Low back pain & neuropathy issues

Posted by timmckinney @timmckinney, Feb 6, 2018

68 years old and lower back+neuropathy issues make staying active hell. Used to be avid jogger and now cannot be on my feet for more than 10-15 minutes. No meds help. Very depressing.

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@wsh66

I did go the gym today, twice. The first time i did 55 minutes on the NuStep cross trainer. It's a wonderful device. I can't walk more than 20 feet without using a cane and even with a cane it gets very painful very fast. (I love going to the grocery store daily as It gives me social contacts and the carts make really good walkers.) Sorry, I digress. The NuStep positions your body, (seated, recumbent),in such a way that your back is not loaded at all. You work your arms with a push pull motion and your legs while pushing forward. After an hour or so I'm dripping sweat and feeling the effects on my one good lung. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and it's getting stronger already. My cancer treatment gave me chronic hospital pneumonia which left me with COPD and my right lung collapsed and the diaphragm paralyzed. With only one to work with I need to make it stronger.

After my workout I took my 31 year old son who has Down's syndrome to work at the Pizza Barn where he has been a dish washer for the ;last 15 years. Then I went back to the gym for a complete massage with coconut oil and hot rocks. Massage won't cure your pain issues but think about it. When you have chronic pain how often does your whole body feel really great for a solid hour? Every muscle, every joint every pore on your skin is transformed into an instrument of pleasure. We're usually happy to just not hurt. This is way beyond just not hurting. This is pleasure. Your body, the source of your pain, the source of all your displeasure and you depression is transformed into the source of your pleasure. The warm oil, the hot rocks the masseuses powerful and skilled hands. It's just wonderful.

Alternative therapies like Massage, Qigong, Yoga, Thi Chi, Acupuncture, tapping, (Thought Field Therapy), and Healing Touch may not cure you. They might not replace your drugs or your spinal stimulator or your surgeon but they do all contribute to improving your general sense of well being and when that happens your pain or your experience of your pain lessens and improves. These alternatives may not be founded in modern science, you may nor be able to test them and produce repeatable results but they are not scalpels and pills nor are they parlor tricks and yes they don't work for everyone. You're dealing with nontraditional healers and you must have confidence in them and in what they do. They are bringing you gifts that existed for thousand s of years before there was modern medicine. Many of the oldest come from the east where they had highly organized bureaucracies, organized cities and libraries while we of European descent were still running around hitting each other with rocks. These are not stupid peoples. They hung on to things like Qigong because they work.

I don't use Homeopathy. I do or have used Qigong, massage, Cranial sacral Release, Yoga, Tapping and Healing Touch. In fact, tomorrow afternoon I'll be receiving Healing Touch for an hour and a half and I'll be getting from a RN who has worked at our local Fairview clinic for years.

I'm in pain right now as a result of my workout. However the trade off is worth it. The exercise and the massage elevate my mood so much that dealing with my pain is easier. In many periods over the past 20 years I have been as miserable and hopeless as anyone who checks in here. I have all of modern medicine and several great doctors at my disposal and we have run out of answers. They do all they can and they do a great job but I still have significant pain. There are other answers to turn to and not just alternative therapies. It gets down to individual choices and attempts to improve ones mood and one's outlook of life. The only alternative I refuse to entertain is to give up.

I wish you all Love and Blessings.

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Jim, I find the sunshine to be akin to a euphoric type of drug. We have been in a rainy season and I am way down in mood, but I have come to expect it and just hope for the sun to come back. I have spoken with someone who lived in the north of NY where days are short and light limited who had light therapy prescribed by her doctor and it helped her greatly. I expect that would make the bicycle riding doubly good.

REPLY
@jimhd

@timmckinney

Parus is right. You're not alone. I had compression fractures in my lower back when I fell several years ago, and have peripheral neuropathy pain in my feet. I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in June last year, and the pain in my feet has been reduced significantly, though certainly not completely. It's frustrating not to be able to walk like I used to. I take morphine sulfate contin and I'm trying Gabapentin again. I'm hoping that one of the medications for neuropathy will work, now that I have the stimulator. None of them did anything before.

Going to a pain specialist was one of the best things I've done. He took a sincere interest in helping me. I had been through all the neuropathy meds with the neurologist, with no success.

What doctors have you seen about the neuropathy? Keep pressing them to try everything they can. Don't let them give up.

Jim

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What is gene testing for meds? I would be interested in that.

