Living with My Chronic Lower Back Pain

Millions of Americans are plagued with lower back pain and continuously look for back pain relief. It's hard to live with something that limits your movements and abilities. The term Degenerative Disc Disease can be misleading because degenerative leads someone to believe that over time the ‘disease’ will get worse. The other misleading part of the name is the term ‘disease’ when this is more of a condition. There is some disagreement between medical professionals as to whether or not the condition will worsen over time and some feel it may even improve.

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction refers to a problem where the sacrum interconnects with the pelvis. That joint can either be too loose or too tight causing discomfort and pain. There are several types of treatment that will help either condition; from deep tissue massage to chiropractic treatments. The goal is to stabilize the joint.

Bulging discs are discs that have shifted from their normal position and/or are ‘bulging’ out from between the vertebrae. This is something that generally happens over time. Some discs may also become herniated, usually from an accident or injury.

It is difficult to live the persistent and growing pain in my lower back. Some days just getting out of bed brings tears to my eyes and it takes a couple of hours to be able to stand straight, if I’m even able. The pain travels down both legs, some days just one, into my ankles. There is a bit of swelling in my lower back from my tail bone up and up about 5 inches. 

A bad day is two or three attempts to get out of bed accompanied by the sounds of groaning and more intense pain. It takes a lot of concentration to be able to take the first steps without having to sit back down. I have to hold on to the footboard for balance and then the door. Once out of the bedroom I have to be able to bear my own weight without assistance to move through the house. The steps are slow and careful with legs starting to shake. 

Once I sit down in the living room I can breathe again. Before I can get up and get coffee or breakfast, I have to give my body time to adjust to sitting. I’m not able to stand in the kitchen long enough to cook breakfast so I have cereal or something from the toaster that I start before I fix my coffee. When I get back to the living room, I have bend to sit the coffee down. This is not as easy as it seems. Holding my breath and tensing my muscles I bend to sit the cup down. Luckily I’m only shaking a little so I don’t spill much coffee. I sit careful and eat something so I can take my morning pills.

After I give the pills time to take effect, I can start trying to move around. I’m finally able to stand straighter, full height on a good day. I am able to get a shower now because I can stand longer and step in and out of the tub. I feel some pulling and grabbing in my back as I get dressed and sit again to allow my back to relax a bit. For the rest of the day I have to remember to take the pills I’m supposed to at the right times. I have to remember how to bend, lift and move to be able to do anything around the house without my back ‘locking up’ and taking me down for a day or two.

Poor circulation to my lower back and on through to my legs makes my legs swell if I sit with them down for very long. When I sit down I have to elevate my legs to help keep the swelling down and on bad days the swelling adds a pill to my regimen.

I have to wear clothes that aren’t binding around the waist so there is no added pressure to the back and even with pain pills my back and legs ache. It’s hard to exercise and I know that will help but if I twist or turn the wrong way, I get shooting pains and stay twisted until I can find some way to sit or lie down.

When standing, I have to constantly shift or sway from side to side to relieve the stress on my sacroiliac joint. This is something that I had done for years without realizing that I was even doing it. The chiropractor found that information very useful in diagnosis and treatment.

This is what I suffer with every day and what makes it hard to do the normal things that everyone else does without even thinking. I have to be careful how I bend down to tie my shoes or how quickly I change positions. Medication only really masks the symptoms and the pain to allow me any comfort at all.

My diagnoses are Degenerative Disc Disease and Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. I have four bulging discs in my lower back but luckily none have ruptured. I take about ten pills a day to help with inflammation and pain. I know there are people with much worse problems than I have and I try not to give in to the weaknesses when I can help it. Millions of people have the same diagnoses that I have to varying degrees. It’s something that can be managed but not cured.

I am not a medical professional and would not advise on any kind of treatment or therapy. I have had MRI’s and X-rays that have pinpointed my problems. If any of the above information sounds familiar, please see your physician and take the steps he recommends to help with your chronic pain.

If you've ever considered creating your own website where you are the boss, then you should take advantage of the free website building and hosting site. It's very easy to do and you can invite friends to post blogs or articles with you. It can even make you money. Check it out!

If you enjoy writing and are looking for an online community where you can publish and earn money, HubPages is the place for you! It's easy to get started and there are a lot of great people here to learn and earn with!