Thursday, March 19, 2015

WHAT SHOULD I DO? UPDATE!

Good morning!  I wish I was coming on here to tell you all that I am MUCH better and the end of this problem was in sight, but it just wouldn't be true.  Now if I had written this yesterday morning, it might have been true.  I went to the Chiropractor on Tuesday afternoon.  I haven't been to one in years...Mainly I guess for a few reasons.  1.  My insurance does NOT cover this, and it is costly. 2.  I just don't know what I think of these, lol.  I don't mean to step on anyone's toes and if you think it is good and wonderful and helpful then I am all for it.  My problem is that Chiropractors are sure everything that is ever wrong with you comes from your spine not being in alignment.  And while I can see some logic in this, I just don't feel it is always the case.  3.  I just don't like the idea of someone snapping my neck into place, lol.  But I was soo desperate I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl.  And I guess my conclusion is I am as confused as ever.  They did NO x-rays and yet he began to "treat" or "adjustment" me anyway.  Now granted I walked in there and could move around etc so I doubt he had any doubt something was broken or whatever, it just seemed weird to me. Without even really hearing what was wrong he was convinced it was because my spine was twisted. And maybe it is, I certainly couldn't say.  He was very nice, seemed good, but had a very unconventional way of doing his "adjusting".  He kind of whipped me around like a rag doll and kept acting like I was suppose to be feeling instant relief, and I don't know if I was or not he was going so fast.  It was all really kind of comical, though I am not doing a very good job of describing it. Anyway, he finished up the session with doing some electric ultrasound treatment on the area with a ice pack.  Truthfully I left there somewhat sore, dizzy and disoriented and swearing I'd never return. By the way, this was not just some random Chiropractor but one my hubby has used in the past and thought was excellent.  However, (now here is where the confusing part comes in) that night as we were getting ready for bed I remember when I had taken my daughter to a physical therapist years ago for a strained elbow from pitching.  They had us ice the area with ice directly applied to the area for 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a day.  Sooo I had my hubby give me a nice message (he is pretty good at this!) and then ice the area with ice for close to 10 minutes.  I was hollering soo loud because it was sooo cold that I am surprised that no neighbors called 911.  Oh my goodness it was cold...But it soon became numb.  I climbed in the bed and slept WONDERFULLY for the first time in several nights, and woke up yesterday feeling MUCH MUCH better.  Now, was it from hubby's treatment, or the Chiropractor's, I honestly didn't know.  I went with hubby's.  Sooo yesterday morning I had him repeat this before he left for work, and I iced the area myself a couple more times with an ice pack during the day.  I was doing pretty good, convinced I had found the "cure".  Well, then about 4 it started in aching again and I quickly popped some extra strength Tylenol and whipped out my ice pack.  When hubby got home he did his message and icing routine, and when I went numb I jumped into bed and prayed I'd go right to sleep.  Nope, the pain was back.  I did sleep last night but was aware of the pain nonetheless.  This morning?  Pain.  Oh, I forgot to tell you I took the anti-inflammatory on Monday night and Tuesday morning and ended up having such a strange reaction to it that my doc told me to discontinue it immediately.  I never have been able to take anti-inflammatory's without my b/p going way up and feeling odd.  But this time my hands and feet were tingling, and my head felt pressure..like it might explode and blow around the room or something. Sooo now of course I am wondering did I get the relief I did from the Chiropractor after all?  He wanted to see me he said 3 or 4 more times in a week, and then felt like I'd be fine.   And here I am. Oh, and my doc got back my x-ray results.  Everything looked normal with the exception of some arthritis in that shoulder.  Not surprising really.  I've got arthritis pretty much everywhere.  She told me she'd order an MRI if I wanted to continue investigating, or send me to an orthopedic, or I could do some physical therapy.  So my dilemma this morning is what do I do?  Go back to the Chiropractor and see if I don't get some relief again?  Or try the physical therapist?  Both?  Make an appointment with an orthopedic? (though who knows how quickly I could get the referral and then get in there?) Or just expect that this is going to take some time to heal and just sit tight?  Oh, and of course I have had conflicting information.  My doc said to use ice or heat...whatever soothes.  The Chiropractor said NEVER use heat, use ONLY ice.  I have discontinued the heat as it didn't seem to be doing any good anyway.   Now there is a fresh new dilemma.  My hubby was icing the area last night and said there seemed to be a pimply rash he had noticed in the morning and was now a little worse.  We thought it was from the icing?  Though that seemed weird. I couldn't see it of course. Then this morning (just now) when he was icing again he said that they appear to be scabbing over now.  He took pic so I could see.  Don't know why this didn't occur to us last night, lol.  Anyway, I was kind of horrified.  It looks like chicken pox to me.  Maybe this whole thing is shingles?  I can't imagine ice did that, but then what do I know.  I texted my reg doc who is also a personal family friend (I try hard not to do that!) to show him pic so he can see what he thinks.  I have been seeing the physician assistant who I love.  I can rarely get into him.  Anyway, guess I will wait and see.  So that is the end of this story for now.  Not sure why I am writing all this other then like I said sitting and doing nothing is driving me nuts, so I guess you all luck out, haha.  I have done some reading. Watched some TV.  Talked on phone.  But the time is dragging.  Guess that's it for now....I am sure your all on the tips of your seats, lol  Hope your week is going well!   Blessings to you all, Debbie

