I have to see a spine dr about getting some injections in my spine. This will take time to get the appt and my dr won’t refill my pain pills for enuf to last because they are addictive. The only thing I can do is deal with the present situation and try to make it thru the day. Right now in the present I am ok. It breaks down if I worry about how am I going to make it.
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Yes, worrying is a perfect formula for losing present wellbeing.
In a weekly meeting of a spiritual discipline I used to practice, a member said that now that she had achieved so much happiness, she had become afraid of losing it…
I’ve been enduring a lot of physical pain for a few weeks now and I wondered how has actualism helped me in this and then I realized that I don’t have emotional suffering. It is a huge help not to have emotional suffering along with the physical pain.
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I have been corresponding privately with Alan in his last weeks. Although at times the pains bothered him animically, he claimed to live most of the time feeling well or even very well. Several times he remarked how different it would have been to go through the illness in another state of consciousness.
He did admit that the physical discomfort was taking him away from the actual experience, i.e., that he could no longer live the in-control virtual freedom; also the frequency of his peek experiences had been decreasing. However, one of the last days he experienced a tremendous experience, which he described as leaving him “almost there”.
Keep going, James.
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@Miguel Thanks Miguel, that is very encouraging. I agree that it would be much worse without my background of actualism. I can truly say that I am not suffering and it has helped me that you said to keep going.
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I don’t know what would help you but I’ll throw this book out there anyways: Back Care Basics: A Doctor’s Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief
I started with this book many years ago since I suffered from back pain myself (Scheuermann’s disease). Due to my own condition I’ve worked with my own back for almost 20 years (I got no pain at all these days and my 90+ degree kyphosis curvature is perhaps about 40 now.).
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Thanks John, my problem is caused by arthritis and I’m not sure yoga would help. I do a little stretching and may do more when able. I’m going to a spine dr on fri who I hope can help me.
Well… then there is a lot you can do/try to improve (sometimes enormously) your arthritis condition by means of diet.
After a decade (when it was negative) I will be tested soon, but the joint pains have worsened enough that, added to the family history, it is now likely to be positive.
My maternal grandmother suffered from major rheumatodiea arthritis until she was wheelchair bound her last years (until my 5). Currently my mother (80) suffers a severe stage.
However, in early 2020 she refused to take the next level of medication for pain and inflammation, because it was already a moderate form of chemotherapy. At that time she could no longer climb steps, comb her own hair or flip a wall switch (both impairments due to barely being able to raise her arms).
Knowing my experiences with various treatments, readings and diets against my own problems, she agreed to follow my instructions to apply a ketogenic diet (but much less radical than the “ideal”) and specific exercises to get not only greater flexibility and strength but also feedback from her (since I could not see her because of the strict quarantine in Argentina).
In 6 months she lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds), the pain diminished enormously, she was able to raise her arms again to comb her hair and turn on switches, and climb the stairs to the terrace. As a consequence, the medication was reduced (corticosteroids, painkillers, etc. -with medical indication, of course; not with mine-).
Now, two years later, she is still able to do all that (despite having gained 4 kilos -9 pounds- due to having loosened the diet at times).
Although all the rheumatologist doctors had prescribed “one form or another” of diet, none of them had prescribed anything like this or knew anything about the extraordinary effects that this type of diet can have on autoimmune/functional diseases such as the ones I also suffer from.
To avoid populating your diary and the forum with this topic, if you want I can send you more info privately or by mail.
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Thanks Miguel, I need to talk first to the spine dr I am going to see on Fri. He may have a diet and exercise plan for me. I will let you know.
@jamesjjoo my wife’s cousin has Rheumatoid arthritis and my wife’s best friend who is a dietician was able to improve her condition too by making big changes to her diet, even reducing things like alcohol. Her pain symptoms, mobility and general well being all improved.
If the spine dr doesn’t have a diet plan (they never did here in the UK where I have worked and processed such data) but maybe if you can ask for a referral to a dietician, it might help.
If it is osteoarthritis due to wear and tear, a lot of changes are more so to keep your weight down and reduce fats (same dietician gave advice to my sister in law), I used to process the medical data for this and it didn’t seem people got adequate treatment or help, a lot of recurrent attendances.
My sister in law has this and has started to get pain relief injections, I think she gets them every 3 months but she hasn’t found them that helpful. I hope you have better luck with whatever the dr suggests. Are you happy that they have done adequate scanning (CT/MRI of the spine) and haven’t missed any form of compression or anything else? I have seen a lot of misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses from processing data, so if I ever have doubts I always get a second or third opinion.
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Thanks sob, this is a spine team connected to my health care system so I’m sure they are going to check it out thoroughly. I am confident they will help me. I just need some good pain meds for starters.
You are in the US right?
Right.
Whole different ball game for you guys lol. Great if you have insurance plan I guess. But sucks when your at the bottom.
It always sounds like things are done more thoroughly in the States.
I have medicare insurance plus supplemental. It’s a bit expensive but pretty good overall. I’m quite sure it will be thorough.
They’ll probably go overboard and give you a full check, prostate check anyone?
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It’s been six weeks and the spine dr has yet to do anything. Meanwhile I am living with pain and can’t be on my feet more than a few minutes at a time. It is wearing on me but I haven’t given up yet.
Does the origin of the pain have to do only with the arthritis?
No, he says the pain is caused by a nerve or nerves.
OK, so you have one or more confirmed herniated discs in your spine?