Ambulances don't carry water
 

So, this ought to teach me that it's never a good idea to try to go into work on a Sunday.

I woke up this morning, scooted to the end of the bed as normal and put my feet on the floor. I then tried to straighten up...and immediately screamed and flopped back down as I felt horrible pain in my lower back. As I lay down, the pain receded relativey quicly, but any movement was out of the question. My limbs all worked, and nothing was numb, but anything but the slightest movement caused severe pain. I tried just lying there for a bit, and took an Alieve, to see if it would relax enough that I could at least get up. But after about 15 minutes it was clear that wasn't going to happen, so CP called 911.

Paramedics came, and (with plenty of pain) got me onto a backboard. They carried me downstairs (in the rain, that sucked) and into the ambulance.

A couple observations about being in an ambulance. First, I kinda had in the back of my mind that thought, "Okay, just relax and deal with the pain, all you've gotta do is deal until you're in the ambulance. Then you can relax" Hah, the amublance ride was probably the worst part. I felt every bump, lean, brake, etc. Second, they don't have water to drink back there. That sucked.

So yeah, doctor says it's "just" a spasm. They took x-rays, all looked clean. They gave me a pain injection (AFTER torturing my with the x-ray machine), then put me on vicodin and soma (there's really drug called soma? Do I really want to be taking that?). It was enough that I could sit up, stand up, and even make up our stairs at home.

So right now, I'm trying to relax at home. I still ache, and it still hurts like a bitch if I move in the wrong direction. But I can move (slowly) without blinding pain.

This sucks. I'm twenty-freaking-eight, what the hell?!

Um, my box fan issues seem pretty insignificant after reading that, GD.

Man, what a scary story. I'm really glad to hear that wasn't something far more serious. Not that what you are going through isn't a major suckfest.

I hope you get to feeling better really soon and please don't hesitate to call if there is anything we can do for you. Take care of yourself.

Did you do anything out of the ordinary on Saturday/Saturday night?

WTF???

Um, yes, there must have been some Saturday Night Shenanigans, right???


Riiiight?????


You are far too young for such crap! What have you been doing to yourself?


Ok, the good news is you'll be right as rein in no time ... and will have plenty of extra Soma on hand (and yes, I do want to be taking a drug called 'Soma.')

No. As a matter of fact, yesterday was one of the most lazy days I've had in a long time. We sat around and watched TV. The most strenuous thing we did was go around the corner to shop for clothes and groceries.

The only thing I can think of is that my upper back's been bugging me again recently, as I mentioned in the "So..." thread. It's happened before, and my time with the massage mat thing actually had it feeling really good last night. But it could be that that just kinda put all the muscles in my back on guard and/or my bad posture in general contributed.

"Adventures in Auto Fellatio" by Ghoulish Delight.

:)

Good lord GD! Scary stuff.

Feel better and if you guys need anything let me know.

Excuse me for stating the obvious...but that would suck!

I hope you feel better....

Weird... If you continue to have problems, make sure they do some sort of MRI rather than an X-ray; a friend had something similar happen to him (repeatedly) and after months of trying to figure it out they discovered his vertebrae were pinching the spinal cord cover, something which won't usually show up in an X-ray. Simply bending over to pet the dog would elongate his spine just enough to allow space between the vertabrae to open and when he stood back up the tissue would catch. Excruciating and very hard to pin down, but once they caught on treatment was much easier to obtain. (Mostly avoiding stretching the spine, some PT, meds, etc). He's only in his early thirties, so I guess you don't have to be an old fart to have such a thing happen.

Feel better!!!!!

Thanks for making me feel young again, GD.

But seriously, that sucks dude. Get some rest.

So sorry, hope you're feeling better soon.

Yeah, the doc said that if it continues to be a problem, an MRI would be the next step. But he was dead on when guessing my symptoms, so I've got reason to believe he knew what he was talking about.

