Hi from the chair. Hmmm...I don't really know what to say on here anymore. It's very odd...I seem to get better, then I get worse, then I get better, then I get worse. I'm still getting great treatment from the folks at the spinal relief center. I went there yesterday for a scheduled appointment, and filled out my pain report sheet. I guess I am better than I was on my last visit, which was just two days before - but that seems to be the way it goes. whenever there is a weekend, my pain tends to go up. All I can figure is that it is due to the increased activity that is always part of my weekends.
But I'm not giving up. Dr. Meadows explained about not bending forward - and that it was a prohibition against not bending forward and twisting at the same time. And that the bending forward needs to be kept to a minimum by involving the knees to squat down when possible. I have been doing everything that I am told, and continue to do so. I am still walking between 30 and 50 minutes per day and doing my exercises as prescribed on the exercise ball.
Dr. Meadows is still seeing me and I am still getting treatments on the DRX9000 as well as Spine Force. I had a Spine Force session yesterday and I think I'm a little sore from THAT today. Hard to tell sometimes what is the original pain and what is additional muscle pain from the work you're doing. But, I have to say, that I still have that sharp, nerve-pain in my left buttock that was there on day-1 of my treatment.
My husband asked me a few days ago if I thought the treatment had helped me. I have to say that overall it has. I used to not be able to sleep when I went to bed without taking something to knock me out - take me under the pain. Now, I just go to bed and go to sleep. I used to not be able to sit up on the sofa without feeling intense pain for most of the time that I was sitting. That is no longer true. As a matter of fact, when I first started seeing Dr. Meadows and the Spinal Relief team, I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts because of the pain. THAT is certainly no longer true. But is the pain gone? No. Not yet anyway. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Spine Force
So I did manage to have two visits with Dr. Meadows and his staff last week - despite the fact it was Thanksgiving weekend. I went in on Tuesday, and when Dr. Meadows overhead me say that I was taking off the following day to take my daughter on errands on her birthday - I was told to come in then too.
On Tuesday last week, the 25th, I got worked on the Spine Force machine for the first time. This is after I had a just over a week of doing exercises on the exercise ball to strengthen the intrinsic muscles in my back.
This is a picture of a spine force machine, but it's not at the Spinal Relief Center. After reading up on them on the Internet, I see that they are used for muscle rehab as well as disk rehab. There seem to be a fair amount of them in California, but Rochelle (in Dr. Meadows' office) told me that the ones in that office there in Redmond were the only ones in the state of Washington. That's pretty wild. Hard to have the only one of ANYTHING these days.
Okay, about the Spine Force machine...hmmm...I've only had one session on it, so I can't say much other than the fct that it didnt' cause me any additional pain. It seems to be a lesson in not only working the intrinsic muscles, but controlling them as well. You are asked to pull or push on the handles you see there on the machine, and to do so in such a way that you achieve a specific pressure reading on the machine. Your success or failure is based on how close you can get to the mark and how often. Rochelle said that I did pretty well for my first time with a score of about 70%.
At the writing of this blog entry, I find that I've needed several pain pills this week. My back has acted up and decided to hurt quite a bit again. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I have to say that the overall pain level has increased to a 4, with spikes to 6 and 7 - and I'm back to being in pain about 40% of the time. **sigh** Don't know what to think about that. I sure want this treatment to work - and I am honestly trying to do everything in my power to help it. I am doing as I'm told. I haven'y gotten in my hot tub, I have walked and not on the treadmill, I've done the strengthening exercises - and yet here I am. Still in pain. It's much better than it was, but I'm still going to treatments, and I'm wearing my disc disctractor belt when I'm on my feet.
I have high hopes, but I'm skeptical. Okay...that's it! I'm going for another treatment on Tuesday. We'll see how I am by then.
On Tuesday last week, the 25th, I got worked on the Spine Force machine for the first time. This is after I had a just over a week of doing exercises on the exercise ball to strengthen the intrinsic muscles in my back.
This is a picture of a spine force machine, but it's not at the Spinal Relief Center. After reading up on them on the Internet, I see that they are used for muscle rehab as well as disk rehab. There seem to be a fair amount of them in California, but Rochelle (in Dr. Meadows' office) told me that the ones in that office there in Redmond were the only ones in the state of Washington. That's pretty wild. Hard to have the only one of ANYTHING these days.
Okay, about the Spine Force machine...hmmm...I've only had one session on it, so I can't say much other than the fct that it didnt' cause me any additional pain. It seems to be a lesson in not only working the intrinsic muscles, but controlling them as well. You are asked to pull or push on the handles you see there on the machine, and to do so in such a way that you achieve a specific pressure reading on the machine. Your success or failure is based on how close you can get to the mark and how often. Rochelle said that I did pretty well for my first time with a score of about 70%.
At the writing of this blog entry, I find that I've needed several pain pills this week. My back has acted up and decided to hurt quite a bit again. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I have to say that the overall pain level has increased to a 4, with spikes to 6 and 7 - and I'm back to being in pain about 40% of the time. **sigh** Don't know what to think about that. I sure want this treatment to work - and I am honestly trying to do everything in my power to help it. I am doing as I'm told. I haven'y gotten in my hot tub, I have walked and not on the treadmill, I've done the strengthening exercises - and yet here I am. Still in pain. It's much better than it was, but I'm still going to treatments, and I'm wearing my disc disctractor belt when I'm on my feet.
