Oh, My Aching Back

My back hurts. I had surgery nine years ago for an L5/S1 radiculopathy with lumbar disc herniation, and I’ve been living with some level of pain ever since. Some days it is a screaming, burning, stabbing pain, but most of the time it’s like a bad headache located in the vicinity of my tail bone and lower back. Far too often, the pain from the sciatic nerve shoots down into my left butt cheek and continues into the top of my thigh; those are the days when I limp around and try not to bend.

The surgeon said I developed post-surgical scar tissue in my back which is causing the continued irritation of the sciatic nerve. Since cutting into me is what caused the scar tissue, cutting into me again to remove the scar tissue wasn’t a good. He tried injections of various steroids to reduce the scar tissue, but I still have pain.

I take a prescription anti-inflammatory and a medication to deaden the nerve pain, but I still limp around pretty often. I’ve been offered narcotic pain medication, but I figure I’ll wait until I’m older and don’t care that I’m too buzzed on pain meds to think straight or drive a car. I see an OxyContin addiction in my future.

I’ve been told that exercise to increase my core muscle strength will reduce my pain, but so far that hasn’t worked out too well. Trainers and physical therapists usually don’t believe me when I tell them that they are pushing me too hard. Afterwards, when I’m in so much pain I can barely get out of bed for three days, they realize that I wasn’t kidding; that’s when they panic and drop me as a client. So mostly I do light exercises on my own with cardio thrown in for good measure. Weight loss would probably help my pain level, but I enjoy eating way too much to give up food. I figure I’ll be thin and pain-free when I’m dead.

Anyway, my back really hurts today, but things could be worse. Things could always be worse.

I think I’ll go lie down.