Just be thankful that you're able to play....

There have been plenty of venting and complaining threads in here and I've certainly had my own complaints. I haven't said anything before, but a little over a year ago, a herniated disk in my back started pressing against a nerve. This caused unbelievable pain going all the way down my leg and into my foot. Ended up in the ER for excruciating leg pain and they quickly diagnosed it as my back. Very soon, I was in a fog of meds and out of work. Part of what went along with that was letting my WL know that I was out for the foreseeable future.

Well, 6 weeks later, one of the treatments fixed 90% of the pain and I could at least walk, sit and start playing my guitar again (could not play that entire time). I even restrung a guitar from 10's to 9's because my fingers were back to beginner status. I was finally stable enough to get back on the schedule and went for quite a while with only annoying back pain. About a month ago, the pain suddenly increased on a Friday night and by Saturday morning, I was bedridden. I am very determined and eventually got myself up. It took me literally an hour to put on my pants. I sent out an email to the WL and the leader for the week, as I was the guitarist for Sunday (the next day) and there was no way I'd make that. I've been out ever since and am hoping that the 0.1% improvement I get every day will have me well enough to play on the 27th. I am able to sit (although I have to be really careful and not sit long) and can stand with a guitar and a strap. I picked up a tele thinline and have a PRS hollow copy and my old guild archtop for lighter guitars.

I've also been so lucky with work. Just before this latest episode, I changed jobs. So I literally had 1 week on the job before the back went out. It held up enough during the week and somehow only let out Friday nights. The plant had a week shutdown and the back somehow knew and was out for 5 days during that time.

Once I'm back to playing in services, I'm going to try to complain less about receiving music late and last minute changes or whacky new rehersal arrangements, or surprises that there's another electric player who I'm splitting parts with and just be thankful when I don't need another 10mg of oxycodone.

I'll pray for you dude.

me too^^
hang tite bud

Sorry to hear all that jack. I'm praying too for your healing and recovery.

And everything you say about being thankful to even play is right on. Complainers (like me) need to re-read Philippians 2:14 often...

Wow...I will shut my yap and do the right thing.
Things could be a LOT worse.

Consider me humbled.

Thank you.

wow

Wow Jack, may God still use you mightily.

A few years ago I decided that playing guitar and being a musician are not necessarily important. This goes against what I told myself for 35 years.
Now Theology and Apologetics take up 10x more of my passion and study than jamming and music theory.
You can pursue that with or without health. Music is great - but it never saved anyone.

Prayers sent.

That is a rough ride! I know part of your pain due to 2 bad disks which cause occasional numbness in my right leg. I pray for healing for you.

Dadgum! I'll be praying for you brother.

I know exactly the pain you are speaking of, and I totally sympathize. I am concerned for you when you say you were in a fog of meds. I have back pain for over 30 years, and have had at least 5 or 6 episodes during that time that were so severe it was unbearable, some for a couple of weeks. I found that by finding a GOOD chiropractor, not some " come and see me 3 times a week forever kind of chiro, but a GOOD one, that can have you up and at it asap. There are exercises and common sense do's and dont's you need to learn. The meds will help for the short run, but they just mask the pain and prolong your recovery. I know mine is not the popular opinion, but it is well worth a look see.


Good Luck, and get healthy soon, Mike

I'm right there with you, Jack! Two bulging discs and one doing something else for 20 years. I refuse to give up on anything I enjoy, but I do take it slow. I was helping one of my co-workers out a few weeks ago, changing (well, mounting) a tire and the wrench I was holding slipped, doing wonders for the pain in my back. I'm only having minor problems now, compared to what I used to have to endure. We'll be praying for you, buddy! Keep the faith!

I know your pain and I'm praying for you. In my case, as I got older, all of the stupid things I did as a kid have shown up in pain. I can so relate to being thankful to be able to play. Wishing you the best.

Thanks for the support, all. It helps.

I have been to literally the best spine doctors on the east coast and of course, each one is super specialized. The spine surgeon told me that he does exactly 2 things. Either cuts something out to relieve a disk pushing on a nerve or something else that I can't even remember. Unfortunately, my MRI's have not shown that there's a clear place to go in and do something. I do PT about 3 times a week and do what they say as much as practical. Heck....I'm sitting here with a rolled up towel and ice pack during my lunch at work. I am getting a neurological test (EMG) in a couple weeks to show anything going on specifically with the nerves.

I'm an optomistic person at heart, so expect (and hope) that this gets better, even if it's by 0.1% every week. I do still have other potential things to try like a myelogram (dye in my spine and xray while I move in different positions). It would be absolutely great to have a test done and hear the doctor say "aha....that's what the problem is, I'll schedule surgery for next week". Even then, I'm realistic and know that not all back surgery is successful.

Thanks for the support, all. It helps.

I have been to literally the best spine doctors on the east coast and of course, each one is super specialized. Even then, I'm realistic and know that not all back surgery is successful.

