My Bad Back (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

A week ago yesterday, I had an ambulance ride to the hospital, caused by my very bad back. I’ll go the road of avoiding TMI and say I was laying on the floor in our master bathroom in too much pain to be driven by my wife to the hospital. I had an unpleasant week in the hospital till I was released on Friday.

Friday was the day I finally got the spinal injection I needed, which has greatly improved my back but not provided a final fix. I start physical therapy tomorrow.

I was appalled at the lowered level of care I received in the hospital where I had resided before. Doctors were in and out in 2 minutes or less. Answers to the call button took way too long (and I try not to abuse that button). Clearly there are too many patients for the nurses and doctors. They don’t communicate with each other.

It changed on Thursday when a new doctor listened to me and the next day I saw my neurologist who was responsible for my spinal injection.

So I’m home having to avoid physical effort and we’ve hired a guy to come in daily to do some household stuff we can’t. I wish medicare which pay for this, but a nurse said it won’t. If we are on Medicaid, yeah.

All for now.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Johnny,

Sorry to hear about your plight.

Hope you feel better. Rest up and catch up on some movies!

Keep us posted on what you watch. Perhaps this would be a good "Movies I recommend while on my back"

 

[Johnny Angell]

Johnny,

Sorry to hear about your plight.

Hope you feel better. Rest up and catch up on some movies!

Keep us posted on what you watch. Perhaps this would be a good "Movies I recommend while on my back"

I started watching Mimic last night. Haven’t watched it in quite a while and I had forgotten how good it is. My wife does not like this kind of movie and has a phobia about cockroaches. I can only watch this movie after she goes to bed. The previous night I watched Kong: Skull Island. I’m a fan of this movie. Action galore.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Johnny, so sorry to hear about your hospital stay - they are not fun places. Glad to hear that you’re on the mend and hope that you’re able to get in some good movies while you rest.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Hi Johnny!

I'm so sorry to hear about your horrid hospital experience, and your back issues!

Hopefully, you'll be on the mend soon. All the best!

CHEERS!

 

[JohnRice]

That really sucks Johnny. I can understand the problems getting proper care. I've had a similar experience a couple times, including a serious sports injury that had clearly visible indications which couldn't have been more obvious. It's infuriating. Get better.

 

[Johnny Angell]

It was about 4 days before Xmas when I noticed a back issue that I thought was going to go away. About a week later I try to get into my neurologist. I can’t even make an appointment till I get new imaging ordered by my PCP. That takes about a week, while my pain is increasing. The imaging makes it clear I’ve got a big problem. Earliest appt I can get with my neurologist is 2/17 and the pain doesn’t matter, I have to wait.

So I have left over hydrocodone, which i start taking because I NEED it. In the meantime i get an appointment with the neurologist’s nurse practitioner. She sends me to a pain clinic where they attempt the spinal injection. I have never, and I mean never, felt such pain and the injection is aborted. No medicine is received. I was screaming out in pain.

I’ve had one of these injections before in the hospital with no problems. I will not go back to that clinic. When I finally got the injection in the hospital it went well.

Back to the hydrocodone. During all the coverage of the opioid crisis, I’ve never heard one mention of a serious side-effect...extreme constipation. I wasn’t hooked to the drug but I wanted it for the pain control. Unfortunately I ended up with the Loch Ness Monster lurking in my colon and she wasn’t combing out.

So there I was lying in the master bedroom in two kinds of pain telling my wife to call 911 because I couldn’t take sitting up in a car and being driven to ER. It kind of puts you in your place in the universe when you’re lying half naked in your bathroom and EMTs are picking you up, laying you on a canvas contraption to get you on a gurney for a trip to the hospital. So I’ve lost my ambulance cherry.

Got rid of Nessie that night in the hospital (or was it the second night?).

The whole hospital admission and a whole lot of pain could have been avoided with timely treatment for my back. I can’t blame my self very much for giving into pain. However, I understand more than ever the danger of opioids. I am no longer taking the hydrocodone. My main painkiller now is Tylenol.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Oh yeah, constipation is a side effect of opioids. It’s like pick your poison, your pain goes away but then everything else gets messed up. I had to be on one of those medications for two or three months at one point and it sucked!

 

[Keith_R]

Johnny, sorry to hear of your back problems and I hope you can get some relief.

the last time I took opioids was after a major surgery a few years back, I was stupid and messed up the dosage by accident, and so I spent the whole night awake, itching and sweating. I felt as though I was on crystal meth. The next day I was exhausted a d after that experience, I toughed out the pain for the next two days of recovery and didn’t take another pill.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Ouch Johnny! Get better soon.

