Back Problems

A Chronology

In June (arrived here in MA June 1) my back bothered me a little bit, I thought at first it was because I was sleeping on the couch. Back stopped bothering me after a few weeks and I didn't think about it again,

July rolls around started bothering me again then it quit.

Auguest I actually had a nite where I couldn't sleep I went upstairs to where Steve was sleeping and sat next to him on the bed and I had to control the urge to slap/punch/hit (any one of those) him I was hurting that much. But in August I also realized that the back pain was stopping after my periods.

In September had another nite where I couldn't sleep until I found a comfortable position (september was when Steve and I moved into our apartment)

October went to the emergency room because I was hurting (didn't have a DR yet) they gave me 800 milligram ibuprofin that worked last month. I also got the phone number for the physician referrell service and had misplaced it but then found it again. I made the appointment, I told the lady I needed an appointment soon because I needed to get a refill on my birth control pills, the prescription was up soon. I got the appointment for what ended up being the same day that I went to Michigan to visit my grandmother who was sick.

November The Sunday before my appointment I was back in the emergency room with major back pain (worse then in october) the Ibuprofin that I had taken at 9pm while I was at work still had not kicked in at 2:30 a.m. and I couldn't take the pain anymore, (in october even though I was hurting I felt I could wait until morning to go to the emergency room I couldn't do that this time). This time they gave me indomethicin and not much else. (at least this time the dr touched me, unlike in october they didn't touch me at all) told me to keep the appointment with my doctor and sent me on my way.

I get to dr appointment and I tell her about the back problems and at first she wasn't convinced that it was connected to my periods, but the more we talked I think she was a little more convinced. I had told her how my periods up until about the 8th grade were normal and then I just kind of stopped and having periods every now and then and now that I'm on the Pill I'm regular again. I told her how I was talking to a friend (from online but didn't tell her that) about my back and how she said it sounded like endometriosis (sp?) and the doctor said that's what it sounds like espically with your history but I'm not real sure yet. I had back x-rays done, those came back normal and she also took blood and checked my thyroid activity that came back normal, she also checked my cholestral and that came back as NORMAL! I never really thought about my cholesteral but I figured it wouldn't be normal considering all the fast food I eat.

December 12, 1998

OH The Pain!!

I ended up in the emergency room Friday Night, well actually Saturday morning to be technical. My back was hurting me so much I couldn't take it anymore.

I took my medicine at 4pm Friday afternoon, at 6 my back started bothering me a little, at 10:45 I took one of my Codeine's the pain had gotten so bad, at around Midnight I was in bed with Steve's arms around me and I was crying because I was in so much pain, and wanting to be put out of my misery, I finally told Steve at 2:45 a.m. that I wanted to go to the hospital. We get to the hospital and after what seemed like an eternity (steve told me later it had only been about 5 minutes) they called me in and they took me to a room and the dr came in and started asking me a bunch of questions that I know she had to ask but I was in so much pain I was crying again and squeezing Steve's hand really tight. It is hard to answer questions when your in pain. Finally they gave me a Percocet and my back stopped hurting in about half an hour, except for one spot that wasn't painful but was letting me know it was there. Dr. thinks that what I had was an Acute Muscle Spasm. All I know is that I hope I ne ver have another one because I don't ever want to be in that much pain again! They said that they couldn't give out prescriptions for narcotics (Percocet) but they did give me a prescription for Flexeril which is a muscle relaxer, which is what I think I've needed all along because I start hurting and my muscles tighten up and it hurts even more.

December 18, 1998

Had my Dr appoinment today, I seem to be stumping my Dr and the guy that runs the clinic. She did say that she doesn't think I have a strained muscle like they keep saying in the emergency room.

I was the last appointment today and when I was done the receptionist had already left so Monday I have to go back up to the hospital and have her schedule me for a Cat Scan, Physical Therapy and have blood drawn.

My Dr. gave me a prescription for Darvocet (I kind of wish she had given me percocet because that worked really well when I was in ER last weekend, But she told me on the phone earlier this week that she doesn't prescribe percocet because "it's to addictive") I have a prescription for Flexerial (muscle relaxer) Both of which I take on an as needed basis for pain.

All I know is I'm tired of being in pain.

I do know that if I were still working and I were to tell my boss about all of my appointments he would have kittens :>

A Theory I had:

December 28, 1998

Hmm... A week ago Saturday, I decided that I didn't want to drink Pepsi so I started drinking kool-aid I noticed that Monday - Wednesday my back didn't hurt as much as it had been even Thursday (Christmas Eve) it didn't hurt to much, but then I drank Pepsi at dinner, and then later at home I drank some.

Christmas Morning I wake up at about 8 and decide that I probably should take my pills, but I have to eat first and I wait for a little bit before I get up, I started hurting before I finally decide to get up, after looking for food and finally deciding on just Toast I was hurting really bad, so bad that I never did eat the toast, I took my medicine and a flexerial and cried for at least a half hour I was in so much pain, Steve set up the back massager that he got me for christmas and I sat in it, but it just didn't help that much I was hurting so much.

I'm wondering if caffeine is causing some of my pain, because I haven't had pepsi again since Friday and my back is actually not hurting as bad or as much as it was, I did take a codeine tonight but it was because I could tell my back was going to hurt , I gave into my chocolate monster and but some resee cups and I know there is caffiene in chocolate. But I didn't eat very many (they were the miniture ones in the christmas paper, I got them at CVS on sale) I finally gave them to Steve and said keep these away from me.

December 29, 1998

I went to physical therapy today and after talking to the lady for a little bit, she tells me to put a gown on while she goes and looks at the back xrays that I had in November.

When she got back, she had me stand up in front of her with the gown open in the back and almost immediatly she see's that my back is messed up. Apperently my spine was not aligned all the way up and down, part of it was going to the left! She had me lay down on the bed and she looked at my legs then she felt where each leg ended and my right leg was about an inch or more longer then the left (not counting the foot, she did this at the ankle)

She had me lay on my stomach and she pushed or pressed on each nodule (I guess that is what you would call it) and the higher she went on my spine the more it hurt, by the time she was done, she didn't have to ask if it hurt, by the time she was done I was in tears.

She did some other stuff with my legs and my pelvis and by the time she was done my legs were the same length and my spine was straight!

I finally feel that something is being done about my back and I finally feel that someone believes me when I say that I'm in pain, It had gotten to the point where I was begining to think that the dr's didn't believe that I was in pain.