Never again

[Cindylou]

Phylly, congrats on passing your four week mark. I think you should continue to post here, so newbies can see all different kinds of responses to this ADR surgery. The good, the bad, the ugly, if you will. I don't take Forteo, but Actinol, and have done really well on it. No side effects whatsoever. I think, overall, it sounds like you are coming along nicely. And good that you are walking some. I totally get the boredom thing. Here I sit at only 1 week post-op, and already, I look around and go, ok....what can I do now?? NOT MUCH is the answer, but I think, for me anyway, it's not having that good feeling of validation of being able to accomplish things, anything for that matter, that is frustrating. I am just not a very patient person, period. The house is trashed, I look like crap, the laundry is piled up still from LAST week, the bills are still sitting there that my husband promised he would do for a few months, and......you get the picture. I call my daughter-in-law every day to hear about the baby. I am pathetic. But, on the other hand, I do laugh at myself. And a sense of humor is critical at times like this. And my husband keeps me laughing too, which is incredible, when I think about everything he has had to endure the past 8 years. I have to continually tell myself: go with the flow; one day at a time; tomorrow is one more day of healing under my belt; never give up. The last is probably my biggest mantra. I am always so blown away by the stamina and stick to it-ness all we spiney's have. Pounding away at insurance denials, round the clock pain, never ending doctor's appt., searching for answers. I hope you have found your answer with this latest surgery, Phylly. Really great days are within your grasp. Keep hangin' on.

God Bless,

Cindy

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

Originally Posted by Cindylou

Phylly, congrats on passing your four week mark. I think you should continue to post here, so newbies can see all different kinds of responses to this ADR surgery. The good, the bad, the ugly, if you will. I don't take Forteo, but Actinol, and have done really well on it. No side effects whatsoever. I think, overall, it sounds like you are coming along nicely. And good that you are walking some. I totally get the boredom thing. Here I sit at only 1 week post-op, and already, I look around and go, ok....what can I do now?? NOT MUCH is the answer, but I think, for me anyway, it's not having that good feeling of validation of being able to accomplish things, anything for that matter, that is frustrating. I am just not a very patient person, period. The house is trashed, I look like crap, the laundry is piled up still from LAST week, the bills are still sitting there that my husband promised he would do for a few months, and......you get the picture. I call my daughter-in-law every day to hear about the baby. I am pathetic. But, on the other hand, I do laugh at myself. And a sense of humor is critical at times like this. And my husband keeps me laughing too, which is incredible, when I think about everything he has had to endure the past 8 years. I have to continually tell myself: go with the flow; one day at a time; tomorrow is one more day of healing under my belt; never give up. The last is probably my biggest mantra. I am always so blown away by the stamina and stick to it-ness all we spiney's have. Pounding away at insurance denials, round the clock pain, never ending doctor's appt., searching for answers. I hope you have found your answer with this latest surgery, Phylly. Really great days are within your grasp. Keep hangin' on.

God Bless,

Cindy

I too am always amazed at our resilience and ability to handle crap. It's like a test of personal character that gets thrown in our general direction to see if we are going to stand up or fold. What is the benefit in all this? I believe it makes us more compassionate towards others and able to be a support for the plight of other human beings. God can't be down here dealing with everything so he molds us to become what he wants us to be; caregivers for our fellow human in their trials and tribulations.

Glad to hear there is progress from Phylly and CindyLou. AWESOME!

Terry Newton

[phylly]

I love your mantras Cindylou and do feel like we can never give up but I had moments in the past year where I thought about it. Don't worry about getting things done in the house right now, your biggest job is to heal and get better. If you try to overdo you know what happens. I know that feeling of always being productive but now is not the time for that, you will have tons of time when you are feeling better. You will look back and this will be just another bump as Terry says. Plus you have an adorable new grand baby to cuddle and play with.

It is nice that you can laugh at yourself and your husband can laugh too. I need more of that, I think I am taking this recovery so seriously and do feel like a lost quite a few years with all these Spiney problems. I have reached a new low in productivity when I look forward to watching Judge Judy and Dr. Phil. I hope that Forteo has not made my brain too tired but likely it is the muscle relaxants. Today was a bit like that. I am now off to my walk and will catch up again. Don't be hard on yourself and TAKE IT EASY!
Phylly

[Justin]

Hi Phylly,

Just popping in your thread to say I hope you are doing well. You went through an extremely demanding surgery, and you were making great strides at recovery...I just wanted to make sure you were still headed down that path.

I wish you the very best.

[phylly]

Hi Justin,

I also just popped in and was catching up with everyone. I just passed my 8 week mark! I have many good days and then I get an off one now and then. Overall I can see progress because I am getting antsy about really cooking dinner and baking. My husband is so excited not to have take out. Today was absolutely gorgeous here in So. Calif. and I went down to the beach to do my walk. Keeping active seems to be the key although if I do too much I still get exhausted. I, like some other spineys have other issues so exercising sometimes makes my t-spine hurt. I have a weird T7-8 4cm bulge that presses on my cord when I walk too hard and I pulled a leg muscle last week so it has aggravated my back but it's much better today. I have to find out why lying on my back hurts. I wonder if it is the screw or hardware pressing in my muscles? The Princess and the Pea, is what my husband calls me. Getting my stamina back is definitely an ongoing process. I seem to need a lot of sleep. I wonder if it is the Forteo?

Wearing my brace is getting old and I feel ready to start weaning out of it. It's funny how your body tells you when to start doing things like that. It has been harder to wean off my fentynal patch and other meds. I wonder if I will always have a bit of back pain but time will tell. Sitting is better, I just have to remember to get up and walk around so I don't overdo. I have not been taking long drives yet but we want to go to the mountains in a week. I am going to wait until the last minute to decide. My mood has been much better so I am so thankful for my surgery and I look forward to a less painful life. ( I just may not be able to tie my shoes)

I am on Craigs list all the time looking for a perfect rescue dog for our home. I miss having a dog and I thought that walking it would help me. I may be crazy for wanting to have a dog or two; I guess it is that mothering instinct. I wouldn't have thought of wanting a dog a year ago so this is progress. Well you asked for it, this is my most up to date rambly post thus far.

I am always reading about you and hope that your surgery will go well and the date ill be here before you know it. You also need to be getting back to your life and career. Thank you so much for checking in with me, I have been bad about posting even though I try to keep up with everyone else's. I look forward to hearing more about you!
Phylly

[Kathy]

Phylly,

I am so glad that you are doing better. I am also tired all the time and not taking forteo. I think it is just our bodies working hard to heal. It is almost like when I was pregnant and was tired all the time, where I just HAD to sleep and couldn't fight it. That's how I feel and I know it's not pregnancy

I used to be a back sleeper; but since surgery I am more comfortable on my side. No pain or anything, just sleep better on my side.

Sounds like a beautiful day in CA. We had a beautiful day on Wednesday, spent some time with the kids outside. Thursday was super windy and wildfires everywhere to the West of here. All of the fires are 50+ miles from us, for now. Even being that far away, the sky is full of smoke and there was even soot on my car. We usually don't have wildfires here, an occassional field burns; but nothing like this.

Anyway, it was so good to hear from you and to know you are getting better!

God Bless,
Kathy

[fuzzy]

Congrats on your 8 week recovery. Do the docs think you still need the brace? I kicked mine in the corner after a week and then only used it on my walks but not at home. It made me hurt more then my back with out it!