I have high hopes, but I'm skeptical. Okay...that's it! I'm going for another treatment on Tuesday. We'll see how I am by then.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
We're in the Home Stretch Now . . .
but still no Hot Tub! Waaaaah! It's a cruel world, baby....a cruel world indeed. 
Well, it's been a few days since I checked in, and I was reminded of that fact when I went in for my treatment this morning. My back has been feeling pretty good (knock on wood), with the exception of some time this weekend when it hurt like all HELL because I guess I over-did it in the kitchen or something. Something like that... I had to make a CARROT CAKE...and some homemade white bread! I have stuffing coming up here at the end of the week and you can't just use any old crappy croutons you find at the store for Thanksgiving, y'know. So...I guess standing up in the kitchen, kneading bread dough and baking for three-and-a-half hours was overdoing it.
But the back held up until the very end of all that too. However, when I finally did sit down, it was telling me about it. ALL about it too. Other than that one day when I obviously did way too much, the rest of the weekend was a pretty low pain time. I was able to do pretty much everything I needed to do and the pain never got above a 2 or 3.
Dr. Meadows has changed my exercises and I started doing some strengthening stuff on the exercise ball this weekend. They look really simple, but when you concentrate and do what you're supposed to do, they get kinda hard. But I've increased my walking to 50 minutes a day (with doctor permission, so if you're reading this, Renee, you'll know I'm still doin' what I'm told!). And that's working out fine for me.
So not much to tell, other than the fact that Dr. Meadows also said that he was going to start me on the spine force machine on my next visit...I believe that's what he said anyway. Talk to you then!
Well, it's been a few days since I checked in, and I was reminded of that fact when I went in for my treatment this morning. My back has been feeling pretty good (knock on wood), with the exception of some time this weekend when it hurt like all HELL because I guess I over-did it in the kitchen or something. Something like that... I had to make a CARROT CAKE...and some homemade white bread! I have stuffing coming up here at the end of the week and you can't just use any old crappy croutons you find at the store for Thanksgiving, y'know. So...I guess standing up in the kitchen, kneading bread dough and baking for three-and-a-half hours was overdoing it.
But the back held up until the very end of all that too. However, when I finally did sit down, it was telling me about it. ALL about it too. Other than that one day when I obviously did way too much, the rest of the weekend was a pretty low pain time. I was able to do pretty much everything I needed to do and the pain never got above a 2 or 3.
Dr. Meadows has changed my exercises and I started doing some strengthening stuff on the exercise ball this weekend. They look really simple, but when you concentrate and do what you're supposed to do, they get kinda hard. But I've increased my walking to 50 minutes a day (with doctor permission, so if you're reading this, Renee, you'll know I'm still doin' what I'm told!). And that's working out fine for me.
So not much to tell, other than the fact that Dr. Meadows also said that he was going to start me on the spine force machine on my next visit...I believe that's what he said anyway. Talk to you then!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Treatment after 5-days Off
So I went for another back treatment today. It was the first since last Thursday, which has been a whopping five days ago. I've experienced a variety of pain and pain management over those five days. I had average pain on Friday - about 30% of the time - but on Saturday, the pain kicked up to the point that it was scary and I was concerned that maybe the treatment was somehow reversing. Now what did I DO to make that happen? Nothing. Surprisingly, I didn't over-exert myself and I still had a day of pretty big pain. Sometimes it hit 7 on the 1 - 10 pain scale, and it's been a while since I've seen sustained pain at that level. 
(Thoughtful pause: that statement alone actually a pretty good testimony for the effectiveness of this treatment). You know something else that is strange is that before I decided to have the spinal decompression treatment, I couldn't seem to find any information on it - and now, I find a ton of information on it. Lots of differing opinions, etc... What do I attribute that to? Well, I'll tell ya....I've noticed that my concentration levels are much higher now that I am out of pain. You may say "Duh!" - but let me tell you, when you slip into chronic pain, you are just so focused on making it stop or trying to block it out, that you don't necessarily notice all the lovely side-car baggage you are getting - such as the inability to concentrate. Now, given the fact that my job is sometimes all about intense concentration, I did, in fact, notice this phenomenon late in the game - just a few weeks before I contacted Dr. Meadows. But I'm certain that the same websites I'm seeing on the subject of spinal decompression existed in mid-September, I just didn't have the concentration levels needed to feret them out. And now I find that I can sit down, read a book, look stuff up on the Internet, think about stuff, and am generally getting back my mental agility. I'm sure that there is no small part of this attributable to the fact that I am now generally off of the pain medication except on the occassions when it is absolutely necessary - like this past Saturday. I finally succumbed and had to take a pain med about 3:00 p.m. that day. I wasn't happy about it because 1 pill almost always leads to 2 pills to get through the day.
Oh, and I'm not sure whether I've already mentioned it or not, but Dr. Meadows told me to increase my fish oil intake to 3 tablespoons per day....3 tablespoons. (Not really that much if you talk to the people at the health food store who think that a pint a day is about right). But gotta tell you....weird things are happening....such as I think the guy in the picture to the right is quite attrative....
