Lance, Your conversations with me uplifted my spirits and made me forget the physical pain while we talked. That is much better then any telemarketer!!! Heck, that's better then some family too. You do truly deserve to be truly fully happy, think on that. Gosh, I must be tired, my language skills today are not so good! I once pondered the dynamics of friendships and other relationships. My husband is the ying to my yang. Where I am assertive he's mellow. I uplift him and he mellows me out when I get stressed or upset. My BFF is just like me, we have very similar personalities and finish sentences for eachother. But, at the same time we are eachothers therapist. I can tell him anything without offending him and vise versa. Maybe we choose friends more thoughtfully then we know... some have a special quality that we wish to have, some share a common interest thats very important, some are our opposites and maybe sometimes we want to be like them and so on... I picked my spouse because I had never met another man like him. He fit my personality perfectly and we complement eachother. I could go through each friend I have and what they mean to me, but they all are very special in their own unique way. I sure hope you answer blocked calls? Just a thought. Please don't sell yourself short in terms of friendship. You have many friends, probably more then you know. You have to deal with some tough questions right now, the main one being, "what do you want, and what makes you happy?" You deserve to have both, the answer is there you just have to find it. I have read the pain in your words, I am concerned. Remember, we love roses inspite of the thorns. Relationships all have thorns, and most of them are worth it. I haven't been able to shovel prune in years! My heart goes out to you. You know where to find me and that I am here for you. I might be slow on the computer somedays because my back is getting worse again, time to go back to the dr and ask for a change. Until then, I will try to be available but typing can be painful sometimes. Yr Rosy Friend Always, Carlota

The most important thing is to have a proper diagnosis for any and all orthopedic problems. Physical therapy can help, but if the exercises are treating the wrong problem, then they can make things far worse than they already are. The same goes for a chiropracter especially. Manipulations of the spine or any joint that are done without the proper diagnosis can do serious harm, especially if there is any osteoporosis going on or displaced joints. Please see an ortho doc that specializes in your specific problems and they will send you for the proper tests, usually MRIs to determine the problem. Then, together, you can formulate a treatment plan. Just swallowing pain pills will not resolve the underlying problem. Catherinet, you need a new PT person. The best would be physical therapists who are sports medicine ones. They are well trained in all kinds of PT as well as new techniques and fibromyalgia as well. As for how a knee can cause all kinds of problems and pain elsewhere, it's simple. If you think of your body standing up to start with and look at it that way, you will see that the pressure on your body, goes from the feet up to the ankles, the legs, the knees, thighs, hips, spine, neck to your head. Any one of those pressure points, when not moving or functioning correctly can and will throw the entire body off and cause pain both below and above it. For example, if you have a problem with your knee, then you are not standing on the affected leg, ankle, knee and foot. You put pressure incorrectly on the hip, all the way down to your foot. By doing that, you then put strain on all those joints, tendons, muscles, ligaments. At the same time you are pulling the spine and neck on that side off as well. As you do this to the affected side of your body, you start putting strain on the opposite side and you start pulling everything out of wack. Sometimes, what you are feeling a permenent pulled muscles and joint irritation from what is going on and sometimes it will create further medical problems from long standing problems with one joint. The other big issue is the spine. As we age, the spine starts to wear down, and though we may think that the pain in the knee or the hip is directly from those joints, the real problem is with the spine. Don't be sorry that the pain is getting to you. I've been there and no what that is like. I've had several orthopedic issues for the past 10 years and found out last year, that everyone of them was stemming from spinal stenosis in my lower back. When that was fixed, oh, the pain was completely gone, until my feet decided that they like my back the way it was before and created ortho problems for me. Got that taken care of and the ankles got pissed at both the spine and the feet. So took care of that, all with custom orthotics, good shoes and Pt. I just have to remember that I can't over do or I really get screwed. Like now. Really over did it last weak and tore a muscle in the lower back that needs big time PT and pain meds. If not healed in 4 weeks the muscle wil have to be stitched. Anyway, get the proper diagnosis for what is going on before you head off to a PT and if you are suffering from any kind of osteoporosis, a good doc will tell you to never go near one ans the manipulations will break bones on you. Try seeing a sports medicine orthopedic doc that specializes in spines. And below is a great link to a spine forum with lots of support and helpfull info. My doc thinks it's one of the best locals on the web for info and support. Click on the link and when the page comes up, go to the left side of the page and click on discussion forums. You have to register to post on the forums and use the live chat. same kind of thing as with GW, but its a wonderful site to be part of. I joined and love it there. Good luck and e-mail me if you want any further info or help or someone to vent to. Fran Here is a link that might be useful: spine-health.com

