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.