I'm just sayin! One thing that's not a joke about the fish oil intake is the expense. That's something that you'd better budget if you decide to get these treatments. The fish oil alone is an additional $23.00 a week if you are taking the 2 tablespoon dose - at 3 tablespoons, that number goes up to $30 at least. Oh well....if it helps, it's well worth it, and you'll have the heart of a young Inuit when you're finished with your treatments. I think that taking fish oil on a regular basis is part of the maintenance of your back when you're done with your course of treatment, but it's at a much lesser rate. I think 1 tablespoon per day. I've gotten to the point that I actually look forward to it! I'm turning into a flippin' seal! 
The fish oil recommended by the good doc is Barlean's. I've been really happy with it, and I think it's a nationally known high-quality product that's made right down the road in Ferndale, Washington. Click here to check out their website. I think I'm going to take my own advice and see if I can't get it a little cheaper off ta Interweb!
So...bottom line: Here it is....week 8 of my spinal decompression experience, and my overall rating for the treatment and my decision to have it even WITHOUT insurance coverage is an 8.5. Why not a 9 or a 10? Well, because I'm reserving that mark for completion. I still have quite a bit of pain, and there's soreness and general sensitivity. But we're not done yet. OH! And I haven't yet taken another picture of Dr Meadows, but since I have pics up of the staff - including the Kangarooo, I thought I'd use a photo of him that you can find all over the internet. Better than nothin! I'm going to try to get a current one really soon. My treatments go on through this month and into mid-December, so I've got some time.
(Thoughtful pause: that statement alone actually a pretty good testimony for the effectiveness of this treatment). You know something else that is strange is that before I decided to have the spinal decompression treatment, I couldn't seem to find any information on it - and now, I find a ton of information on it. Lots of differing opinions, etc... What do I attribute that to? Well, I'll tell ya....I've noticed that my concentration levels are much higher now that I am out of pain. You may say "Duh!" - but let me tell you, when you slip into chronic pain, you are just so focused on making it stop or trying to block it out, that you don't necessarily notice all the lovely side-car baggage you are getting - such as the inability to concentrate. Now, given the fact that my job is sometimes all about intense concentration, I did, in fact, notice this phenomenon late in the game - just a few weeks before I contacted Dr. Meadows. But I'm certain that the same websites I'm seeing on the subject of spinal decompression existed in mid-September, I just didn't have the concentration levels needed to feret them out. And now I find that I can sit down, read a book, look stuff up on the Internet, think about stuff, and am generally getting back my mental agility. I'm sure that there is no small part of this attributable to the fact that I am now generally off of the pain medication except on the occassions when it is absolutely necessary - like this past Saturday. I finally succumbed and had to take a pain med about 3:00 p.m. that day. I wasn't happy about it because 1 pill almost always leads to 2 pills to get through the day. Oh, and I'm not sure whether I've already mentioned it or not, but Dr. Meadows told me to increase my fish oil intake to 3 tablespoons per day....3 tablespoons. (Not really that much if you talk to the people at the health food store who think that a pint a day is about right). But gotta tell you....weird things are happening....such as I think the guy in the picture to the right is quite attrative....
I'm just sayin! One thing that's not a joke about the fish oil intake is the expense. That's something that you'd better budget if you decide to get these treatments. The fish oil alone is an additional $23.00 a week if you are taking the 2 tablespoon dose - at 3 tablespoons, that number goes up to $30 at least. Oh well....if it helps, it's well worth it, and you'll have the heart of a young Inuit when you're finished with your treatments. I think that taking fish oil on a regular basis is part of the maintenance of your back when you're done with your course of treatment, but it's at a much lesser rate. I think 1 tablespoon per day. I've gotten to the point that I actually look forward to it! I'm turning into a flippin' seal! 
The fish oil recommended by the good doc is Barlean's. I've been really happy with it, and I think it's a nationally known high-quality product that's made right down the road in Ferndale, Washington. Click here to check out their website. I think I'm going to take my own advice and see if I can't get it a little cheaper off ta Interweb!So...bottom line: Here it is....week 8 of my spinal decompression experience, and my overall rating for the treatment and my decision to have it even WITHOUT insurance coverage is an 8.5. Why not a 9 or a 10? Well, because I'm reserving that mark for completion. I still have quite a bit of pain, and there's soreness and general sensitivity. But we're not done yet. OH! And I haven't yet taken another picture of Dr Meadows, but since I have pics up of the staff - including the Kangarooo, I thought I'd use a photo of him that you can find all over the internet. Better than nothin! I'm going to try to get a current one really soon. My treatments go on through this month and into mid-December, so I've got some time.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Another 3 Treatments Down the Road
Well, I'm another 3 treatments into my course at the Spinal Relief Center. I have been doing my 30 minutes a day walking, and I've been riding my stationary bike on alternating days for about 15-20 minutes at a time. However, as I sit here and type this entry, my back is hurting. It's actually hurting mostly in my butt. I am, sitting down in this spanky cool chair that I work in which seems to be the most comfortable thing I can manage. It's got a mesh seat pan that gives really nicely when you sit down on it. But I know that if it doesn't get better pretty quickly today, I'm going to be forced to take a friggin' pain pill. I will hold off as long as possible though. I know that the only thing I have not been as diligent on as I might are the intrinsic muscle exercises. And even then, it's only that I haven't done the position that requires I be on my knees as much as I've done the seated ones. Oh well. I know that things take time, and Allison has told me when she's put me on the table, that this is the norm. It tends to go up and down in cycles. So I still have faith in the process. I'm not due for another treatment until next Tuesday, and I look forward to it. I thought I'd post a little update though - it's not all sweetness and light. And it's not a miracle cure. I'm just hoping that it will actually work when it's all said and done. One of the variables that was intraoduced in the past few days is that I went to Dr. Meadows' other office, which is a straight chiropractic practice, and they determined that my left leg was 7 mm shorter than the right. They provided me with a heel lift - so it may be that the heel lift being in there has been just enough to irritate the already very delicate back. We'll see.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
happy Halloween from the Spinal Relief Center
Well, today was another spine treatment. My lower back hurt quite a bit while I was on the table today. I think Dr. Meadows said that he was going to increase the weight on the machine next week. And he also increased my fish oil intake to 3 tablespoons a day. But I have great hopes for the weekend and will write more about that on Monday. What I want to write about today is the amazing transformation that Renee, pictured in the previous post, has undergone. She has become a roo. See the picture for verification. ha ha! Yes...I walked into the spinal relief center this morning to find the crew all dressed up. I wish I was a better photographer, but I did the best I could. First is Renee the roo. 
