Do you like this story?
Pets are a comfort when you’re not feeling well
By Gina Spadafori
August 26, 2009
Regular readers know — because I’ve whined about it, plenty — that I’ve been bedeviled by back pain in the last couple of years.
Until recently, the flair-ups were always stress- and work-related, predictable as the sunrise. I’d spend several long days in a row working up to a deadline, finish the project, then the back spams would start. A couple of uncomfortable days of taking it easy while waiting for everything to calm down and unknot, and that would be that.
Until recently, that is.
I won’t know for sure for a while yet what has changed, since my doctor’s on vacation and I’ve decided things aren’t so bad as to beg to see her associate (not yet, anyway). But I’m guessing what I have is an extremely annoyed sciatic nerve, and I’ll be looking at the range of options for care next month. As always, I’ll be looking at traditional and complementary care, and I think I probably need to get back into yoga and other gentle strength-building.
But for now, about all I can do is take cope with the pain, which means not as much sitting at the computer as is normal for me.
The last two days have been spent mostly in bed. Aside from the discomfort, it would be a pleasure to do nothing, to be forced to prop myself comfortably up on pillows with my pets all around me. I’ve checked in now and then with my netbook and broadband card, but mostly I’ve just been reading magazines and going through catalogs.
The pets who have enjoyed the last couple of days most: The two cats and the two older dogs. And I’ve sure enjoyed having them at my side.
If only I could teach the younger dogs to bring me tea.
Image above: Heather, who’ll be 13 years old in November, and the Empress Clara, who’ll turned 2 last March. Yes, they sleep on the pillows. Why do you ask?
Image below: Faith and McKenzie. Faith is not even five months old and she’s almost as tall as her mother. Her latest nickname: Leggy McLeggerton.
McKenzie has recovered well from her spay and is getting her fitness, figure and coat back.
The two of them, mother and daughter, are very close.
Share & Enjoy
|
Facebook
|
Twitter
|
Google Buzz
|
Digg
|
|
Technorati
|
StumbleUpon
|
Delicious
|
Email
|
Home
Gah, Gina, da filter nommed my comment!
Comment by JenniferJ — August 26, 2009 @ 7:14 pm
Gina-hope you feel better soon ! Doesn’t everyone sleep with dogs & cats on their pillows ? I can’t get anymore because kingsize is the biggest available & there is barely room for DH & I with the 5 we have. McLeggy is right ! She’s growing like a weed.
Comment by Leslie K — August 26, 2009 @ 7:19 pm
Oof! I feel for you.
I was able to manage my back pain and flare ups of sciatica with exercise and acupuncture for almost a decade.
Last March, that all changed. I blew out a disc that was NOT the one plaguing me for years. It was ruptured, did not respond well to any therapy yet looked “meh” on MRI.
So I continued on with my tried and true approach From March 2008 until August, when I was the victim of a bulldog related “hit and run” and suddenly lost all lift and push in my right leg. Oh, and in so much pain that vicodin might as well have been chiclets.
Off to the neuro specialist who offered a cortisone shot but basically said that despite the lack of excitement on the MRI, my presentation said “surgery” to him. Long story longer, my “simple” two hour partial discectomy turned into a 51/2 hour one, but I woke up without screaming leg pain for the first time in 6 months.
Regrets, yeah. Not getting it taken care of sooner. Not going with my gut instict that something was FUBAR this time round. I still have muscle weakness, numbness and pain, but it’s livable.
this last week, my “old familiar” disc pain flared up, which is why I’ve not been commenting much. (sitting b-a-d for discs!) I did forward the rescue info around though. :-)
I guess the point is, please listen to your body. No matter what anyone tells you, you are the ONLY one who really knows what is going on. I was told by two physical therapists and a doctor that I was not getting better because I was not trying hard enough to get better and no one believed me when I told them that the pain was worse with exercises designed to ease it. Back pain is so variable, if it is truly different or does not respond to therapy, don’t be afraid to scream bloody murder and seek out other opinion. Per the specialist, if it’s neurological and what you are doing makes it worse STOP. if it’s muscular pain it’s OK to push it. But if you have neurogenic pain, honor what it tells you you can and cannot do.
Swimming or walking in the water is usually a great way to ease the angry sciatic nerve gods btw. :)
Feel better soon!
Comment by JenniferJ — August 26, 2009 @ 7:20 pm
Nope, tried again, eaten again. maybe “back pain” triggers a spam trap?
anyways it’s in the filter somewheres… :)
Comment by JenniferJ — August 26, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
Of course they sleep on the pillows. Where else would they sleep?
Please take care of yourself, and don’t wait too long to get help when you know this is different from before.