What's really pissing me off is that since I can't exactly move much, I don't even get to enjoy my Vicodin haze, I just keep drifting into sleep. What a waste.

He does, however, get to enjoy having me as his slave (ok, just a tad more slavish than usual). Not that I mind in the slightest - bringing him things makes me feel like I'm helping even though I have no control over his back muscles. :) Poor guy, he's rather confined to whatever position he's in. He headed for bed at 8:30 with the idea of reading but I wonder how long that will last. I'm ready to wake up at 4am when the drugs wear off :D

I'm really starting to think that it was the lazy day that did it. That was probably our laziest day in the past 6 months, no joke.

It's been an interesting weekend what with Munchkin's surgery and gender bending plus checking GD in and out of the ER. I admit I'm glad that we had no plans this weekend.

Is it inappropriate to mention that a bunch of hunky firemen got here before the ambulance showed up? ;)

I’m 12. :D

Hugs GD. I hope you’re feeling better soon!

Ouch! That really sucks. Something lesser, but similar happened to me a few years ago. I laid down in the middle of the day for just a few minutes, and when I went to get back up I couldn't turn my head. I could function well enough to wait for Michael to come home and drive me to the chiropractor, who said that pinched nerves happen all the time and for no particular reason. So, don't feel too bad about the age thing. It's probably just one of those random weird things that happen. Feel better!

i don't know if he'll be waking up at 4am CP... soma's put me out for a minimum of 12 hours!

If it makes you any better - I did something similar when I was about 17 and in superb shape. Apparently your back isn't really designed to twist from side to side and bend down at the same side, and thus the fast spin before slamming to the floor in our little dance number was a potential back killer. Any chance you did a simultaneous twist and bend?

Hunky firefighters are never innappropriate. Remember, your taxes pay their salary.

My wife broke her hand on the beach in Huntington, and said the life gards were the BEST part of the experience. So no, what ever takes your mind off of the bad part is okay in my book.

But seriously GD, I hope it's nothing serious. I had a stiff neck in early November, and did PT, drugs (Oxycodine is better than Vicodin AND soma!:snap: ) but until they did the MRI they had no idea that I had two ruptured disks! I suffered for 7 months before they did the surgery. Now I'm a lot better. But I hope you don't have to go through that surgery. THAT sucks!!

Good luck my friend!

~Bob

Back pain sucks, and from your description yours is worse than mine has ever been. I hope you feel better soon.

Holy cow!

Hmmm. My friend Roddy had the same thing happen to him. He woke up and his back seized up. The pain from his back went through him and he thought he was having a heart attack. His wife called the ambulance, the whole bit. They took x-rays and all that and told him it was a spasm.

One of the things he said attributed to this was that his mattress was really soft. Too soft. It really messed with his spine. He was on some muscle relaxers and he was fine.

Hang in there, Mr. GD.
:)

Damn, that sounds like a tuff day. Where can we send our sympathy gifts?

Oh, firemen are never inappropriate. :D

They are the cherry on top when we meet up at Starbucks, run out for groceries, are stopped at the red light....Mmhmmm.

But I digress.

GD, I am so sorry to hear about this incident!!! My back has always bugged me but luckily no to this extent. That would freak me the hellout.

It is awful because you do think once you're in their care that the pain will stop but it doesn't until the doc sees you and allows them to give you something, right?

Take care of yourself and keep us posted.

Um...they probably carry those packs that they have to give you an i.v. for. I forget what they are called. I guess they don't do it automatically.

But, like you said in another thread, sometimes water can really make the difference.

Um, since my second question after "how are you feeling now?" was going to be "were the paramedics at least appropriately cute?" - - I'd say 'no.'







(Actually, hunky paramedics would have been my third question, since my second seems to have been "what are you going to do with any unused drugs?")

Yeah, but how many of them were laying on the bed in their underwear?

I made it through the ight withouth re-dosing. This morning I felt almost as good sans-dope as I was feeling last night with dope (almost).

The vicodin and soma should be kicking in any minute now...