Then we have Renee the Roo holding her little joey. 
Oh my God! She was sooooo cute in that costume.
Next we have Allison and Jeannie. They work with the patients more than Jessica and Renee do. they are the ones who actually put you in the belt, lay you on the table and get you all strapped in and stretching. They also come and get you afterward and put you in your ice chair, bring you water, and start your leg massage with the chair. But today, they were both kittens with their cool little headbands and jeans.
We asked Dr. Meadows what he was going to dress up as on Halloween, and he said, of course, that he was going to be a doctor. A likely story! I still didn't get a picture of him, but I will. This was a special occasion and I think it only fitting to only put up the pictures of those intrepid enough to don a costume. Tomorrow is Halloween - I've spent a great deal of time prepping for it this year, and it's almost here. And now for the last picture - but certainly not least - here's Jessica all decked out like a good little soldier girl.
Then we have Renee the Roo holding her little joey. 
Oh my God! She was sooooo cute in that costume. Next we have Allison and Jeannie. They work with the patients more than Jessica and Renee do. they are the ones who actually put you in the belt, lay you on the table and get you all strapped in and stretching. They also come and get you afterward and put you in your ice chair, bring you water, and start your leg massage with the chair. But today, they were both kittens with their cool little headbands and jeans.
We asked Dr. Meadows what he was going to dress up as on Halloween, and he said, of course, that he was going to be a doctor. A likely story! I still didn't get a picture of him, but I will. This was a special occasion and I think it only fitting to only put up the pictures of those intrepid enough to don a costume. Tomorrow is Halloween - I've spent a great deal of time prepping for it this year, and it's almost here. And now for the last picture - but certainly not least - here's Jessica all decked out like a good little soldier girl.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
3-Treatment Day Week-
Hello from Wednesday! It's the first Wednesday for five weeks that I have not had a spinal decompression treatment, and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm actually a little bit sore, and I'm not quite sure from what other than maybe the intrinsic muscle exercises that I've been doing since they had me stop wearing my belt.
I'm going to bed pretty quick because I have to get up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow to head back over to the spinal relief center. However, I wanted to make sure that I did get an entry written. I think I'm going to have to write down tomorrow that my highest pain level today was a 7 - and that was riding in to work on the bus. My lowest pain level today was a big, fat ZERO. And I found that I was in pain only about 30% of the time with an overall pain level of about 3-4. Not too shabby. I did two sets of walking today. One was 22 minutes and one was 17 minutes. I'm so excited to get back to exercising, but I am going to have to be extremely careful to not overdo things. I sure don't want to damage myself.
I also have been saying that I was going to get some pics put up, and I'm making good on that promise as well.
Pictured here is Renee from the Spinal Relief Center. Renee is the office manager, though I'm not sure whether that is an official title or not. All you have to do is go there and interact with her to know that's her role, however. She's very efficient, personable and professional and I like her quite a bit. I'm not sure how she felt about getting her picture taken, but his is a decent one, even though it seems like she's just about to roll her eyes at me. I certainly wouldn't blame her. This picture was taken at about 6:15 a.m. Who the hell wants to get their picture taken at that hour? But she was a good sport about it.
