"You don't know what it's like!"
My husband and I laughingly bat that sentiment back and forth since before we were married. It began when my husband overlifted at work, herniating his lower spine. When his disc herniated, it blew into the spinal capsule to impinge upon the sciatic nerve. It knocked my normally stoic, German-descendant to his knees! Over and over, my husband would grit his teeth, attempt a grin, and recite, "You just don't know what it's like!" and "Nobody's ever hurt this bad!".
If you've never experienced sciatica, "you're very blessed, indeed". It's a deep painful, sharp, numbness that can affect butt cheek(s) and/or leg(s). In the case of my husband, the top of his foot and toes permanently lost sensation due to nerve damage. He, eventually, had surgery alleviating the pain, so effectively, that post-op he declared that he no longer needed the heavy pain medications he was using to cope with debilitating pain.
Now, it's my turn to whine, snivel, and bitch. As a result of the ALS and being bedridden, I'm having the bout with sciatica. How could I get sciatica when I, obviously, don't do any heavy lifting, you ask? First, my muscles are atrophying (dying); Also, my hospital bed and caregivers torque my back regularly. Curse of the disease, my caregivers aren't brutes for the most part.
How bad is it?
You just don't know what it's like!
My husband and I laughingly bat that sentiment back and forth since before we were married. It began when my husband overlifted at work, herniating his lower spine. When his disc herniated, it blew into the spinal capsule to impinge upon the sciatic nerve. It knocked my normally stoic, German-descendant to his knees! Over and over, my husband would grit his teeth, attempt a grin, and recite, "You just don't know what it's like!" and "Nobody's ever hurt this bad!".
If you've never experienced sciatica, "you're very blessed, indeed". It's a deep painful, sharp, numbness that can affect butt cheek(s) and/or leg(s). In the case of my husband, the top of his foot and toes permanently lost sensation due to nerve damage. He, eventually, had surgery alleviating the pain, so effectively, that post-op he declared that he no longer needed the heavy pain medications he was using to cope with debilitating pain.
Now, it's my turn to whine, snivel, and bitch. As a result of the ALS and being bedridden, I'm having the bout with sciatica. How could I get sciatica when I, obviously, don't do any heavy lifting, you ask? First, my muscles are atrophying (dying); Also, my hospital bed and caregivers torque my back regularly. Curse of the disease, my caregivers aren't brutes for the most part.
How bad is it?
You just don't know what it's like!
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