Chronic back injury...losing hope

[KWFACE]

I would first like to say "HI!" to everyone I am new here. Approx. 8 months ago I turned away from a rather large male pt and the man ended up tripping over his own feet and used me as 'support' (I am 115 pounds btw) and send me head first into the floor. I seemed to be ok but startled by it. I brushed myself off and continued on my way. Dumbest thing I have ever done. Three weeks later walkling in the local mall and my legs shot out in different directions "POP" is all I heard. My rt leg went completely numb. I was hysterical. I was given 2 MRIs---clean. But my x-ray was totally trashed and my spine and pelvis was twisted in all sorts of directions and was advised to see a chiropractor. I sprained my back. I have since gotten the feeling back in my leg but still have some pain running down it. *sigh* I still can't walk normally and I'm scared---I know it's not the same as a herniated disc or anything more serious but it's been 7 months already and I feel like this is going to be my life forever. Has anyone come back from this? How long does it take? I mean they can't really do much for this injury. I am really frustrated. I haven't even been a nurse for that long. I had only started nursing a month before this happened. BTW, I was totally canned. And you know what? I don't care, it just isn't worth it to me anymore.

Any advice or stories would be appreciated.....

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Do not worry, you will get better.

A similar thing happened to me and I didn't even have an accident at work. I had unremitting sciatica due to endometriosis annoying the nerve (didn't know this at the time). Had all the MRIs etc - I had a slight disc bulge at L5/S1 but the Dr said it was normal wear & tear and my spinal canal was as big as a football field - it wasn't impinging on the nerve at all. I despaired. I was at the end of my rope & really contemplated killing myself. My family despaired. Painkillers didn't work.I had facet joint injections which worked for a while, but the pain came back when I got more active.

When I went on the pill (to control the endo & heavy bleeding), the pain nearly disappeared. But I still get it if I sit in one spot for too long or lift very heavy objects (which I don't do now).

You need to stay positive & lucky you have that family support. Try facet joint injections, get some powerful anti-inflammatories, use wheat bags you can heat up in the microwave, deep heat & learn proper stretching through yoga & pilates. Take painkillers 30 mins BEFORE stretching or it will hurt too much. Try to stretch THROUGH the pain as exercise will release endorphins too & make you feel better. The muscles tighten up quickly that is why you have to keep stretching; this worked for me anyway.

You also need to be vigilant about doing the above, and gentle exercise like swimming & walking. Gradually do weights to strengthen all your muscles but especially your back - also strengthen those stomach muscles! And find a good masseur/PT trained to do special exercises for this type of pain & doing massage - the massage gets the blood flowing to the area. But it will hurt; I won't sugar coat it. However it helped me. Also don't sit in one spot for too long, keep moving around, walking a bit or stretch out on the floor. Try to keep interested in hobbies/work to distract your mind from pain. Acupuncture can help too as someone else said.

Try to be positive - it is hard I know. And take painkillers when you need to, but try gradually to take less addictive ones - that was one of the hardest things I had to do.

[sandyfeet]

Were you fired for not reporting the injury or because you were unable to perform your normal duties? I would definitely pursue Workman's Comp since this happened at work, and this injury could affect you for the rest of your life. Besides medical care, you could receive money for lost wages. At the very least it seems like wrongful termination.

[dnnc52]

Can not stress how important reporting injuy to your managemnet can be. I give a true but sad story that I am invloved with at this time. I gave my 2 week notice to my job with another one waiting. About 2 days bfore my last day I lifted a dead weight 3503 pt the type that you know once you get them up and on the way to the chair they decide that they can't make it. So you just take the weight and twsit them into the chair. Oh yes as we are all taught never to do and of course, once you drop a pt you learn that it's esay to explain a"litttle pain in the back" then all the hoop hall of filling out the pt fall forms. Anyway. I ways jusy so happy that my time with this unit was comming to an end, never gave it much thought. The charge nurse even asked if I was okay and of course" I'll be okay". Know the next dfay waked up to go for my last day of work, left knee pain? you know we all wake up with aches and pains never gave much thought. bye bye unit at they end of the day. hope never to see ya again type departure. Knee pain all that week end. Bought a knee banadge at local sports store thinking this will help along with some motri. Worked 3 days at my new job everythinghg going well. back on top of the world? THEN woke up out of deaqd sleep thinking this time it's the end gotta be a AAA never had so much pain in my life. And BTW by my own exp I had Kidney Stones x 3 and this made the stone pain feel like just disconfort. this pain qwas a 15 on a 1/10. made it to the ER IV pain med pain okay waws ready to send me home. thank GOD that a Doc I use to work with knew me and said. You never complained like this must be more happening. STAT MRI = rupture L2-3 now out of work 4 weeks surgery pending in 2 days. PROBLEM: Living on COBRA (thank you AL Gore) otherwise?. But no short or long term disability, because I and no longer employed with my Last job. had not worked long enough to accumulate sick leave with new job. So now we are pinching pennies selling stuff and whatever. But I can't blame my old job or new job. It's my own damn dumb fault for not reporting my" i'll BE OKAY" BACK AND KNEE PAIN. So by all means DO NOT GO WITHOUT reporting any injury. Do not get into a jam like this stupid nurse of 30+years did. Now for the good news I have a company I worked for 4 years ago who were actually rreally sad about what happen to me and they are holding my position until I return. That is rare in these days so I feel really blessed on this part of my problems. Now I wish to enter another new thread later..... but for now FOLKS treat your back and body with respect!!!

