Dr. B

Strangely enough (or, perhaps, not so strange) is the general absence of such empathy among so many in my profession. They’re “working” at “jobs” on a 9-5 basis, and become so busy meeting other peoples’ expectations that the tail wags the dog.

Hmmmm. I think I’m working up to this week’s blog! But I’ll never be confused with a “country parson”!

I’m off today- was way too cold to play golf. Glad I was home- got some grammar tips off your site today.

Back pain can be a beast. Assuming it is not surgical (they usually aren’t) if your doc can’t get you squared away, you might try one of these ortho guys who specializes in backs only. We have one in the first big town close to home. I send him cases I can’t get fixed up. He helped my mom, which got my attention and appreciation. My first choice of specialist is often to the docs who don’t even operate. (unless the patient has urgent warning signs like loss of bowel or bladder control or acute weakness.) They are often tuned in to the little nuances regular docs like me might let get by them if not careful.

Also be sure you’ve had a good physical and it is nothing systemic. (ie something else wrong in the body that manifests itself as back pain- my guess is this is not the case, but no way to know for sure over the Net.)

If you are like my wife you might do too much for too many too often, so do rest some. When my wife broke her foot I found out just exactly how much she was doing!

Good luck. Back trouble is bad, but sometimes those kinds of docs I mentioned above have helped my folks.

And keep on teaching with compassion. We all have something to learn including old docs who need grammar lessons.

Dr. B

I’ve been suffering for the last three or four days with debilitating back pain. Every couple of years, I do something stupid (sometimes, that stupid thing is, you know, making my bed. Or flipping a light switch…) and I’m completely useless for days. No position is comfortable, I can’t stand up straight, and FORGET about the stairs. I’m constantly frustrated by the fact that my health care professionals don’t seem to GET it. Or, if they do, they don’t care.

Look, I’m a pretty self-sufficient woman. I do a lot over the course of my everyday life, and when I suddenly have to stop – EVERYTHING – it’s devastating. The frustration of not being able to get myself to a seated position, NEVER MIND not being able to fold that basket of laundry – is almost as bad as the actual pain. A pat on the shoulder and an “I know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta rest if you expect to heal” would be a welcomed thing.

Luckily, I get that from my husband, but a little more compassion from my docs wouldn’t go amiss….