Posting this Wednesday evening because by the time I get up your day will be half over! We'll be thinking of you and hope you get some sound advice from the doctor. Do let us know what he says about your back...
Luv Ya,
J
Good luck Christi.
Best wishes to you, Christi.
Please keep us posted so we can suffer or rejoyce vicariously with you.
Sylvain.
Starting the round of doctors now. Monday, consultation with one of the doctors in the Spine Center who also practices acupuncture. Tuesday, closed MRI, have already had 2 but they were "open" and from early last year. Had xray again yesterday. Will have to wait until the surgeon's office calls for an appointment.
Loosing my doctor by the end of June. He is transferring to Chicago where his wife is from. She has a new baby and rightfully so, wants to be near her mother.
The days of having the same doctor for more than 2 years seems to be a thing of the past. He is very conservative and his advice is to wait until I just can't stand it.
He expects it would be the same surgery Carol had. Laminectomy with fusion. However, they do not take bone from the patient. Use a synthetic much like what is used in a hip replacement, etc. Less pain, and quicker healing without the bone graft.
Until all the tests and the surgeons visit, don't know anything yet.
I sure appreciate your thinking of me and your good wishes. Mike says I have developed a limp and I was not aware of it. Will have to concentrate on stopping that as that is the way "old people" walk. Refuse to get old!
Aloha,
Princess Kilikina
Princess Kilikina, I will add you to my prayers. There are quite a few DGers in there these days. You
Good Luck! Hope all goes well. Expect in years to come will have to do the same.
Keep us posted! Will keep you in our prayers!
Thank you, Jeanne. We both know that prayer is the answer to everything.
God bless you everyday,
Christi
Thanks! Can definately use it....back down all week. Hip is acting up also. Just need to cool it for awhile! You know the routine....Do a little, REST alot!
Christi, I thought your appointment with the doctor was on Thursday! I am such an airhead!
Oh Jeannie, I am so sorry that you are having a bad week - I expect you have been running round the garden with a paint brush hybridizing those gorgeous daylilies. Take it easy, my friend.
Aloha
Jen, you are correct. It was this past Thursday. The schedule is for next week.
Christi
No, Jen, actually this year I've given up trying to hybridize. Between the rust and the rot I've lost so many in the past three years, that I've about given up on daylilies period. I still have seeds from last year and the year before, so I really don't need any seeds.
I did make two crosses a few weeks ago, I just couldn't help myself. My Mom just shook her head and laughed. She said, "You just couldn't resist...." No I couldn't.
I crossed Midnight Magic with Ida's Magic, and Mid Magic with Pearl Harbor. Both have nice edges and Midnight Magic is almost black, that should be a good cross....those I will plant!
I'm starting to feel a little better. My hip hurt all night long last night....don't know what I did to it...unless it's the pinched nerve hitting wrong OR it's just jealous of Christi doing something about hers, and I've decided to wait.....LOL!
Christi, hope you are doing OK!
Chrissy, THANKS! So good to hear from you, mate! How's it going????? Hope you are doing well!
Jeanne, I have put this off for over 5 years. It is definitely worse, not better. See a doctor, dear. The pinched nerve is over and above being able to stand it any longer.
Christi, right now it's tolerable "most" of the time, but I have my Mom to take care of. I really can't be down right now. I know, like you, that there will come a time when I can't put it off any longer. And you are definately right.....it is going to get worse....I'm biding my time.....if it can wait just awhile longer...........
I am doing well thanks Jean ...It is the first day of Winter and it is too drizzly to be outside ...so I am catching up on the puter ...shamefaced because I have been lost in the world of Brugs (Angels) and have been negligent of my dear Tropic friends ...I am soooo sorry ...it would not matter so much if everyone was ok but to come in here and find people I care so much about unwell ... ohh ...all I can say is sorry and hopefully you will forgive me. How can I make it up to you ...
If you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of others. I speak from experience.
Christi
Worried. Haven't heard from Carol.
Worry is negative energy Christi...she is probably visiting with her sis, and since sitting is still "a pain", we may not hear much from her for a while.
DD has a Wii computer system, and got Wii Fit. It is fantastic! Makes exercising fun because you move the screen people to do things that work your body. We are trying to do it every day, and the little tips and screen trainers put lots of things in your head, like how to walk correctly, and breathing tips and lots of stuff. I always feel better when I get myself to exercise, and this makes it fun! And friendly competition to do things like the hula hoop or ski jump better than the others...even my SIL and GD play along. Someone gets high marks for making fittness fun.
Going tonight to watch the first ever movie filmed in the Marshall Islands. "Morning Comes So Soon". The film makers will be here to discuss the movie after the screening...should be interesting.
