeks. Luckily I had that on hand from a previous episode.

I tried injections and they did nothing, steroid and nerve blockers

That's a bummer. I've had pretty good success with the injections thus far. It takes a while for them to kick in and all, but overall they've given me relief and got me back on my feet (literally and figuratively).

so I lost 65lbs in the past 5 months and even that isn't helping with the pain, much easier to move though mostly due to less inflammation from cutting sugar out of my diet

Damn! Good job brotha, that's a lot of weight to lose! I've been keeping my sugar intake down as well to help keep inflammation down, which has been fucking hard since my mom always sends a bunch of goodies for Christmas. Oh well, my son has been enjoying them

I found the only way to get by it is to find the shit worth caring about in your life and focus on making that as positive as you can and trying not to focus on the bullshit that comes along with back problems
My back has progressively gotten worse since the accident but it's also gotten easier to deal with over the past couple years by accepting it and focusing on the positives

This is good advice. Between the constant pain and discomfort, the sleep deprivation, and being super behind at work from missing days - my attitude and demeanor haven't been in the best spot lately. But you're right, those are the right distractions to use to stay in a healthy mental state.

Thanks man, appreciate you sharing all that.

 

[Leigh]

My back has crippled me twice. When it goes, I can't walk, turns into sciatica and I'm fucked for weeks. Had X ray and MRI and my disc is basically gone.

Not had a flare up for a couple of years. I do dorsal raises with weights to strengthen it and just ignore the muscular pain, cos it's my back tightening up to protect an injury that has already healed. If it aches from too much standing, I lay down to relieve it.

I can still wrestle and do backflips, so I guess it's manageable.

 

[member 1013]

I'm not as bad as most you dudes

Bulging disks from s1 to L5 and some compression in neck and lower back

 

[Banchan]

I would get the surgery. Bad back is something I'm so afraid of. Sleep on your back friends.

 

[member 1013]

I'm not as bad as most you dudes

Bulging disks from s1 to L5 and some compression in neck and lower back

I am however much tougher than @Leigh

 

[member 1013]

I would get the surgery. Bad back is something I'm so afraid of. Sleep on your back friends.

Stop doing heavy deadlifts then Vutu

 

[Gay For Longo]

It fucking sucks to see so many of us with back problems but I'm not going to lie, it feels kind of good knowing other people actually understand what you're going through