NG,
That manometry test could show your sphincter strength among other things. As for yoga, I would give it a try; maybe try getting to work a little early and do it b/4 work starts? Some teachers in our area have the kids do yoga prior to the start of their learning day.

Hrm yeah that's a good point Cheryl. Before the workday would work better than after. After work I'm spent and have my routine of veggie soup plus Miralax and tons of water to adhere to. Also, this is embarrassing, but since I eat veggie soup all day, things tend to get somewhat ummmm flatulent later in the day, and I worry about "gusts" accidentally escaping, or perhaps even worse, being painfully trapped, during evening Yoga class. Normally I'd just blame it on someone else but that might not work so well when the guy next to me is my boss LOL :)

NG,
I know exactly what you mean about "gusts." It is not good to hold that in. I bet even 15 minutes in the am might help both of you!! Are you still losing weight or have you stabilized?

Right now I'm losing weight again because I'm back to veggie soup all the time. But for a while, when I thought my butt problems were improving, I was eating some junk food again and actually managed to gain back a couple of pounds. I went from about 117 up to about 123 and am back down to around 120 now. So it hasn't stabilized but at least I'm not in a free fall anymore, which at least gives me some peace of mind that the weight loss is likely diet related :)
Yeah the gusts suck, the worst is when there's a meeting right after lunch and I've just had a huge bowl of bowled veggies and high fiber pasta. I'm that guy that's kind of sitting funny and VERY eager to get the meeting over with.

Sorry, NG, I hadn't read this post b/4 I asked about your weight! I cannot believe that I used to drink Ensure to gain weight. It is like I am speaking about a completely different person!!!!!!!!!

LOL hey that's 99.99% a good thing right :)

Not sure. But I would take a few extra pounds any day over dreading each meal and what to eat. What about quinoa? That is a grain that was suggested to me when I thought wheat might be the prob.

Hey Neuro : )) - I vote for Yoga !!! It is amazing thing , you just need to find a good teacher ! My Mom controls her back pain, fibromyalgia and myriad other painful conditions with Yoga. She also used it during menopause and did not need any meds for her problems in that period. Due to all the chronic pain she of course developed some mood problems , but again - yoga and meditation helped tremendously !!! She is very disciplined though and does it every single day : ))) !!!
Flexaril - yes , makes one sleepy - take it before you go to sleep and you can try taking half of a pill ! My sister had very bad back spasm last year and Flexaril helped a lot and she hates meds so she took only one half once a day and it still had effect ! I used it couple of times - also just half pill once a day and the only side-effect I had was a very nice deep slumber LMAO !!!
I feel the same - constantly tiered - which is "emotional" thing for me also and am trying very hard to "kick my butt" and start being active again *sigh. This weather is not helping though - so depressive BLAHHHHHH
PS: I gained weight with adding a TBSP of coconut oil in my morning cooked oatmeal : )

Hey Fiss, thanks, I think I'm going to try some Yoga stuff at home with my wife's videos and then decide if I want to embarrass myself in public :)
I actually took a couple Flexeril pills (just 5 mg each) at work today and they didn't seem to do too much. I felt a little bit more tired but that was it... No relief from the discomfort or anything else, unfortunately. I think I'm going to try a higher Valium dose tonight and see if that gets me anywhere. If it doesn't, since I'm seeing my primary care doc tomorrow, I will ask about stronger muscle relaxants like Baclofen or Soma. I'm tired of taking drugs but just want to know if the problem is really muscular and of course am eager for any relief I can get!
I've actually liked our recent weather :) I guess I'm sort of a blue dude in general and kind of like the melancholy feeling when it's dark and wet outside.
Cheryl, I'm not familiar with quinoa. Sounds kind of exotic but I've never heard the word. What is it and did it do anything for you? I assume it's to help add calories to one's diet?

I had not b/4 heard of quinoa either, NG. It is a grain--no gluten and supposedly higher quality protein than any other grain and stands alone as a complete protein grain and easy to digest. I'm making and taking Quinoa Pilaf to my Women on Weight class this week (we each share a recipe weekly). Here is the website: www.quinoa.net. Check it out! I didn't try it for weight gain, but for digestibility, I would say. :roll:
As for yoga, you could always do it at home with videos (at any time of the day or night)!! I like yoga--it's good for the body and spirit, like Fiss says.