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This is my AS story--Very long, but I think it's worth it.
- Thread starter heavy only
- Start date
chemical_freak
New member
Truly an inspirational, yet true post! Thank You!
This post might be one of the best posts I have read in a while. It is not a testament of the greatness of AS, but a testament of the greatness found within an individual who believed in himself rather than the negativity surrounding him. This post brought tears to my eyes for reasons I will refrain from sharing, but it helped me put some things into perspective. I, like you, have tremendous lower back problems, whick i am struggling to overcome. I needed this post. Thank you again for having the courage not only to face your challenges head on, but to share them with us. Positivity is the key in every situation. Also, if I have learned one thing over the years, it would have to be 90% OF ALL DOCTORS ARE FULL OF SHIT!
CF
This post might be one of the best posts I have read in a while. It is not a testament of the greatness of AS, but a testament of the greatness found within an individual who believed in himself rather than the negativity surrounding him. This post brought tears to my eyes for reasons I will refrain from sharing, but it helped me put some things into perspective. I, like you, have tremendous lower back problems, whick i am struggling to overcome. I needed this post. Thank you again for having the courage not only to face your challenges head on, but to share them with us. Positivity is the key in every situation. Also, if I have learned one thing over the years, it would have to be 90% OF ALL DOCTORS ARE FULL OF SHIT!
CF
Tha One CrumCake
New member
Nice job man, I'm proud of you. You get some good K for that.
Peace.
Peace.
Re: Thanks to everone
Well, I was a dumb-ass for assuming that the dumb-ass who hit me would actually be watching the road. I was riding a mountain bike coming off a downslope. I was probably going about 30 mph myself, which saved my life since the dumb-ass in the car was probably doing 50+. I caved in his windshield with my back and head, and he slammed on the brakes. I bounced off the hood and landed on my tailbone in the street, did some tumbling in the street and ended up in the dirt off the side of the road.
I was lucky that the injury wasn't as severe as what happened to you. In fact I was probably born with a back defect but had no symptoms until the impact.
The doc above made some great points. Surgeons make their living by cutting, so people tend to look like a piece of meat to them.
I had all sorts of therapy, from P.T. to chiro to an epidural catabolic steriod injection. I got the most relief from the chiro and the P.T. I wish I had started back at the gym earlier, but at the time I didn't think it was possible.
The epidural catabolic steriod injection backfired because the anesthesiologist who gave it to me (who is one of my Dad's partners) didn't feel a "loss of resistance" and pushed that huge pin in too far, puncturing the membrane that keeps the cerebral spinal fluid where it belongs - bathing the spinal cord and brain. This leads to a "spinal headache" which is no fun at all and lasts for months, since the steriods prevent the puncture from healing. They had to draw blood out of my arm and inject it into the epidural space twice to get the platelets to finally form a scab over the puncture.
Then, 5 years later I was broadsided in my car and the whole thing started all over again. Yes it sucked, but I have never had to look very far in the world to find someone who is much less fortunate than I am. After all, I could have been a woman born in Afghanistan. This may sound corny, but I make it a point to "count my blessings" regularly.
It is really refreshing to see a thread like this amid all the negativity.
heavy only said:Trevdog You got hit by a car? Damn man, that sounds bad to me. But I guess my situation was worse cause it was caused by my own dumb-ass.At least some other dumb-ass did you in
Well, I was a dumb-ass for assuming that the dumb-ass who hit me would actually be watching the road. I was riding a mountain bike coming off a downslope. I was probably going about 30 mph myself, which saved my life since the dumb-ass in the car was probably doing 50+. I caved in his windshield with my back and head, and he slammed on the brakes. I bounced off the hood and landed on my tailbone in the street, did some tumbling in the street and ended up in the dirt off the side of the road.
I was lucky that the injury wasn't as severe as what happened to you. In fact I was probably born with a back defect but had no symptoms until the impact.
The doc above made some great points. Surgeons make their living by cutting, so people tend to look like a piece of meat to them.
