HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Traveling with chronic pain

Support Forums
>
Chronic Pain
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 8/5/2008 2:52 AM (GMT 0)

Hello all,

  I was put back on pain meds and muscle relaxers recently.  My daughter is getting married out of state in Oct.  She needed me to come down for several mother of the bride things.  My 70yr old mother drove us (bless her) it was only a 3 hour drive.  Going down was fine; we left on Sunday morning and arrived around 1pm.  We then went out for a tour of many different places and then out for supper.  I was home in bed by 7pm.

Now today when I woke my legs would hardly move, I showered anyway and made the bed! (I never make the bed)

Part way through our daily events I asked if I could be taken back to my daughters to lay down,  I know that my pain, weakness and muscle spasms in my feet were because of the day before(I over did it)  I had great difficultly on the ride home as well.  I am now looking for a crisis plan for when I need to go back for my daughters wedding.

The way that I felt riding home, I was going to tell her I can’t make it.  This is something that I never thought would be so challenging, it is not like I drove.  (The pot holes in the rode are the worst)

Is the weakness in my legs because I need phycal therapy? I have been in bed for months.  Has anyone tried going to a chiropractor for DDD?  Since surgery is not an option what about spinal manipulation?  I was told while in the acute stages not to go to the chiropractor but now that the doctors can not help, maybe it is time to revisit the chiropractor?    

Cloe

Posted 8/5/2008 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Cloe; Congrats on your daughters wedding hugsss. Now for the important part. Sometimes we just have to get through for the family. I know you will find an inner strength to get through these wedding plans. Does your daughter know of your problems? Probably the weakness is because you have been in bed for a long time, or at least in my opinion it is but it would probably be best to call your doc and have him take a look just to be on the safe side. Alot of times us CP'ers get a little atrophy in the legs from being so sedentary for such a long time. Not sure about the chiro for the DDD. I dont think that there is a chiro out there that will touch my back and much of it is because I have had three fusion surgeries on my lower back.

Anyway I hope you get through this and I will pray for you.

Hugs....your friend

Scarred
Posted 8/5/2008 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
Cloe,

I would be very cautious about going to a chiropractor. At the very least, contact your doctor first and discus it with him/her. You don't want to do more damage at this stage.

Revisit the physical therapy. Maybe you can gain some of your strength back before the wedding, thereby avoiding some of the problems you just faced with your recent trip.

But by all means, discuss all this with your doctor. I'm sure you will get some good sound advice to help you. I too, will pray for you so that you can go to your daughter's wedding. You don't want to miss that!!

Feel better, Gentle Hugs,

Lindaloo
Posted 8/5/2008 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Cloe; My youngest son decided on having a Beach Wedding in Jamica-- my Daughter in law's dream. so We went, Travel agent did their very best to provide a handicapped cart and other amenties to make my flight more comfortable which was great in the USA but once in Jamica all bets were off.While the Jamicans tried they simply were not equipted to handle Yours truly. After the wedding the folowing day my wife and i left having paid for the entire week. I should have never gone.
Scarred is right about the Chiropractor and DDD. Sorry I have no answers only a story.
Posted 8/5/2008 4:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Cloe!
Another option is to go to an osteopath. They are a trained medical doctor & can read your films so they know exactly how to treat you without injuring you further. They are licensed to write scripts & such, but mostly work with their hands -- massage, chiropractic, cranio-sacral therapy, etc.
I love going to mine -- I almost always feel better for a few days after. One word of caution, don't wait to try it until the week of your travels. You never know how your body will respond the first time or two. It took me 3-4 weeks to get to where it consistently helped, but now I've been at it for almost 5 years and can see how it's helped me the majority of the time.
Posted 8/5/2008 5:04 AM (GMT 0)
Cloe ~ Pot holes ! Now there is something that should be outlawed !!!! I drive 20 miles to work each day in heavy traffic and it's enough with all the stopping and starting on the gas and the break but the potholes are the worst ! And it's worse to be a passenger because you can't control the speed which someone who has NO pain goes over them ! UGHHHHH , truly my pet peave right now as you can see !
Anyway , I agree with Frances and Scarred no chiro but do see someone and have them start treating you in anyway they can now so you are ready to go see your daughter walk down that aisle ! I love PT it hurts but i can feel it's making me stronger and the osteopath is a great idea ! Be
CP
Posted 8/5/2008 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, Cloe,
It's so sad, isn't it, that our lives get so condensed by CP? But this is a big event in your life and your daughter's. And I think you have time to put some plans into action. You've been given some good advice and I'd especially suggest avoiding a chiro. and going to your doc, and asking about physical therapy. One thing that can be very good is a water program. I don't know if this would be right for you but it's worth asking. Often there are PTs who do the traditional things, but in addition there's a small pool where you just walk around or use some light exercise equipment that's actually in the water. It's not going to be like trying to become an Olympian! But your muscles must be weak from being in bed all that time.

