I feel like a goddamn burden, and I don't like people waiting on me.

I hope when it's my time, I will go suddenly, because I'll never make it in a nursing home.

around for a long, long time because it’s easier to kept a great husband than to find one. 🙂

a good person for a spouse.

I'm so used to being independent, and when I can't be, it makes me feel useless.

A joke:

How is pain similar to a drum solo at a rock concert?

You know it's coming, and there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it!

I'm guessing you know what this feels like, and I'm sorry.

I'm just whining.

Can't go to sleep and I didn't know what else to post, so...

I hope you have a shower chair or bench. When I got the flu earlier in the year, I didn't shower for days because I was so weak I was afraid I would fall. I (am an OT assistant therapist) and I thought shower chairs were at least 10 years out in my future. Sudden illness can take us down in a heartbeat. Speedy healing to you!

I picked one out on Amazon today...will order it later tonight.

Those restaurant chairs can be brutal.
I finally broke down and accepted the referral. They have methods to keep you functional and out of pain that I didn’t even know existed.

The person at the front desk didn't check me in correctly.

A FOUR HOUR wait in the waiting room.

I was quietly fuming when the doctor finally called me back there...

He said he was going to pursue approval from my insurance for a PET scan.

I never heard back.

Sounds like amateur day at the front desk. Maybe call ‘em and ask to speak to his nurse?

They can handle people who are barely mobile but don't require life saving equipment or services so they should be cheaper. We used them for my MIL when she could not get in or out of a car. Sorry that you are in so much pain - wishing you some speedy relief.

after a yr and 1/2 of gi crap, including 2 major surgeries, i was all squared away. happy to get back to my yoga practice. a couple wks in, bamm. low back pain.
now i’m crawling through the medical industrial complex, again, and yeah, it can make u crazy. almost a month to see an ortho, now waiting to get a shot scheduled, but the scheduler doesnt answer her phone. straight to vm. she called me, left a vm, and i’ve called back 3 times. still waiting.
the pain isnt all that awful, but it sure is depressing. i have enough trouble ungluing from a screen to accomplish something, anything. but knowing i’ll b in pain in minutes, it’s just fucking exhausting.
was rly hoping to get that shot this wk, so i cd go protest, but no…

Do you have an actual diagnosis?

I get steroid injections from my orthopedic surgeon. Can you get a referral from your GP? Sometimes you can get in pretty quickly if you cry....

I agree with Marie Marie in looking for a medical transport company. My sister was a double amputee, and that's who she used for her many appointments.

Hope life gets better for you very soon.

Degenerative disc disease, thoracic foraminal stenosis, lumbar foraminal stenosis, bulging discs (both lumbar and thoracic), arthritis in hips.

Thanks, Bayard

Your wife is a goddess.
I feel guilty living an almost painless life (except when I do stupid things).

I hear you, believe me.

I was in bad shape and had one pain pill left. I took it.

I became so upset that I called the pharmacist up again and told him I really need to get my old medication back. Fortunately, he's been told he has to cut people out that are getting the stuff they've been giving me recently which I truly HATE.

I may be getting my old pain medication back soon I hope.

I know how difficult it is to live in chronic pain.

Take care LuckyCharms!

When you need them, you need them.

This is the kind of pain that just laughs at Advil or Tylenol.

Good health to you, CountAllVotes.

and finally went through an MRI or some such thing, which cleared me for the shots. Those did nothing for me so I saw a spinal surgeon. He was able to diagnose spinal arthritis using just an x-ray. Anyhoo, I always swore I would never have back surgery but they were able to scrape the bone that was pressing on the sciatic nerve. The surgeon said it often does not work, but it did for me!!! Doing gentle yoga for lower back keeps me in shape, and I have not had a flare-up in over 10 years.
I hope they can get you fixed up. That pain is the worst.

Don't know if I spelled that right.

Awaiting CT Scan.

Know how scary it can be when you're in substantial pain and have to have immediate medical care.

