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Kelly_30

Joined: 03/31/2011
My Story:
I suffer from chronic back pain. The chronic pain started 10 years ago. I had "threw my back out" as a teenager several times. I used to carry a heavy backpack and I had quite a walk home from school everyday. My mother kept harping on me to not carry so much in my backpack and that she doesn't want me to injure my back. She said it is one of the worst things that can happen. I didn't listen to her but now I know full well what she was talking about. In my late teens I had an abusive boyfriend who in the heat of an argument slammed me on the concrete sidewalk and began taking blows to my back. I was bedridden for two days after that beating. And then in college, I was driving home and had to stop behind a bus after the light turned green in which two other cars were already stopped in front of me and a car rear ended me at 45 mph. I felt fine after the accident but 3 months later I started to feel pain from the damage. I spent years doing chiropractic, accupunture, massage, and physical therapy all paid for by the insurance company. None of which had any lasting effects. By my senior year in college I was in so much pain I couldn't make it through most of my classes. I had to constantly meet with the professors offline. I hit rock bottom after I had my son in 2006. The weight from the pregnancy made it nearly impossible to walk. I had severe sciatica and had to go out on disability 6 months before term. After pregnancy, I was bed ridden or couch ridden. It hurt to move. That was when I went to the doctor in tears and asked to be put on a pain killer along with valium to help me sleep. I was started on tramadol for pain and it gave me my life back. After awhile that doctor left the practice and it took me awhile to find a doctor that would still honor my contract. But I finally did and he is still my doctor today. I have had a couple of MRIs that showed disc bulges in my cercical and thoracic spine. Just about 1 year ago, the 2nd MRI showed a ruptured disc and 2 bulging discs in my lumbar spine. That is where most my pain is located today. The gabapentin has really helped with the nerve pain in my thoracic spine. The epidural injections have helped considerably reduce the sciatica but they only last a month or two (if I'm lucky) and I have to wait 1-2 months before my next injection. I have been upped to two different tiers of pain medication as I built up tolerances to meds. I have a "special" chair at work and I have been heating my back with a heating pad that I attach to it all day long for 3 years. I have permanently burned my back heating it as much as I have. Burning it feels better than the pain believe it or not. I have been worried about this for quite some time. I am just 30 years old but my back is twice that age. I ended up "learning the hard way" as my mother would say. Anyways, that is my story about how I came to be in pain. I love it here, everyone is really friendly and supportive. It feels good to know that you are not alone and there are others to lean on for support!
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Reply: When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep
WOW!!! Yes we would definitely need to take advantage of the financing options as we would...More
Living one day at a time.
Posted by Kelly_30
20 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep WOW!!! Yes we would definitely need to take advantage of the financing options as we would...
Reply: When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep
Hi Dave, I didn't know that I could write it off as a medical expense on my taxes. If...More
Living one day at a time.
Posted by Kelly_30
20 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep Hi Dave, I didn't know that I could write it off as a medical expense on my taxes. If...
Reply: When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep
Hi Caprice, That was a very informative and interesting article to read. My sleep is...More
Living one day at a time.
Posted by Kelly_30
20 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:When Pain Interrupts Your Sleep Hi Caprice, That was a very informative and interesting article to read. My sleep is...

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