I Can Hardly Walk When I First Get Up
The Year I Couldn't Walk
I haven't been able to walk for almost a year.
I've gone through a lot of physical pain, but damn, just writing that.. the reality hurts.
The Injury
Last summer, I went out drinking with some friends from law school, and we stayed out late. When I got back to my apartment complex, the key fob to get inside was not in my pocket.
Without thinking much, I hopped over the front gate and landed on my feet. The fall was about ten feet, but nothing crazy dangerous or out of the ordinary.
I woke up the next morning with shooting pain down my right leg. So bad in fact, that I could barely stand up. It was a pain I had never felt before… like my leg was on fire and someone was stabbing my foot with a knife.
"Damn, what did I do?" I thought.
In the past, I had injured myself, but my body immediately healed. I hurt myself playing football and skateboarding in high school. But those broken bones and bloody falls healed quickly, with no long term effects.
I was 28 now, and with the incredible pain and tightness in my leg, everything else was put on hold. I had to figure out what was wrong.
The MRI
It took weeks of tests to find out I had a herniated disc in my low back. I remember stepping out of the scan, and the radiologist pulled me into the viewing room. Pointing to an image of my spine on the screen, he said, "I'm not supposed to do this, but you see right here… that's a herniated disc at L5-S1."
I asked him about the next step, like I could stretch or take some pills and it would go away. And I'll never forget his response.
"Whatever you do, just don't get the surgery. You're too young for that. If they tell you to go get surgery, go see someone else. Do everything you can to rehab out of this." — Radiologist, Houston, TX
What is a Herniated Disc?
Okay, so let's do a quick medical lesson.
Your spine is made up of bones, or vertebrae, that protect your spinal cord and hold your body up straight. These bones are separated between by tough cartilage like discs, acting like little shock absorbers.
When too much pressure or abnormal force-loading, are exerted on the spine, the discs can pop out of place. This puts an enormous pressure on the nerves that supply feeling throughout your body.
So, if you have a herniated disc in your neck, you'll likely have arm pain… And if the injury is in the low back, the shooting pain will present itself in the legs, referred to as sciatica.
How to Seek Out Your Own Healthcare Like I Did
Whether you're sick or hurt, where's the first place you turn? Most likely the two largest search engines in the world, Google, and YouTube.
It turns out, there's a lot of information to digest there. And until you know your exact diagnosis, there's no way you can accurately seek out treatment for it.
So when I found out about my herniated disc, I went into uber research mode. Like bar exam mode. I wanted to know everything about herniated discs… the causes, the treatments, the alternatives treatments, natural, surgical, whatever.
I researched surgical outcomes, medications, diet and physical therapy. Hours were spent on WebMD and Vitals, looking for the next best doctor. I would even watch YouTube testimonials of patients who had surgery, and then contact them on Facebook.
(You'd be surprised at how humbled people are when you reach out to them about a YouTube video they posted in 2012. Most will be willing to reciprocate and discuss your problem.)
If you've never been in this situation, a lot of this might seem silly. But when you're in pain and facing surgery, you must go beyond simple research to help yourself.
If you're facing an injury or illness, you must aggressively seek out your own care, try less mainstream healing methods, and never settle until you're healthy.
Here is a simple process I went through that should give some perspective…
- Find out exactly what your ailment is from a medical professional
- Understand the natural physiological response by the human body
- Research the most effective treatments that exist & possible outcomes of treatment
- Locate medical professionals that specialize in those treatments. Use family & friend referrals, press, white papers, Google, YouTube, Vitals/RateMDs — doctors, Yelp — chiropractors.
- Decide on a course of treatment
- Repeat with a different course of care, or professional, until you're healthy
Lesson: Remember, you can always get surgery, but you can never take it back. It should be your last resort, especially for back problems.
Treatment Overview
The next six months seemed to last forever. I'll recap it here briefly…
- Dr. 1: Barely said shit to me. It was like that scene in Requiem for a Dream… (The old lady was tripping balls, and the doctor prescribes her pills without even talking to her.) "Your leg is really tight… might be piriformis syndrome. Take some ibuprofen for a week and see how it feels. If that doesn't work we might put you on a steroid pack."
- Dr. 2: "You might have a herniated disc. Take this steroid pack and if you still have pain we'll order an MRI." Took the steroid pack and MRI revealed herniated disc. So much time wasted.
- Dr. 3, Referral: "You have a pretty large herniated disc. Your MRI is pretty graphic. Go see a physical therapist, and if you're not better in 6 weeks, come back here and we can do the procedure." He called the surgery a procedure like it was nothing ! Prescribed me a muscle relaxer. Never took it.
- Dr. 4, Found on Internet: Awful. Called me a 29-year-old cripple, and referred me back to Dr. 3. Said I needed surgery in the next 30 days.
- Chiropractor 1, Found on the Internet: Put me on a decompression table for 3 months. This basically stretches your spine out. Super nice guy, just not the type of chiropractor I needed. I was put on a decompression machine for 30 sessions, which is a lot. Should have stopped earlier.
- Had 2 epidural Steroid injections, which only gave slight relief. They aren't very good for you, and the effects of mine have worn off.
- Acupuncture: No relief.
- Dr. 5: If you can live with the pain you can avoid getting surgery. Seek out alternative care like chiropractors and acupuncturists.
