I'm 76 yrs. old now. When I was a child, I found it extremely hard to sit, at least without a chair.
My parents were the type who didn't overindulge such things (thankfully, I may add), but it was found that I had scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis and my childhood was spent in casts with braces added. Of course all of this added about 25 lbs. to my torso and while I was actually very skinny, I had a hard time finding clothes that would fit this very awkward body.
I was lucky enough to be seen by a specialist from Pitts., and then one from Erie as I lived between a few cities. I had two specialists giving advice and it actually worked in my favor. The casts in those days were heavy....nothing light about them.
My scoliosis did improve with this treatment, but at about age 38 I was having symptoms of losing strength in my arms, hands and overall exhaustion. I saw a young neurologist who was shocked when I said that I had back pain for as long as I could remember. I was equally (or more) shocked when he said that wasn't normal at all. People are not born with back pain. So the first of my neurological diseases was discovered and 3 more were found from that.....I had seen multiple doctors, but he was the only one who had seen this particular illness (at that time) because he had also volunteered in Third World Countries. Also, the MRI had just been invented, thankfully.
To make a long story short, my arm pain led to neck pain and carpal tunnel surgery had been recommended by others. Thank goodness for this other doctor. Especially back then. I had hydrocephalus so did have to have spinal cord surgery......and that was horrible.
So here I was a child. I had no idea about referred pain, psychologically induced pain, none of it. I never even complained about it....everyone, it seemed, had an aching back from one thing or another, so I thought it was normal.
Well, my back still aches and a number of falls and osteoporosis haven't improved it. I'm simply not worried about what certain "experts" say. For me it's a reality and it's something that I have to live with. Even my family never knew the extent of my pain.....when you're the oldest of 9 children, you meet the challenges given to you.
Until we get a specific marker, we'll never be taken seriously in certain forums and by certain people. I think we can all agree that stress makes things worse, so the "experts" are right about that, but it's not the cause, it just isn't. Why worry about what they say? We have doctors on this forum and their opinions would be the ones worth getting. Anyone reading this?
I should also mention that there are plenty of books where we are believed and the reasons (thought to be) are clearly stated. MS was exactly the same way before proof was obtained....and believe it or not, that wasn't that long ago. Yes, those people were thought to be psychologically wounded. I'm not against the psychiatric world, as a matter of fact I've used it frequently
