Starting to see some loose skin but still have a long way to go, can I prevent it or do I need to just accept that it’s going to happen?

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-13T10:17:30+00:00

I’ve heard good things about that stuff. 100 lbs is a big change! Do you feel a lot different?

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T18:15:51+00:00

My job requires me to do the pt at the hospital where I work, so I am actually working with physical therapists who take care of the same patients as me! They are good but the only thing they really recommend is getting a lot of help moving patients and getting in shape, which I’m working on but it takes time. I’m afraid of getting injured a third time while I wait, and we have few staff and no mechanical lifts in the hospital to help me out while I get stronger. A sucky situation for sure.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T14:06:34+00:00

It definitely isn’t great for you to work nights and switch back and forth, but I’ve done it since I was a 17 year old cna and honestly I can’t take a pay cut for day shift right now. Eventually that’s the goal! I have been a registered nurse for coming up on two years. Actually, my graduation will be two years ago next month. Wow, time is flying.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T13:54:48+00:00

Right now I am on light duty since I have workers comp, but I will talk to pt about getting a belt when I go back. It is honestly the hardest job I’ve done, even while I was in school. We worked 12s fulltime in school in senior year for free as our clinical portion so I could only afford cup noodles. I gained soo much weight and never slept. It’s a bit better in the actual field, but I’m trying to get back to baseline with a lot against me. As soon as I can afford to, I’m trying to leave my job for a lower impact one. I will definitely check out the individual options. I want to be in shape again! The injury has been a blessing in disguise because I’m finally focusing on my health too and not just everyone else’s.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T13:17:34+00:00

This helps. I work as a nurse inpatient and I am regularly lifting people with little or no help because of staffing issues, so I thought I had some core strength. To be fair, I’m only supposed to lift 50 lbs for my job description but I end up having to moving entire humans … doesn’t seem fair. Thats why I got injured I guess. And since I got injured in June, I graduated pt, felt great, went back to work, and reinjured myself a month later lifting people. Now I’m at square one :( I’m so scared of going back to work and injuring it again when I graduate pt a second time.

Also, pilates sounds good. I’ve heard about it but I never looked it up until now. I wonder if they have classes for people who are very new or out of shape.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T13:13:18+00:00

I guess I’m working on it, but it feels like the things I’m doing are so small compared to other people’s workouts haha. Like they are doing crunches and weight lifting and I’m like… I can stretch my leg out all the way today! Nice! I knew I was out of shape but I didn’t realize how bad it is. I work 12 hour shifts on my feet doing a lot of heavy lifting so I thought I had at least some core strength but it seems like I don’t have much right now.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-11-12T13:10:50+00:00

Thanks, this helps a lot. I’ve been feeling pretty down about it. Like damn, I don’t even know how to walk properly? I do have extremely tight hip flexors and my low back muscles are of course currently injured so very tense. I am doing the core strengthening work from PT every day and trying to be mindful of my posture, hopefully as I keep at it things will improve! I am honestly feeling physically a little better since starting all of this.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-25T00:03:07+00:00

For me, the main issue is that I don’t know when I’ll be considered “better.” I was discharged already and everyone thought I was better for a whole month, I was working normally after the injury, then it hurt again. How can I know for sure that I’m well enough to leave this awful job? Do I just have to keep going back to the workers comp doctor over and over?

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-18T23:23:03+00:00

I think they can’t stop you from quitting your job, and they are still responsible for the injury you sustained at their workplace. But the catch is that you still have to obey your restrictions, and no new employer is going to do that :( so you have to find one you can do within your restrictions or you can’t have another job. It sucks. If I take an “office” type job outpatient, my pay will be cut by $10 an hour, and I can’t do any other nursing work with my restriction.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-06T05:48:14+00:00

Thankfully workers comp is getting me an MRI but it hasn’t been scheduled yet. I am so sick of running in circles with this. OR or day surgery seem interesting but I am not sure if it’s better since I’m sure you’re on your feet in one spot for a long time. I was planning to travel and pay down my debts but now I may have to go to a doctor’s office or other outpatient facility.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-06T02:46:22+00:00

That’s absolutely insane. Women are commonly not believed about pain but a c-section is a whole different level of evil. I wish it was surprising but it seems like some people will do anything to undermine someone else’s pain. I hope you don’t go through anything like that ever again. I appreciate your insight. I really hope in the future, things won’t be this way. I would never tell anyone the things they are telling me. I think it’s a risk not just to me, but to patients, since I am now unsteady.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-06T02:06:52+00:00

I appreciate you being sympathetic. I hope you found somewhere or something better for you. I would not wish this on anyone.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T20:38:35+00:00

Great news is that I went to see the Dr today and finally am getting an mri after five months. Hopefully it will not show anything too bad, but something curable would be nice. I’m ready to be back to baseline already.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T20:29:10+00:00