So when I was walking on the STREET (which is something I make kind of a big deal about with Dr. Meadows and the crew - mostly because I don't like walking on the street and spent $1500 on a treadmill so that I wouldn't have to) and I found that my back was getting pinchy a thought occured to me. Another reason that I bought the treadmill is because spine doctor Chris Standaert (a dude I will not go back to unless I just absolutely have to) said that I should get a treadmill to walk on because when I felt my back starting to give me problems, I could just get off and go and lie down. That's probably one of the only things he ever said to me that made any sense. But, that's for another blog. One of these days I may just make a "Shitty Doctors of Seattle" blog, but not today. Anyway, it occured to me that is was another reason I bought the treadmill in the first place and I began to cast about in thought. It was then I remembered that a friend of mine had an old-school Nordic track that looked like it was hand-built by the founders of IKEA. It is a leg-powered treadmill and thus does not have the motor that causes damage to the spine. (which I mentioned in the post right before this) Anyway, I called and it turns out that he was about to put it on Craig's List and try to get rid of it, so I scooped it up. It's nice because I can just get up and go and walk in the exercise room like I'd been accustomed to doing and like I missed so much. So I tried that for the first time this morning (that was the 22 minute walk - the 17 was on the street downtown during my lunch break). So, life is coming together. I wonder if, with my reduced overall pain and lowered percentage if it would be worthwhile to ask Dr. Meadows if I could get in the hot tub again.
I've put up a picture of the old-school Nordic Trak here so you can laugh your ass off. And Renee, if you're reading this, look what I've been reduced to! You can't see it, but my Billy-bad-ass motorized treadmill is all folded up, disrespected and stuck off behind this little wooded wonder. But I'll be good. I'm determined to do as I'm told and get better once and for all, and STAY THAT WAY.
So, goodnight . . . tomorrow I will put up a picture of the DRX9000, and possibly one of Dr. Meadows. I would like to get a new and more candid photo of him than the one that is on the Internet about 5000 times. He's much more pleasant looking than that photo makes him out to be. Talk to you tomorrow.
I'm going to bed pretty quick because I have to get up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow to head back over to the spinal relief center. However, I wanted to make sure that I did get an entry written. I think I'm going to have to write down tomorrow that my highest pain level today was a 7 - and that was riding in to work on the bus. My lowest pain level today was a big, fat ZERO. And I found that I was in pain only about 30% of the time with an overall pain level of about 3-4. Not too shabby. I did two sets of walking today. One was 22 minutes and one was 17 minutes. I'm so excited to get back to exercising, but I am going to have to be extremely careful to not overdo things. I sure don't want to damage myself.
I also have been saying that I was going to get some pics put up, and I'm making good on that promise as well.
Pictured here is Renee from the Spinal Relief Center. Renee is the office manager, though I'm not sure whether that is an official title or not. All you have to do is go there and interact with her to know that's her role, however. She's very efficient, personable and professional and I like her quite a bit. I'm not sure how she felt about getting her picture taken, but his is a decent one, even though it seems like she's just about to roll her eyes at me. I certainly wouldn't blame her. This picture was taken at about 6:15 a.m. Who the hell wants to get their picture taken at that hour? But she was a good sport about it.
So when I was walking on the STREET (which is something I make kind of a big deal about with Dr. Meadows and the crew - mostly because I don't like walking on the street and spent $1500 on a treadmill so that I wouldn't have to) and I found that my back was getting pinchy a thought occured to me. Another reason that I bought the treadmill is because spine doctor Chris Standaert (a dude I will not go back to unless I just absolutely have to) said that I should get a treadmill to walk on because when I felt my back starting to give me problems, I could just get off and go and lie down. That's probably one of the only things he ever said to me that made any sense. But, that's for another blog. One of these days I may just make a "Shitty Doctors of Seattle" blog, but not today. Anyway, it occured to me that is was another reason I bought the treadmill in the first place and I began to cast about in thought. It was then I remembered that a friend of mine had an old-school Nordic track that looked like it was hand-built by the founders of IKEA. It is a leg-powered treadmill and thus does not have the motor that causes damage to the spine. (which I mentioned in the post right before this) Anyway, I called and it turns out that he was about to put it on Craig's List and try to get rid of it, so I scooped it up. It's nice because I can just get up and go and walk in the exercise room like I'd been accustomed to doing and like I missed so much. So I tried that for the first time this morning (that was the 22 minute walk - the 17 was on the street downtown during my lunch break). So, life is coming together. I wonder if, with my reduced overall pain and lowered percentage if it would be worthwhile to ask Dr. Meadows if I could get in the hot tub again.
I've put up a picture of the old-school Nordic Trak here so you can laugh your ass off. And Renee, if you're reading this, look what I've been reduced to! You can't see it, but my Billy-bad-ass motorized treadmill is all folded up, disrespected and stuck off behind this little wooded wonder. But I'll be good. I'm determined to do as I'm told and get better once and for all, and STAY THAT WAY.
So, goodnight . . . tomorrow I will put up a picture of the DRX9000, and possibly one of Dr. Meadows. I would like to get a new and more candid photo of him than the one that is on the Internet about 5000 times. He's much more pleasant looking than that photo makes him out to be. Talk to you tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Decompression Continues
Well it's been forever since I wrote an entry into this blog journal. For those of you out there who are looking at this to get some kind of idea what goes on during the spinal decompression therapy, I apologize. Blogger actually shut down this blod for a few days because it was picked up by one of the bots as a potential spam blog. That sucks because it got me out of the rhythm of writing in it. Not like I'd established a big rhythm, but still.