- Chiropractor 2, Found on the Internet: Took an x-ray and said I might need another steroid shot. He said most herniated discs just go away with time, so just wait out the pain until it goes away.
- Chiropractor 3, Referral: Put me on a physical therapy plan to strengthen my core. Treatment for a month with the physical therapist then found my current doctor.
Course Correction
I found Dr. Bergman, a corrective chiropractor, on YouTube. He does have a large following there, over 100,000 subscribers. But his approach to medicine was different, in that he didn't prescribe any. In fact, in 20 years of practice, he had only referred four patients to surgery. And when I heard him drop these knowledge bombs, I knew I had to book an appointment.
"Western medicine just treats symptoms, they're not treating the root of the problem. Humans can't just have high blood pressure, it has to be caused by something, like lack of exercise or a high-fat diet."
"Instead of treating the root of the problem, we have doctors who simply prescribe medication that destroys human tissue and exacerbates the symptoms. The most common side effect of muscle relaxers is muscle spasms, and the most common side effect of pain relievers is pain… because it causes a hyper-sensitization of symptoms."
"Discs don't just herniate. They don't operate in an isolated environment. They malfunction because something else is in the spine is messed up, like a deviated thorax or a loss of curve in the neck."
https://youtu.be/MWlGszPkAhY
It seems so easy to look at a diagnosis in an "isolated environment." Whether you have migraines or high cholesterol, those are symptoms, not diagnoses. They are the result of a problem that must get corrected.
Lesson: Don't accept the status quo. Trusting only the advice of one doctor is just as irresponsible as trusting political news from CNN & Fox. (cough, biased, cough)
Chiropractic Care
Corrective chiropractors reposition the spine so it functions correctly. So when I arrived in Los Angeles, I figured I would only meet others like me… people with spinal problems. But I was wrong.
I met patients from all across the globe, but they came in with all sorts of problems. (Misdiagnoses, back injuries, failed surgery, unexplainable symptoms, migraines, autism, acid reflux, & asthma.)
While their symptoms varied, we all had one thing in common. We were willing to take a leap of faith… an unconventional step.
Talking to these patients was incredible. It was even challenging to avoid skepticism because every result seemed so positive. They had experienced increased mobility, eliminated chronic pain, and stopped taking their harmful prescriptions.
Will I be one of those miracle stories? Hopefully.
Right now, I am on week three of treatment, and starting to feel better already. As my body heals itself, walking is getting easier, and my pain has started calming down. I'll need some time (about 6 weeks) to see the full results but will post an update soon.
Lesson: Some injuries take a long time to heal. Do your research, and don't push yourself back into action too soon. Take it easy.
The American Healthcare System
How could a place like this be so different from the doctors office I grew up with? Is there some House of Cards reason why we get pushed pills instead of diet and exercise? (Half of TV commercials are direct to consumer ads for drug companies.) Could the government be pushing pills and vaccines down our throat? And selling us medicine to solve those problems years later?
While I certainly hope not, on some level you have to be aware of your surroundings. There is a ton of money behind the scenes that influences our healthcare decisions. It sounds ridiculous. But it's normal for American doctors to receive kickbacks from medical companies for prescribing medicine. They may also receive huge cuts from insurance companies for performing surgery.
Ultimately, your healthcare is your torch. And you have to carry it through the jungle of pessimism and doubt. No one will light the torch for you, and no one will fight to keep it lit… except for you. So, be aggressive, try unconventional treatments, research like hell, experiment, and never give up.
What's life like when you can't walk?
Physically, it's devastating.
The most normal tasks like shaving and driving are painstakingly difficult. If I felt okay one day, I would only get 50–100 feet before the pain kicked in and had to stop.
Watching people walk their dogs or go for a run was really shitty for me too. Now that I'm regaining my ability to walk again, I won't forget those dark days when I was stuck in prison.
I now have incredible empathy for those who suffer from limited mobility.
It wreaks havoc on your mentality.
You have nothing but your thoughts during the day. If you've experienced injury before, you know what I mean. The regret of the past, uncertainty of the future, and the pressure to live like normal. They all peer their head.
But by far, the mental stress was the worst. I lost 2o lbs because I wasn't moving, and was usually too depressed to eat. Luckily I got out of that rut by meditating, thinking positively, and breathing fresh air.
It puts things in perspective.
You only get one shot. One 24 second shot clock. No re-do. Life isn't little league baseball. You fuck up, you die. You make a wrong turn, you're out for the season. So now that I have this down time, I have the perspective to appreciate the healthy times. And you should too.
Every day you wake up healthy is incredible.
Props
Last week, Erica pushed me through LAX Terminal C in a wheelchair. She drove me to get steroid shots, stayed positive, and forced food on me when I was too depressed to eat. I'll be home in a few weeks, hopefully able to walk normally. I love you, and thank you for always fighting for me.
I was inspired to write this post by AJ Vaynerchuk, who was honest & vulnerable about his health in Doing something I never thought I would. Thanks AJ.
And thanks to all my friends and family who prayed for my health this year. It meant the world to me.
Cheers to Great Health & Happiness,
Jared
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You can connect with me at jaredlichtin .com or jayrod216 on snapchat.
I Can Hardly Walk When I First Get Up
Source: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-year-i-couldn-t-walk-ec93e36f12d7