Re: Vet Tech Journals: Good and Bad News


"Mischief" <firekrys@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:54f22fc8-8d39-4ed0-a1a5-9f4b6f038f4e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So I managed to get a new job, that's the good news, I got the call
the last week of june and they wanted me to start on July 6th.

Problem is that somewhere in that week between when I was hired and
when I started I did something to my back.

I've been dealing with a stiff back for the last few years. I've
blamed my mattress to me sleeping funky. But this time it was
different.

I started getting back spasms, and slight difficulty standing/getting
up/bending. Once I couldn't sleep at all. Off to the doctor last
week.

Doctor gave me muscle relaxers and told me to take it easy, and gave
me a note saying to restrict my work detail.

I told my manager and she flipped. "Why didn't you disclose this when
I interviewed you?" My answer was simple, I didn't HAVE this problem
during the interview. I offered the note, but she was more concerned
about my ability to do my job. I told her I would do the best I
could.

I managed to get through the rest of last week and this monday.
Spasms would occasionally come but i would get through it. Being on
my feet all day didn't help. But the spasms came back this morning
and I called in to take another day off (I had yesterday off)

The manager is pissed again and so am I. She not only wants a doctors
note but also certification saying that I am fit to do the job she
hired me for. She's gonna email me the full 'job description' for the
doctor.

This really ticks me off. I'm sure part of the reason for my back is
being on my feet all day, and that I'm overweight. But financially I
can't lose this job. Part of me wants to just grit my teeth and bear
it but then I could REALLy mess up my back. I just had my 31st
birthday and I don't want to really screw my back.

I made an appt for the doctor this afternoon, and hopefully I can get
better drugs or something so I can DO my job. If I lose this job, I'm
totally screwed and will have to really do drastic changes.

Worst case scenario is that I find a smaller apartment for me and my
three cats and put the majority of my stuff in storage. I have a
credit line I can dip into only once, but if I do then I will have
nothing left, so if I have to move I won't be able to put down a
deposit. I need to get some sort of income really soon.

My settlement from my accident is STILL in the process and is going so
slow I can't wait for it.

ugh.....

Kristi

Kristi,

You have my utmost sympathy-back pain can make it very difficult to function, and it is often nearly impossible to trace the cause. Even something as simple as twisting sideways at the wrong time can cause very painful spasms, as you undoubtedly know. I wanted to briefly comment on excess weight and back pain because you mentioned both of them. I have been through that route. I realize that not all of us will have the same results, but I thought I might be able to give you some positive thoughts. First, it is *not* true that a person needs to be hungry in order to lose weight. I went through years of dieting, off and on, and was a true yo-yo dieter. I went through just about every diet imaginable, except that I never fell for the ridiculous diets like one food (grapefruit, for example). But, I tried extreme low calorie and all sorts of other "diet plans." I was always hungry and found that I frequently developed headaches and became nervous and agitated. I'm sure there are many others on this group who can relate to that because this reaction is very common, and also unhealthy. Then, I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes. That was my wake-up call! A friend who was also diabetic told me about South Beach and reducing unhealthy carbs. I looked into it, tried it-and for the first time, I was successful! The first two weeks are difficult and very restrictive, but the theory does work (at least, it did for me). That is, the extreme restriction on carbs eliminated a lifetime of cravings to sweets and all sorts of dense carbs. I modified the next stage to be more restrictive than South Beach requires because I do have diabetes. That is, I follow the basic plan but *in addition* I eat *no* potatoes, flour, refined sugar, pasta, or white rice. Incidentally, this is *not* a low-carb diet. Instead, South Beach emphasizes "good carbs" instead of "bad carbs." I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

What has been the result? I gradually lost a lot of weight (about 60 pounds), and I brought my BG completely under control through this change in diet. My cholesterol and triglycerides dropped and are now within normal range (something that had not been true for many years). I have not needed any medication since March 2004, and my last A1c was 5.2. My doctor told me at my last visit that "very few" people are so successful at maintaining complete control over diabetes simply through change in diet.

Am I hungry? NO! I can eat *lots* of food on this diet, and I do not count calories-I simply select from the list of foods that are good for me. If I am hungry, I *eat.* Again, I just eat different foods than I would have in the fast. It does not even bother me to sit with friends while they eat the foods (cake, pie, etc.) that I used to love because I lost those cravings once I got so many carbs out of my system. I use fresh fruit and yogurt for my desserts now, and I truly enjoy them. I frequently make yogurt cheese to eat with strawberries and blueberries or raspberries. I like that every bit as much as I used to like cake and ice cream.

Now, as to back pain: I used to have lower back pain that would be very uncomfortable if I had to stand for any length of time. That means I had to "suffer through" discomfort on a daily basis because teaching requires a person to stand in front of a class for significant periods of time. I did not usually have back spasms, as you described, but I did have extreme discomfort. Well, that also went away when I lost that weight! In fact, a student was visiting with me in my office yesterday. He said that he had noticed that I have arthritis in my fingers and that he was particularly aware of it because his wife is a physical therapist. However, he said that he was surprised to see that it did not seem to bother me at all to stand in front of the class for two hours. Fortunately, I do not have the debilitating effects that arthritis has on many people because mine seems to be confined to my hands (injury-related, going back to about age 25), but I would have found standing for two hours to be extremely uncomfortable before I made these changes in my life. I hope you will be able to find the same success. Back pain can make life very difficult, as you have illustrated.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'<
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

.

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