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View Full Version : Selfish whine- I’m tired of being in pain



gatorsmom
01-02-2021, 10:45 PM
I broke my ankle and needed emergency surgery back in September. I couldn’t walk on it for 7 weeks and basically laid around in bed healing. It hurt to stand for too long when my ankle was healing because the blood would pool in my leg and throb. So it was just easier to stay in bed. Dh and the kids brought my meals to me in bed. But staying in bed left me very deconditioned. No one warned me about that. Once I was given the ok to walk and do physical therapy, well, it was the Christmas season and I overdid it. Limping around with that awful black boot on and pushing myself to prep the house for Christmas strained my lower back and hip. And then twice in December I did a couple of things that really hurt my hip even more. Now I have more pain in my hip than I do my ankle. I’m limping now but putting the weight on my recently healed ankle because my hip hurts so bad. The doctor I saw 2 days ago said he thinks I have bursitis but I feel pain in my right sacroiliac joint as well. It hurts to turn my hip a certain way, it hurts to sit, it hurts to go down the steps, and some of my yoga moves bring on pain so bad it takes my breath away.

I wanted so bad to be done with the ankle pain but now find myself unable to do much because of my lower back/ hip pain. Almost all of Christmas break has been such a disappointment because of the constant pain. I didn’t enjoy most of it. I wanted to play games with my kids and enjoy our new board games but I just can’t get comfortable. I’m grumpy and impatient with my kids. I started the pain meds but they make me loopy and I have a hard time concentrating. I just want it to be healed and done with it.

Ok, whine over.

petesgirl
01-02-2021, 10:51 PM
Whine away!! That totally sucks, I'm so sorry.

Smillow
01-02-2021, 10:54 PM
I’m sorry - this sounds terrible! You have a swimming pool that can be winterized, don’t you? I would lobby hard to set it up to use. It would probably be great for impact free stretching and moving. I hope you feel better soon. I’m sure the long dark days of winter aren’t helping!

eta: have you consulted a chiropractor? When pregnant with DS, by my eighth month I could barely walk. Turns out my pelvis was out of alignment. One treatment and I was on the mend. It hurt just as much at first to move but with in a week I was out of pain. I realized then it had been gradually getting worse. My first “symptom” had been pain when putting on my underwear! I couldn’t step in to underpants without pain way before I was even showing and after the re-alignment I could step in with no pain up to delivery!

NCGrandma
01-02-2021, 11:54 PM
Whining and grumpiness are well deserved! I have had sacroiliac joint pain on and off for many years, and it HURTS! As does bursitis, not to mention your initial injury/surgery. Very frustrating. Hope you start to see some improvement.


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hillview
01-03-2021, 12:00 AM
Oh noooo that totally stinks and you have every right to whine. Sorry!

bisous
01-04-2021, 01:53 PM
Oh I'm so sorry. I hate seeing anyone suffer in this kind of pain!

Please ignore this if this is not helpful but can you find a way to numb the pain through an epidural or its equivalent? This worked for my mom's back pain (which was very different admittedly!). It goes to my theory of joint/muscle/nerve pain. I have also had some sports/exercise injuries over the years. My theory is, (unless it will cause some damage!), kill the pain and then try to move as normally as possible. I really feel like I can get other kinds of injuries when I try to move differently to accommodate my pain. My usual strategy, which probably won't work for you, is to take a big dose of ibuprofen for a day or two. It helps me heal up much quicker. For my mom, she had back pain, got an epidural, and even when it wore off several months later, she no longer had pain. The doctor surmised that it works because she was reacting to the initial pain which caused her to move, sit, etc. differently and caused a kind of a cycle of pain!

Maybe something to discuss with your doctor? I REALLY hope you feel better. Keep us updated!

georgiegirl
01-04-2021, 01:56 PM
That sounds miserable. I hope you are able to figure out how to make the pain get better.


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Gracemom
01-04-2021, 03:31 PM
Being in constant pain is very real and you have every right to complain. My sister had such severe abdominal pain she had to be on fentanyl and could barely function. Thankfully a doctor found the cause and a surgery greatly improved her pain so she could get off narcotics. I hope things improve for you soon!

gatorsmom
01-04-2021, 04:30 PM
Thank you so much to everyone who offered support. It’s surprising to me how constant pain can affect your mood, how clearly you can think, and how you view things. I’ll try to remember that the next time an older person is grumpy toward me or my kids.

As a small update, I saw my physical therapist this morning and she did a lot of probing around that problem spot on my hipbone. She doesn’t think I have bursitis but instead severe tendonitis in the tendons that connect my hamstring muscles to my hipbone. She thinks that when they spasm they hit the sciatic nerve and cause the shooting pain. She tried several different exercises and stretches to confirm her suspicion and I think she’s right. The good news is, that with yoga, stretching, using a foam roller and walking slowly on the treadmill I can get better quickly. Apparently my uneven gait is the problem. I’m overworking the sore muscles and tendons and throwing off my SI joint. I need to build up strength in my other leg (the one that had surgery). She guesses that I’ll be no longer needing the pain meds in 10-14 days. It’s such a relief to hear!

Kestrel
01-04-2021, 06:14 PM
That's a great update.

I do wonder if swimming would be more helpful than walking? You would still build strength without weight-bearing. Just a suggestion!

jent
01-04-2021, 10:36 PM
What a great update! I'm glad you saw a PT, it was what I was going to suggest.

I was thinking of you today as I did something to my back yesterday and it's been bugging me since. Definitely small potatoes compared with what you are going through, but I totally get that the constant physical pain just makes a person crabby and short tempered!

gatorsmom
01-05-2021, 01:03 PM
That's a great update.

I do wonder if swimming would be more helpful than walking? You would still build strength without weight-bearing. Just a suggestion!

No, you are absolutely right- swimming would be the perfect way to build up some strength in that other leg. Unfortunately Dh insisted we winterize our pool this year because our pool heater has been giving us trouble for the past year and he thought a cold winter could finish it off for good. If our pool heater broke during very cold weather it could damage the pool and be a very expensive fix so he insisted. But of all winters, the pool would have been so well-used these past few months by me and the kids! Bummer.

bisous
01-05-2021, 01:04 PM
Wow, it sounds like you hit upon the exact problem and have a good solution. That is really great news and keep feeling better!

gatorsmom
01-05-2021, 01:06 PM
What a great update! I'm glad you saw a PT, it was what I was going to suggest.

I was thinking of you today as I did something to my back yesterday and it's been bugging me since. Definitely small potatoes compared with what you are going through, but I totally get that the constant physical pain just makes a person crabby and short tempered!.

It’s amazing to me how constant much pain affects me. I want to be alone, I don’t like peripheral noise, I keep telling the kids to be quiet, I can’t focus properly, I forget things easily, etc. It really changes my personality and brain function.

Thanks for thinking of me. I hope your back pain is gone now.

AngB
01-05-2021, 01:13 PM
Ugh I am glad it's improving and hope you feel better soon!