And I think psychologically to maybe learn from your past trip what did and didn't work. Overdoing it definitely doesn't for most of us (and most of us learn the hard way, as you did). Maybe you could plan on making the trip a couple of days before any wedding events start, and give yourself a chance to rest. I also tend now to ask very specific questions about what kind of chairs will be available, what activities would be involved (standing, sitting, walking) because even the most basic of things that for everyone else is normal (I always hear things like don't worry, we'll be sitting the whole time - which is my worst "activity"!) can be problematic for us. So don't be afraid to ask your daughter lots of quetions, ask for special accomodations in any way you need them (swallow your pride here!), and even be willing to skip certain events if it's going to make the day too long. Or allow yourself an "out" to leave the reception early if needed, or go back and rest somewhere. You get the idea.

But I'd see if you could strength your legs a bit (under a PT's supervision!), and vow to not overdo it, but that you'll also figure out a way to at least attend your daughter's wedding.

I know others will come along with more ideas! You're feeling the downside of having pushed too hard. Give yourself a little time to rest, and your perspective will likely change.

Hugs,
PaLady

Post Edited (PAlady) : 8/4/2008 11:23:10 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/5/2008 1:25 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the advice and stories! I think going up early and leaving the reception early is what it will be.(My daughter's soon to be husband totally understands) My daughter wants her old mom back. My soon to be son-inlaw waked with me at a very slow pace. Waited for me all that jazz ppl do and we tell them not to. I believe that whatever I ask or need between the two to them I will be fine.
I will cross off the chrio. P. I have a re-check at the doctors on the 20th. I will again take a list of questions. I am still at my moms so will walk in her community pool today. Thanks again! And good morning!
Cloe
Posted 8/5/2008 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
I agree....if the pool that I use was not 45 minutes away I would of course be there every day! I absolutely love their therapy pool and it was great and took most of my pain away for awhile.
Posted 8/7/2008 6:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Cloe, new here but just wanted to congrat you on your daughter's wedding and just say I think I speak for all here when I say we understand. I signed on here last night seeking advice and was so impressed with the people that came out to support me, especially those that seem even worse off then I am. I know for me the hardest part is struggling with not being able to all I could do prior to my accident and experiencing this sort of pain regularly. I have been told the same things by my doctors if you don't use it, you will lose it... so I had gotten my self signed out of work again (had gone back full-time after the initial accident and worked for over a year straight until the pain become so unbearable I was using vacation time to lay in bed and cry I had been out of work for 6 months time prior/ posy accident to do physical therapy, surgeries etc.) someone told me about pain management, signed up, thankfully got a great dr. and he gave me meds to help me through and had me do physical therapy 3x a week. At first the therapy was really hard and would cause me more pain, but the dr. told me that was too be expected, then it got to a point where I still had the pain during, but actually felt better and looser afterwards and little by little (now about 4 months from when I started again) the strength started coming back in my leg. Then I was told my leg was actually coming along better then expected all suddenly in the last month, but now my pain has increased again greatly, that I actually just cancelled a PT appt. for today. The Dr. had warned me about this also, saying that once I got the muscles, joints etc working again the pain would most likely increase for a bit because I am not use to using it in that fashion. I still find it does really help though and am actually freaking out because my insurance only pays for 60 visits for the year and I am already up to 51, so have cut back to one or two days a week right now because I am also seeing an OT-hand therapist for my left finger now after a new surgery for that back in July and those also count towards the 60...

My advice is it deffinitly couldn't hurt to try, supervised of course... and to push yourself a little but not to play the hero or superman/woman either. It will be hard at first, but it does loosen you up and make the day a bit more bearable at least it did for me... I also love to travel and have been hating being coop'd up mainly just to go to appts and dr. follow ups and deal with all this medical paperwork and the fun side effects of the pain killers... but thankfully in June my brother and at the time finacee, went down to FL together to meet up with my mom (who has MS) and we went to Disney - mom and me got matching scooters, and with everyone with me being able to understand my limitations and having the scooter (as embarassing as it was) I actually enjoyed myself. A week of two later though I had tried to go to the zoo for the day and I don't know what I was thinking! I just wanted a gun to put me out of my misery because I had no scooter, the ground was so uneven and not even a half-hour in I couldn't walk anymore without hanging on to my fiance, crying and needing lots of rest-sit down breaks. I pushed through because I didn't want to dissappoint, but we finally left. We both made the mistake thinking of how well I did at Disney but we didn't take the same precautions this time around. So if you just prepare yourself as much as possible before hand, look into anything that could make it an easier trip for you and know your limitations and discuss openly and honestly with your daughter and other family members you can make it a successful trip that you can actually enjoy.