My wife had the best spinal surgeon in the North Bay, Ca. He told her she would be up and back at work in 90 days. She hasn't worked in over 12 years, and will never be the same. In her post op therapy classes, she found many other back surgery "victims" that were in the same predicament. It's great to be optimistic, but avail yourself to as much knowledge as possible. There's no reversing surgery. As I said in an earlier post, find a GOOD Chiropractor. It has worked for me.

Good Luck to you, Mike

Same as surgeon's...there's always a bad chiro story for every good one....A chiro broke loose the calcium deposits I had from an earlier injury... inflicting WAY more pain as the chips pressed on my nerves. A surgeon made a small incision, pulled out the bone chips and calcium deposits and told me to stay away from chiros... See, if your old and already have the pain, like me, chiropractor is no good, now if your limber and its a muscle pain then chiro is fine, a massage therapist is even better... My earlier injury was a compression break in my lower back. They wanted to fuse it, this was 85', I said no and wore a back brace and spent 2 months in a bed, a year in the brace and I'm ok. Till the chiro, on advice from a nonmedical, I went to one and ended up in surgery. Immobilize your back and it will heal, that came from a neurologist, and kept me out of surgery the first time. But do what your back tells you it needs... get a 2nd and a 3rd opinion before surgery. Surgeons always want to operate, its what they do. Positive belief in the healing power of God does the most, IMO. Playing guitar while I was bedridden is all that kept me from goin' bonkers in 85'.

Prayers are up for a blessing on you.

I too have had a disc prolapse - although not a serious one, thankfully.

But when I found myself, about 6 weeks ago, being microwaved in a coffin (i.e., having an MRI) for another spine problem that might have required emergency surgery, I finally forgave myself for spending my life savings on a new guitar. And I also decided that life was too short to look back one day and say, I nearly built a guitar once . . .

So, yes, I hear you loud and clear.

Many people on this site are, let's say, the wise side of 40. And the more people you talk to, it just seems that anyone over that age is living with some kind of pain.

Seems it's not just our guitars that get roadworn.

I can't play as well as I used to, due to diabetic neurapathy. But I can still play, I've found some new techniques, and I write songs in a different manner now. At it's worst, during the onset, I couldn't even hold a guitar pick.

So every gig, every rehearsal, every personal practice, I'm more grateful for something I used to totally take for granted.

EDITED TO ADD- when I first started getting these problems, the physical therapists advised me to not even try to continue to play guitar, they said I would only be frustrated. OH, ok, not playing=no frustration.

What a bunch of morons.

I know what it's like Jack. Had my 1st back operation in 2008. Iwas good for 16 months. Now I have been injured for the last 20 months, waiting on surgery for prolapsed/herniated disks in my back L4-L5-S1 and my C6 disk in my neck. Degenerative disk disease sucks and months of physical therapy has done nothing for me.

Hang in there, I wish you well.

Jack - had the same thing. It was a torn nerve root, getting smushed by a disk. I was down for 10 months before they figured it out.

The cure was Celexa, although most of the other SSRI antidepressants work as well. Raises the action potential of the nerve so it stops firing all the time, which is what is causing the hurting.

SIDE NOTE: the neurologist has a fancy-assed version of a guitar amp, instead of a cord it's got two needles. He plugged 'em into my torn nerve. Sounded like a noisecore band. Plugged them into a normal nerve. Just occasional ticks. Amazing when you can HEAR the bad body part.

The Celexa kicked the noisecore band out of my body's garage. Can't competitively mountain bike anymore, and I'm permanently fifty pounds heavier, but I can walk, I can do yoga, I can do medium physical labor (lifting 100 pound cement sacks all day isn't going to work, but anything short of that will - I have spent all day digging ditches recently, it hurts after, but I can DO it) and I can play guitar standing for a full gig and I can WORK.

Hope this helps. I've been there and boy does it suck. But it can be fixed.

Don't do the spinal surgery unless they can point you at something that is very specifically and obviously wrong. And then...don't do it anyway. I've never known anyone who came out of spinal surgery who had any kind of life afterwards. Dismal success rate.

Do you play at Faith Community Church perchance? I will pray for you too man.

My back pain sometimes dictates which guitar I'll be playing on any given date. Thankfully I have choices, prayers sent your way bro.

Although I'm healthy, I do wonder sometimes about what I'd do if something happens in my life that prevents me from playing permanently. I'd be soo depressed! The guitar has become a part of my body, it'll be like losing a limb. I seriously don't know what I'd do! :sad:

Well thanks for this though, I will do my best to not grumble and just get on with what I've got!

Wheres the power here? Lets unite and pray for healing for those mentioned and those unmentioned. It is what we sing and play about. I'll be praying brothers and sisters.

My back pain sometimes dictates which guitar I'll be playing on any given date. Thankfully I have choices, prayers sent your way bro.

The guitar to look into for those of us in this situation is the Parker Fly. I had a Deluxe that was so light it was unbelievable. My son is a professional musician, and plays a PF Classic. He saw my Deluxe, and jokingly asked " What do I have to do to talk you out of that ? ", so I gave it to him. He'll make better use of it than me.
Seriously though, check out the Parker Fly.

Mike