back pain

Back Pain (Again)

A month ago I woke up with horrible lower back pain. This is the kind of pain that ibuprofen and stretching don’t touch, and the pain where it hurts to literally do anything. Luckily after a few visits to the chiropractor and more stretching, the pain subsided. Fast-forward to yesterday… I woke up with the pain again.

To be fair, when I woke up it wasn’t as bad as it was the previous month, but as the day went on, it got increasingly worse. I was able to still manage to have a good time as my best friend and I made vision boards, but once I was home the pain felt almost unbearable. My boyfriend had to help me get out of bed and even lift the toilet seat this morning for me, because I can’t bend down without feeling like I’m going to collapse in pain.

Today we’re supposed to go to family dinner at his parents house and I was really looking forward to seeing everyone again, but now I’m debating if I should just lay in bed all day on the heating pad. I’m wondering if it has anything to do with my ovulation or if this is hormonal inflammation, but if that is the case this is something that will be really difficult for me to deal with every month. I’m just praying the pain goes away and I can figure out how to keep it away. If anyone knows anything or has any suggestions, feel free to leave it in the comments!

Bed

I’m writing this from bed as yesterday I woke up with some pretty severe lower back pain. We did have a get-together Friday evening and I know I was running around like a crazy person prior to guests arriving, and I am wondering if I lifted something wrong. I feel like it may be a combination of that as well as some PMS, but it’s pretty bad.

I tried to stretch a lot yesterday and I took some ibuprofen and acetaminophen on and off, but nothing seems to help. If I wake up to turn in my sleep, it is always an uncomfortable transition. Luckily I am supposed to see my chiropractor tomorrow, but depending on how today goes, I may need to see someone sooner.

I am honestly pretty opposed to going to the urgent care / hospital for pain because I always just assume they will give me an pain killer and not identify any real issue. I feel like every time I have to go to the ER for something, no one ever has any answers and just prescribes some pill to take, and I hate it! I am trying to find the root cause, not just put a bandaid on it and hope it sticks!

As the patient, I have the right to advocate for myself as well, so I know I would be asking questions and asking about certain tests, and I’d straight up tell them I want to avoid any pain medication. The only time I ever took a pain killer was after my wisdom teeth surgery and it made me feel super weird and then I just passed out for hours. I ended up switching to ibuprofen after that one pill, and I honestly don’t even take ibuprofen regularly, only when I am in a decent amount of pain.

I am just planning to take it easy today. I’m hoping it just gets better throughout the day and I don’t feel the need to seek medical attention. Sending love and light to all those struggling with any health (mental, physical, emotional, etc.) concerns! We will get through it!