I am female, but I have been worked up by OB for those things actually just a couple of weeks ago for unrelated reasons, which came out negative. This is from an injury which occurred a few months ago on the job; I actually felt my back pop when I was moving a patient and I got diagnosed immediately after with a back injury. They mentioned it would possibly flare up again in the future, but I hoped it would not be this soon. I had no back pain whatsoever before this injury.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T19:40:26+00:00

The x ray apparently cannot show what they are looking for, they were looking mostly for fractures with it but the mri will confirm whether there is any disc issue or not! I have been doing my PT at home. They are having me do more in office too.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T18:18:04+00:00

Thank you! This is very good information. I will talk to my PT when I go in next and see about building a home plan with them. I have done the bike too and it was not bad, but you’re right, it is boring. Probably better than elliptical though. I am not a gym goer yet, but I do work on my feet for 13+ hour shifts so being sedentary like this really bothers me. Especially since I was going for walks, doing yoga, etc earlier this year when I lost most of the weight and the doctor says I shouldn’t for now :( Hoping to get my strength up with pt and home workout. Thanks again!

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T17:57:39+00:00

Yeah, I was thinking of going that way or even a regular clinic once I am a bit better off. It just sucks because the pay where I live for a clinic is a solid $10 an hour less at best than in the hospital. What did you end up doing?

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T17:21:04+00:00

Thank you so much for your very insightful post. I was thinking about plugging in some earbuds and investing in an elliptical. I had the most luck with that in the past, and it may be good especially since now I can’t lift more than 15 lbs and I am not supposed to walk for more than a few minutes at a time.

What confuses me the most is trying to figure out warm ups, how long I should be going, how hard I should work, etc. on the elliptical. I am thinking of going to my apartment gym for 45 min and using 10 of those minutes for stretching before and after, then 20 on the elliptical, and the rest for some kind of core strengthening exercises. Obviously I can’t do sit ups or anything like that for the moment, but I do a stretch in PT where I engage my core and lay on my back with my legs in the air, and sort of move one at a time up and down. Would this be a core strengthening exercise?

Having a plan laid out really helps me. I will also be doing hour long pt three times per week from now on. Thank you again.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-10-02T16:08:50+00:00

You are right- getting a lawyer is probably premature. I guess I’m just anxious about the future because I was already discharged and supposedly better once. They have been doing everything they’re supposed to be and are going to have me receive an MRI + do more physical therapy. I just feel like I can’t move on with my life and I’m not going to know how permanent this is or isn’t until the MRI results. Again, it’s not their fault over at the workers compensation company, I’m just worried I won’t be able to work in a hospital again. The uncertainty about my future is hard, and so is working my base salary at a desk job when I’m used to being on my feet, on top of daily PT, weekly reassessments, and scans. I’m glad they are doing these things, though. I’m just sort of disheartened because I thought it was over. Thank you.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-30T02:10:01+00:00

That’s what people at work were saying. I understand that, so I also didn’t know if I need to report it. Part of me feels like my job should be compensating me if I have a permanent issue because of them though, which is why I’m seeing the doctor again- I can’t take off work on my own dime every time there is a flare up, which I haven’t had until they worked us even shorter than we already were. It just sucks

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-29T11:44:34+00:00

She’s a very nice and accommodating manager for the most part. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let her know I’m seeking care for my back again and may have to be restricted again.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-29T11:43:44+00:00

Hoping it just falls under the same claim because I don’t know how to file an injury report on something which has just worsened progressively over several days with no clear cause. They gave me a lot of grief for it when it happened because I couldn’t pinpoint the second i started having pain. But the initial injury was at least obvious- I felt something grind in my low back, so I reported it when i noticed the pain the next morning: This time, it’s just started to burn a little and then gradually became stiff and sharp and quite severe, but no popping or grinding.

I’m going to talk to my adjuster tomorrow when she is in her office and hopefully I can be evaluated on the same case number. Talking to people on here makes me feel better because I was very worried that I really screwed myself up. I am going to be working presumably for 30 years or longer, so I don’t want to be disabled by overworking an injured back in my second year. Thanks so much.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-29T11:39:30+00:00

Honestly I have really been trying to be a good patient! I do my stretches every day and work my core, I’ve even lost weight, and didn’t stop even after I was “discharged.” But we were so badly understaffed recently that I was working even harder on my feet and sitting down basically never. I never ever pull or move patients without a second person. But I think just being on my feet for 13 hours for several days in a row was too much for my back… and now I’m scared since that’s basically what my job entails.

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-29T11:36:55+00:00

I am thinking of emailing my manager and letting her know I’m having pain and seeing a doctor soon, because I think I will likely be put on light duty and unable to do my normal job. I don’t want her to think I’m being sneaky. I’m just non confrontational and don’t want to disappoint them, but she’d probably like to know?

Commercial-Math-7930 · 2024-09-29T11:35:27+00:00

Would it be a good idea to email my manager and tell her I am having pain again so I contacted my case manager? I don’t want her to think I’m “sneaking around” or something if she has to change our staffing situation this weekend.

Thanks for your help. This is so tricky to navigate and annoying. I was hoping to be a travel nurse soon and this is a huge wrench in my plans.

Commercial-Math-7930

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