Extreme Chronic Lower Back/Hip Pain * Please Help!

[SusanMcD]

I hope someone may be able to advise and/or help. We have very little money and no medical insurance. I'll try to make this as brief and concise as possible. I am a small-boned but fairly tall woman ~ used to be 5'8" but due to the vertebrae "cushions" in my spine disintegrating, I am now 5'7". I am 55 years old. I have osteoperosis as determined by a dexascan.  Until about 2005, I weighed approx. 140-150 lbs, which is a good weight for me. After it was determined in 2006 I had Graves Disease and my thyroid was radioactively destroyed and I had diverticulitis with approx. 2 feet of colon removed, I lost more weight ~ was down to about 120 but didn't look very good (too old to be so thin!)  and I was very, very ill. Once I began to recover, weight began to pile back on ~ especially since I had no thyroid and my meds weren't stabilized yet. In addition, I contracted mono, for which I was put on prednisone which also packed the weight on at an alarming rate. Next thing I knew, I now weigh 250 ~ horrible and shocking, I know ~ so I am at least 100 lbs. overweight.

My biggest problem, aside from my weight, is my back. Being small-framed, my body is not at all accustomed to lugging around this kind of weight. I can walk at a normal pace for maybe 3-5 minutes, but then my lower back totally stiffens right up and becomes excrutiatingly painful, forcing me to sit for a couple minutes IMMEDIATELY. When my back gets like that, I can't stand, walk, or sit very well ... but sitting is helpful. Once I sit for just a minute or two, I am then able to walk another 3 or 4 minutes but then have to sit back down again due to the terrible stiffness and pain.

Has anyone experienced such a situation before, and what have you done about it? I used to be able to walk miles and miles without thinking twice about it, but my whole life radically changed during the years of 2006-2008. Now I'm obese but cannot figure out how to walk/exercise with my lower back being in such horrible shape. OF COURSE I know losing weight would help tremendously .... and I know I need to exercise, but HOW and doing WHAT?

As stated earlier, at present we are quite poor with no medical insurance. I need to limit my doctor visits as they are over $200 each .... that doesn't even include any sort of X-ray or MRI or whatever I may need. ANY HELP OR ADVICE WOULD BE GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED!

[winnie840]

I was a dance teacher and had "hip pain" and "sore muscles" in my legs for years before I found out it was sciatica due to herniated discs.  Unfortunately I think you need to see a dr. to get this diagnosed with an MRI.  Gaining weight ***** so bad.....I was in this boat myself after I couldn't walk and was down for a couple of years.  I had my back fused which was a nightmare but now I feel cured, no pain, am back to dancing (although i'm not supposed to be) and have lost the weight, less through working out and more through being very careful about what I eat (being calorie-conscious and trying to eat tons of fruit, veggies, lentils, protein and laying off unrefined carbs and American-sized meals (and foods).  I eat a lot of ethnic food from India/Ethiopia (spiced veggies and lentils (I skip the rice/injera a lot of the time).  If you can't go to a Dr. you should focus on your diet, this is probably the one thing you can afford to control......

[SusanMcD]

Dang ~ I neglected to ask if one may think I have a spinal issue in addition to my obesity ~ such as a bulging disk or .... ????  I also didn't mention that if I have been walking, once I sit down, the time between my needing to sit decreases each time I must sit down. For example, I could walk, say, 5 minutes and have to sit. Sit for a minute. Walk, say, another 4 minutes, then have to sit. Then walk 3 minutes and must sit. Then 2 minutes and must sit. Eventually the stiffness and pain is so bad I no longer manage and I'm DONE ~ have to go home. To get from the driveway into my home I need to climb up 3 small steps, which by that time seem almost as insurmountable as Mt. Everest because my back is in agony and my hips have stiffened right up as well. Feel like the tin man with no oil.  HELP ANYONE? Suggestions?