Sunday, August 22, 2010

Graduated, and suggestions

I have sort-of "graduated". Last December I ran into difficulty with shoulder/arm and neck issues - painful and frightening! It was bad enough that when I saw my own x-ray, I was just plain shocked at how crooked my neck was. And it was especially frightening when I went to the ortho Dr., and ended up on the money train towards neurosurgery! Yikes! HELP! MORE bad things can happen with surgery!!!

I grew up in a family where we didn't usually visit a Dr, unless there was a broken bone. Fortunately, nobody was ever really needing much medical assistance, so as I got older and had occasional painful back issues, and shoulder aches, I just waited until it went away. Well, it DOES 'go away' but not exactly the way a person wants relief - your spine adjusts as much as possible until, OOPS, all is messed up and needs major attention -- that was me, needing major attention, but please, no surgery!!!

My husband FORCED me (thank you, dear DH!) to seek chiropractic as an alternative to surgery, last December, and after months of 3x a week adjustment, then 2x week adjustment, then 1x /week adjustment, I have happily GRADUATED and reached "Maintenance." needing only occasional adjustments -- Happy Day!!! My chiro Dr. said I was in bad shape and he doubted if my neck/spine could be salvaged. I was doubtful as weeks turned into months, but here I am, so much better, back to dressing myself, no more electric shock sensations, sleeping most of the night without pain meds, and almost entire range of motion returned. My latest scan is no longer full of nasty colored areas that indicate damage. It showed only a few areas that are likely going to be permanent damage but quite acceptable. I am never going to be 35 again, but soooo much better than I was!

The reason I am writing is that if you have some vague, or not vague back ache, back injury, shoulder issues, or neck aches, consider checking with chiropractor, before too much damage is done. Most insurance covers chiropractic, I believe. Your spine is your lifeforce and if it starts pressing on nerves due to vertebrae deterioration or damage, than OTHER functions go wrong. Your body will adjust to things going wrong for a while, until it cannot any longer and then you end up in trouble.

IMHO, 'regular' physicians deal with the pain, and are taught surgery! Chiropractic solves the source of disease.

OK, that's my spiel today-- back to quilting.

9 comments:

  1. I'm glad you are better and found a good solution for the fix.

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  2. Well that is such good news. Now that you're back to pretty much normal, how many quilts can we expect to see finished in the next 42-1/2 days? LOL

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  3. So GLAD to hear of your good progress! May it continue!

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  4. Great advice and a good report! Maintainence is a good thing in just about everything!!

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  5. I am so glad to hear that your pain has diminished.

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  6. I'm glad you had good success with your persistence to see therapy through--it's so important to keep up the treatment! Having worked for an orthopedic surgeon's practice for 15 years, yes, they do surgery, that's what the doctor is trained for. But surgery is PERMANENTLY altering your body and it cannot be undone. I worked for conservative surgeons who recommended against surgery many times, especially spine surgery, but there are times when it should be done urgently and people should not wait if they experience symptoms of numbness, burning, tingling, or reduced strength or range of motion. See your doctor and find out!

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  7. Congrats on your graduation. So glad you shared that.... and love the log cabin... such a cool twist!

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  8. Glad to hear that you are so much better. I have been to a couple chiropractors in my time and they did a world of good. Unfortunately they would never let me graduate and I started playing hooky. So far I'm pretty good. Hope, like you, I stay healthy!

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  9. Glad you are better. It is good you were able to improve without surgery. I agree with Gypsy - are you going to start cranking out lots of your wonderful quilts soon? Even with pain, you produce awesome quilts. What can we expect now?

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