new and hoping for advice on twisted pelvis

[J.A.]

Hello
I am in my mid 30's and have recently come off opiates (methadone and heroin) and was bed ridden during my 58 day withdrawal. I attributed the constant excruciating back pain as a symptom of my withdrawal.
After day 58 i managed to drag myself to an osteo.
I communicated where i was at as far as substance abuse and the back pain.
In the 1st session she told me my lower back was sticking out.
In between sessions the pain became more pronounced in my lower left, travelling from my neck to my buttock.
In the 2nd session she confirmed my pelvis was definantly twisted.
Given i have been on opiates for so long she thinks it has been twisted for sometime and the pain was masked which i agree with.
I dont know anything about what it means to have a twisted pelvis in regards to reaching a full recovery. She has not initiated any x rays.
I was just hoping for some information on if this is something that will be debilitating for life or is fairly easily fixed,so to speak.
I think i had the same issue about 15 yrs ago, saw a physio and felt better from one treatment.
i have been given 20mg of oxycontin for the pain. this has allowed me to spend time out of bed and do more but the pain is always present.any information/advice would be greatly appreciated
kind regards, suziel

 

[Sailors Girl !]

Hi Suziel
welcome! I hope you can find some of the answers to this and many other things here.

Withdrawal surely involves some major changes in metabolism, as I'm sure you know very well. The skeleton is more than a passive mechanical chassis, it is constantly responding to metabolic activity also. Part of the changes are almost certainly a consequence of recent episodes, behind that will be older changes, some may be very old.

In my practice I tend to say that for every ten years of a problem, it takes a year for your body to change with treatment. This is because deep change is a growing process, and tissue takes time to remodel itself. That doesn't necessarily mean many sessions before anything happens, in fact you would normally be aware quite quickly that this was helping you, even if symptoms take time to resolve.

Bear in mind that back pain doesn't just come from the back, but can be referred from organs also, your osteopath will be well aware of this. However, recovery means being very gentle with all your organs, they will be going through changes also. Big subject, but think 'general health', and do something nice for your body every day to help it, and be gentle with yourself.

But oxycontin right now - is that such a good idea? This is straight back onto opiates just when your body is dealing with the effects of cleaning from the habit. Not only that, it's kicking your poor liver while it's down. This could in fact cause your pain to increase. Please please ask your GP and or counsellors about this side of things, I'm not convinced this approach is going to be in your best interests.

The pelvis does twist and turn, it is not necessarily a problem, but it is an observation. I would certainly advocate osteopathy as an approach for this, but much depends on the vision of the individual practitioner. Hopefully they will consider all aspects of your history as part of one intricate jigsaw, and not lots of little pieces. If you have concerns about your progress or general health then do ask the osteopath. If you think she's not getting to the heart of the matter, then do shop around. But give the process a fair shot also, change doesn't happen overnight.

Hope that helps.
Best wishes
K

 

[Sinfuel]

Dear kvdp
Thankyou so much for taking the time and responding to my post.
when my methadone doc prescribed me oxycontin i had no existing knowledge on what family it came from and given he knew my history intimately, trusted him implicitly.
Honestly now i feel somewhat angry given how hard it was to get clean and feel like iv sabotaged all my hard work.
aside from my substance abuse i have always maintained a healthy vegetarian/vegan diet, with regular tests and have only ever been deficient in vitamin d.
I do have hep c.
I will be seeing both osteo and doc this week and will discuss my anxiety and ambivalence taking the oxycontin, given i am still vulnerable despite my desire to stay clean.I cant thankyou enough for the information you have provided!
Im wondering what medication you would recommend instead of oxycontin.
Again, i cant thank you enough
cheers,suzie

 

[Che M]

Hi Suziel

firstly well done for choosing to be clean!

58 days withdrawing and being bedridden is going to take its toll on your body, it may take a little while for your body to return to its natural balance, so be kind to yourself

a good physiotherapist or osteopath will be able to realign your pelvis and sort out your back pain, try and get a referal if your not having any luck with your current practitioner

wishing you a speedy recovery

TBW