I have this happen to me lots and it hurts to wear a seatbelt, but someone on here has gotten permission from a doctor to not have to wear them, I swear I have read this before. Lets wait and see what we find out, ok?

love
Norma...

I have the same problem and often wondered how other's deal with it - I know in my vehicle I can adjust the lumbar with the knob on the side of the seat. In my car it's like a wheel and it turns, on my friends car it's a lever that pulls back and forth.
I have problems sitting in and on several places, I usually end up sitting on the floor or in a slouched position.

Please, regardless of your situation, wear your seatbelt. Seatbelts truly save lives and it's worth the discomfort to live through a minor accident rather than be thrown out of a car and then have someone run you over! If need be, when you're not the driver, sit in a different seat, the back driver's side or passenger side or even in the middle. Just be sure to wear that seat belt at ALL times!

As for the bucket seats (and some cars have narrower buckets than others), yes, I had problems with car seats in general when I had a kidney infection and kidney stone (it hurt like the dickens) and still have some problems at times now. My solution was to adjust how I sat in my seat, angling my torso a bit to the side instead of straight ahead, but always with a seat belt.

I'm a passenger now (I simply don't feel comfortable driving on the pain medication, especially with the lunatic drivers around here) and when I hurt (well, when it's really bad; I hurt all the time), I use a memory foam neck pillow (a U shaped one) and adjust it to provide a cushion around the painful area so that part of my flank/back isn't touching anything at all.

As Peace mentioned, you can adjust the lumbar support in your seat (electronically or manually). You may also find that raising or lowering your seat or adjusting how far away from the steering wheel you're sitting (ideally you want to sit far enough away that when you hold your arms out straight your wrists hit the steering wheel; this gives you maximum control while minimizing the impact of the air bag if/when it deploys). Try sitting up higher in the seat (adjusting the height or just sitting up instead of slumping).

And once you find that comfortable position, adjust your mirrors and leave them there; don't change their position. If you adjust your mirrors for the most physically comfortable position and then remember to adjust your body to match those mirror positions instead of readjusting your mirrors all the time to accomodate a slumped or poor posture, you may find that car trips aren't as uncomfortable and you don't hurt anywhere near as much. It's a technique I was taught by an orthopedist years ago when I had a back injury. I've used it for decades, long before PKD started to cause problems, and it really does work.

Does your wife have a more "comfortable for you" car (are the seats more comfortable)? If so, how about talking to her about swapping cars to minimize your pain. I'm confident she'll understand, especially with everything you've been through lately.

Just please, always wear that seatbelt! It can easily fit under the kidneys and above the kidneys. And it will save your life in an accident!

Best wishes,
Ruth