Best Thing I've Done for my Health

Way back in October I flew to Boston with Eric and my sister. We had a marvelous time. I saw the wonderful sites of Massachusetts and Maine and went to a Patriots football game with amazing (see into Tom Brady's eyes) seats (cartoon hearts floating above my head and all). (had to load up the photo - LOL!)

Progressively through the year, my low back had been hurting but I'd been working through it, but never did I consider just how much the pain would bring me to my knees.

On the flight home from Boston, sitting in the same position for 6 hours (which turned into 7.5 hours due to a storm over the middle of the country) and the pressure of flying, I was in severe pain. I bit back tears and several times, the tears spilled over. I was shocked that the pain could radiate through my left hip down my leg so completely. There was no position to move into to alleviate the pain or pressure.

(I took this on my cell one night thinking I was simply staring. I didn't realize the pain was written on my face until I saw it.)

The word pain has so many meanings to different people. This pain was different in the three locations in my body: In my low back it was dull but constant and throbbing. In my calf it was like I had a charlie horse 24 hours a day....it never went away. It burned constantly! I kept trying to stretch it out with no results because it wasn't a muscle issue, it was the nerve telling my brain something that wasn't really there! My ankle felt like the bones were rubbing against each other with each and every small movement...like sandpaper scratching. It was a sharp, stabbing pain! I kept thinking little bone pieces were going to break off.

One Friday evening I was feeling like my back was just on the edge of staying together when I went to see my chiropractor. We did a full adjustment and by the time I went to my car, I knew there was something severely wrong! I could still walk but in pain with each step.  By Monday, I didn't want to move at all. The pain was way too much! I lay down on the living room floor and didn't move. I cried. The right word is "sob." My mom came to the house and drugged me up so I could sleep and helped me get up. She was wonderful and stayed with me for three days!

I scheduled an appointment with Dr Petron at the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center and he scheduled a back injection to help relieve the pain and swelling on the nerve in my back which was causing the severe pain in my leg.

On the day of the injection, my pain level was at a level 8 (out of 10), if not higher. I had worked in the ER for 10 years and had never quite understood when patients came in begging in tears for pain medications or injections for their back pain. I can now say I understand how desperate you become on those dark days.

When I met with Dr Petron a week later, he told me something that has motivated me to take action that nothing else has. (Even a looming threat of a scary illness of diabetes wasn't enough!) He said that I MUST lose weight if I don't want to live with this kind of pain the rest of my life. He said there's no guarantee that losing weight will get rid of the pain, but the pressure that weight puts on the back adds to the back pain.  It was the threat of pain that motivated me! He was very frank about the changes I have to make and I have taken them to heart.

He said, in addition to other changes, you must stop drinking soda. To start there.

I am a lover of Coke. I have loved coke for years. I hate the taste of Coke One and Diet Coke. Those just won't do....so giving it up in the past has never been an option (even when I participated in a Biggest Loser weigh off with friends I did not give it up). He basically gave me no choice. Give it up! Walk away. Wash your hands of the soda!

So I did. That day. Done.

The best thing I've done for my health  is to give up all soda!

It's been five months. When I'm craving a soda or carbonated beverages, I replace it with a mixture of soda water and Mio and I've found the carbonation to be pretty satisfying. Water is a favorite of mine these days.

That big change (in addition to a few other changes) has helped me see a weight loss of 21 pounds since October. I'm happy with that change if this is the result! And it's motivating me to make additional healthy changes.

Five months later, my back is still healing and I still have pain spikes from time to time. I had a second back injection in January and I'm hoping it holds me over for a good amount of time. I'm hoping that with additional weight loss I can keep the pain at bay and give time for my back to continue to heal completely. I've learned a lot about how my posture and which movements affect the pain.