Laid up

[Chad]

Sorry to hear Jeff. Everyone else has said it best, we can all relate to wanting to get back to it but let your body dictate what you are able to do. One day at a time as they say.

Or like like Tom Petty said "the waiting is the hardest part!"

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[Eugen]

Oh no! When you're body tells you things like this it's time to listen. Wishing you a quick recovery Jeff!

[ssmewing]

I also feel your pain. I had generalized pain that matched what I did in my back. But I could usually medicate, heat, or cold it to regenerate it for the next day.

Sometime during the winter my pain was in all my joints. I do mean all my joints. I knew that something new must be wrong. After seeing my PCP, I was referred to a Rheumatologist. In the area where I live, that was a months-long wait.

I read about what it may be during my off time. The one I did not want the tests to say was psoriatic arthritis. That is the one I have. I am still trying to come to grips with what that will mean for me. I know that the damage that it causes is forever. The key is taking the new drugs that slow the damage and ease the pain.

This is a disease that can put you in a power chair. But, I will pray that I find a way to keep on keeping one. And I know it is in God's hands, and he knows what his plan for me is.

So, here is why I hijacked your post JsinMO. I call it my rabbit hole. I have tech of all sorts. My smartphone is for when I leave the house. A Chromebook with nearly the same hardware as a regular laptop. And a Chrome cast on my TV. Lastly, my Home PC is connected to my main TV.

Using usually 2 of those pieces of hardware, I can listen to music and then chase a rabbit down the hole. You can find something that interests you, and then similar content will be next to every link you click on. I find it enjoyable, and the hours can go by fast, and it eases my wish that I was doing something physical.

[Harry]

ssmewing, thanks for the suggestions of what to do when you can’t. I’ll have to remember “the rabbit hole idea.” I’m having a procedure in late August and limited activity for three to four weeks after. I know I’ll be itching to get some seat time in. Harry

[ssmewing]

I have had the procedures. I can never wait. I figure that if I sit in my chair that long, of course, I would not have the pain I had from being active.

I also do not think it works. It is medically approved. That means it is a billable event. So, of course, they are going to offer it. Everyone I know, mostly, has a back problem. I asked them all if they had had the procedure, and they mostly all had had the procedure. I asked if they think it worked. No one said it was worth doing it, and did not notice any benefit.

[JSinMO]

I hesitated to post this, but now I’m glad I did. Keeping in mind the hobbies we share and enjoy working on, it’s a fairly high chance a lot of us will have something like this happen in our lives. I’m my mind the information you guys are sharing in this thread is just as important as anything we work on.

@DavidBarkey i did read up on that. And the symptoms sure are close. I talked to the doc he told to watch the calcium intake as too much could lead to kidney stones but magnesium shouldn’t be a problem. So I’ve add some supplements to my diet.

@ssmewing you hit the nail on the head for going down the rabbit hole! That’s pretty much what I’ve started doing for the moment! I’ve got my fingers crossed for you, ( well at least the ones that work at this point). And I’ll keep you in my prayers that you find a solution that will allow not to end up in that chair.

As for me they are saying I have a bulging disc which is causing the nerve and left arm problems. And some very strained muscles. Right now they are saying 2 to 4 weeks depending on how things go. To me the crazy part is there was no one event that caused this. Nothing that I was specifically doing and hurt it. So fatigue is the best answer I have for a cause. Thank god that it looks like I will heal up.

Again I want to thank you all you guys for sharing your input and experience here. Valuable information.

[Harry]

Since I worked in industry my whole life I’ve met a lot of people who have back problems, even my wife has back problems. My Dad had back problems and always preached to his sons about lifting with their legs. So I have always tried to be careful when lifting. I have noticed if I overdue any lifting activity, I get a lower back pain on the lower left side. Take some ibuprofen and the pain is gone. Ifeel lucky that I don’t have the many problems many people have. Harry

[Eugen]

I don't know if this is the right place to complain about back problems but I got that too. Sometimes it's worse, never completely pain free though, in the last few years. At the very least we know how you're feeling now.

[JSinMO]

I thought I would give an update to the situation here. I’m going to call this one, “when it rains it pours”.
I’ve given up on trying to work on any projects at the moment, working one handed and hurting doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m focused on trying to get healed up, a lot of doctors visits and frustration with not a lot of healing yet. I know you guys can relate.

I was informed yesterday that some of the equipment my company has was damaged in the recent minor flooding we have had in the area. I decided to take a drive out to the river to investigate and get some photos of the damage. Since it would just be driving and taking pictures I figured it would be ok. Well sure enough there was a broken pole that carried a cable across a canal that feeds into the Mississippi River. Both the pole and cable are presumably making their way to the Gulf of Mexico at this moment.
I decided to get some pictures from both sides of the canal and talk to the people there to see what services were down. I was just about done when I got attacked by a dog!
Not being able to move to fast there wasn’t a lot I could do. He got ahold of me on the left knee and bloodied me up a bit. Luckily he didn’t get a very good bite on me, no stitches required but it’s still rather painful. The rest of the day was spent filling out paperwork and trying to get shot records for the dog.

So now I have a screwed up back and just about useless left hand, and a torn up knee. If someone was telling me this story I would never believe it. I think I’m going to just stay in the house for awhile!

[DavidBarkey]

OMG , what did you do to piss off the powers that be . If they are trying to test your resolve , they gave you that advanced test . And yes I can relate .
For those who work with there hands , losing that ability even for a short time is frustrating .