Three times over a 50 year period I've had emergency abdominal surgery . My last one was 10 years ago. No not appendicitis or child birth. Although the appendix was removed because they were in the abdomen anyway so why not!

Hope all goes well moving forward. Got a lot of folks rooting for you.

Just got home.

Same diagnosis as every time I go to the ER for this.

Stenosis, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease.

They started with a dose of Prednisone orally. They then tried plain Tylenol via IV (I can't take NSAIDS like Advil because of kidney disease). That didn't touch it, so they gave me first dose of Dilaudid before they wheeled me to the CT scan. I still could not get up on the CT table. My nurse came in and gave me a second dose of Dilaudid via IV while I was standing up next to the CT table. That almost dropped me to the floor, but the pain was still there...it took two women and one man to get me on the table.

ER Doc was a young guy. Told me he sees about 15 patients a day for back pain.

He said there was nothing they could do there, except to give me pain killers. He prescribed some more oxy, and said to go to physical therapy. He also gave me some exercises to do. He mildly scolded me for waiting so long before starting the Oxy. He said that once the pain gets out ahead of you, it's very hard to bring it back to baseline. He told me that my records do not indicate any history of drug seeking, so don't be afraid to start the Oxy next time when the pain first begins.

Dilaudid is wearing off and pain is coming back, so I'll take an Oxy before bed.

No more abdominal surgeries for you! You've met your quota already!

I agree! Relatively healthy otherwise. But I've had enough!

Take care LC. Hope all goes well for you.

They shot a 55 gallon drum of Dilaudid in me, and the Prednisone shot my glucose up to around 500 (I don't know the exact number because the Dexcom just says "high" when it gets over 400, but the graph shows somewhere around 500). So I didn't get any sleep at all, and everything is starting to wear off now and I'm back to being miserable.

Was getting a little nervous with such a high glucose reading, but it is back down to the 300s now and hopefully will be back to normal (100s) by day's end. I had to triple my amount of normal insulin, and my glucose is WAY too high still. Prednisone causes havoc for a type one diabetic.

I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease when I was in my 30's, but it was never a big deal. I was still working out then, going to the gym. I never thought this would be the thing that kills me, but now I'm not so sure.

Thank you for your kind words.

I also hope that the back pain resolves sooner than later.

I hope your vacation is going/went well.

I'm missing it to go to Rhinebeck with my wife for the sheep and wool show

I have faith in our friends to supply the physical presence. I made the first and I'll make the next one, and I know you'll be there if you can.

We'll be okay, Lucky.

I used to love going to the NYS State Fair and watch the sheep shearing.

Have fun in Rhinebeck!

My wife's an avid knitter, and this is the winter I get started. I'll continue my anti-fascist activities on Monday.

Baaaaaa!

We're 66, you and I... you're in a tough stretch, and I just had my fourth hernia surgery, so I'm healing up, too, but we're not out of it yet.

We can rest up, heal up, and come back fresh and ready just a little further down the line, my friend.

There's room for us to be in the rear echelon for a while, and I can tell you don't like it any more than I do . I think you'd buck up a bit if you knew how inspirational you are to a lot of us. You'd know you're in the fight.

Heal up quickly! I really hope you do!

I turned 67 yesterday.

Hang tough, and I appreciate your kind words.

This was my first (and last, I hope) umbilical hernia. First with the surgeon employing a da Vinci robot. Better a constellation of several small incisions than the seven inch gash.

You get better, too, Lucky. We have things to do, and good ti.es ahead.

I have a few hernias, but they have not required surgery as of yet.

I hope the robot surgery with the smaller incisions means that you are not in too much pain.

🐑🐑🐑

Bahhhh. Bahhhh

and I look like a bent over gnome when I walk. I couldn't drive myself to NO KINGS so I'll have to be there in spirit.

Good luck on the back pain.

I can't go today. My spouse is going with a neighbor.

I'll be OK.