I had all sorts of therapy, from P.T. to chiro to an epidural catabolic steriod injection. I got the most relief from the chiro and the P.T. I wish I had started back at the gym earlier, but at the time I didn't think it was possible.
The epidural catabolic steriod injection backfired because the anesthesiologist who gave it to me (who is one of my Dad's partners) didn't feel a "loss of resistance" and pushed that huge pin in too far, puncturing the membrane that keeps the cerebral spinal fluid where it belongs - bathing the spinal cord and brain. This leads to a "spinal headache" which is no fun at all and lasts for months, since the steriods prevent the puncture from healing. They had to draw blood out of my arm and inject it into the epidural space twice to get the platelets to finally form a scab over the puncture.
Then, 5 years later I was broadsided in my car and the whole thing started all over again. Yes it sucked, but I have never had to look very far in the world to find someone who is much less fortunate than I am. After all, I could have been a woman born in Afghanistan. This may sound corny, but I make it a point to "count my blessings" regularly.
It is really refreshing to see a thread like this amid all the negativity.
Re: Re: Thanks to everone
I didnt mean to say that surgeons look at people like meat. Not at all. What i meant to say is that since they always do surgery, that is the best solution in their minds.
Spinal headaches suck, but they usually dont last months. Just a couple of days. What you had was called a blood patch and it should be done right away. The puncture doesnt need to heal, it just needs to clot. Women get these all the time (minus the steroid) when they get an epidural during labor and delivery.
Another good success story. Kudos to your doc and physical therapist.
T
Trevdog said:
I didnt mean to say that surgeons look at people like meat. Not at all. What i meant to say is that since they always do surgery, that is the best solution in their minds.
Spinal headaches suck, but they usually dont last months. Just a couple of days. What you had was called a blood patch and it should be done right away. The puncture doesnt need to heal, it just needs to clot. Women get these all the time (minus the steroid) when they get an epidural during labor and delivery.
Another good success story. Kudos to your doc and physical therapist.
T
Re: Re: Re: Thanks to everone
I agree. In fairness, I should point out that my best friend's Dad is an orthopaedic surgeon. I went to see him and he confirmed what I had gathered about back surgery - although every case is different, in a lot of situations the pain after the surgery is worse than it was before and therefore surgery should generally be considered a last resort. He encouraged P.T. and the epidural catabolic steriod injection.
However, he did essentially say that all chiropractors are quacks and that I would get no relief from seeing one. That didn't turn out to be true.
My spinal headache was apparently much worse than most. It lasted for about 2 months if memory serves and I had at least 2 blood patches (maybe 3) before the scab formed. According to my Dad, a spinal headache happens about 1% of the time when an epidural injection is given. That's fine, as long as you aren't the 1 person in 100 that gets it, and then the headache doesn't go away quickly. It was tough because I got pretty sick whenever I stood up or even sat up.
DocTodd said:
I agree. In fairness, I should point out that my best friend's Dad is an orthopaedic surgeon. I went to see him and he confirmed what I had gathered about back surgery - although every case is different, in a lot of situations the pain after the surgery is worse than it was before and therefore surgery should generally be considered a last resort. He encouraged P.T. and the epidural catabolic steriod injection.
However, he did essentially say that all chiropractors are quacks and that I would get no relief from seeing one. That didn't turn out to be true.
My spinal headache was apparently much worse than most. It lasted for about 2 months if memory serves and I had at least 2 blood patches (maybe 3) before the scab formed. According to my Dad, a spinal headache happens about 1% of the time when an epidural injection is given. That's fine, as long as you aren't the 1 person in 100 that gets it, and then the headache doesn't go away quickly. It was tough because I got pretty sick whenever I stood up or even sat up.
hardbody_jr
New member
That's dedication. I don't know you from the next guy on here but I have to tell you that I'm proud of you. Sniff Sniff.
PerfectRep
New member
Great story...I needed that. I re-injured my back last wednesday.
