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[SeriousConcentrate]

So I've been having lower back pain on and off for a few years, and figuring it was normal I wrote it off as a consequence of A: being fat and B: exercising to lose said fat. The problem with my theory is that my back started hurting more after I dropped from 350 to 200 instead of less, preventing me from doing my daily five-mile walk or doing much exercising in general and, combined with the stress of college, causing me to go back up to 250. Well, OK, I thought, I can handle that, at least it's not hurting really bad. So over the past year it's gotten worse, and finally, today, I wake up crying and needing to vomit after only four hours of sleep because I'm in so much pain that I can't get up, and no matter how I try to turn or position myself nothing stops it. Eventually I managed to make it to the living room and spend some time sitting with my back on a heating pad, which (barely) relieved the pain while I was there but now that I'm back in my computer chair it's come back full force. I have aspirin allergies and most pain medication causes me to vomit, so any medicine taken orally is right out. I'm pretty broke, so my means to handle this problem is limited, and I mean 'let's assume this is after the apocalypse and there's no doctors or chiropractors or anything' sort of limited.

Does anybody have any sort of advice for this situation?

[TheMasterTurtle]

When dealing with your fat, how did you exercise?

To be honest, I only know how to prevent back pains not heal it. In order to stop my minor backpains I did weight training which helped me lose weight and get more muscles.

[SeriousConcentrate]

I did daily five-mile walks for a year and cut myself down to about a 1000 calorie per day diet. The road I walked on is about 1/2 a mile long and is mostly a hill, so I'd make ten trips down and back before calling it a day.

UPDATE: Still in a lot of pain. I think the problem may be an illness instead of muscle strain because since I made this post it's gotten harder to breathe, the pain spread both up into my chest and down into my right leg to the knee, mostly along the side, and I've developed a fever strong enough to chap my lips, although the sweating stopped about an hour ago. The urge to vomit went away and I still have other stomach troubles, but I'm still not hungry in the slightest which is weird for being up for so long and having ingested only a few cups of water. My brother put some muscle-rub on my back for me and I'm about to take a Benedryl, some penicillin, and try to just get some sleep. Hopefully it'll be gone when I wake up. :\ I'll keep the thread open instead of locking it though just in case anyone has any home remedies or something. ^^^;

[Person]

Where in your back in the pain exactly. Is it centered on the spine, or more towards the sides. Did you happen to have any blunt trauma in that area, say, being hit by a heavy object or falling a good distance? Did your job or otherwise require you to carry heavy objects? Muscle strain could still be a part of the problem. There's a small chance it could be infected if it's the spine(this actually happened to me a while back, and there's no way to treat that without medical attention). Scoliosis is also a probable thing. What position do you tend to sleep in? Try sleeping with a pillow on each side of your bed(as in, legs and head raised) Can you stand up straight, or mostly straight? Can you touch your toes, or get close to doing so? Where do you live? It is flu season in the US, so if you haven't been vaccinated that would explain the fever, etc. Has you been near anyone sick, or who became sick recently? Exactly how much trouble is breathing?
As for remedies, a good thing to try if you're having stomach troubles is pro-biotics. You can also try ginger ale, or cinnamon related products. Just make sure you take small sips/bites.
Just a few questions, no need to answer them all if you can't.

[SeriousConcentrate]

It's all but gone away today, but I'm still a bit ill. Mostly just fever causing sweating and dry mouth, but I've been drinking orange juice for the latter symptom. I'll do my best to answer your questions:

1. It's about where I imagine the right kidney is. Like if you started at the navel, went around to the spine, and then a little down and to the right, sort of area.

2. When I was about four my dad beat me around that area (just the one time, he wasn't a total monster >.>), and I've taken a few falls here and there over the years that ended with me landing on narrow surfaces back-first.

3. Occasionally my job does require that, as I'm currently a temp worker/college student and that usually means janitorial work or moving things.

4. I used to sleep on my stomach but recently (as in the past year) I've switched to my sides (either one) and occasionally sleeping on my back.

5. I can stand up straight, but I think part of my problem is that my legs aren't quite the same length; my left leg is about 1/8th of an inch shorter than my right, so I tend to be leaning to my left when I stand. This is probably due to a left knee injury I suffered in high school that's caused me to limp most of the time.

6. I can touch my toes, but only for a few seconds before all the blood rushes to my head; I'm pretty limber, and if I'm sitting on the ground I can put my feet together in front of me and lean forward until my forehead is resting on them.

7. I live in western Kentucky, but no one I know is sick.

8. Yesterday at its worst breathing was quite difficult, and I could only get shallow breaths. Today I still can't quite get what I consider a full breath, but I don't feel like I'm having difficulty breathing, either.

Thanks for the suggestions. They're much appreciated. ^^^

[ed boy]

Shortness of breath is one of the big danger signs. If you're having shortness of breath, then you should get medical attention ASAP.

[Neonivek]

Shortness of breath is one of the big danger signs. If you're having shortness of breath, then you should get medical attention ASAP.

I keep hearing that.

[freeformschooler]

Hm... I have upper back trouble a lot because of my disorder, so I see a chiropractor sometimes and that helps. Not sure if applies here though.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Having had two days to recover, I think if it wasn't the flu then it was an allergic reaction, although I'm not sure what I could've gotten into to cause it. As for not getting a full breath, I have an easy answer for that: I need to lose the fifty pounds I regained over the past year. Thanks for the concern, though. The back pain has went back to normal, which means barely any at all until I put strain on it. I guess I'll lock the thread tomorrow. ^^^

[mutuelle]

back problems is a danger..you must see a good doctor

[Caz]

Just go to the doctor, they should be able to tell what it is and probably give you some painkillers.

1000kcal a day doesn't seem good even for dieting, btw. If you're cutting more than 500kcal from your maintainence (or 20%, I guess) you'll lose weight too fast and start dropping muscle etc. Maybe you got a nutritional deficiency but I don't know that much about it.

Yeah, see a doctor to be safe.