Back update

I have now been to the doctor 3 times. The first time he gave me an anti-inflammatory that did nothing to me. The second time he pretty much looked at me and said, "well, I have no clue what is wrong with you and I don't even know how to help." Ok, not a good sign. The third time I tried someone else and they said that they had no clue what was wrong with me but I should try a chiropractor.

So, after not sleeping at all on Tuesday night I went to the chiro. I was in terrible pain by the time I got there. And frankly, I felt like a total wimp once inside his office. Honestly, I am the kind of person who rarely makes a sound when I'm in pain. Even in childbirth I barely made a peep. But here I was in his office screaming in pain. He had me lay on my stomach so he could massage the muscles first. He was so gentle that I wondered if he was using any muscle power at all. And yet, the pain I felt was as if he was the incredible hulk on a bad day. It was excruciating. Then he asked me to flip over. Oh yah, right! I couldn't move! I felt like a total loser as I admitted that I could not move! He suggested that he help me slide off the table. That thought terrified me and I managed to get up and over myself.

Then came the "adjustments". I would rather push an 8 pound baby out of my crotch than endure that kind of pain. I felt slightly guilty for screaming into his ear, but I did it anyway. Directly following the adjustments I began to experience intense back spasms. Kind of like having continuous "charlie horses" in my back every 5 seconds. Nice. Yes, that was my day on Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday were better. The spasms stopped. The back pain was still there but the intensity was slightly less. I went back to the chiro today and the adjustments were much better. I am still in pain after the treatment but the spasms aren't there and the process was "scream free" which made me feel like I had gained some of my dignity back.

Turns out my stiff muscles on the left side of my back which have plagued me for years are the culprits for this issue. The muscles have been so tight that they have caused extreme swelling in 2 of my joints in the spine. The joints that attach my ribs to my spine. Anyhow, the joints are so inflamed that they can't move! So the solution according the the chiro is to manually move them to bring the swelling down and stop the pain.

I am also realizing that ignoring back pain for years is a really dumb thing to do! I think after the stabbing pain is gone I will try and keep my back loose by going for some regular massage and chiro visits. I hope to never experience this again.

And just for you curious people out there, I have not managed to do any packing this week and only minimal cleaning. My back has terrible timing! But I will get it all done and we will be moving this time next week.

Time to go clean more blinds!