Struggling over here

[atthesea]

I was so new at working out but I was really loving it. It made me feel strong and confident. It made me feel a part of something bigger than me. And it helped ease my pain. I barely felt any pain during my workouts.
I have major nerve damage that goes from my left hip all the way to my toes. My right leg isn’t a drop in the bucket in comparison.
Now I’m in a pain flair. Sometimes they’re quick. This one isn’t.
I do stretches and slight movement stuff because that’s what I can.
I feel weak. I’ve lost confidence and I’m depressed. I’m binging on sweets. The pain is the worst I’ve had.
What do I do?

 

[sanj79]

@atthesea Try and come up with a workout plan/program that does put so much emphasis on the parts of your body that hurt.

Look for supplements that help your condition.

Seek medical help or some sort of physical therapy.

Just off the top of my head, isometric stretches may be beneficial for you.

You can get through this! I don’t know you but I believe in you, now fight!!!

 

[atthesea]

@sanj79 Thank you so much!
I have a plan-ish. I do my own combination of flexing, stretching (every part I’m able to), incorporating some TaiChi movements, deep breathing, a tiny bit of Pilates- just the parts I can manage. I stop when it hurts. Learned my lesson on that one.
I’ll do some research on isometric exercises because I don’t know much about them. Any thoughts for resources?
I have a pain doctor M.A. that I really like. The doctor there not so much.

I know accidents happen but during a last ditch before surgery effort, he caused gas or an air embolism in my cavernous sinus and epidural space. Verified by ct of neck and skull. One of the reports said possibly infections possible.

I don’t know what this may or may not have caused but my pain got much much worse after.

I have a great neurologist and I haven’t seen the surgeon yet so idk.

It’s honestly a mess.

Thank you so much again! Any other thoughts are welcome.

 

[sanj79]

@atthesea I’m going to be busy until Saturday but I’ll start looking for some things that could help. In the meantime look into DDP Yoga. It’s supposedly helped a lot of disabled veterans.

 

[atthesea]

@sanj79 Oh thank you so much and yes I will

 

[sanj79]

@atthesea Any luck with isometric stretching?

 

[ambassadorcjk]

@atthesea Are you sure it’s nerve damage and it an inflamed IT band issue? Or
Sciatica?

 

[atthesea]

@ambassadorcjk I had MRI’s and CT of thoracic lumbar and cervical and I have varying degrees of stenosis in all those areas. Stenosis is connected to with sciatica which I have from time to time. The stenosis has caused damage to the nerves that go down my leg. And in my facet joints (both sides).

 

[selene8]

@atthesea I just saw a spine doctor yesterday and scheduled for an X-ray assisted transforaminal epidural steroid injection. My back hurts commonly and so do my legs and especially my feet (outer 3 toes and ankle). That root is L5-S1 which is herniated way less than L3-L4.

My brother does anesthesia and we talked about the procedure. But, mostly what we talked about is what choice do I have regarding getting in better shape (stronger core, abs, healthier weight, etc). If I go back to drinking and eating like , my back will still hurt.

It's okay to binge for a minute but long term, we can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves for very long. Good luck and be well

 

[onanewpath]

@atthesea I'm 4mo post 2 level lumbar fusion. I joined a gym with a pool specifically for my condition 2 months ago. I still experience some pain during/after workouts relating to my back issues. All I can offer is what I do, modify or substitute workouts/sets around daily setbacks/pain, but don't stop working. Adapt and move forward.

 

[hiezelclinton25]

@atthesea I highly recommend the Prehab app, or better yet, an on-person PT. I too have nerve damage and had to learn how to modify my movement so I wasn't constantly triggering pain. Now I'm back to wakeboarding and rock climbing. When pain flares, I use the TENS machine for a few days, then I'm back at it.