Slipped Disc Relapse...

[seamonkee]

Yup... I have a slipped disc op in 1994 and many thanks to the army for giving me this back problem...

Question now is.... I have a slight relapse recently and am now contemplating whether it is advisable to still go for a marine tank....

Worried with all the water carrying and stuff, it will aggravate my back even worse in the long run...

I thought of a few ideas (provided I want to keep this hobby)... now discussing with my wife...

1) Go for a small tank and be satisfied with damsels, clowns and gobies...

2) Go for a long tank (if I am still thinking of going upscale to 5 feet) but reduce in height (for easier reach and without hurting my back or causing another relapse)...

Maybe 1.5 in height after DSB?

Wat do u guys think? I am in a dilemma.... sigh....

[yuji]

I think either tank is fine. What is impt. is for you to know yourself and allow your back to rest after every 15 mins or so and not to overly exert yourself (even if you feel like you could carry on). What that it should be alright for you to continue your marine hobby.

Cheers!

[giantbicycle]

Oh,gosh...better take good care of your back...

[andysho]

slipped disc must take care sia

tehn you must be in pes c i think

[AhLoon]

Protect your back man! similar to you I got a herniated (spell?) disc. Took me 2 years to recuperate (80%). I understand and feel your pain and discomfort too... I believe my discomfort cannot be compared to those who kenna slipped disc...

This hobby confirm backache one... Aquascape liao see not good enuf sure aquascape again.. heehee...

End of the day you gotta assess your own condition to decide. I don't think the tank size matters. Its the reefer that counts.

IMO, damaged discs are for life. There are no second chance. Protect yourself for you and your family.

[Achilles Tang]

Maybe you can wear a back brace when you do heavy work... it does help a lot.

Anyway, if you really want, you can hire people to do the dirty work for you... you just sit down and direct and then enjoy!

[FuEl]

Hmmm..how about about a 4-5 footer with a 2 ft width but only 1ft height? Haha..then you must start hunting for all the nano stuff. And T5s will suffice. Muahaha. Then when changing water refill the water the easy way. Use a pump to pump water back up instead of carrying the whole pail up.

[Gripshoppe]

Seating on a toilet bowl or taking a jerky bus ride poses more threat to your slip disc then reefing a big tank........

just make sure you squat and pick heavy objects the proper way should be fine...

come on...

[RAV-65]

Bro, u should swim more... it really helps! strengthen the muscles in your back, that would allow u to carry on your reefing hobby... moreover, u can take ur time to slowly set up ut new tank... it would help save lotsa $$$ too!

[marcvelous]

I also got back problem (and recent relapse). Recent MRi shows last two vertebrates showings signs of degeneration . So when changing water and servicing tank, I do the very tedious method of filling mineral water bottles using funnel and pouring the mineral water bottles' contents into the tank. Even with 6 (1.5l) bottles, need many trips. Better to use more time and effort for maintenance than have to suffer backache for at least the next 3 days!

Suggestion is to go for a shallow tank (as FEUL has suggested) unless you intend to hire people for professional maintenance. We are unlikely to notice that we are bent over for too long or carried too heavy loads until the pain hits which would have been too late. 3 days' MC.

Ultimately you are the best judge of your body. Do swim more and do some form of crunches (on doctor's advice) to build back muscles to support the spine.

Take care!

[seamonkee]

Thanks for all the advice...

For Ah Loon & Marcvelous, pls take good care of your back too. It's really serious until you know how serious it can be... I was never told by my doctor (SGH) during my operation in 1994 to take good care of my back. For a young chap then, I didn't think much of it either. Only 10 years later did I realise how serious it is when I have a recent relapse.

Also found out from another doctor that herniated disc has a 50-50% chance of recovery - with or without operation! Damn, why SGH never tell me this in 1994. Also, the doc is very famous in slipped disc cases... I felt like a guinea pig...

After much thought, yes.... I am thinking of the following for my tank....

1) 5ft (L) x 2 ft (width) x 1.5ft (height) less DSB it will be around 1 ft... I did brought this up to my tank maker... but he kept saying nobody builds a tank this way cause it is difficult to stack up LR.... I thought with the width, it should not be a problem? Besides, I am going for FOWLR and some softies only....

2) Get my contractor to link a water pipe to my tank.... is it possible (legal with HDB)? my tank is in living room area...

Yeah, as per AT, I will be most glad to pay some people to pour the sand....

Thanks once again...

[kschew1498]

Hi Kelap!.,,,,swim if you can......or brisk walk.......so that it will not deteriorate!

I also have a slip disc.....initial only trying to "Kian" from reservist and IPPT......end up it was for real after I went to MRI (Magnetic Resonant Imaging).

I consulted the specialist in SGH and was advise to swim at least 2 times a week.....so now I have to descipline myself to swim every Saturday and I am getting addicted to swimming now!...hehehe

Just take good care of your posture.....be it carrying stuff or sitting.......

Take this seriously!......its can even hurt your performance on bed if things get worse......its real.....believe it!!!!

[Marineman]

Take this seriously!......its can even hurt your performance on bed if things get worse......its real.....believe it!!!!

Ha ha, not really just lay back and enjoy!

Changing water should not be a problem, get some long hoses, siphon out with a long hose to your nearest water outlet and pump into the sump thorugh a long hose. This way you don't need to carry water and also keep the floor dry.

[DeepBlue]

What I do when I change water....I place a pump in my sump and pump out the water ... then my newly mixed SW ... I'll use the pump, put it in the bucket to pumpthe water back to the sump.

no problem with carrying there...

[Marineman]

What I do when I change water....I place a pump in my sump and pump out the water ... then my newly mixed SW ... I'll use the pump, put it in the bucket to pumpthe water back to the sump.

no problem with carrying there...

What about removing the detritus in your tank? Do you do it everytime you change your water to prevent buid up.

[terryansimon]

Deepblue...

so meaning to say you get a pump and pump the water from sump to longkang or toiletbowl or something, and then take the pump and place it in another bucket and pump new water back in?

BUT

what if the distance of where the new saltwater is prepared is about 10m away. any suggestions? (=

[DeepBlue]

Get a stronger pump....can be done.....

or pump it out to a distance and push/drag the pail to toilet lah. Avoid carrying if you got a bad back. (Dun forget..I used to have my tank in the bedrom...can do that easily)

no matter what method you use...take that extra care not to overstrain the back..should be alright.

Marineman...I use something else for detritus. ....will try to get a shot when I change water

[terryansimon]

ah yah. hmm. maybe seamonkee can also consider getting a small circular thing with rollers to put the pail ontop, so that it can be wheeled across the floor easily. (=

[DeepBlue]

true....no matter what method you use....taking care of the back is priority no 1. Just got married....got many things to do, dun stress the back.(no funny thoughts hor )

If you need help, do it slowly or get help