Sending warm hugs and healing vibes to all...
Yokwe,
Shari
Always need your input. We don't have a wii yet but maybe we should. Have been seeing a lot about the new fitness wii. If you say it is good, I believe it.
PK
It really is fun. Takes some practice to use the controls, but gives lots of exercises in various formats: Yoga, Strength, Balance and Aerobics. Some are just not my style, but others are really fun. I would definately recommend it. The kids have one of those giant screen tvs, which may add to the fun...it's like the screen people are right there in the room with you, but I think it would be fun even on a smaller screen. The first time I tried it, my "fit age" was 66! But now it is 49, which is younger than I am, so I feel pretty good about that. And you get immediate feedback - little marks on the screen to keep your balance correct, faint circles contracting and expanding to remind you to breath...those little things that can sabotage any exercise routine if not done correctly. It really is well thought out.
And my "input" darlin, was just meant as a gentle reminder, you had said once before that it was hard for you to practise positive thoughts...that's cuz you are our mother hen, and worry too much. When ever you find yourself worrying, turn it into positive thought. Instead of "Oh I hope Carol is okay", say the words in your head or out loud "Carol is such a strong person, and has the right attitude, she will definately improve daily", or something like that. Repeated verbalization will help get your thoughts going the right way. Not that worrying is wrong necessarily, but by "right" I mean in the direction of positive thought.
Sorry to get so pendantic...you know I love you no matter how you are thinking!!!
No one wants surgery, that's for sure. However, sometimes the results aren't as good if you wait too long. I had my back surgery in 1998. If I was rating pain I would have given it a 9 before surgery and a 2 after surgery. I probably should have consulted a surgeon earlier than I did, because the pinched nerve became a crushed nerve and that pain never went completely away. If I'd caught it earlier ...... who knows. I'm grateful that I feel well enough to hold a full time job, and I only had to modify my gardening to work with pots or elevated areas. Not a bad deal!
Mary
Aloha,
Nice to hear from you over here Mary! For those of you that don't know Mary, she has a really green thumb and has some of the most beautiful, well cared for Brugs you ever did see! Just look at the picture she posted for an example of her babies!
I feel so bad for so many of you that are suffering from the constant pain of bad backs, but I think Mary has made such a good point, and I absolutely know Carol would tell you all to get the surgery done, although I know it is so hard for Jeanne who has her Mom to take care of, and has other medical problems too.
I just want to tell you that I dearly love you all, and as each of you face the inevitable surgery we will be here cheering you on...
I imagine Carol hasn't had much time to post because her sister was flying in on Friday, and they are probably having a lovely time chatting together! I will be giving her a call sometime in the begining of next week to see how she is doing, but if I know Carol she is steadily moving forward. I will post as soon as I have called her, don't worry Christi, Carol has great strength of character, and she is going to be just fine...you can't keep a good woman down!
Shari, your excercise program sounds like good fun, and I am very impressed with your new age! I think I better do something like that and knock off 10 years, my mirrors all have this strange distortion going on!
Warmest Aloha to all.
Aloha, everyone: the hawai'ian wannabee polar bear is back.
I have just got to check with Vonage if I can call free to Hawai'i. Hey, I can call Puerto Rico, Alaska, Italy and a lot of western Europe places free, why not Hawai'i. Gail and I want to return so badly. We saw a show on PBS recently and now we are "homesick" to return.
Now, my dear people, let me relate my sciatic nerve episode about 10 years ago. It started with a benign, numb pain in the back of my upper left thigh and I explained it somehow, like we always do when some kind of pain creeps up on us. "It will be better tomorrow", I said.
Then it got worse and I explained it otherwise, fitting the theory to the situation. In a matter of weeks, I was hobbling around, too proud to use a cane: "It's nothing", I would say. It was just a big nothing that got progressively worse every day. I could drive, I had a sit-down job and Tylenol is cheap. What polar bear worth its fur needs a doctor? Well, I did!
One day, my doctor saw me at the shopping center and told me to come see him first thing the following day. He prescribed the most extroardinary pain killers but there was a drawback. I needed to stay home in a strange daze where I was not asleep but I certainly was not awake. I could hear the clock strike the hours, I could hear the dog's nails on the hardwood floor. I wasn't awake but I wasn't sleeping, either. Someone told me that opium does that to people. I can believe it.
By then, I couldn't go to work. Organizing a trip to the bathroom took most of the day. Well, you know: it's a return trip. I couldn't live in there. My days would be spent watching a non-stop dream of virgins wearing ample, flowing, translucent white robes while running in slow motion in a field of golden wheat that gently swayed in the breeze under the blazing sun. I remember the sky was the most startling colour of blue and there was never a cloud in sight. When the dream stopped, it would be time to take more medication. Had I not done something, I might still be dreaming.
