It was quite frustrating when I started to exercise again and then started having back problems after about a month. I don't know exactly what caused it and neither do the doctors but we think it might have something to do with an incident years ago where I fell on the stairs and landed and just the spot on my back that is bothering me now and I guess that makes sense.
When you are an expat though, you don't go to a doctor for every little thing that is wrong with you because between the language barrier and the fact that we often feel as though doctors here just give you the same cornucopia of pills no matter what your problems is (anti-inflammatory, very mild pain killers, anti-biotics) you don't really have a whole lot of faith that going to a doctor with a mystery problem is actually going to result in anything meaningful happening.
I actually DID go to a hospital about 3 weeks after busting my ass on the stairs but after having an interpreter kind of tell me what the doctor was saying, getting some X-rays done and talking to the doc through an interpreter, I got sent home with a mountain of pills and told to not move very much. That's not a solution if you ask me.
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To me that is scary to look at and I don't like that the MRI confirmed that this is actually what is going on in my lower back and there isn't really anything that can be done about it. There are surgical options for this but acccording to both the local doctors and the internet, surgery is not recommended in 90% of herniated disk situations and they will sort of heal on their own over time.
The bad news in my situation is that I was just starting to appreciate exercise and was making it a regular part of my days. I don't want to blame anything in particular, but after one day of trying to be a hero at playing pickleball, a sport that I actually really enjoy, well that was the day that I really started to notice just pain in my lower back but also running down one of my legs.
The visit to the doctor confirmed this and the scared me a bit with their temporary suspicion of cancer diagnosis that thankfully ended up coming back negative when more tests were done. I've never done an MRI where you had to have some sort of special chemical in your blood in order for it to work nor have I ever hand an ultrasound. They say that there is a first time for everything I guess.
So the way it is now is that I am still trying to exercise but am being quite careful as to how I do it. I am avoiding sports that are going to put any sort of jarring impact on my lower back and well, that is going to be just about anything that is an actual sport where you have to turn suddenly in order to chase a ball. This is a shame because to me those are the best sports.
I think the most effective thing I could probably do for my back would be to "rest" just like the doctor says but man, that's boring! I went on a rather long bicycle ride the other day and that was fun because I explored a part of the outskirts of the city that was actually quiet and trust me, that is a very special and very rare thing here in Da Nang. You have to ride quite a ways in order to get to the quiet, but it is there. I at times found myself surrounded by rice paddies and nice mountains in the future but of course, I didn't take any photos. Maybe next time!
Let me talk a little bit more about my last visit to the doc.
They and I wanted to get me off the medication and while I was initially worried that this would make me feel worse, we are now 5 days past when I stopped taking all medication and I do not feel worse... and this is good.
I don't like living like this and I get upset when I fin
ally look up what the pills actually are online and find out that some of them are vitamins and others are things to keep my stomach from getting upset. I don't need a doctor for this.
I also don't like the idea of being "well" only because of some tablets. I don't want something that I am going to have to take forever to feel well, I want to feel well by default.
So this is why the doc and I decided to take me off the pills entirely.
I still take an ibuprofen every now and then if I start feeling not great or my back hurts because of some exercise, but that's about it. Oh and I will admit that I am taking Tramadol to quickly and effectively eliminate the one hangover that I have per week because of bowling.
I do want to make very clear that I thought the medical care at the Vinmec International Hospital was very good. I don't exactly have a ton of experience as far as hospitals are concerned, thankfully, but other than the fact that they make you prepay for everything it was extremely professional and fast. So if you are ever here and feel like you need some sort of medical intervention, I can recommend that place.
Now let's just hope that my spine decides to go ahead and heal itself.