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@grandmar

I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic pain. My lumbar and cervical spines are in real trouble! At one point I stopped walking for over 2 years because of the pain. I also had severe, I want to die pain in my left arm to fingers that came from my cervical spine. I went to a pain doc who gave me a shot. The shot was the answer and thankfully it worked for years!
As for my lower issues, I saw 4 docs. They all tried lots of things that didn't work. Three years ago I moved and went to one doc who was good for nothing. I searched and searched and finally found a pain doc who is about 1-2 hours away (because of traffic, it can be longer). He has worked MAGIC on my lumbar spine!. He uses a fluoroscope to find the sweet spot, based on my MRIs and what I tell him. His shots usually last 8-12 weeks if I behave.
I agree with Jim. You are too young to be homebound. Do some research in your area for a good pain doc. Read reviews by patients and other docs.

A couple of sites you can use:
vitals.com
Zocdoc.com
nationalpeerreview.com
WebMD.com
ratemds.com

Hope this helps.
Ronnie

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@grandmar, I am not much help in the way of back pain, but one of the teacher's at my wife's school actually had cadaver discs inserted and she is pain free for the first time in many years. I have no idea how that compares with an artificial, but, for what it is worth.

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@powerl2017

Same hear I have three procedures no help . I am looking to stem cell info now.

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I hope anyone on here who has real pain and are looked at as junkies when they try to get pain meds will write their reps in your state house and DC. The stuff people are OD'ing on are usually using street drugs and they are combined with anesthesia meds, horse tranquilizers and any number of other things that will kill on first use. I realize some may have got started because of over-prescribing, but we have had a heroin problem in the US that only declined because of the prevalence of cocaine, crack, and meth. Now, countries south of our border have realized an opportunity:yes, it comes from across the pond also! A wall is not gonna solve the demand side of the equation as long as there is a supply side. It is as simple as the econ I was taught with guns and butter. Demand and supply will always find equilibrium. Those of us who have pain that the doctors can not make go away, deserve access to drugs that will allow for some quality of life.

REPLY
@jimhd

@timmckinney

Parus is right. You're not alone. I had compression fractures in my lower back when I fell several years ago, and have peripheral neuropathy pain in my feet. I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in June last year, and the pain in my feet has been reduced significantly, though certainly not completely. It's frustrating not to be able to walk like I used to. I take morphine sulfate contin and I'm trying Gabapentin again. I'm hoping that one of the medications for neuropathy will work, now that I have the stimulator. None of them did anything before.

Going to a pain specialist was one of the best things I've done. He took a sincere interest in helping me. I had been through all the neuropathy meds with the neurologist, with no success.

What doctors have you seen about the neuropathy? Keep pressing them to try everything they can. Don't let them give up.

Jim

Jump to this post

I noticed that also so I refused to take anymore of it

REPLY
@wsh66

I did go the gym today, twice. The first time i did 55 minutes on the NuStep cross trainer. It's a wonderful device. I can't walk more than 20 feet without using a cane and even with a cane it gets very painful very fast. (I love going to the grocery store daily as It gives me social contacts and the carts make really good walkers.) Sorry, I digress. The NuStep positions your body, (seated, recumbent),in such a way that your back is not loaded at all. You work your arms with a push pull motion and your legs while pushing forward. After an hour or so I'm dripping sweat and feeling the effects on my one good lung. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and it's getting stronger already. My cancer treatment gave me chronic hospital pneumonia which left me with COPD and my right lung collapsed and the diaphragm paralyzed. With only one to work with I need to make it stronger.

After my workout I took my 31 year old son who has Down's syndrome to work at the Pizza Barn where he has been a dish washer for the ;last 15 years. Then I went back to the gym for a complete massage with coconut oil and hot rocks. Massage won't cure your pain issues but think about it. When you have chronic pain how often does your whole body feel really great for a solid hour? Every muscle, every joint every pore on your skin is transformed into an instrument of pleasure. We're usually happy to just not hurt. This is way beyond just not hurting. This is pleasure. Your body, the source of your pain, the source of all your displeasure and you depression is transformed into the source of your pleasure. The warm oil, the hot rocks the masseuses powerful and skilled hands. It's just wonderful.

Alternative therapies like Massage, Qigong, Yoga, Thi Chi, Acupuncture, tapping, (Thought Field Therapy), and Healing Touch may not cure you. They might not replace your drugs or your spinal stimulator or your surgeon but they do all contribute to improving your general sense of well being and when that happens your pain or your experience of your pain lessens and improves. These alternatives may not be founded in modern science, you may nor be able to test them and produce repeatable results but they are not scalpels and pills nor are they parlor tricks and yes they don't work for everyone. You're dealing with nontraditional healers and you must have confidence in them and in what they do. They are bringing you gifts that existed for thousand s of years before there was modern medicine. Many of the oldest come from the east where they had highly organized bureaucracies, organized cities and libraries while we of European descent were still running around hitting each other with rocks. These are not stupid peoples. They hung on to things like Qigong because they work.