I'm going to sound like a total dopehead but, Vicodin's good stuff. It helped a lot after my sinus surgery...
:)

Just dropping in to send some good vibes your way!

I'm living with limited mobilty. I should call the Scooter Store today. I don't qualify for Medicare? No problem!








God damn do I love watching the Price is Right.

Yikes! Oh, Greg, Tom and I wish you a speedy recover from this whatever-the-hell-it-is spasm-or-not. And may you enjoy your drugs while you have them (but not need them for too much longer.)

Yup. The drugs seem to be working..

Holy crap, Wilford Brimley lost his Liberty Medical gig to Delta Burke! How the hell is hs gonna pay for his oatmeal and insulin now?!

Let's hope his Liberty Medical Insurance covers it.

Lol! We'll have to archive this and run a GD and Scaeagles On Drugs retrospective later on.

Maybe they're sharin the gig. I saw a Wilford Brimley Liberty Medical commercial just yesterday. Too bad Nell Carter died (hope it wasn't because her diabetes supplies got lost in the mail), she was the best Liberty Medical spokesperson.

LOL!!

I went through this exact thing a couple years ago. I woke up one morning with back pain so severe I couldn't even sit up. I had to call paramedics who took me to the hospital. (And yes, the lead paramedic was VERY hunky and cute! :evil: ) Drugs helped me enough to use the bathroom on my own (though #2 was still a nightmare) but I was in pain for almost two months. Hopefully your recovery will be a lot shorter because of your age and overall better health.

Be thankful you have someone to tend to your needs. I live alone and had to get along by myself. CP, if you ever need a break, just call me and I can give him a sponge bath for you.

You had firemen laying in your bed wearing only their underwear? Got pictures?

:eek: Okay, that's a scary prospect! That'll definitely motivate me to get up and move around as much as I can today, per doctor's orders. I seem to be getting more mobile as the day goes on. Still takes a pretty good effort to stand up though.

Sorry to hear about your back troubled GD -- oddly enough the exact same thing happened to my brother about a week and a half ago, and he's only 25. He played volleyball I think the day before, then the next morning woke up and couldnt even get out of bed to go to the bathroom.

My parents took him to the hospital where he got MRIs done, and it was a disc that had slipped in his back. Not completely herniated, i.e. requiring surgery, but it was significantly damaged.

Now he is doing physical therapy three times a week to get that disc back in the correct place. He was able to move around much better like 3 or 4 days later, but he still can't sit long enough to go to work or to drive. It is getting steadily better though.

Sending some healing prayers your way!!!

(Read: a Vicodin and two Soma):D



I hope it continues to get better. And don't work that lovely lady of yours too hard ;)

I know when I first started taking the drugs, I thought "Okay, this ain't so bad!"... But then after about 6 months when the novelty wore off and I got tired of not being able to remember anything, it started getting real old. I wanted to be back to myself again. I'm pretty much there (although after being lathargic for 6 months and having fairly major surgery I'm still a bit weak).

I'll continue to pray for your healing.

~Bob

Awwwww man! That's terrible! I've had many a back pain in my life, but I've never (knock on wood) had it go completely out like that. I've heard many a horror story though. I do hope it gets better soon and you can determine what may have caused this bout of pain.

Youch! that is both frightening and annoying - I hope this situation is short lived for you and youhave a quick and complete recovery.

Sorry I'm jumping in so late - I hope that by the time you're reading this, you're already feeling better. When my Dad was 29, he spent a few days in the hospital for a slipped disc. I myself am still recovering from a cracked rib. Back pain is no fun. Take care of yourself!

Wishing you a speedy recovery, GD. Back injuries/pain/spasms are no fun.


I had lower back pain that went down to my nuts. Terrible. Just leaning forward to put the toilet seat down would ignite a trail of pain from back to sac. Took over two years to fully recover.

