@gidget1280
please do not worry about how you “sound”. i too, was in the desperate state you find yourself in and i know how horrible and upsetting it is. your life has changed and it’s scary as heck. when i first started trying to walk again (more than from counter to counter around my home), it felt like such a daunting task! i was so nervous to walk down the road for fear of not being able to get back! and it was verrry slow walking. i basically had to learn to walk differently ( with tips from the glokhale method and the el paso guy) and would walk a tiny bit more every day.
please feel free to ask any questions any time. ❤️
i have not had a nerve conduction test. my mri showed where the nerve was being pinched and that nerve pain at the time, consumed my thigh, shin and even foot. no amount of lyrica, t-3’s or tramadol was taking that pain away. i thought it was the beginning of the end for me. (i still get the nerve pain but it’s dramatically reduced and nowhere near as debilitating).
i had a pt but heard of active release therapy, which is done by a trained chiropractor. being desperate thought id give it a try. i quickly ditched my pt for the a.r.t.! when i first went to her, i couldn't even even lie on the table i was too broken. (at that time i was “sleeping” on my back with my legs pulled up close to my chest. the only position where i could find any relief at all. ) i went to the a.r.t. twice a week for five weeks. and she got me able to first, lie on my back to tolerate an mri, and then on a plane to bali! i now still go to her every two weeks.
yes i definitely had times i worried i’d end up in a wheelchair. i even had an e.r. doc tell me i would unless i had surgery right away. he and my medical doctor said i should NOT be going to bali as i could end up incontinent or worse, paralyzed! my a.r.t. said “we can do this. you can’t stop living!”. i sided with her! 😁 please know i still get the weak legs thing. i can’t stand in one place for long. i’m better walking! and now i can (usually, unless i’m having a bad flare-up), walk well and try to do at least 3 kilometres a day.
question 3… i did not feel “strong” when i was in bali, but i walked (slowly) every day. the big plus of being there is cheap massages and they kept my muscles limber! i wish i could afford more here where i live. my timeline? it’s been a year since i was debilitated by pain and in the state you are feeling now. i’m careful to bend over and how i go about doing that. and i learned from the pain clinic i attend, to attempt to do 50 percent of what i actually want to do. baby steps. your body will tell you what it can handle… last year my nerve pain was so bad i didn’t drive for four months.! too painful as my nerve pain is on my right side and leg. i drive everywhere now. always aware of how i sit, keeping the spine elongated, and lower abs engaged (when i think to do so.😅). honestly, it took me the year to figure out how to actually walk while engaging the glutes! abs i could do, glutes took a while to “get”. sorry, long ramble! 😅 but i’d say it took me six weeks to get myself walking again… slowly… and another few months of constantly working on getting stronger. i put my garden in this spring! a huge undertaking that i had to work on very slowly, but after you’ve been where you are now, you celebrate all the “wins” and never take your mobility for granted again.
sending hugs spine-sister. happy to engage with you and really feel for your pain. 😢🙏🏼❤️