Anyway, I'm writing today, here in my fifth week of treatment where I am no longer required to wear the disk distractor belt all day - and am also going to treatments only 3 times a week. I have to say that overall I feel much better. It's time now, however, to put my effort into my own healing as there are exercises to be done to maintain what I've gained. Now if you're looking into spinal decompression therapy, know this: It is not going to be a hands-off process for you. You are going to have to participate in your own therapy. The table that you lie down on and get stretched on is only part of what needs to be done. In the first weeks, you must wear your disc distractor belt (I'll put a picture of it up later, and maybe even one of me wearing it) every single day, every single minute except when you are lying down or are in the shower. This belt separates your rib cage and your hips and forces your posture to be upright. This takes pressure off of your lower back and immeditately makes you feel better. I complained about having to wear it at first, but when I had my one month check-up with Dr. Meadows last week, was surprised to reveal to him that I had now come to rely on it as a sort of security blankey....he said that he knew that, and that I was going to have to take it off and wear it only for four hours following treatments just the same. Poo!
You also have to do some exercise in that you have to walk. Now for someone who was walking 3.5 miles a day on a treadmill before they went in for this therapy, you'd think that would not be a problem for me. But I am not allowed to walk on the treadmill. The motion of the belt constantly coming toward you and continuing on its forward path as you set your foot down each and every time is jarring on your spine. So...even though I spent $1,500 because I hated to walk outside, I am now having to walk outside. Another thing you need to get accustomed to if you are going to participate in this treatment, is you are going to have to take supplements. Lots of supplements. You have to drink your two tablespoons of fish oil every day (really helps with your hair and nails) and you are going to have to take 3 other supplements twice a day, plus a liquid B12 supplement. But you know what? It works. When I went in to see Dr. Meadows and his Spinal Relief team, I was taking 3 oxycodone a day, and that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to cut through the dramatic nerve pain I was feeling 24/7. It gave me about 7 hours respite from a pain that had reached a 9-10 range and brough it down to the 6-7 range....again, for about 7 hours out of the day. I am now not taking any pain killers - well, I did have to take one on Saturday, and I hated to do it - but I did. I took another one last night when I got home, but that's certainly nothing like 3 per day and feeling like you're going to have to be on them for the rest of your life.
So today's visit was great. I'm going to miss going there when all the therapy is done. Dr. Meadows has put together a really nice group of people and is practicing a non-invasive, very effective spinal relief technique and therapy.
I guess I shouldn't feel too badly about not making more posts. Basically the treatment has been the same each and every time I've gone - well, with the exception of the weight being increased that pulls on me. I don't know what I'm up to now, but I'll ask when I go back on Thursday. Gasp! I get to skip a day! Such a deal.
Okay...I promise to write more later - and not waaaaay later this next time. I'll make another entry after I go for Thursday's visit and see what it's like to skip a day in the middle of the treatment week. Ciao!
Anyway, I'm writing today, here in my fifth week of treatment where I am no longer required to wear the disk distractor belt all day - and am also going to treatments only 3 times a week. I have to say that overall I feel much better. It's time now, however, to put my effort into my own healing as there are exercises to be done to maintain what I've gained. Now if you're looking into spinal decompression therapy, know this: It is not going to be a hands-off process for you. You are going to have to participate in your own therapy. The table that you lie down on and get stretched on is only part of what needs to be done. In the first weeks, you must wear your disc distractor belt (I'll put a picture of it up later, and maybe even one of me wearing it) every single day, every single minute except when you are lying down or are in the shower. This belt separates your rib cage and your hips and forces your posture to be upright. This takes pressure off of your lower back and immeditately makes you feel better. I complained about having to wear it at first, but when I had my one month check-up with Dr. Meadows last week, was surprised to reveal to him that I had now come to rely on it as a sort of security blankey....he said that he knew that, and that I was going to have to take it off and wear it only for four hours following treatments just the same. Poo!
You also have to do some exercise in that you have to walk. Now for someone who was walking 3.5 miles a day on a treadmill before they went in for this therapy, you'd think that would not be a problem for me. But I am not allowed to walk on the treadmill. The motion of the belt constantly coming toward you and continuing on its forward path as you set your foot down each and every time is jarring on your spine. So...even though I spent $1,500 because I hated to walk outside, I am now having to walk outside. Another thing you need to get accustomed to if you are going to participate in this treatment, is you are going to have to take supplements. Lots of supplements. You have to drink your two tablespoons of fish oil every day (really helps with your hair and nails) and you are going to have to take 3 other supplements twice a day, plus a liquid B12 supplement. But you know what? It works. When I went in to see Dr. Meadows and his Spinal Relief team, I was taking 3 oxycodone a day, and that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to cut through the dramatic nerve pain I was feeling 24/7. It gave me about 7 hours respite from a pain that had reached a 9-10 range and brough it down to the 6-7 range....again, for about 7 hours out of the day. I am now not taking any pain killers - well, I did have to take one on Saturday, and I hated to do it - but I did. I took another one last night when I got home, but that's certainly nothing like 3 per day and feeling like you're going to have to be on them for the rest of your life.
So today's visit was great. I'm going to miss going there when all the therapy is done. Dr. Meadows has put together a really nice group of people and is practicing a non-invasive, very effective spinal relief technique and therapy.
I guess I shouldn't feel too badly about not making more posts. Basically the treatment has been the same each and every time I've gone - well, with the exception of the weight being increased that pulls on me. I don't know what I'm up to now, but I'll ask when I go back on Thursday. Gasp! I get to skip a day! Such a deal.
