Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> "cshenk" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Hi Julie, bunch of trimming down here so it's easier to deal with.


> > Julie,
> >
> > You seem to have a slipped disc in the neck and probably lower
> > back. I have 5 ruptured ones (sounds odd but it's true). If the
> > lower back one is right and affecting both legs, you have a
> > potentially serious issue. It can stop the nerve telling your body
> > to allow you to pee that you need to pee or allow you to do so.
> > It's actually emergency surgery stuff. I get warned about it every
> > trip to the spine doc.
>
> But wouldn't there be back pain? My mom has disc problems as do some
> of my friends and they have back pain. My back seems fine. The pain
> is mostly in the right leg and it seems to move around. But it is
> often near the hip area. I have also had some pain in my right arm
> and some pain in the left leg but that could well be from my altered
> gait.

Yes and no. The main pain for example may be a sharp spike down the
leg (I am actually glad to see it's mostly just one, more apt to be the
disc above the dangerous one from my understanding then). The
'shooting star' can be so fast, you can't describe just where in the
leg. I described it for years as 'like the bone was on fire, fast and
furious then over in a blink'. If the bottom of your foot (or both)
tingle often like asleep but not asleep, you have nerve damage to the
leg from the spine.

Earlier you had neck pain and describe whiplash from long ago now.
That can come back on your later with nerve damage to the ones that run
to your arms. One of the classic signs there mimics carpal tunnel with
write and elbow pain (may have one without the other) but tests of the
nerves to the hand negative. Thats because the type of test used only
shows that portion is normal.
>
> Doesn't take much of anything for me to have neck pain ever since I
> got whiplash back in the 70's.

Yup, and over time it can degrade.


> >
> > I don't know if Fibrom causes DDD but have that checked. If it is
> > DDD, you will need to make life changes. The good news is the pain
> > will ease. The bad news is it will come back if you do not let
> > things heal up and continue the pattern that caused the problem.
>
> I have no clue what DDD is. I tried to look it up but nothing is
> coming up.

Sorry, DDD is Degenerative Disc Disease, DDD for short. Some are
progressive and some are not (meaning some get worse, and some with
proper care stay stable).

I think this pain could partly be to low estrogen and
> partly due to stress. I can not and will not get into the stress part
> here except to say that my plate is full and not with food!

Nope. Low estrogen and stress do not cause either sympton set you
describe. Rheumatiod Arthritis (RA) and some versions of Lupus
(SLE-RA) do. Both of those are progressive and care needs to be taken
or it gets a whole lot worse.

> >
> > Note i virtually 'pinged myself' with this topic because I am about
> > to clear the crap mail out and want to see if I can help you.
> >
> > For now, lazy boy chairs can help. Flat beds do not work for me
> > but a sofa that prevents me from sleeping on my side but with a
> > side blanket under my knees and a memory foam pillow down low along
> > my back and supporting my neck with another under it to make a
> > 'ramp' works. One arm above my head helps a lot too, especially
> > sleeping.
> >
> I can not do recliners. They put pressure on my legs that aggravates
> my bad veins.

Ok, a softer sofa with a thin blanket folded under the knees to raise
them slightly helps a lot. It eases the spine. Less 'incline' used,
we are talking 3-5 inches (test for your own comfort). That is for the
lower back.

For the neck, memory foam pillow and in my case, ramped on another one
but low down so the 'lump' hits my neck just right for me. I'm probably
5degrees at the knees and 10-15 at the head here but it's one of the
things you have to test on your own to see what works for you.

> > Ask for a spine specialist review and do not take no for an answer.
> > This isnt fibrom.
>
> I'm not sure that it is what you say either. Things are somewhat
> better at the moment. I did do a lot of walking today. Right now my
> only sources of pain are to the back of my neck and the outer part of
> the right thigh. It's sort of a burning pain now. But yesterday,
> even my cheeks hurt. If it was a back thing, I don't think it would
> affect that. I just had so very much stress that I was clamping my
> jaw shut even though I was trying not to. I only hope I will be
> allowed to sleep tonight...or tomorrow as it will be since I don't
> usually sleep at night.

I still suggest you have that checked. Yes, it does affect like that.
Watch also for shoulder pain that feels like you have glass shards in
your shoulder and a broken collar bone. Also serious pain under the
shoulder blade. Thats the neck and will be on the side of the affected
arm. There can be frequent spates initially of hand feeling asleep
then numbness in later stages if not fixed.
>
> But if this isn't better by Mon. I will try the Dr. I just don't
> usually have much luck with Drs. They tend to misdiagnose or only
> want to prescribe pain pills. And I don't like pain pills. I will
> take Tylenol once in a great while. I have taken 3 doses this year
> and that's more than I have taken in the past 10 years prior. I just
> don't usually do pain pills but I have been driven to it now. The
> other two times were for what I am pretty sure was a virus as Angela
> had the same symptoms. Headache and body aches among other things.

Pain pills are something i do not take either except for the occasional
bad flares. At that time it is the lower dose sorts like Tramadol and
robaxin. I taper them off as fast as i can because I do not want to
become resistant to them. Aspirin is different. Take as needed.



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