Well, I'm back at work today. I'm not 100%, but I can sit, stand, walk, go up and down stairs, etc. All sans-medication. As long as I take it slow and don't make sudden moves, I'm relatively pain free. Hopefully this improvement will continue.

Well, the Vicodin may be all yours if you want it*, I'll even give you the Limbaugh discount. So far, all it's done (other than mask the pain) is make me feel overheated and nauseated. The Soma...I haven't taken that on its own yet so I don't know if I want to keep it or not.





[size=1]*For legal reasons, I'm going to say that this is a joke[/quote]

Lucky you said that, I was just about to start a seance for my good friend J Edgar Hoover, and then you'd REALLY be in pain. Muahahahahhahah!

*ahem*

Wow my sense of humor really sucks before I've had my morning coffee. :rolleyes:

Um, they do have water on ambulance's just not for you. They would probably run an IV to get your fluids up before doing anything orally... Unless that is you wanted to help someone get into the code 3 club. Then the perrie would be flowing like it was Desiante. [sic sic sic too lazy to look up]

Anyhow hope your feeling better Sir, and to that end I recomend daily nude full release massages ;)

^^^ Heh, heh, he said "release."

Glad you were able to get back to contributing to our economy again, GD. I hope this whole thing turns out to be a fluke, and that it NEVER happens again ... your quota of horrible back pain having been filled.


Hahahahaha, joking, joking, Iamonlyjoking - Vicodin is useless as a recreational drug, imo. It's such a good pain killer, and such a retarded pharmaceutical feeling when there's no pain for it to work on. The Soma, however, is another story. And I'm betting you won't really want to part with it, which is no problemo as you deserve all the side benefits you can glean from this awful situation. Jokityjokejoke.

Holy crap, I don't check in for a couple days and all hell breaks loose over here! Ouch! Sorry to hear you're flat on your back.

My mom used to have spasms like that. She'd be stuck on the floor (wherever she fell when it hit her) for as much as 3 days.

Definitely try to head off the problem. The surgery may stop the spasms, but the pain doesn't necessarily go away, so catch it early and fix it before you get to that point!

(what surgery for munchkin? Do I have to do a bunny search now?)

Yes, but even better, he said:

:D

Funny how things look when taken out of context, isn't it?

Update?

I'm hoping you're feeling better and better. Will the MRI be necessary?

I'm late! Like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland! I missed this whole thread!
I hope you are feeling much better GD!

Back injuries and pain are horrible and I hope that you are well and truly on the mend, with no residual issues later on!

I am, thank you :)

I'm probably feeling about 90% better now. I no longer get any serious twinges of pain, I've felt confident enough to start carrying weight again, even rode my bike last night. About the only time it's been bothering me any more is if I have to sit for any more than 30 minutes, but even that's much improved from last week when I ended up having to bail from work after a 90 minute meeting that left me near immobile (even with the musle relaxant).

Hmmm, how long is that Pee-Wee movie anyway?

I am SO glad you're feeling better!!! :snap:

GD's avatar looks like he's on some serious drugs or completely wasted.
:D

Yes, I know he's on Space Mtn...

Scary story! I'm so glad you were not alone when it happened. :(

Hope you are doing much better- I've had some back spasms but nothing that severe- it doesn't sound like any fun at all. ;)

Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Oh, at this point it's not even an issue. My back just feels a little stiff for the first few seconds of standing after sitting for a while, then quickly loosens up. Contrast that to the meeting last week, where it took me probably a full minute to get out of my seat, I remained in discomfort for another 30 minutes, no matter how much standing and stretching I did. Like I said, MUCH improved.

I was just trying to live up to the image of my hero...the dude in my previous avatar. Obviously, I require much more grooming before I can be half as cool as he.

Sorry I'm joining in late, I've been in my own pain pill filled world for awhile now! I didn't join in here because my sentences weren't making sense any more so I certainly didn't want to confuse anyone here with my drug induced mistakes!

I'm so glad you are feeling better! That must have been a horrible scare for you and CP! Try not to overexert yourself for awhile.