Okay...I promise to write more later - and not waaaaay later this next time. I'll make another entry after I go for Thursday's visit and see what it's like to skip a day in the middle of the treatment week. Ciao!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
OMG! Fish Oil has a SHIT-LOAD of CALORIES!
Okay...I know this is my spinal decompression experience blog, and not a weight loss or even weight control blog - but I had to buy another bottle of fish oil today, and when I was putting it into my calorie counter, had the astonishing revelation that it is friggin' 270 calos for the dose that they have me on. Krikey! I'm on the phone right now with Spinal Relief Centers talking to Jessica and telling her about my "come to Jesus" moment with the calories in the fish oil. It's not like the kid can do anything, but I wanted to tell them.
I also told them after this morning's treatment what a great job they are doing. It's such a refreshing change to be treated halfway decent at a health care giving facility. I had a series of "words" with someone at the Minor & James clinic yesterday, but that's for another blog. This one is about my experience with Spinal Relief Centers. I asked Renee if I could take some photos of the place and some of them doing their jobs for my blog. She is going to ask Dr. Meadows, so I may have some pics to break up the text on this blog soon.
So today, Dr. Meadows set the machine to work the entire time on L3 with about 50 lbs. of pressure (well, it's really negative pressure since it's pulling instead of pushing). And honey, I am SORE! It makes sense to me that you will be sore because your body has been squashed for so long. It can't come back out into it's real shape without some pain. I mean, Keeerist! I lost 1.5 inches of my height over the past 2.5 years. That's a lot of stretching.
So anyway - I did also notice that my pain level has gone down generally about 2 or 3 points. I also noticed that for the past couple of days (doesn't look like it's gonna be that way today) I have had some of the time without pain. Therefore, I am beginning the weaning process off the Oxycodone now. I want to get under 10 milli a day. Once that's done, quitting is about a one-week process.
I'm sitting here at work, and I would feel bad for blogging, but my software isnt' working and I have a call into the help desk. I am using my secondary computer for database maintenance and can't use it for production work. Oh...am I talking about work on my spine blog? Okay...I'll stop.
So there you have it. Treatment No. 6 and all is well. They don't work on Fridays at the Spinal Relief Center, so I won't be having another visit 'til Monday.
Happy weekend!
I also told them after this morning's treatment what a great job they are doing. It's such a refreshing change to be treated halfway decent at a health care giving facility. I had a series of "words" with someone at the Minor & James clinic yesterday, but that's for another blog. This one is about my experience with Spinal Relief Centers. I asked Renee if I could take some photos of the place and some of them doing their jobs for my blog. She is going to ask Dr. Meadows, so I may have some pics to break up the text on this blog soon.
So today, Dr. Meadows set the machine to work the entire time on L3 with about 50 lbs. of pressure (well, it's really negative pressure since it's pulling instead of pushing). And honey, I am SORE! It makes sense to me that you will be sore because your body has been squashed for so long. It can't come back out into it's real shape without some pain. I mean, Keeerist! I lost 1.5 inches of my height over the past 2.5 years. That's a lot of stretching.
So anyway - I did also notice that my pain level has gone down generally about 2 or 3 points. I also noticed that for the past couple of days (doesn't look like it's gonna be that way today) I have had some of the time without pain. Therefore, I am beginning the weaning process off the Oxycodone now. I want to get under 10 milli a day. Once that's done, quitting is about a one-week process.
I'm sitting here at work, and I would feel bad for blogging, but my software isnt' working and I have a call into the help desk. I am using my secondary computer for database maintenance and can't use it for production work. Oh...am I talking about work on my spine blog? Okay...I'll stop.
So there you have it. Treatment No. 6 and all is well. They don't work on Fridays at the Spinal Relief Center, so I won't be having another visit 'til Monday.
Happy weekend!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Treatment No. 5
Okay... so something is happening at these spine treatments. Or with the program as a whole. I feel pretty good today, and I've got to say that my need for the pain pills is decreasing. Dr. Jeremy Meadows and his staff have been consistently nice and helpful. I believe that this may just turn out to be the best money I ever spent. Don't get me wrong - it is a LOT of money - but in truth, what price can you put on your health? None really. What was nearly excruciating pain when I walked or stood up from my chair or from my sofa, is now discomfort. Yes....discomfort. I do see hope. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, I remain cautiously optimistic despite the results I've seen so far. I am still wearing a spinal distraction belt with a friggin' ice pack in the back of it, and I am taking a butt-load of supplements every day and I'm NOT walking on my treadmill (which is reeking havoc on my mood, I must say, but no doubt allowing the inflammation in my back to settle down as well) but, despite all that . . . I am hopeful that this treatment is going to give me back a good deal of my life. And with that hope comes a rush of anticipated freedom that I haven't felt for a long while. It's hell crawling through life injured and wondering how you're going to deal with life in general. All will be well, however. I'll try to get some decent pictures of the staff and Dr. Meadows to put up here soon. I think that now I'm not being such a horse's ass when I show up there, they may be more amenable to my taking a few pics.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Day 2 of My Spinal Decompression Experience
Okay, I know that things like this should begin at the beginning, but the beginning happened so quickly that I barely had time to realize it had happened at all.
