My Crooked Spine and My Crazy Chiropractor – An Update

So, I went in for my final consultation with my chiropractor on Saturday. He was going to go over my x-rays with me and suggest a treatment plan. I thought it was going to be straightforward…but it wasn’t. Apparently, he combines this visit with some sort of lecture on chiropractic care and its benefits. There were supposed to be a few other people, but since they didn’t show up (and now I know why) I got the special one-on-one version. Here are some of the highlights:

• Chiropractic care can cure almost any disease, from diabetes to asthma. He told me stories of paralyzed people being able to walk again, people with terminal illnesses becoming cured, and all sorts of insane claims.
• Painkillers, like Advil and Aspirin, are extremely harmful to us. Since they have to travel throughout the bloodstream, they not only kill your pain, but they kill a little bit of your heart, a little bit of your stomach, and on and on until they’ve shortened your life. There are 47,000 deaths a year from Aspirin. No one should ever take these pills. Ever.
• According to the Bible, human beings should be able to live to age 120. Why don’t we then? Because our spines are crooked, that’s why. If everyone had a chiropractor, they would practically live forever.
• God did not give us life to have aches and pains. Aches and pains are unnatural (and probably come from a devil living in our spines).

These are just some of the very disconcerting things I heard during this little presentation. I always respect others’ beliefs, and I don’t really have anything against Christians (OK, well, I do, but that’s another story), but as a medical professional who manipulates my spine, I would rather know that they base their knowledge in scientific fact, not in passages from the Bible, which in my opinion is a load of crap. Needless to say, I cancelled today’s appointment, giving the excuse that I couldn’t afford any more treatments. Not that that isn’t true…they were going to charge me $285 a month to see me 3 times per week. I have e-mailed my primary doctor, asking for a referral to an orthopedic specialist, someone who actually went to medical school. What a revelation, huh?

Oh, Woe is Me!

Most who know me know that I have a stupid, crooked back. The technical term is scoliosis of the thoracic spine. Well, after lifting some heavy boxes at work last week, my back decided to completely go out. Now, there’s really no such thing as a back going out, but it’s the only way I can describe the crippling pain that has made everyday tasks almost impossible. The last time something like this happened, my doctor gave me some muscle relaxers and told me to do some stretches. The thing is, my spine is completely misaligned in at least two places (at the top, and in the middle region), and only a chiropractor can do the kind of adjustments I need. My medical insurance doesn’t cover chiropractic care or physical therapy unless it’s post-operative, which of course doesn’t apply to me. My parents told me to just wait until I get better insurance before I seek treatment, but that could be a year or more away.

I finally got fed up, and after not being able to get rid of the pain on my own, I made an appointment with a chiropractor that a former doctor (who I really respected) had recommended. I had an initial exam and some x-rays done on Monday, had my first adjustment on Tuesday, experienced more pain at work on Thursday, and had my second adjustment this morning. I’m in complete agony now. My boyfriend gave me a massage and rubbed Icy Hot all over my upper back, I’ve taken a double dose of Advil, and I’m now propped up on the couch with pillows, trying not to move too much. Even typing this hurts. I have my second consultation with the chiropractor tomorrow, where he will go over my x-rays with me.

My parents are concerned about me seeing a chiropractor, and are afraid he’s going to hurt me even more. I’m going to request that he send my x-rays to my primary doctor, so that she can see what’s going on. I want to make sure that the course of treatment I choose is right for me…I don’t want to become permanently disabled because of something he does to my back. The whole situation is frustrating, painful, and scary. I need my parents help paying for this, and I don’t even know yet how much it will all cost. The chiropractor was telling me that scoliosis like mine usually needs about 18 months of constant adjustments, but if that is what it takes to give me relief from this pain, I’ll do it. My mom thinks I should just have a breast reduction, but that won’t fix the curves in my spine. Maybe nothing will.

Oh, the pain!

So, my Thanksgiving was really fun. In fact, I had two of them. On Thursday, we went to my boyfriend’s mother’s house and had a great, low-key, turkey dinner. We watched home movies and had a great, relaxing time. On Saturday, I went to my parents’ house, along with my younger brother and his new girlfriend, and my older brother, his wife, and their eighteen month-old son, my adorable nephew, Benjamin. I took it upon myself to help out with watching him, to keep him out of the kitchen. We played a game where he would run past me and I would swoop down and pick him up or just grab him and tickle him. It required a lot of bending, but that didn’t really bother me. But now, it’s 3 days later, and my back is hurting me so much, I can hardly move. And the worst part it, I have no coverage for chiropractic care and I have to babysit him again tomorrow.

I really don’t know what to do, because I’m starting to think that I have really injured myself. My boyfriend has given me a few massages, and I’ve used a heating pad, but it’s just getting worse and worse. I know that I will absolutely have to see a chiropractor this week, preferably very soon, but I don’t have any way of paying for it. If there was anyone else who could babysit Benjamin for me, I would ask, but there’s no one. I have an overwhelming fear that my back will completely go out, and no one will be able to help. I’m only supposed to be there for about 2 hours, so hopefully, he’ll just sleep, but I have a feeling he’s going to be wide awake and wanting to play.

My back has gotten to the point where I need to get something done. I have scoliosis in two places, plus a vertebrae at the very top that has twisted itself off to the right by about an inch, which causes my shoulder muscles to constantly be tight, tender, and painful. My doctor today even commented on how large and dense my breasts are, and said that I may want to get breast reduction surgery, which would eliminate a lot of my back pain. But, I’m scared to have surgery. I don’t know what I can do except have adjustments done to my back every week or something. I think my parents might help, and I’m going to ask my mom about it tomorrow. I only wish there was something I could do for my back right now, but without some kind of powerful painkiller, I’m stuck until I get myself fixed!