Ouch

Worst nights sleep in a LONG time!!  Ever been kept awake by pain?
I have.  I once lived with it for 8 months.  Twenty Four Hour Constant Pain!

This is what I was reminded of last night while trying to sleep.

Clearly my neck it out and I have to go to the chiropractor.  Yesterday I got massage because I could tell that my neck and all its muscles were stiff.  The massage felt fine, but didn't release much.

Through the night it just got worse.  Every time I turned it would wake me up.  And I know you haven't slept with me....but I turn A LOT!!! I'm a terrible sleeper to start with.  Add a little pain and forget slumber!!!

I know people who live in constant pain.  And I feel very sad for them.  As I had to go threw 8 months of therapy to recover (and many times I thought there was no recovery) I refused to take anything stronger than Excedrin, or Tylenol.  I was in serious pain. 

Every day I went to the chiropractor for therapy they would ask me, "On a scale of one to ten, what is your pain level?"  There were times it was a 12.  I would cry sometimes because I was so done with it all.  I can't believe that some people live like that with no hope.

To be honest, the fact that I found my chiropractor was a fluke and a Godsend.  I was sitting at the park one day; barely able to move my head.  A dad came up to pick up his daughter.  Our kids were the same age and in the same class.  He asked what was up with my neck.  I told him.  He told me I 'needed' to come see him, because he could fix me.

First thing he sent me to do was get an MRI.  (I never knew how claustrophobic I was until they 'tried' to stick me in that tube.   Thankfully, they had another machine that was more open, so I went for that.  (Call me chicken all you want).

I remember laying in that machine for like what seemed an hour.  Just to lay there was killing me and I literally had to listen to the thumping of that machine and make up drumbeats in my mind just to get out of my pain. 

When I was done they told me I had a bulging disc in C5 that was over 5mm in size. 

When I went back and gave the films to my chiropractor he was surprised that I wasn't medicated or crying from pain.  He said he'd had patients with 3mm bulges who were practically incapacitated.

I think that was supposed to make me feel better, but it brought me little comfort.

We started decompression therapy.  Along with that I had massage therapy and a few cortisone shots in my neck along the way.  For a long time it felt like nothing was working.

But I didn't give up.

Months went by and when they asked my pain level it went down and down and down.  I nearly cried the day I told him my pain level was a one.  I couldn't believe it finally worked.

When you go through that much therapy for that long, you don't forget your pain. 

You forget childbirth pain...but you don't forget neck pain!!

The thing about pain is; it's invisible.  No one can see it; they only hear you talk about it.  And if you can walk and talk like a normal person, they have no idea how much you are suffering.

As I was in pain for so long, people didn't want to hear about it.  So I didn't talk about it.   But I still felt it.  Every second of every day.

My heart goes out to chronic pain sufferers.  I have been there. 

Thankfully, today I will go to the chiropractor and get an adjustment to ease my pain.

But some people aren't that lucky. 

I'm a super big fan of chiropractic.  If you have never tried it, it might be something to consider!

Happy Monday!