I don't use Homeopathy. I do or have used Qigong, massage, Cranial sacral Release, Yoga, Tapping and Healing Touch. In fact, tomorrow afternoon I'll be receiving Healing Touch for an hour and a half and I'll be getting from a RN who has worked at our local Fairview clinic for years.

I'm in pain right now as a result of my workout. However the trade off is worth it. The exercise and the massage elevate my mood so much that dealing with my pain is easier. In many periods over the past 20 years I have been as miserable and hopeless as anyone who checks in here. I have all of modern medicine and several great doctors at my disposal and we have run out of answers. They do all they can and they do a great job but I still have significant pain. There are other answers to turn to and not just alternative therapies. It gets down to individual choices and attempts to improve ones mood and one's outlook of life. The only alternative I refuse to entertain is to give up.

I wish you all Love and Blessings.

Jump to this post

Thanks for jogging my memory about SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and light therapy. I was a California Beach girl when I moved to Delaware. That year there were only 72 days of sunshine listed in the Farmer's Almanac. No wonder I was depressed. The light helped quite a bit.

REPLY
@grandmar

I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic pain. My lumbar and cervical spines are in real trouble! At one point I stopped walking for over 2 years because of the pain. I also had severe, I want to die pain in my left arm to fingers that came from my cervical spine. I went to a pain doc who gave me a shot. The shot was the answer and thankfully it worked for years!
As for my lower issues, I saw 4 docs. They all tried lots of things that didn't work. Three years ago I moved and went to one doc who was good for nothing. I searched and searched and finally found a pain doc who is about 1-2 hours away (because of traffic, it can be longer). He has worked MAGIC on my lumbar spine!. He uses a fluoroscope to find the sweet spot, based on my MRIs and what I tell him. His shots usually last 8-12 weeks if I behave.
I agree with Jim. You are too young to be homebound. Do some research in your area for a good pain doc. Read reviews by patients and other docs.

A couple of sites you can use:
vitals.com
Zocdoc.com
nationalpeerreview.com
WebMD.com
ratemds.com

Hope this helps.
Ronnie

Jump to this post

I feel badly for you. I've experienced that feeling of having no faith in the medical professionals I've had cross my path. Right know I have 7 great Doctors and 2 great PT's overseeing my care. Ones who blame the patient drive me nuts. In reality I should be more understanding of their shortcomings and lack of understanding. Think about it, you've poured your life and your resources into doing that your not very good at. It must be frustrating for them. Love them and forgive them and you'll feel better about them.

REPLY
@grandmar

I feel your pain...literally! I am 63 (in a month) and I also suffer from chronic pain. My lumbar and cervical spines are in real trouble! At one point I stopped walking for over 2 years because of the pain. I also had severe, I want to die pain in my left arm to fingers that came from my cervical spine. I went to a pain doc who gave me a shot. The shot was the answer and thankfully it worked for years!
As for my lower issues, I saw 4 docs. They all tried lots of things that didn't work. Three years ago I moved and went to one doc who was good for nothing. I searched and searched and finally found a pain doc who is about 1-2 hours away (because of traffic, it can be longer). He has worked MAGIC on my lumbar spine!. He uses a fluoroscope to find the sweet spot, based on my MRIs and what I tell him. His shots usually last 8-12 weeks if I behave.
I agree with Jim. You are too young to be homebound. Do some research in your area for a good pain doc. Read reviews by patients and other docs.

A couple of sites you can use:
vitals.com
Zocdoc.com
nationalpeerreview.com
WebMD.com
ratemds.com

Hope this helps.
Ronnie

Jump to this post

very true!

REPLY
@jimhd

@timmckinney

Parus is right. You're not alone. I had compression fractures in my lower back when I fell several years ago, and have peripheral neuropathy pain in my feet. I had a spinal cord stimulator implant in June last year, and the pain in my feet has been reduced significantly, though certainly not completely. It's frustrating not to be able to walk like I used to. I take morphine sulfate contin and I'm trying Gabapentin again. I'm hoping that one of the medications for neuropathy will work, now that I have the stimulator. None of them did anything before.

Going to a pain specialist was one of the best things I've done. He took a sincere interest in helping me. I had been through all the neuropathy meds with the neurologist, with no success.

What doctors have you seen about the neuropathy? Keep pressing them to try everything they can. Don't let them give up.

