My Friend is 44, has worked as a floor sander since he was 19.
He has had his own buisness floorsanding since he was about 25, and has been working very hard his whole life
he has always lifted the machines by himself.
recently his back has been terrible, he has been getting injections and is on high prescribed painkillers but he is still in alot of pain
the doctor said the pain will never get better.
he has bills to pay, and his house to pay off, so he continues to work as a floor sander, comes home in the afternoon in so much pain. it hurts so much to see him like this.
i have suggested a career change but he is very against the idea.
He will not rent his spare rooms out, he will not cut off his cable tv .
he lives alone..
he seems depressed,
he will not talk to a career councillor or anything.
He will not be able to do this for much longer, the pain is getting worse and worse.
What is th best thing to do for someone in this situation?
2007-03-28 01:01:39 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Other - General Health Care
I am sorry to say, it seems he is not ready to accept help at this point. The doctors should not keep prescribing him these high doses of powerful pain killers, but they are not gonna stop. So until he becomes ready to try something different nothing is gonna change. Maybe if he would talk to a therapist and you can frame it as unrelated to the work...but many therapists work at providing behavioral techniques to deal with pain, and once he is already in therapy, a good therapist will recognize the problems and try to address them. Good luck, you seem like a good friend.
2007-03-28 01:08:48 · answer #1 · answered by brazilian76 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He should see a good orthopaedic and understand what is wrong with his back and how it can be rectified. Sometimes he just needs to alter his ways of using his body.
The high dosage painkillers are given if he has any inflammatory or muscle spasm - which is horrible pain. Unless this pain goes, he cannot rectify anything. It is not enough to take painkillers - he should alter the way he is using his body. This will reduce the pain.
If he doesnt take care of his back before it is too late, he will become paralysed - i.e. if the spinal cord is involved. Also if he is over weight, he needs to reduce his weight - which will also reduce the stress to that particular part of the back, which induces the pain.
I am only a patient who had a similar problem but I dont do such heavy work. Inspite of it being in the initial stages, I had terrible pain. I got this as a direct result of my posture and work related problems. I didnt change my job just change the way of using my body in my regular work. He should meet a good orthopaedic. If you are a true friend you need to change the lifestyle of your friend before you see him in a more sorry condition.
2007-03-28 01:12:39 · answer #2 · answered by Star of the Sea 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You must make him understand that as bad as it seems now, HE CAN MAKE IT WORSE ! ! ! I wish there had been someone to convince me of this. I had this drive to work work work. Make that money. More money more bills. WORK WORK WORK. Now I have this screwed up back. When I was 25 i could lift and carry 400 pounds. Now at 52 I have the ability to lift a gallon of milk and turn and sit it on the counter. I can walk about 1/4 mile with no trouble at all. Maybe 1/2 mile if I use my cane. I take so many pain meds every day it is like a 5 year old with a bag of jelly beans. My wife brings me pills in bed every morning so the pain will ease up enough to get out of bed. If I need to pee she will bring the urinal and then dump it for me. None of my stuff works anymore cause it has all been destroyed by the meds.
I could go on for hours. It has been my experience that it does no good.
This won't happen to me cause I am smart enough to know when to stop.
Heard it all.
Go to a back injury support group and look at us poor bass terds and listen to what we go through then you may realize it can happen to anyone with absolutely no warning.
2007-03-28 01:17:06 · answer #3 · answered by Dalton K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best line of defense at this point is to see the best Neurosurgeon he can find:
#1. A teaching university hospital.
#2. Go on line they are easy to find, I wish I knew where you people were from as I could help you find such a Hospital and a Doc. in your area. At age 44 he must get help fast. There's a great Doc. in Rochester, NY. who's world renouned. Perhaps a hospital or Doc. in your area would refer your friend.
2007-03-28 01:55:37 · answer #4 · answered by Country Boy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a friend, I think all that you can do is be there for him, support him in his decision. Can the doctor not do back surgery to help him, is that not an option? You may want to talk to him and tell him that you noticed that he is a little down, and see if he will go to the doctor to talk to the doctor about getting "happy pills". Explain to him that you are just concerned about him and his welfare, and be sure to let him know that you are there for him, should he need you.
2007-03-28 01:08:46 · answer #5 · answered by CC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you are doing everything that you can do. He has to take charge and hopefully he will soon.
A suggestion though is to see if he will go to the chiropractor. He may have put his back out and it might be a simple solution that all he needs is a few adjustments to make things right. It's worth a try.
2007-03-28 01:20:00 · answer #6 · answered by Lucy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Brazilia: Your friend doesn't seem ready to accept help. There are exercises that can strengthen the back, but I'm not sure they would help your friend at this stage.
You can offer to help your friend find a counselor for his depression. But the only thing that will really help your friend is a new source of income, one that doesn't involve too much heavy labor.
Good luck.
2007-03-28 02:08:46 · answer #7 · answered by Tigger 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well if it is that bad. he may soon lose bowel and bladder function or develop some type of lower extremity paralysis the he will be in a medical emergency and then need surgery and then miss work for at least 2 months. then he will file for bankruptcy and his credit will be ruined. hopefully he has aflac or Short term disability. or he may apply for ss. you just cant help some people. something about a horse to water
2007-03-28 01:20:32 · answer #8 · answered by healthprof 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Introduce him to a new friend right?
2007-03-28 13:46:06 · answer #9 · answered by The Coroner of China 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
talk to him more and don't give up to make him change his mind
2007-03-28 01:10:01 · answer #10 · answered by mp3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