Severe back problems, questions

[Geezy Rider]

Interesting. I'm familiar with Phytic Acid and Oxalates, but not so much with the others. I know I have a lot more learning to do but it's interesting. If I read 5 different doctors / nutritional experts I get 5 different ideas and don;t know which way to turn.
Just curious, are the antioxidants found in fruits / vegetables also found in meat?

No. Plants have these toxins to defend themselves against being eaten. Animals can run away, plants can’t.
Meat, preferably from ruminant animals, has all the essential nutrients that man needs without anything bad.

[ThisLadyHunts]

First off, plants contain many anti-nutrients. What nutrients there are may not be bio available or absorbable and they have no essential nutrients that can’t be found in meat alone. They also contain mild toxins such as Phytic acid, Lectins, Goitrogens, Oxalates and Saponins. These can cause inflammation and a host of other problems in people who are sensitive to them.

Second, I’ve had IBS for over thirty years along with diverticulosis and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease four months ago. Removing vegetation from my diet cured me of those ailments.
Lastly, I came to the realization that I don’t really like them. I came to this conclusion when I realized that in order to make vegetables palatable, I had to cover them with something, usually a meat product, (cheese, bacon, butter) before I could eat them. If I have to cover something up in order to eat it then maybe I should just eat the covering and toss out what doesn’t taste good to me.

Thats just me and my metabolism. If you like veggies and they don’t affect you then enjoy them. If you’re going to eat carbs then natural fresh vegetables are the best ones to eat.

GR, your story is an interesting and, I’ll admit, the concept of a protein based diet—one that excludes vegetables—is very counterintuitive to me. That said, I’ve read articles about people with rare disorders, typically autoimmune, who’ve followed extreme diets that include consuming high amounts of proteins and fats in order to address their disorders. I’m currently having issues with a little arthritis. Gluten is the culprit for me (I’ve fallen off the wagon lately) even though I’ve tested negative for both gluten allergy as well as gluten insensitivity.

All this is to say, I think there’s something to what you’re espousing and I plan to do a little more research.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

[kmack]

I think the walking and constantly making sure I keep my core and lower back strong and limber has been the game changer.

Another thing that really helps me is exercise and hanging from a bar as long as I can. Without this I would be stoved up within a week from arthritis.

My lower back has been an issue with me for a few decades now, but luckily so far, it has only been muscle related and nothing attributable to actual disc injuries. Working in the oil fields later in my life didn't help as I pulled my lower back muscles twice during that time, once bad enough that I couldn't get up off the floor or walk for two days. I also walked with a kink in my spine for 6 months.

As in the quotes above, this has worked for me: maintaining constant mobility and stretching the target areas in my lower back. I have one of those "Teeter" inversion tables and that was a game changer! I can actually feel my spine relax and stretch out when hanging upside down on that thing. I do hamstring stretches (effects your sciatica nerve) every morning, and when I go to my construction sites, I walk the buildings instead of taking the material hoists (elevators). I walk stairs whenever possible, even on a 30-story construction site! The biggest thing that helps me is to keep moving. The longer I sit at my desk in the office, the tighter my back gets, and then the pain starts up again. The more I move, the better it all feels.

I hope you find something that works to relieve your back pain. Everyone that has posted here knows exactly the pain you're dealing with. Your specific case may not be the same as all the others here, so your fix will be specific to you. But at least there are a lot of ideas here that may help. Prayers out to you...

[Mudslinger]

I have had the steroid shots years back and really do not want them again. I tried the Teeter inversion table and it hurt so bad i thought I would be paralyzed when I got off. Waiting for Medicare to approve my MRI. Not sure why it is taking so long, could be the fact I am severely claustrophobic snd will need to be completely out to be put in that tiny hole! Hopefully the MRI will show where everything is now. When this first started, the pain was from my left hip down thru my left leg. Now it is just across my back right above my hip level and across the entirety side to side of my back. I just need something that will work as I am basically unable to do anything around the house and property without the severe pain starts.