One of my friends came to visit me one day and was horrified at what I had become. She called one of her friends. He was a college professor, specializing in massage, ostheopathy and physiotherapy. At one point in his carreer, he had taught each of those disciplines. He was licensed and practiced at home in his spare time. I got an appoint with him for the next day but only if I agreed to let go of the dream pills immediately. He needed me awake for the treatment.
The next day, my friend drove me to my appointment. Ligori told me to get naked and hop on the table, facing down. As I was doing that, he told me that he would hurt me badly, like I had never hurt before. I could scream as much as I wanted but once he started, there was no turning back. He then proceeding to push back my sciatic nerve in place using one of his thumbs and holding it in place. He started at the spine, where the nerve enters the vertebrae. He then placed his other thumb right next to the first one and pushed the nerve back in place, using a rocking motion. He went all the way to my ankle in that fashion, maybe using as many as 60 pressure sessions against the nerve's length. The pain was excruciating.
I yelled, I howled, I screamed, I grunted. There is no word for the screams that came out of my mouth. All that time, my "friend" was having coffee with Ligori's wife and having a good time listening to me screaming. She had heard it all before and Ligori's wife makes good coffee. Banshees were quiet creatures when compared to the the noises I was producing. And worse yet, he told me that the scream was good and the neighbours were used to hearing it. That dashed my hopes that the police would come and rescue me naked, hurting and way beyond caring about anything. Then, I could return to my living room and pop one of those lovely pills. Hey, I had an ample supply. It didn't happen.
When he was done, he started the procedure again, to make sure everything was in place. By that time, I was just begging for the Grim Reaper to come get me. When he was done, he charged me $35, told me to get dressed, go home and sleep as much as nature would dictate. I slept for 12 hours straight. It was brutal but it worked. I never got an episode of sciatic nerve again and I pray I never go through that again.
I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents' worth. Don't endure pain,. Don't put yourself through medication that only masks the pain and cures nothing. Don't find explanations for your pain. Seek competent advice. Listen to their diagnostic and the treatment options they propose. Get second and third opinions if need be. And if all else fails, I know a wonderful guy in Canada with magic thumbs and uncaring neighbors.
Take care, all.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole
Edited because I can't spell or conjugate verbs this morning. I need more coffee.
This message was edited Jun 1, 2008 7:27 AM
Oh my goodness, Sylvain. You have a marvelous way with words and makes me feel I was right there in the room. I have been to one of the best chiropractors in our area. He did his best but at this stage mine is all very much a matter of total degeneration. As Carol can tell us, there comes a time when there is no choice but to see the surgeon. Still no way to know whether that will be THE choice yet.
I refuse pain meds. Only the mildest forms and then just when I can't stand it. The epidural shots were way too temporary lasting only a few weeks. Because they are cortisone, I gained 16 pounds last year. As of this morning, I have lost 16 pounds in the last 2 months. Obviously, not going back on that road again. Going for consultation on acupuncture on Monday. One of the doctors affiliated with Baylor Spine Center (where I am seeing another doctor and surgeon) practices acup. May not be the all and everything for the spine but it sure can't hurt as a general tune-up measure as Carol calls it.
Shari, trying really hard to be more positive. After a lifetime of being the designated "WORRIER" for all my friends and family, that's a tall order. With your reminders I am much better at the more positive side of life.
Jenny, you are such a tiny mite your mirror is having a hard time finding you. hahaha
Thank you, Mary for your input. Have had an EMG and so far, no permanent nerve damage.
Appreciate and love all of you.
Christi
Aloha our wanna-be Hawaiian polar bear!
You have missed your calling in life, my friend, no question that you should have been a writer! Your story about your sciatic nerve episode had me howling with laughter, although it was not a funny condition to have - you really have a gift!
I have to agree with Jenny and Christi - Sylvain, you have a gift!
Welcome back our beloved polar bear!!! So glad you endured all that pain, to become the you that you are...and thank you for sharing an important message about getting help when it is needed. Same point Mary made, and maybe the confirmation from so many sources will help seal the message in. We all need help occasionally, and too often we are to stubborn to get it.
Hope the acupuncture works for you dear Christi!
Sending good thought to one and all.
Yokwe,
Shari
Mahalo nui loa, everyone.
What can I say, I have always been a raconteur - in words and in print. It's a great way to share my mana. I have fond memories of babysitting my friends' kids and telling them tall tales before bedtime, a bit the same way the celebrated Baron of Munchausen used.