Comment by Lis — August 26, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Those were their pillows right? Wait, you mean that some pets don’t get their very own pillows? Around here both cats have their own pillows (on the bed and the couch). One of the cats still prefers to share with me, but her pillows are there if she wants them.
I do hope that you can find some relief from the back pain. It’s not fun. Don’t try to suffer through it too much longer.
Comment by The Other Lori — August 26, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
About that top photo, I guess flat-coats get a little wavier as they advance in years. I’ve seen straight-coated goldens suddenly get extremely curly hair when they reach their tenth year.
Comment by retrieverman — August 27, 2009 @ 5:40 am
Heather’s “look” is because she’s growing out from her summer shave-down. She had a fairly normal coat in her youth — albeit wavy in spots. After her spay, her coat became very thick. In the summer, her “spay coat” takes forever to dry, and at her advanced age, she also tends to not squat all the way down when she pees. (Don’t tell her I told ANYONE this!)
End result: Fuzzy, damp and vaguely smelly old dog. Solution: Shave down. Everyone’s happy, Heather included!
She’ll get one more cut before summer’s over, and then not again until spring.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 27, 2009 @ 5:48 am
Jennifer … this is alarming: Your comments are NOT in the spam filter. If you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them E-mail me privately.
In fact, I would love ALL suggestions. I’m off work Day 3, and this is seriously hurting my income. Ouch!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 27, 2009 @ 5:52 am
What, you mean not everyone uses their canine and feline friends as cord free heating pads? I’m pretty sure that I have a cat who is evolutionarily designed for just that purpose.
While it won’t help with an attack, have you checked the ergonomics of your office set up? You might need to adjust some items, and maybe find a way to alternate working sitting with working standing up. (Figuring out a flat on your back set up is the hardest, I’ve had to do that to keep my leg elevated before.)
Otherwise, I’d encourage going to the doctor. Cage rest helps, but so do anti-inflammatory drugs.
Comment by Compcat — August 27, 2009 @ 6:28 am
Love the picture of Heather. Bogey (Heather’s one remaining sibling) refuses to get up on the bed except in the coldest of weather. I purchased a big, fancy, $$$, orthopedic dog bed for him. He scoffs at it and then chooses to lay on the floor. Apparently, soft, cushy beds are only for old dogs. :`) Hope you feel better soon.
Comment by Verde — August 27, 2009 @ 6:58 am
“Cage rest.” Hah!
Actually, the problem got a LOT worse when I was moved into a horrid new space at the day job. Aside from the depressing battery-cage aspect of the cube from hell, I was going home in pain EVERY DAY.
My boss doesn’t effin’ care. He has more than once suggested I’m a whiner who’s lucky to have a job. (“Hah hah, just kidding, Gina!”)
When things went south this time, I asked our ace department admin to get me ERGO, stat!
They’ll be looking at all the pieces and fixing what can be fixed. The company cares about this, even if the boss thinks it’s all just whining. The cube will still be dark and depressing — yes, just perfect to inspire good work in creative people, not! — but at least it won’t be actively undermining my health.
My home office set-up is superb. But then, see, I actually do care about me and making me more productive. My boss is an old-school newsroom guy, and in that environment, you sucked it up or got the hell out. (Funny thing: He was also for a while my boss at the newspaper.)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 27, 2009 @ 7:09 am
Alyce, Heather says her brother’s an old fool. She has ALWAYS slept next to me on the bed, on a pad on top of the mattress with her head on her own pillow.
She says this is as it should be, and Bogey should realize that Rank Has Its Privileges and take advantage accordingly.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 27, 2009 @ 7:13 am
I’m a little leery of clipping goldens, simply because I live where winters can be harsh and clipped dogs may not develop the undercoat they need for really cold conditions.
Comment by retrieverman — August 27, 2009 @ 7:44 am
Heather is not exposed to “really cold conditions” in that she’s an indoor dog in sunny California. Not to mention: She was clipped in early June and already has enough coat for winter. If cold were an issue, I wouldn’t clip her again now. But it’s not, so … one more seasonal ‘do before winter.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 27, 2009 @ 8:33 am
Gina—re: depressing workspaces. Lifehacker does a “featured workspace” every day, and quite often shows off some pretty cool things people have done to make a cubicle more livable, including taking out the bulbs from the fluorescent lights and getting nicer lamps.
Some of the stuff is hideous, but to each his own, I guess. I got some neat ideas. I find pictures of the dogs in my life to be the saving grace of my cubicle.
http://lifehacker.com/tag/featured-workspace/
also: http://lifehacker.com/tag/coolest-cubicle-contest/
Comment by Original Lori — August 27, 2009 @ 8:40 am
Gina, the one that got through is the one I was talking about, no idea why it got delayed.
My family has a long history of degenerative disc disease so regrettably I’ve watched and now gone through a lot of it.