Update....Just heard back from my doc and he said it sounds and looks like Shingles...I have now developed low grade fever too.  Just feel generally crummy.  He is phoning in meds to help with nerve pain so hopefully I can sleep.  Said the fact that the rash is already scabbing up is good sign.  Personally I looked at the pics online for Shingles and my rash does not look like any of those.  And I have no idea if there were ever any blisters....sigh.  My rash is pretty mild.  But the pain is not.  I do appreciate prayer.  Oh, and I cancelled my Chiropractor appointment though he talked to me on the phone for almost 20 minutes.  Very nice man.



7 comments:

  1. Hope it's not shingles, had that and it was painful. If it's not shingles I would do physical therapy....I had a very painful back problem a couple months back, could hardly get up or down. MRI showed nothing. PT was awesome, gave me some great exercises to work at relaxing the muscles, electrical stem, Ice / heat and massage. Miracles happen there! I would stay off the sewing machine. I had horrible problems when I used to sit on the computer for long periods of time.. Praying for you!

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  2. I wish I could help or give you some advice, but I really can't. So instead I'll pray for you. Oh and of course, you should tell us. How else would we know to pray for you. :) Hopefully you'll be feeling much better very soon.

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  3. I went to a Chiropractor years ago - I was extremely desperate, could barely walk upright, so I decided to roll the dice with him. I was glad I did. He was up front with me and let me know that it would take some time for me to feel better. I had to see him 3 or 4 times a week for a few months. Sometimes afterwards, I felt better, most of the time, I did not until the next day. He also gave me exercises to do at home so I could help myself. In my humble opinion, any chiropractor that doesn't help you help yourself with exercises, isn't someone that is a very good doctor. Also, the couple of times he adjusted my neck - it made things so much worse that I asked him to not do it anymore and he was fine with that. He admitted that some people didn't get relief from neck adjustments and I may be one of them. He was really attentive and he said heat and cold can be effective. Everyone's situation is different and what method works for one, may not for another. He also had me bring in x-rays before he even began so he knew what he was dealing with.

    I'm sure that most chiropractors are very helpful for common issues - but for some of us (like me and it sounds like, you) - we need special care and someone that understands that and can adapt to the situation.

    That's just my two cents anyway. Praying that you get relief soon. And remember, it can take a while before you feel much better consistently. I had to see my chiropractor for a year. At first 3-4 times a week, after a few months, it was twice a week, then once a week, then once every two weeks and then he told me I was ready to fly solo - just to keep doing my exercises which were really just stretching routines that didn't take more than 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. Hang in there!

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  4. If it's shingles, you might want to see your doctor or his P.A. ... when I had shingles, I was told that if I had waited a little longer to seek treatment, there wouldn't have been anything they could do to help alleviate the pain/rash.

    If it's not, then I think I'd try with P.T. first as it's less invasive and would surely help if it's just muscle strain from overuse.

    Regardless of what it is, I'm praying that you'll get relief soon, my friend.

    I'm of the same opinion as you ... I'm not saying that chiropractors can't help, but I'm very leery of the ones who claim that their treatments will cure anything and everything.

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  5. I do hope that you are off to the doctor for the meds. Oh you had me chuckling with all the descriptions of being worked on by the chiroman. John always says that his ties him into a knot. Yikes! That's been enough to keep me outta there. Then you ended with Shingles...ackkkk! Glad that you have caught it early. So sorry about all this discomfort you are having.

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  6. Oh, Debbie, I am so, so sorry and I love my Chiropractor but he is so gentle, slow moving and never, ever touches my neck. I can take several weeks or a few months of regular chiropractic treatment to get full relief. It was the best thing I ever did for my lower back. I now go at least twice a month for maintenance and if I have any twinge of pain in my lower back then I go running back. I'm just wondering if your neck and shoulders are not extremely stressed due to all the sewing you have done in the past 2-3 months. To me, ice is the BEST and it's all I use. Wishing you a quick recovery!

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  7. Debbie..so sorry to hear that you have shingles and back/neck issues. Talk about a triple whammy. Bless your heart...will be praying for you!

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I am so glad that you would take the time to comment on my thoughts and feelings, it is such a blessing to me!