Bear
I've had chronic back pain for over 15 years , that means I pretty much have back pain every day , it's only the intensity that varies , I think I've only had about 8 totally pain free days in all that time , but you get used to a certain level of pain and you learn to live with it , you can function pretty normally with it to a certain extent , the main problem is that my back slips out easily and presses on a nerve , I have been using a hang up machine for years and it normally works great , mostly I was able to put it back in almost as fast as I can put it out ,
Have tried steady doses of all the over the counter pain relievers including Extra Heavy Duty Tylenol and while they work to some extent with the everyday pain they just don't work for me with the severe pain ,
I've tried acupuncture , traditional Chinese medicine , Homeopaths , Chiropractors , Physio therapists [ went to one just recently but after they checked me out they decided not to treat me as my back was too unstable and there was too much chance of making it worse ] , I've even tried Tia Chi for pain relief ,
I use a tens machine a fair bit and hot packs pretty much all the time but the hang up machine has always been my best relief , but it's just not working as well for me these days , where the back used to click back into place easily it doesn't any more ,
When I decided to build the house my doctor tried to talk me out of it , he reckoned my back wasn't up to it , I didn't listen , didn't see that I had much choice , I could afford to build a house my self or get some one else to build a shed for me , I wanted a house , for every day I worked on the house I spent another day at least laid up with the back ,
I had intended to have 6 months off after building the house to rest and get back into condition but a few weeks after I got this place pretty much finished I had to start building my brothers place , then I had to do the extensions to my shed and then it was just one project after another , each project slowed down by the fact that I just wasn't recovering as quickly between injuries any more , just more and more down time , and of course being obsessive to the point of stupidity I just saw my self getting further behind my self imposed schedule and just pushed my self more and more ,
Since I did the tiling on the veranda last November and December [ 180 sq metres ] and then put my back out bad helping a mate load wool bales I just haven't recovered at all , back was getting worse and all I could see was the projects lined up that needed to be done , the only time I felt relatively normal was when loaded up with codeine and I hate taking painkillers so they are only a last resort for me or at least they were , now I just have no choice , back was stoping me from sleeping , was working on getting 2 hours sleep a night , was in pain sitting up so I spent very little time on the computer , couldn't lay down for too long with out pain and in most cases walking around was my least painful way to go , at least for a half hour at a time , had trouble working on my projects because the pain made it hard to concentrate , got new doctor and new pain killers , worked well , made me drowsy but took the edge off the pain , was able to start projects again , but they loose effect after 6 weeks
It's finally gotten through my thick skull I have to take it easy , these two Lakers will be my last boat projects , working on things where I have to bend over then to any extent just isn't fun for me any more , it used to be I had all these projects to take my mind off the pain but now the pain is taking my mind off the projects
Doctor reckons after this last round of ultra sound and x-rays I should give up paddling and archery , Shoulder has severe chronic tendonitis , told doctor I was building a new much lighter kayak and a narrower Greenland style paddle and I'd build my self a new lighter poundage bow , I used to shoot a 70 lb longbow and now a 55# longbow , looks like I'll have to go to a 45# longbow , doctor reckons if I do that he'll try a cortisone injection into the shoulder , he reckons it's pointless doing it if I just keep doing things they way I have in the past
It's taken a long time but I'm finally starting to learn my lesson , finally sinking into my thick skull that if I want to still be getting around doing things in a few years I have to start listening to my wife and my doctors
David