The biggest thing is NOT to be bullied or guilted into accepting the pain. Nor trust anyone to tell YOU how YOU feel. I knew right away that the last time was very different, but went along with the osteopath and therapists who just kept insisting that it would improve if I was patient and did what they said. The killer for me was that I was assured by all that swimming and aqua therapy would work. I hurt WORSE in the water but no one wanted to believe that. And I had two physical therapists tell me my response to therapy was “odd”. Go with your gut, if you don’t seem to get better, get another opinion.
If laying flat is 0 pressure on a disc, and standing is 100% “normal” then sitting is 260+ % pressure. It is the worst thing we do daily to our spines. Bending a billion times a day to brush dogs, pick up toys etc…also sucks. I constantly have to remind myself to squat instead of bend.
Get up at least once an hour and walk around, “push” on a wall and stretch your hamstrings. Use a laptop at home sometimes so you can recline while working.
Don’t do anything, including therapy or exercise, which makes the neurogenic pain worse. At least not until you speak with a neurologist or neuro surgeon. I know a couple of good ones in the North Bay, but don’t know who the go to ones in Sac are
It may sound kind of pathetic, but get one of those “grabbers” so that you can pick up stuff from the ground with out bending and get stuff down without stretching. You will not believe how many times an hour we bend without realizing it.
Comment by JenniferJ — August 27, 2009 @ 9:26 am
Dogs on bed: Sparky has alwasy slept with DH and I. When we first got her, we only had a double bed…barely big enough for 2 adults much less a 45# English Shepherd mix. Somehow, I always ended up shoved into a narrow 8” of the bed during the night (thank you, Sparky.) When we moved to bigger digs, I insisted on a king size bed. And yet, I still end up shoved into the same 8” while Miss Thang sprawls out in the middle. She’s also 13 and we’re beyond rehabbing this sleeping arrangement.
Sciatica/disc pain: had one excruciating experience with it. Like you, it followed an intense period of stress and sitting on a long car ride. As much as I mentally wanted/needed to stay immobile, the best therapy for me proved to be gentle movement and inti-inflammatories. The gentle movement helped get the circulation going thru the muscle which helped relax the spasm. Eventually progressed to stretching, yoga, and strengthening my core muscles. Trust me, I don’t have washboard abs by any means. But I do believe that being conscious of posture, balance, breath, and my belly has helped prevent another experience.
Once you get thru this, be sure to listen to your body. Whenever I feel that slight twinge or tightness, I stretch, go for a walk, sing and dance with Aretha Franklin, pet my animals, decompress, etc. I work in an “off-icle” too and I don’t care if someone sees me bopping around with my ipod quietly singing “Chain of Fools”. I figure they’re just jealous.
Hope you feel better soon!
Comment by Melinda — August 27, 2009 @ 9:42 am
I believe in physical therapy.
However, my husband did have a terrible experience once when he was sent to therapy.
He had a torn rotator cuff (in his shoulder).
The therapist kept insisting he keep on with his exorcises at the session. Of course, she didn’t know he had a torn rotator cuff but did not care that he was in pain.
It does seem to me that sitting still for more than an hour while writing could cause a lot of back pain.
I hope you find a solution that works for you and are out of back pain soon.
BTW, Empress Clara looks so content. She is as beautiful as ever.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — August 27, 2009 @ 11:07 am
Therapy is great, I rely on it to prevent a future disc-aster, fingers crossed!
But sometimes there is an attitude of “yeah yeah, you hurt, that’s why you’re here so don’t complain”
If your sore for a day after a session, then better, fabulous. If you are WORSE after a session and it takes days to get back down to the previous level of pain, call the doctor. And if they say lump it, call a different one.
I know insurance is a god awful disaster. I know that not everyone can self refer. I know many people have had to drop coverage. If you are really back up against a wall, there is always the option of walking into an ER. They MUST treat you, and the hospitals staff will be the best source for helping people navigate the various forms of state and federal medical assistance programs. It’s a screwed up system, but sometimes that can be twisted back around to help.
Comment by JenniferJ — August 27, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
Feel better soon, Gina - as someone who’s been plagued by back problems for much of my life, I can relate. One of the things that has absolutely saved my back to the point where I’ve had very few problems since I started is Pilates. I highly recommend it - it strengthens your core, and that in turn really really helps you back.
As for our pets being a comfort when we’re not feeling well - so true! There was even a study a while ago that showed that the frequencey of a cat’s purr can help heal bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments”
http://cats.suite101.com/artic.....th_healing
Comment by Ingrid King — August 28, 2009 @ 9:38 am
Interesting topic! I’m an animal communicator for 18 years and I’ve learned that our animals are our own mirrors. And the place of healing we find in our animal friends is genuinely a good place.
Comment by Val Heart — August 9, 2010 @ 5:10 am