By Contributing Author: Kyle Dillon a.k.a. (*Nado P.)

Wow! What a Difference

To my surprise I began to feel  different, less pain. Something was working. His adjustments immediately brought me temporary relief. For you who knock chiropractors, I say, try it before you pass judgment.

My Dilemma . . . Insurance or the Lack thereof

At the time I was attending school, unemployed and about to turn 22 years old. At 22 I’d no longer be covered by my parent’s health insurance; a remedy was needed.

My chiropractor suggested an MRI, because prior X-rays hadn’t shown any obvious causes. The MRI showed exactly what he expected, a disc herniation in my L5/S1 disc. In my opinion . . .

Until I was removed from my parent’s insurance, the chiropractic adjustments worked wonders. I was able to move around pain-free, but nothing lasts forever. I still needed a plan in case I, like too many Americans, ended up without insurance. And no, even though I have my feelings about it, I won’t get into the politics of national health care.

Fast Forward to Now

Several  years have passed and I’m still living with the disc herniation challenge, and basic health-care, which does not cover pre-existing conditions. Over that time I’ve had several employers, none of whom  provided full coverage insurance for pre- existing injuries.

Self Care #1: Relieve Stress

I had to make changes.  Some negative stresses have come and gone and I’m sure they have contributed to the ups and downs I’ve experienced with this injury.

Today I am happy to say that intensely stressful days are a part of my past. No longer do I worry myself silly about  little stressful  situations. And I try to mentally make them all “little.”

In an attempt to control stress I took things into my own hands. Number one, I moved to the North Carolina foothills, to meet and be around family. That was a great move. Being around family works!

Self Care #2: Do Something You Love

I’ve started my own independent record label, and yes it is stressful being in my own business, but the stress is different. I welcome it. I no longer work for someone else just to struggle to make ends meet. If I am going to struggle, I’ll do it for myself.

A much less stressful  life is what I live now, filled with health and wellness. I strive daily to keep negative stress to a minimum.

It is like the domino effect. I did one thing and others soon followed.

Self Care #3: Check the Nutrition

I take a daily liquid multivitamin provided by GBG, a company I market. It is amazing how much better I felt, almost immediately after my first sip. Next  I cut way back on the unhealthy foods I was eating. I called them “survival foods.” I read labels now.

Self Care #4: Exercise for the Health of it

And finally, I have gotten back to regularly exercising. What a difference a year makes!

The Moral of My Story

At one time I felt surgery was going to be my only option, however, once I changed my lifestyle and bad habits,  I rarely experience any pain or negative tension.

I’m not saying it is easy to change and it may not work for everyone. It is surely not a quick “fix,” but I can attest to the fact that due to the way I’m currently living, it’s working for me.

My suggestion? Consult with your doctors first. If they agree that you can go without immediate surgery, try improving your quality of living before opting for the last straw.

My research suggested that having a single back surgery won’t always solve the problem. Often a second and/or third surgery is needed. So I made a decision to . . .

“Try Nature’s Way First, ‘Cause You Never Know!”

See Part 1: Herniated Disc?

K. M. Dillon (Nado  P.)

Molten Rock Music

http://moltenrockmusic.com

This Article was Submitted by Contributing Author Kyle Dillon. Thanks Kyle.

CK Dillon

Support@CreateVitality.Com

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By Contributing Author: Kyle Dillon a.k.a. (*Nado P.)

Several years ago while playing basketball on an outdoor court I experienced a bad fall.

My Life Changed in an Instant

It all happened in an instant as I jumped up for a rebound, was undercut by another player,  and fell to the concrete, causing my ankle, knee, and hip to twist painfully. In that moment my life changed forever.

Over the next few days I sat around home applying home remedies with my leg raised, such as applying ice and using a heat pad. Within a few weeks my knee and ankle were pretty much healed, however, the worrisome pain in my hip had begun to migrate into my lower back and didn’t seem to be going away.

Home Remedies to the Rescue

In an effort to relieve that pain, I began to rest by laying down with both feet raised above my body; this technique helped to an extent and did relieve the tension at night, somewhat.

I have always been athletic so just as I had done in the past when dealing with minor injuries, I felt that icing, resting and stretching would help in the healing process.

Not This Time

I had never had an injury that didn’t heal in a matter of weeks, so this was a new experience for me.

Another month went by with no improvement. I became concerned that this was a bit more intense than I first suspected so I made an appointment with my physician.

Doc looked me over, prescribed pain pills, and said, “Continue what you’re doing and eventually proper rest will cause the pain to go away.”

But I’ve Got Things To Do!

At the time my life was moving full throttle and I was transferring  to a new school, relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area to Long Beach, CA. Suddenly my athletic future was, like San Francisco, a little bit foggy.

