So I went for my neurological consultation today. The PA was very nice and helpful. She was pleased with my pain level compared to my MRI. She told me a number of useful things, like: "Your MRI never gets better." I.e. damage that happened years ago and doesn't hurt anymore, still looks bad on the scan. She told me that losing as much weight as I could would be one of the best things I could do for my back. (Yes, well, I've tried losing weight for *lots* of reasons and I'm not terribly successful. She suggested trying a nutritionist for help.) She told me that smoking is terrible for back pain, which I did not know.. but which doesn't really affect me. I'm not even around much second hand smoke.
Backpacking? Not a problem. Also, walk as much as I want. Yoga, good. Weightlifting, fine if I keep good posture and avoid things that put my back in a wacky position. She suggested swimming and water aerobics as low impact activities. I can swim just fine but I don't enjoy it that much. However I might look into it.
She said that basically I needed to chose between trail running and horseback riding. I love them both, but I love riding a lot more. Once again she said to be sure to use good posture, and to try to avoid impact to the spine. And to be mindful of my pain and call it a day early if I start hurting more. So I can ride! I mean, not cross country jumping, but I didn't do that anyway. I privately decided that sitting trot is just out, period. But I might be able to do posting if I came down very lightly. We will see. I'll start back with riding at the walk. Last time I tried it, it hurt after 20 minutes. So, maybe 20 minutes will be my limit for a while. It's better than nothing.
She also said that cortisone injections were a possibility for pain, but I don't think I'm at a level that warrants needles in my spine yet, and she agreed.
I asked for a referral for a physiatrist, which she happily gave. She was surprised and happy not to have to explain what a physiatrist is. Unfortunately, the one recommended turns out to be not in-network for me, so I'm not sure what to do at this point. I may call back next week and see if they work with any others. If not, I may just spin the dial and pick one locally, and get my GP to write a referral. Or just wait on the physiatry. My back has been feeling a bit better recently, continuing to recover from whatever started hurting in April.
Anyway, the upshot is that the neuro pro thinks I'm mostly doing the right stuff, and I can continue my lifestyle pretty much as I want to, with a tearful goodbye to trail running. The neuro liked that I am already very active and we both want to keep me that way for a long, long time.
Anyway, I'm moving on from spine anxiety to excitement about my upcoming hike. I saw a picture of the AT in the Maine woods today and it gave me a thrill down my (stupid) spine. Yay!
No comments:
Post a Comment