[Hoozdo, ADN]

I just wanted to warn everyone, Workmen's Comp is not administered federally.

There are different rules state to state. Workmen's comp is always looking out

for the employer, NOT THE EMPLOYEE.

For example, in Arizona, if you file Workmen's Comp you are no longer eligible

for short term disability or long term disability. All you get is the measly Workmen's

Comp pay, (which the max pay was 300 a week about 3 years when I was on

it.) I could not work and could not pay my bills. In addition, WC tells you what

doctors to go to.

You can't even hire a lawyer to dispute anything until after WC CLOSES your case.

I was shocked at the bad benefits of WC.

I swear, I will not ever fill out an incident report again in this state. I will drag

myself home if I have to. So for those of you who never reported your injury,

that might have been a GOOD thing.

[dnnc52]

But still in the long run would you not be better off with at least a paper trail of your injury if it ever got as far as needing a lawyer? regardless of the disability claims being different?

[Hoozdo, ADN]

But still in the long run would you not be better off with at least a paper trail of your injury if it ever got as far as needing a lawyer? regardless of the disability claims being different?

Well, I would have never needed a lawyer if I wasn't on Workmen's Comp.

I could have used STD and LTD, used doctors of MY choice, and been treated

faster for my injury. WC is strictly for the employers best interest.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i just wanted to warn everyone, workmen's comp is not administered federally.

there are different rules state to state. workmen's comp is always looking out

for the employer, not the employee.

for example, in arizona, if you file workmen's comp you are no longer eligible

for short term disability or long term disability. all you get is the measly workmen's

comp pay, (which the max pay was 300 a week about 3 years when i was on

it.) i could not work and could not pay my bills. in addition, wc tells you what

doctors to go to.

you can't even hire a lawyer to dispute anything until after wc closes your case.

i was shocked at the bad benefits of wc.

i swear, i will not ever fill out an incident report again in this state. i will drag

myself home if i have to. so for those of you who never reported your injury,

that might have been a good thing.

i agree.

when i hurt my back, i was too stupid to realize that the sound of something "popping" in the l5/s1 region was a back injury. when i woke up with sciatica pain the next day, i let my husband convince me that it was the result of not stretching enough. it never entered my mind until i had the mri, 2 (almost 3) weeks later, that what i had was a back injury, heralded by the popping sound while helping to move an enormous patient.

because i'd already waited about three weeks, and had been off work for nearly that long, i figured it was too late to report it. besides, i had short term, medium term and long term disability. i applied for fmla, but didn't fill in one area. they kept sending the papers back to me to finish, and i never "got it" because i was in so much of a fog from the flexoril and percocet i was taking. my fmla didn't get approved until 3 months into the injury, so it lasted until i could go back to work six months after i hurt my back. in the mean time, i was getting disability pay, which is about 2/3 of your regular paycheck. oddly, that was enough to keep the bills paid and groceries on the table. of course i was in too much pain to leave the house and do anything, so the only other thing i was doing with money was visiting the used book store where i already had a significant credit built up.

during the entire ordeal, my husband was haranguing me about applying for workman's comp. but i was in too much of a fog and too exhausted from the pain to do anything about it -- even fight with dh about it. finally, he asked my doctor to fill out workman's comp paperwork for me, and the doctor told him he was nuts; i was much better off without it.

i went out shortly after a colleague of mine, mary, tore her rotator cuff when a patient she was ambulating decided to fall down and drag mary with her. it was quite the drama -- patient screaming in spanish, patient's husband yelling in spanglish, the pt, pt assistant and a cna involved with ambulating the patient and her various lifesaving equipment. there was nothing for it but mary had to go to occupational health immediately, and she was out on workman's comp before the end of the shift. she came back to work shortly before me.

i kept my job, my seniority, my health insurance and had a check every week. mary lost her job and her health insurance shortly before the surgery to fix her rotator cuff. her husband's (lesser) insurance paid for her hospitalization, but she had no choice in which doctors to see, which procedures to have or anything else, really. and when she was ready to come back to work, all she was promised was "an equal position" which wound up being in the float pool. all of her seniority and benefit time were gone.

carrying disability insurance -- short, medium and long term -- and not reporting my injury at work saved my butt. i wound up much better off than mary.

but your milage may vary.