After settling in Long Beach, I was about 45 minutes from school on a good day. If you are unfamiliar with Los Angeles traffic, a 45 minute ride can instantly become a 2 or 3 hour nightmare commute.

Daily driving for several hours, pushing a clutch and brake, in stop-and-go traffic, caused more stiffness in my back muscles. The pain became worse by the day.

Stop What You’re Doing

On more than one occasion I experienced such excruciating pain that I literally fell to the floor where I had to lay for hours until the pain alleviated itself.

After one such event, I couldn’t take the pain and called for another appointment with a doctor.

This time I was referred to a physical therapist who basically did nothing for me, but charge my insurance. I went to him for a few weeks and came away with absolutely zero positive results.

Back to the doctor I went. This time I was referred to a chiropractor! Chiropractors have gotten such a bad rap, I immediately knew this too would be useless. But I had to try something. Anything.

The Prognosis

After describing the pain I was enduring to the chiropractor, he told me, “What you seem to be experiencing is known as [i]Sciatica.”

I asked, “How did I manage to get Sciatica?” He said, “It could be multiple reasons, but I think your  problem may be due to a disc herniation.”

I’m thinking, “I’m an athlete, a student, and I don’t have time for this.” This news to me was very discouraging.

After discussing my situation and helping me understand what was going on, the chiropractor convinced me that he could give me a few adjustments that might help.  With nothing to lose, I agreed.

See Part 2: Wow! What a Difference

This Article was Submitted by Contributing Author Kyle Dillon. Thanks Kyle.

CK Dillon

Support@CreateVitality.Com

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[i] “Sciatica is inflammatory pressure against the nerve endings of your Sciatic nerve that causes pain in the hip and leg to extend from the back of the hip down to the calf. It is usually caused by a disk sticking out and pressing on the roots of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve fiber that begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down a lower limb. It is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body.”

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Every day I realize and give thanks as to how fortunate I am. I’ve not been one to spend a lot of time in or around a hospital in my lifetime.

Healthy Boomers . . . Take Note  

I can count the times on one hand that I have had to go to the hospital and on that same hand I can count the days that I was a resident.

Those aforementioned days all came a few months ago when I was suddenly snatched out of my self-imposed euphoria of the excellent health myth.

I was the one healthy Boomer in my circle of Baby Boomer friends and relatives who took absolutely no prescribed medicines. And that was my brag.

I’ve got good genes evidently. My grandma lived to be 95 and was never in the hospital until she passed 93 years of age. My mom only recently spent her first days as a hospital resident and she is 79.

Prior to November 2010, I had never been admitted to a hospital. Initially it was quite unnerving when the lead doctor, after discussing my condition with his team who was screening me said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “you’ve got a few issues and they want to admit you.”

At first it was obvious to him I was stunned when, as my record of no hospital stays hung in the balance, I said nervously, “Do you mean now, like . . . today? Maybe I should go home and think about it.” I was thinking maybe I’d wait till the holidays were over and get a retest that would prove my conviction that I was, in fact, o.k.

He made eye contact with me and unsmilingly said, “Right now, today.” He had no way of knowing, but it was his no-nonsense, honest and straight-forward demeanor that got my attention.

I’ve never experienced chest pain, other than an attack of gas once or twice a year, and had learned to live with a slight shortness of breath that had become persistent over the last few months. So in my mind, I didn’t have any problems.

Well, despite my best efforts, my record came crashing down that day and I was admitted to Carolinas Medical Hospital, specifically the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute.

It had to be the luckiest day of my life.      

Stress tests confirmed an erratic heartbeat, and still in denial, my thought was I would be prescribed a ‘magic pill’ and sent home by five o’clock. In hindsight I realize how naive I was trying to hang on to a record that meant nothing to anyone but me.

As for hospital stays, all I had to go on was comments of others who only seemed to have horror stories and negativity about their stay in other establishments.

If you ever have the unfortunate circumstance to spend a few days in the hospital, my hope is you will be fortunate enough to be admitted to Carolinas Medical.

Every person with whom I had contact, from the doctors, to the nurses, to the dietician, was professional and courteous. I am still amazed at the  lengths the staff went to in order to make my stay comfortable.

For my first, and hopefully only, stay in a hospital I could not have scripted it any better.

Since I was dismissed from Sanger on Thanksgiving day, I feel better, breathe easier and am getting back to exercising with regularity.

When I was in denial, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Carolinas Medical and Sanger Institute

If any of you reading this just happens to work for Carolinas Medical or the Sanger Institute, you can be proud of your organization.

They have what they call a WOW card that can be filled out to give recognition to certain people who gave excellent care.

This article is my WOW card to everyone who cared for me in my time of need.

Again I offer my sincere thanks for making my time of uncertainty less stressful. You all have proven yourselves to be professionals.

CK Dillon

createvitality2010@gmail.com

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