Chiropractic Care Visits: Week 4
The past week has been a trying week for me. In addition to body pains due to adverse weather, I’ve also been doing a parasite cleanse. The cleanse is helpful and I’m making progress with it, but it also comes with stomach discomfort and headaches. The stomach pains are keeping me from getting good quality sleep at night and making my body uncomfortable during the day. It’s as though I’m stuck in the dreaded sleep-pain cycle that many of us know all too well.
Rough weekend = Crash
Monday’s appointment with Dr. Tom* went so-so. I had a rough Saturday because of my oldest daughter’s birthday party. No matter how well I planned to lessen the stress and physical demands, I was still burnt out by the time the party was over. Seriously, having a room full of girls together will result in the chaperone completely crashing afterwards. It doesn’t matter who you are – you will crash, there’s no avoiding it. And if you can do this without crashing, I don’t want to meet you because you’re like a magical unicorn and my mind cannot wrap around that.
I rested and stretched as much as I possibly could on Sunday, but my lower back was still inflamed Monday morning. The massager Sue* used on my back was painful, too. This is one of the things I looked forward to when I go to my appointments. It’s usually relaxing and the tension eases out of my back and legs. For that session, I was tense most of the time she was on my back.
The Stretching Machine
When Dr. Tom came in to do the adjustment, he noted my tension and pain. I told him about my back hurting over the weekend and the continued inflammation. In addition to the manual adjustment on my lower back and hips, he used the activator method to address the inflammation. It only seemed to add to the pain, and I told him as much. He could tell I was not happy.
Because I was sore and feeling grumpy about the session being painful, he asked if I’d like to get on the stretching machine. I wasn’t familiar with it, but if you’re unfamiliar with my crazy irrational fears – medical machines are one of my fears. So you can imagine how alert I became at that point. If I wasn’t so miserable, I would have asked a dozen questions rather than what I did – just laid down and waited for the machine to work it’s magic.
It felt amazing. As I laid flat on my stomach, Sue secured straps across my feet and my lower back. The lower half of the traction table moved downwards in a slow, smooth motion. It was only a few degrees of a drop, but it was enough to feel the stretch in my lower back. It reminded me of when I would do stretches off the side of the bed whenever I was having menstrual cramps. It looked a little silly, but the gravity pulling my buttocks downward, eased the tension. It made me feel better each and every time I used it.
The stretching machine had the same effects. I was on there for about twenty minutes, maybe not even that long, and I must have dozed off. The state of relaxation was phenomenal and I look forward to using it again. I must admit – I’m impressing myself with all these medical machines I’m using and liking.
Pushing to finish out the week
I was scheduled to see Dr. Tom three times this week, but was unable to make it to Wednesday’s appointment. Tuesday night I laid awake and unable to sleep because of my stomach pains. They weren’t too severe, but uncomfortable enough that I couldn’t sleep through. By the time the sun rose on Wednesday, I was felt chewed up and spit out. I couldn’t push through the fatigue, headache, and overall crummy feeling to make my appointment, so I canceled.
Friday wasn’t any better for me, but I couldn’t cancel two of my three weekly appointments. I didn’t want to regress in my therapy, and my body wasn’t at the point to go very many days in between adjustments. Needless to say, I pushed my body to put one foot in front of the other and go. Tears probably were involved along with a lot of pep talk to get me out of bed, dressed, and in the car, but it happened.
Putting on a happy face even though I’m crying on the inside is something I’ve done many times before. This time, I felt like I was going to break into tears if I had to fake it. How was I going to push through it and get there? I decided to focus on one activity at a time – get out the car, walk to the door, etc. Just one at a time.
Seeing a Friendly Face
However, when I was getting out of my car, one of my friends showed up to her appointment. She could tell I wasn’t feeling well, and talked to me about it. Telling her my issues, having her listen and offer words of comfort was a huge help to me. It got me in the front door without crying, and got me on the table for my adjustment.
Sue added to the comfort with her kind, soothing words. (She didn’t know what was going on with me. She’s always so kind and has a soothing way of talking to others.) The massager helped ease the tension, too, and my spirits were already a lifted even if only slight.
Dr. Tom used the activator method on my lower back and neck area. There was some manual adjusting on my hips and mid-back. Nothing was painful this session, so I wasn’t in more pain or sore afterwards. In fact, I felt better and not as low or crummy as when I first arrived.
A Provider Who Cares
When my session was over and I got off the table, Dr. Tom asked what was going on with me because he could tell I wasn’t myself. I told him of my stomach discomforts and how much sleep I wasn’t getting because of it. He knew I was doing the parasite cleansing, so he suggested giving the cleanse a few more days before throwing in the towel. Maybe some of the discomfort I was feeling was because the apple cider vinegar was working. It seemed to be normal to have these side effects when cleansing the gut and getting it healthy again.
Had Dr. Tom been the sort of medical provider that didn’t listen to me and take my feelings of pain and anguish seriously, then I would have disregarded his advice. Instead, I agreed to give it more time over the holiday weekend before making a final decision. (By the way, I’m glad I listened to him because I was amazed at what happened the following morning! It was absolutely astonishing and made me realize I had been making the right choices of a cleanse.)
My body seems to be on a plateau of healing because of the gut issues I was experiencing. The gut controls so much of the body including pain, headaches, and fatigue. I know once I get my gut healed, I will start recovering once again.
Be sure to read the rest of this chiropractic care series.
*Names have been changed for privacy.