Jim

Jump to this post

I have a pain pump and access to narcotics and I take another drug that rules out Aspirin, one of the original wonder drugs. I still count on Acetaminophen to help as well. Me often forget that some of these over the counter drugs can be powerful answers to pain.

REPLY
@wsh66

I did go the gym today, twice. The first time i did 55 minutes on the NuStep cross trainer. It's a wonderful device. I can't walk more than 20 feet without using a cane and even with a cane it gets very painful very fast. (I love going to the grocery store daily as It gives me social contacts and the carts make really good walkers.) Sorry, I digress. The NuStep positions your body, (seated, recumbent),in such a way that your back is not loaded at all. You work your arms with a push pull motion and your legs while pushing forward. After an hour or so I'm dripping sweat and feeling the effects on my one good lung. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and it's getting stronger already. My cancer treatment gave me chronic hospital pneumonia which left me with COPD and my right lung collapsed and the diaphragm paralyzed. With only one to work with I need to make it stronger.

After my workout I took my 31 year old son who has Down's syndrome to work at the Pizza Barn where he has been a dish washer for the ;last 15 years. Then I went back to the gym for a complete massage with coconut oil and hot rocks. Massage won't cure your pain issues but think about it. When you have chronic pain how often does your whole body feel really great for a solid hour? Every muscle, every joint every pore on your skin is transformed into an instrument of pleasure. We're usually happy to just not hurt. This is way beyond just not hurting. This is pleasure. Your body, the source of your pain, the source of all your displeasure and you depression is transformed into the source of your pleasure. The warm oil, the hot rocks the masseuses powerful and skilled hands. It's just wonderful.

Alternative therapies like Massage, Qigong, Yoga, Thi Chi, Acupuncture, tapping, (Thought Field Therapy), and Healing Touch may not cure you. They might not replace your drugs or your spinal stimulator or your surgeon but they do all contribute to improving your general sense of well being and when that happens your pain or your experience of your pain lessens and improves. These alternatives may not be founded in modern science, you may nor be able to test them and produce repeatable results but they are not scalpels and pills nor are they parlor tricks and yes they don't work for everyone. You're dealing with nontraditional healers and you must have confidence in them and in what they do. They are bringing you gifts that existed for thousand s of years before there was modern medicine. Many of the oldest come from the east where they had highly organized bureaucracies, organized cities and libraries while we of European descent were still running around hitting each other with rocks. These are not stupid peoples. They hung on to things like Qigong because they work.

I don't use Homeopathy. I do or have used Qigong, massage, Cranial sacral Release, Yoga, Tapping and Healing Touch. In fact, tomorrow afternoon I'll be receiving Healing Touch for an hour and a half and I'll be getting from a RN who has worked at our local Fairview clinic for years.

I'm in pain right now as a result of my workout. However the trade off is worth it. The exercise and the massage elevate my mood so much that dealing with my pain is easier. In many periods over the past 20 years I have been as miserable and hopeless as anyone who checks in here. I have all of modern medicine and several great doctors at my disposal and we have run out of answers. They do all they can and they do a great job but I still have significant pain. There are other answers to turn to and not just alternative therapies. It gets down to individual choices and attempts to improve ones mood and one's outlook of life. The only alternative I refuse to entertain is to give up.

I wish you all Love and Blessings.

Jump to this post

You are right....massage therapy, especially the Pain Release and Myofascial Release, help the most. Every week I go in and we assess together where the "hot spots" are. I am always totally amazed at the huge connective nerve network that attempts to send the right signals to the right places without bring back pain signals. Together we track where the pain or tingling goes. Sometimes we just concentrate on hands and arms...sometimes she does some concentrated release for knees and the cranial/sacral area.......or attempts to break up a Myofascial knot between my ribs. It doesn't do any good to have more than one hour a week.....because our bodies get all confused. And you are right Jim, Medicare does not cover this type of therapy unless it is rehabilitative and not for improved quality of life. The supplemental or gap policies evidently just follow Medicare rules. My therapist tried. Essentially, I am guessing that they are saying that if we are not going back to work so we can pay taxes...what's the use? My benevolent therapist focuses a great deal on infants who cannot swallow or move their bowels. She is often called to the neonatal care facility. Those treatments are covered. And so...I am now trying to reduce my living expenses so I can sneak in a weekly massage. Just like Yoga/Meditation/Mindfulness.....it doesn't do any good to just go once in a while. You need to make the Yoga/meditation efforts a daily ritual and massage a weekly feel good treat for your body to reap the most benefit.

REPLY
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