Originally Posted by
Blackwater
TG, FWIW, I had a fairly extensive history with Flexerill after '81 when I hurt my back seriously doing something I KNEW I shouldn't. Let some friends talk me into it, which seems often the case, or simple cussed "I can do that" when we know we SHOULDN'T do it. Long story short, it had the same effects you describe, and I couldn't do my job, or much of anything else, except sleep and laze around, neither of which was what I WANTED to be able to do.
I found relief without the meds (muscle relaxers and pain killers, neither of which agreed with me well) by going to a chiropractor. A buddy with similar problems called me from his office. His back had siezed up so bad he couldn't even walk to his car, and he asked me if I could come take him to his chiropractor. I couldn't deny him, and got off work to comply. Thankfully, it was a relatively "open" time for me. I got there, and parked in front of his office with the passenger side door open. I knew if he'd condescended to call for help, this would be needed. Got in and half helped, half carried him to the door and to the truck, and got him inside my truck. Took him to his chiropractor and half helped, half carried him inside. The chiro helped him back to the treatment room. Amazingly, about 15-20 min. later, he strutted out almost like a bantam rooster!
Now here's where you need to realize that I'd been raised to believe that all chiros were quacks, and they'd probably hurt you rather than "cure" you, and if you went long enough, just might KILL you! Naturally, seeing such a miraculous change in my friend got my attention, and the next time mine went out, I called his chiro and managed to get there on my own. Amazingly, he took me back, did a few twists on me, and I was able to walk out erect and under my own power, with no teetering, etc.!
OK, so now I was convinced! And that chiro was my "salvation" when my back went out for a good number of years, until he moved away. Since then, I've yet to find another chiro who doesn't want to get me on a steady schedule, and none that will do a simple maneuver and send me out "cured," at least until the next episode. I quit all the meds that I hated taking so much, and just used him for my "cures."
My GP doc once asked me why I went to one of those "danged ol' chiropractors," because "Nothing they do is permanent." I held up the Rx he'd just given me, and asked him, "So I guess these pain killers and muscle relaxers are permanent???" He just said, "Oh," and went back to writing and talking about other things. Loved that old doc. He was a tail gunner on a B-25 in WWII and THE doc you wanted to see if you wound up in the ER. But he didn't like chiros at ALL! He figured his "education" I guess, made his ways superior to a chiro's, but that's not how it worked out in practice for me.
However, the fly in this ointment is that each chiro has his/her own set of skills, and very few it seems, subsequent to Ralph, my original chiro, will do a "cure" in one sitting like Ralph did! And I have yet to find a single chiro that could or would do for me what Ralph did. So .... IF (and that's a big and very relevant word here!) you can find a chiro that can and WILL do what you need, treasure him and I'd almost want to buy life insurance on him because they're very rare, and if he is no longer around, the meds, etc. will be a LOT more expensive in addition to being less satisfactory.
IF you can find one of these jewels of the chiropractor's art, stick with him/her! If not, it's really a toss-up in my mind, as to what I'd do if I were still in that shape. ALL chiros are NOT alike, and the only way to find a good one, is to try them all one by one, going down the list when you get stuck bent over and can't get up. Eventually, you MAY (?) find one that can alleviate your taking all those meds and the side effects that you and I hate so badly. But it won't happen overnight, and CAN be almost as depressing as the pain itself. But FWIW, this is what I'd try if I were in your shoes again. Hope you find the key to avoiding the pain AND these debilitating meds! It really affects your life in ways that can't really be understood by those who've never had this problem.