Also to note I find these lidoderm patches my dr. gave me sometimes works a charm - even better then the pain meds on occassion, especially if I put them on a couple of hours before an activity and then again that night before bed. The muscle relaxer I think sometimes makes me worse, it helps the spasms at night and allows me to get some comfortable rest, but I think it makes it harder for me to use the leg the next day so I actually avoid them the night before I have something planned activity wise. I also know what works for some doesn't work for everyone and we all have different levels of pain etc.

Any way good luck to you, the best we can do is educate ourselfs and those around us, and if we trust our drs. listen to their advice. Mine seems to think I still have a good shot at beating this, but it may take a year or so before I feel physically up to par... In the meantime when I have a good day I try and do things, and when I have a bad day I do what I can and don't push myself... I am hoping to go back to work part-time with accomodation next month and work my way back up, knowing I will always have some level of pain due to my injuries but that hopefully if the drs. are right once my body/leg gets used to using the muscles and joints correctly again I will be able to do more and more and use my leg as for walking, climbing stairs etc. correctly again. My biggest problem is I think due to the pain, I put the stress on my good leg by not using proper position etc. and then that throws the rest of me out of whack as well...

Find yourself a great back massager for the car and even use a pillow or two to cushion the seat for the drive. Pamper yourself and maybe stopping the car every half hour or so to just stretch will help. Once you get to your destination use anything that will make it easier for you and most of all don't be afraid to address your concerns with your dr.
Posted 8/9/2008 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
Marmite...I have been at the meal replacement stage for most of my nutrition for almost three years now.I started it when my morphine intake was increased to over 400mgs./day. just so I can walk and my my GI tract virtually shut down. I"ve been to the specialists and taken their multitudes of different pills to increase stomach motility and almost every constipation remedy ever made with no luck.My Dr's have also tried different narcotics for me over the last nine years and they didn't work or made matters worse.I know that as far as walking and moving that if I don't use it,I'll lose it,and try to do just a tiny bit more everyday.Car rides can really set me back.My son bought a smallish motorhome and it really helped me out when I was able to lie on my back for the six hr. each way drive that I had to take so I could visit my Mom before she went in for her cancer surgury two years ago (so far,so good for Mom)..... I hope you are strong enough to make it to your daughters wedding in Oct. Cloe.....Take care and may God Bless you guys...........Rod
Posted 8/10/2008 9:24 AM (GMT 0)
Marmite.....I think the problem for me is a combo of reasons. I tense up as soon as I get in the car because I've arrived at destinations before, and not been able to get out of the car and walk.Bumps,g-forces and traffic stress all don't help.Being able to lay down and wedge myself in on a bed or mattress in a van or motorhome keeps my body from being thrown around and lessens the chance of further injury and pain. I'm very carefull, like you and try not to do things that I know are going to increase my pain because my body is having enough trouble handling the amount of pain killers I take as it is.....Cloe....Is there any chance you could rent or borrow a van that your Mom or friend could drive, so you could lay down and get comfortable for your trip to your daughters wedding? It sure makes a big difference for me when I have to travel.Take care you guys............Rod
Posted 8/10/2008 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
I"m not precisely sure what it is about sitting - I think it's a combination of things. I didn't find out until I was recuperating from my lumbar spine surgery that sitting was actually the worst thing I could do. Puts pressure on the spine. Plus for me I have a ton of sciatic problems, exacerbated by SI join problems. So sitting for me is one of the worst things. It's very tough for most people to understand since it seems like it should be the easier, safest and least painless of things - next to lying down!

PaLady
Posted 8/11/2008 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Once again I find that I am not alone and that most of you posters are strong enough to face much more pain and health issues then I have been dealt. This is what keeps me going, if someone can take something more horrific then I with grace(lack of better word). Well then so am I. I could and have laid down in the back seat. I went to a Green Bay Packers Game last year and sat in the passenger seat going up but laid down on the way home. I was at this time receiving proper medications. ( I was cut off them and am now being given a second chance that I will NOT over take) What a challenge this is, a daily fight. I want to do it all again and I want to do it now! But I can't period. I get my refill on the 20Th. LOL Off topic sorry. Thanks for the advice and courage!
Cloe
Posted 8/11/2008 8:04 AM (GMT 0)
One of my beefs is that places that should know better like Dr's offices,disability offices, ER's, Dentists and other health care facilities make NO attempt to make any furniture avalible for people that can't sit.Sometimes on rough days when I have to make it to an appointment I'll look for the cleanest piece of carpet in the waiting room and lie down until my turn comes up.I get lots of strange looks but I just ignore them.They don't have to live in my body.My own Dr has a couch in his practices lunch room and he has told me I can lie down on it any time I need it when I'm there.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply