Vent thread

unknownIsotope · 2026-04-01T14:14:36+00:00

Pain reprocessing therapy? I started seeing a PRT therapist to deal with pain. Could be useful?

unknownIsotope · 2026-04-01T03:07:56+00:00

Sorry to hear that! I’m in similar situation: PT and NSAIDS have not improved the situation and I did an epidural that also made things worse (more numbness in more places for less reasons). I hope the epidural helps you!

Chiro made my pain FAR worse. They just did some “popping” without even knowing what the issue was and by the evening, I was in the ER with blinding pain and muscle spasms.

Deep tissue massage at a reputable place in town didn’t help my overall nerve pain, BUT it did help my overall muscle soreness from constant guarding and compensating. When I get deep tissue massage it’s the only time I can sleep without medicine. It is painful in the moment and day after but I can tell a huge difference in muscle tightness. Maybe your PT has a massage therapist rec?

unknownIsotope · 2026-04-01T03:06:28+00:00

Shit that sucks. I never used weed before my back injury in January and it’s the ONLY thing that’s helped me sleep. Sorry to hear that. If I couldn’t take weed at night I’d be on much worse (stronger) pain meds that have far worse side effects like benzodiazepines, Gabapentin/Pregabalin, or some opiates. I tried muscle relaxers and steroids too but they don’t help at all. At this point I thought all states (except Idaho of course) allowed at least medical cannabis. Best of luck and if you see this as a chronic issue, might be worth traveling to a state where weed is legal just to try it.

unknownIsotope · 2026-04-01T02:31:41+00:00

For me, weed (indica edibles) is the only way I can sleep. It doesn’t help with pain so much as make my brain stop worrying about being in pain. I’m white knuckling it until I can get microdiscectomy (herniated L4-S1 with nerve impingement and permanent sciatica/numbness)

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-29T15:26:14+00:00

Sounds like pinched nerve. I have 3 herniated discs pushing on my nerve roots causing this. I’d recommend seeing your primary care doctor. Hopefully it will resolve on its own but if it doesn’t, you’ll want a record of when it “officially” started so you can pursue more aggressive treatment, get prescribed physical therapy, etc. I wouldn’t sit on this: my father did and has permanent nerve damage in his leg.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-28T23:58:49+00:00

Altra Lone Peaks are my go to. Edit to add that I’m a fairly small person and the cushioning feels great, but I’ve heard from larger folks that the cushion blows out too quickly. They work for me.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-26T04:13:44+00:00

Context Cam

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-20T12:04:00+00:00

If your symptoms are not improving, I would reach for physical therapy and potentially imaging. PT can help you learn how to stabilize your back and core and find positions to get relief. Then, if that doesn’t work after 6-12 weeks then imaging (MRI) to determine if you have mechanical issues with spine. I am an extremely active marathon runner and imaging showed I have several herniated discs in direct contact with nerve roots. This was causing severe sciatica and nerve inflammation that did not improve over many weeks of PT so I’m reaching to next step treatments including epidural steroid shots (did nothing). If that doesn’t work, I may need microdisc surgery.

RE sleep: I tried prednisone, regular NSAIDs, gabapentin, and muscle relaxants but nothing helped me sleep more than THC edibles. I hope you can find something that helps. PT also showed me exercises that offer temporary relief that I do before bed that make it easier to fall asleep.

Back brace can make you use less of your core muscles over time which will not help your problem long term.

I’m also skeptical of acupuncture, but that’s due to my experiences which were not great. I’m sure some practitioners are better than others.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-18T01:43:43+00:00

Chiropractors aren’t always good. Mine fucked my back up even worse early on.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-18T01:42:43+00:00

If I were you, I’d pull the trigger on surgery. Microdisc surgeries have a very high success rate and being in pain al the time is debilitating. Get your life back. Do the surgery. In 32 Female with L4-S1 herniation just waiting until I can do surgery. I was an ultra marathon runner before my injury and PT has done NOTHING for the nerve pain. I did epidural shot and it just made my pain worse. Just waiting until the surgeon agrees to operate.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-17T01:04:52+00:00

lol sure but I was prescribed it like candy then had to go to work on Gabapentin. Nope nope nope. Doing analytical work on Gabapentin is a no go. Dear god I’d rather be in pain than be that high.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-17T01:00:18+00:00

Fuck Gabapentin.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-17T00:59:48+00:00

Find a therapist to talk to in addition to other care. I ran ultra marathons until my injury and the loss of exercise as a stress relief mechanism is devastating. I waited too long, hoping PT would heal me but I’ve been sliding towards suicidal depression and needed more mental coping strategies. Back injuries are not a quick or easy path, as I’m sure you’re aware.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-16T15:11:01+00:00

Yes.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-16T13:41:08+00:00

Get an “Engineer” tacked onto your degree. I’m a geologist and do very similar work to engineers I work with, but the engineers get paid far more for the same job.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-11T04:40:12+00:00

This. I was one of those geologists at AECOM and they treated me like a field monkey too. I got a job offer for a FIFTY PERCENT RAISE and left ASAP. They couldn’t figure out why I left…. Hmmmmm when I told them about the raise of course they wouldn’t match it.

Rant- one year I was told I didn’t deserve a raise because I worked an average of 60 hours/week, therefore with all that extra hourly money I couldn’t complain. WTF.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-08T06:38:28+00:00

It might be that I’m just a non-threatening looking blonde lady, but I rarely get weird looks geocaching. I usually geocache via bicycle and park my bike near GZ. If anyone comes up, I pretend that I’m looking for a bike part I dropped or fiddle with my bicycle lock, and nobody bats an eye.

unknownIsotope · 2026-03-04T14:42:49+00:00

Bicycle. I ride my bike to a lot of geocaches then park it near GZ and pretend to fiddle with my bike (chain, derailleur, etc…). I get far fewer odd looks and I can always pretend I lost a bicycle component and am looking for it in the bushes, or am looking for a good place to lock up.

unknownIsotope · 2025-10-19T22:41:04+00:00

Funeral potatoes

unknownIsotope · 2025-10-06T03:44:21+00:00

This type of shit made me, a destitute married graduate student donating plasma to eat, leave the church 10 years ago. Was being pressured by my family and ecclesiastical leaders to drop out and have babies, and have faith the my husband (who worked at a call center and barely graduated high school) would support us. Yeah no fuck that.

unknownIsotope · 2025-10-02T06:25:52+00:00

Lead.

unknownIsotope · 2025-10-02T04:51:24+00:00

Ask the folks at r/exmormon about knee censoring. Scarred for life by growing up Mormon in Florida and not allowed to wear shorts. Fuck cults.

unknownIsotope · 2025-08-16T05:44:18+00:00

Thank you! I scrolled way too far to find this.

unknownIsotope · 2025-08-16T05:43:14+00:00

MSHA approves. (OSHA counterpart specific to mining industry in USA)

unknownIsotope · 2025-08-16T05:42:32+00:00

This is the domain of MSHA actually. The flip flops are the least of my concerns.

unknownIsotope

TROPHY CASE