For the past two years, I have been plagued by pain in earnest. I've had a number of problems, one of them, since I was 17 years old, my lower back. At that time, I was diagnosed with spondelolysthesis (I may have spelled that wrong, but who cares?). Anyway, over the intervening years I've had back-attacks that have put me flat out all through my 20s and 30s and into my 40s. But since about three years ago when I was visiting my mom in Oklahoma and I put my leg on the side of the tub to shave, it has been much more severe. I had an MRI done a couple of years ago after being referred to q spine specilaist and that film revealed four herniated disks and a fragment of something lodged in the spinal column. Anyhoo, the pain was severe, but there was really nothing to be done, and, after some PT and in time, it got better, and most of the time I was out of pain. However, as time progressed, I noticed that my hands were going numb and that I was unable to stqnd for any length of time. In 2006, I injured my right knee, and that sent me on a journey of pain that culminated in my having a total knee replacement in 2007. While my back continued to hurt off and on, my focus was on my knee for about a year. Then, as my body realigned and readjusted to incorporate the change from the titanium knee, my back began to deteriorate further. Now, and for the past two months, I have been in pretty much constant pain. In desperation, I went to a place I heard of by looking in my Google mail called "Spinal Relief Centers." It is a franchise that is all over the US and also in Canada. The doctor who has it here in Western Washington is Jeremy Meadows, DC. I wrote for information on the process and received a bunch in the mail. Several bunches. And emails as well. Finally, because I was at the end of my rope with Sports and Spine medicine, and rheumatologists, I decided to go and see what it was all about. What I found out is that it is a mechanical process where the vertebrae are opened up by using a machine called a DX9500 so that the discs can heal themselves by having better nutrition and circulation. Okay - there's more to it than that, but those are the very basics. The reason I am writing this blog is because this process is not cheap. My treatments are costing $7,061 and that expense had to be paid by me UP FRONT. I have good insurance, but this process, for all it's promise, is not covered by that. And, I was unable to find a word about Dr. Jeremy Meadows, good or bad, that was not on a website being paid for by him. I did have Doc Meadows checked out by our docketing manager at work and he has not been sued by anyone in this area, so already we're ahead of the game I guess. However, since the treatments are so costly (with the "discount" and the break for cash payment it comes out to be about $250 per treatment), I thought it was a real shame that I could find no independent information about it on the internet. So, dear reader, I'm providing that service for you. I'm going to be seeing Dr. Meadows and his DX9500 for the next 8 weeks, and, during that time, I'm going to write down my experiences and impressions and how the treatment is working for me. It is my sincere hope that it DOES work for me, and that I am able to reclaim a good deal of my quality of life that has been lost to pain.
For the past two years, I have been plagued by pain in earnest. I've had a number of problems, one of them, since I was 17 years old, my lower back. At that time, I was diagnosed with spondelolysthesis (I may have spelled that wrong, but who cares?). Anyway, over the intervening years I've had back-attacks that have put me flat out all through my 20s and 30s and into my 40s. But since about three years ago when I was visiting my mom in Oklahoma and I put my leg on the side of the tub to shave, it has been much more severe. I had an MRI done a couple of years ago after being referred to q spine specilaist and that film revealed four herniated disks and a fragment of something lodged in the spinal column. Anyhoo, the pain was severe, but there was really nothing to be done, and, after some PT and in time, it got better, and most of the time I was out of pain. However, as time progressed, I noticed that my hands were going numb and that I was unable to stqnd for any length of time. In 2006, I injured my right knee, and that sent me on a journey of pain that culminated in my having a total knee replacement in 2007. While my back continued to hurt off and on, my focus was on my knee for about a year. Then, as my body realigned and readjusted to incorporate the change from the titanium knee, my back began to deteriorate further. Now, and for the past two months, I have been in pretty much constant pain. In desperation, I went to a place I heard of by looking in my Google mail called "Spinal Relief Centers." It is a franchise that is all over the US and also in Canada. The doctor who has it here in Western Washington is Jeremy Meadows, DC. I wrote for information on the process and received a bunch in the mail. Several bunches. And emails as well. Finally, because I was at the end of my rope with Sports and Spine medicine, and rheumatologists, I decided to go and see what it was all about. What I found out is that it is a mechanical process where the vertebrae are opened up by using a machine called a DX9500 so that the discs can heal themselves by having better nutrition and circulation. Okay - there's more to it than that, but those are the very basics. The reason I am writing this blog is because this process is not cheap. My treatments are costing $7,061 and that expense had to be paid by me UP FRONT. I have good insurance, but this process, for all it's promise, is not covered by that. And, I was unable to find a word about Dr. Jeremy Meadows, good or bad, that was not on a website being paid for by him. I did have Doc Meadows checked out by our docketing manager at work and he has not been sued by anyone in this area, so already we're ahead of the game I guess. However, since the treatments are so costly (with the "discount" and the break for cash payment it comes out to be about $250 per treatment), I thought it was a real shame that I could find no independent information about it on the internet. So, dear reader, I'm providing that service for you. I'm going to be seeing Dr. Meadows and his DX9500 for the next 8 weeks, and, during that time, I'm going to write down my experiences and impressions and how the treatment is working for me. It is my sincere hope that it DOES work for me, and that I am able to reclaim a good deal of my quality of life that has been lost to pain.
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