Geez, that is an utter drag, Chisue. Back, hip, bony-nervy pain Cain be so difficult. Very impolite to the human (patient/victim/hero/inflictee/sufferer) body, and it can be tough to diagnose. I'm betting that some people never get an answer. Not because doctors don't care or are not talented (although some deserve that description), but there are real limitations in trying to evaluate pain and its causes. As a bit of a sidebar here, I want to say that if an MRI is ordered, I much prefer the diagnostic centers with a "High T (Tesla)" MRI unit that is closed. You get better detail. Because (apparently) a lot of patients are anxious and claustrophobic, and perhaps also because of cost and logistics, many diagnostic imaging facilities opt for the "open" and lower (magnetic) field MRI machines. My advice to any person (patient) with hard to visualize and diagnose pain, is to find a way to condition yourself to calm down and overcome any claustrophobia. And HOLD STILL! One of my friends has has bilateral hip replacements, and her last one didn't seem to go as well as the first. But she also had non-hip surgical or hospital "cooties" (?) complications. She also elected to go to what I'd consider a quasi country bumpkin (okay, yeah, slap me) hospital because she liked the doctor. A single so so doctor does not determine the quality of a facility or its diligence with infection control. A hospital is a complex place and many factors can contribute to standards, training, available staff and their training, infection control and so on. The culture of both the medical staff and patient community also plays its part. Many of us struggle with weight control, healthful eating habits and exersize, sleep, relaxation. When a person is coping with chronic, unrelenting pain and other challenges, finding the way to successfully manage these things can be tough. It can be difficult to get enough quality, restorative sleep when in pain. And without sufficient sleep we don't tend to function as well or cope with pain and frustration as well as we might if fully rested. We might crave (do crave) comfort (often) in the form of yummy snacks and sweets, shopping or escape activities, or slurping too much alcohol. Understandable, but not helpful. There are many many people in daily pain. If you're young, it can be isolating. If older, you have a lot of company. It can be helpful to find a group with similar challenges, share commiserating, exercise hour, but also the joy of living. My my. Have I gone on. I wish you comfort and some solutions, Chisue. I have pain 24/7, and although no "answer" to relief, it sometimes helps a bit to do certain gentle yoga like stretches. Of course, go easy and perhaps ask your "medical team" (hmm) if you might be okay trying some simple gentle non-bouncing stretches. One that is frequently suggested for people with low back pain is the piraformis stretch. Various ways. One is to lie on back. Bend one knee a bit, then with your hands guiding you, gently "try" to stretch the other knee to touch your opposite shoulder (which, unless you work for a circus, you're not likely to even get close. Do not bounce, but hold the stretch a few seconds, then relax. A PT or decent book or reputable site can offer better explanations.

I had never had back pain until 3 years ago when we were moving from the place on the bayou to here. A friend and I were carrying one of those old enamel topped kitchen table down the steps....7 steps. On the last step, I slipped and fell, landing on my back on a concrete pad. I was in intense pain, but didn't go to the doctor because it was the last day and the move was 175 miles away. I suffered with pain and spasms for about 6 months. I took some Ibuprofen and hot showers, which helped a little. Eventually it quit hurting. I went for a bone scan a year later and the doctor said I had something wrong with a disc or something. I honestly don't remember. I told her I had no pain and I unload sacks of feed and carry hay bales almost every day. She said something about me pushing thru pain. I couldn't convince her I have no pain, so I gave up. Now if I stand at the sink for quite awhile or sit for very long or even stand in one place for awhile...my back will start to hurt, but I think that is more common than not. So when that happens, if I can lay flat for about 10 minutes that usually takes care of it. I unload 16 fifty pound bags of feed every week....I don't think it has hurt my back.