I actually tweaked my back after work yesterday and could barely get around at work today. I’m lying in bed right now waiting to get some relief from Advil so I can sleep a few hours and tough out what’s sure to be another painful day tomorrow.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Ouch Johnny! Get better soon.

I actually tweaked my back after work yesterday and could barely get around at work today. I’m lying in bed right now waiting to get some relief from Advil so I can sleep a few hours and tough out what’s sure to be another painful day tomorrow.

So sorry about that. Don’t let it fester too long without seeing a doctor.

 

[TonyD]

Getting appointments to see regular doctors and specialist is insane anymore.
I can’t get inTo my family dr In less then 2 weeks.
My ortho wants me to go to a rheumatologist and they were supposed to have one call me.
That was almost 2 months ago.
I finally went and looked for one myself but they won’t take me unless I have a referral and the person on the phone said even with that it could take months to actually get in.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'm very sorry to hear about your recent back troubles, Johnny. I hope the rest helps with the sore back. As for the healthcare, I completely understand your frustration. For the past 18 months, I spent a lot of time in small northern Michigan hospitals and outpatient centers with my terminally ill father. Sometimes he received excellent care, but other times there were issues. Fortunately, in home hospice care during the final stage of his illness was superb -- those nurses were saints.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Hi Johnny!

I hope that you're by now well on the mend, regarding your severe back issues!

While my own back issues are usually not too bad, it's been really hurting since yesterday afternoon, after helping to put away groceries. Not fun at all!

I hope that you all can stay healthy!

CHEERS!

 

[Johnny Angell]

@Tony Bensley Thanks for asking. My situation is much improved. The pain has lessened a lot and I'm in physical therapy. When I'm done, I'm going to ask for another injection. If I get the same results as a year and half ago, this problem will not reoccur for a while.

My therapist has given me exercises to do at home. When I'm finished with my therapy I'll ask if he wants me to do more at home exercises. It's clear to me that doing these exercises is required for the rest of my life, I just might be able to avoid further issues if I do them till death do us part.

The disc between your spine segments is the program. It has either protruded or the jelly-like material has started oozing out, or both. Either way, the jelly or the disc is touching nerves and causing the pain.

I was talking to the nurse practitioner about what surgeries do. One option is to trim away the portion of the disc that is sticking out. No sticking out, no touching the nerves and no pain.

Got an appointment early March to see the neurologist.

I talked to my PCP and asked how can I avoid this situation where I'm in great pain and get get in to see the neurologist. He said just see him and he can order the shot. That was new to me. Also the neurologist's nurse practitioner said to just call them and they'd schedule the injection. My imaging is good for about a year so that's why they're ver flexible now.

I asked is there a preventative solution. After a year do the imaging to see if a problem is imminent. Can't do that, insurance won't pay. So I've got to have a problem before getting the imaging which is required to get the needed care.

I feel better knowing my PCP can order the injection.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm glad you are feeling a bit better Johnny. I'm not much of a doctor person, but after my back, and leg pain which was dull to severe for a long time now was suggested by a couple of family members that it could be cancer and get it checked out.
I went to the doctor yesterday and luckily the doc said it was only muscular. And the root of the pain from my leg and lower back stems from an extremely tight hamstring in my left leg, and all the walking/hiking I do isn't good to do without thoroughly stretching first.

Glad I went to the doctor, one less thing to worry about.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I'm glad you are feeling a bit better Johnny. I'm not much of a doctor person, but after my back, and leg pain which was dull to severe for a long time now was suggested by a couple of family members that it could be cancer and get it checked out.
I went to the doctor yesterday and luckily the doc said it was only muscular. And the root of the pain from my leg and lower back stems from an extremely tight hamstring in my left leg, and all the walking/hiking I do isn't good to do without thoroughly stretching first.

Glad I went to the doctor, one less thing to worry about.

Hi Bryan!

I'm really glad to hear cancer was ruled out, and that it appears the root of your back and leg pain have been found. Hopefully, you'll be well on the mend, soon!

CHEERS!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Bryan,

I am very relieved to hear that cancer was ruled out.


Johnny,

I am glad to hear you are doing better with physical therapy and injections.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Well, I've missed this thread until now.

There's a whole lotta "It's hell to get old" going on here.

But I can relate. I fell--hard--on the ice in my back yard last night. I am one sore mf'er today. But am extremely fortunate I didn't hurt myself badly.

All the best to Johnny, Bryan and all the rest who have chimed in.

For sure, health care is a true "YMMV" situation.