At that time, I didn't know about the dear Baron. I only found out about him when that film starring Robin Williams (I think) came out. I would sit one kid at one end of the sofa and the other at the other end. That would be our frigate's quarterdeck.
In those stories, I fought the evil chinese pîrate and archvilain Oh Sing Ming Ping and his triads. When I said Oh Sing Ming Ping's name, the kids had to jump off the sofa and shout Ping, Ping, Ping.. I would regale them with my adventures on the high seas, acting out the sword fights, dodging cannon balls, swinging from a rope off the mizzen mast with the rope in my teeth and firing 2 pistols simultaneously. When the battles got too fierce, I called them into the action to lend me a hand and defend our ship. I always ended up blowing up a few "disposable" vilains. At that point, the rest of the rufians ran away to save their necks.
Another famous vilain was the mexican bandito Don Pedro y Rodriguez. When his name was mentionned, they would have to go ZZZZZZZZZ, much like a bee and run in circles around me. The kids are 26 and 28 years old now and when I see them, we still recall those evenings where they couldn't go to sleep because I had wound them up tighter than a cheap watch before their parents returned.
Julie now has a daughter that will turn 3 in July. When I return to Montreal, I will sit her on the sofa and recount my encounters against the evil hawai'ian miscreant Waka Lakala'ak (LAK, LAK, LAK) while I fought side by side with The King at Nuuanu Pali. I can't wait. She won't sleep for days. LOL.
Those were the days, my friends. We thought they'd never end.
Take care, all.
Sylvain, A.K.A. Pu'ole
Oh, you are a rascal!!!!
LOL. We tend to do the same to youngsters in our family. Lots of fun.
LOL! I wish you had been my Dad!
Hi, Jen. Tomorrow is the day for the acupunture consultation. Hope I am a good candidate.
PK
Hey PK, I'll be thinking of you tomorrow, hang in there, I know you will be a fine candidate. Do let us know how it goes...
J
Will image you are there with all of your good karma.
Good Luck Christi. i'll pray for positive results .... ma vie
Okay guys, with all the talk of "getting help when needed", I decided to go see why my side was still hurting so badly, even though my colar bone and all the bruising has healed. Exercising was getting very painful to do, and so was sleeping!!! So I go back to the Doctor's office yesterday, more x-rays, more poking.... Doc said she was shocked that I hadn't been back for a follow-up, especially since I was still in pain! Turns out I have 3 - count em 3 - fractured ribs! And they say we are the weaker sex!!!! Ha!!! Least I know why I hurt, now. Got some anti-inflammitories to take, and lots of advise about remembering to breath deeply. Estimate 5 more months to heal! Yikes! Well, no one can say that I don't do it right - when I have an accident, its a doozy!
How did the acupuncture go Christi??
Don't do as I do, do as I say!
Shari
Well, my Lord, Shari. Here I am complaining and you are all broken to pieces.
Did they not do an xray in the beginning? Sometimes a good attitude helps but there is just a tad more to it. Gonna nag now.
Acupuncture went well. Didn't know what to expect. Think that is the way it must work. Going back once a week for the next 3 weeks and then we will assess how I am doing. Closed MRI Thursday. They say the open MRI doesn't show as much so the last 2 don't count.
Have had the 20 month old for the last 3 hours including supper and her nightly bath. Boy, can I tell how old I am now. whoooh.
I guess you are aware that you will have to be careful of all your physical activities too. May take you longer to heal than Carol. Not being negative, just factual.
I would say that caps it. Bali it is. Much needed R&R
Yokwe,
PK
Christi, hope the acupuncture works for you. Shari, do take care of yourself!!!!
I can't travel right now, but if I could, I'd vote for Bali!!!!!! LOL!
Full on chest xray didn't show the fractures, took an oblique angle to show. She told me that I couldn't do any more damage, so just to do what the pain would let me do. the anti-inflammitories help a lot. Ribs are just impossible to treat, cuz you have to keep deep breathing to stave off pneumonia, so no binding. I'm a tough old bird, so I think I will be just fine. Knowing what the pain is, that is helpful all by itself. Much better than just wondering what is making me hurt, ya know? I only mentioned it because of our topic re: getting help when needed. Have no need to baby myself, just a little common sense. (hmmm, seems like a dumb thing to say when this 54 yr old woman got hurt in the first place riding a bike, but then...I guess its better than a pogo stick!)
Christi - you said it went well...did it make you feel better? That is the main thing!
Definately better a bike than a Pogo stick! Considering your location, and need for transportation, a bike is quite understandable......now a Pogo stick.....LOL!