Surgery Monday August 8th

[dshobbies]

Unfortunately, due to a complication in pregnancies, my feet are incapable of removing poisons and swell easily whenever taxed, even a little. I find zero gravity is great for giving them a chance to recoop but on my feet so much last week, I can't even put shoes on.

About the brace, I try not to use it but at the conference, sitting all day for three days, I wouldn't have been able to do it without the brace. When resuming my painting after my surgery, my t spine would begin to ache at about a 7, not to mention my tailbone. I shortened my days until I decided to try the brace and was able to sit and paint all day. I will add that when sitting at a table, I was able to repeatedly adjust my sitting position. When getting a seat at the back of the room, I couldn't wait for the hour to end.

Actually heard that zinc is best for shortening colds, flu - hope something works for you Judy. Feeling bad is miserable.

Dale

[Maria]

Ladies! today I walked to the mall here near dh's. It's nearly 2 miles away. Then I kept walking and looking at the various shops. I didn't really stop to get off my feet until I sat for one moment only in a dressing room. My feet were starting to bug me tho my back felt/feels normal! I may not feel that way tomorrow morning tho chances are my feet will be more problematic than my back from this walk (as they already are).

Dale, what kind of brace do you use if you don't mind me asking? When I sit too long I do get tailbone pain and pain into each buttock as tho I'm sitting on bones then the low back hurts as well which usually means ~ get up and move! I've never noted that wearing a brace really helped me tho must admit I haven't worn one since my 2nd failed back surgery in the early '90's.

Judy I think Zicam has zinc in it and I've heard as well that is good for a cold. Hope you start to feel better soon. The hot and cold stuff sounds like menopause!

[jsewell]

Maria i was wondering and asked on our other posting email how many miles per day you walk?
Dale i was also wondering what type of brace you wore. A back or leg? I tried my back brace, one of 3, a few weeks ago to see if it helped with housework. I couldn't really tell and probably did not try it long enough.
I am in for the day and did not get any zinc or zycam. Hopefully i will feel better tomorrow or i will get some if i venture out. I canceled my volunteer work for this evening the doctors will have to do all the paperwork and scanning in. I just did not also want to get all the patients sick.
gotta go
judy

[Maria]

Judy
I walk about 2 miles a day. Sometimes it's more like today tho I can tell you walking there and back wouldn't have bothered my feet tho stupidly walking in and out of stores/up and down for 2 plus hours has rendered my feet nearly useless as of tonight. Not a peep from my back. I'm usually stiff in the a.m. and cannot bend w/o making loud cranky ouchy noises which stop after a few hours up or a hot shower *usually.* My feet however may not recover for walking tomorrow. Dumdum me.

Glad to hear you didn't do the volunteer gig tonight. I'm sure you didn't feel well enough to go tho I especially agree w/not wanting to spread the cold virus. Hope you feel much better very soon!

[jsewell]

I think i am going to measure my walking route.
I gave Becka some rules for schoolwork yesterday after talking with the therapist. I have to come down hard on her. But i no longer can give her the consequence of not going out with her friends because i can;t enforce it. She seems to go out as soon as i leave for even a walk. I would have to guard the doors all day to keep her in.
she is kicked out of school for failure to attend so i did tell her, she looked shocked! I don't know what she expected. She can return in 30 days. I am trying to get her to do all the work she has here so when she goes back , she will have completed 2 courses.Wish me luck.

I feel like my house is such a mess , as usual, but i bit more since i've caught this cold i have not done any cleaning. I never called my pulmonologist, but feel i am handling it OK. No coughing, just an annoying tickle in my throat when i was walking yesterday. I do enjoy the cooler weather.

It has been 2 weeks since i saw my spine doc and i really think i feel about the same . Same hard time trying to maintain a somewhat straight posture. Just more back shoulder blade pain and even up more towards my neck. Not good news there though. I will have to tell him this time. Feels like nerve pain and tingling and burning. I stopped taking the neurontin. Maybe it was too soon. I think of you Maria on it for years.

My reading prescription glasses fell apart last week. They have a spring in the frame and it broke, i went to lens crafters and they said the spring could not be fixed. then i decided to try to find a pair where they could use my lens. They were all the spring loaded kind. I left in frustration! Now i am using my progressive lenses which makes it so much harder to read. I wish i had joined Cosco. I may try Target to see if they have any interesting frames!

I'm already in the mood for a nap and it is only 11a.m.
judy

[Maria]

Judy,
I agree you should probably tell your doctor/surgeon about your symptoms (upper spine/cervical?) and also perhaps you'd want to try the Neurontin again to see if that helps with the symptoms. The reason I went off it was because I was feeling terribly "stupid" and had bouts of pretty bad nausea that would go on till about one in the afternoon. I told my PM and OSS for 2 years and kept asking about going off my pain med and finally my OSS actually heard what I said and told me to decrease or stop the Neurontin.

I tapered off the Neurontin in about 2 months I think and felt so much better. The nausea went away, the stupidity cloud lifted and left my regular excuse for less than steller thinking~ yes I felt like a new woman and most of all the neuropathies were gone and probably had been for a while. I think my body was a bit toxic with the level of Neurontin I was ingesting and not needing. That's my theory at least.

Well the walking yesterday has done my back much good and even my feet aren't screaming in pain or even hardly painful. That's so wonderful! I do walk fast and have built up both speed and distance so I'm definately making progress here. Then again as you mentioned Judy the cooler weather makes this more possible as well as I cannot force myself to walk much in temps above low to mid 80's.

Hope your daughter will want to go back to school after being out a month. Does Becka have a lot of outside interests and things she enjoys doing (with friends and without?). Not that you can restrict her just wondering is she has interests that she pursues in lieu of going to school. I guess she's too young for a part time job ? Just thinking maybe there'd be something that would make her realize she'd want to pursue studies further to get a degree later on and become "something" like a Vet/doctor/lawyer/nurse/computer technician/dentist/teacher .. etc... you know what I mean!

Ok hope spines are doing Ok today and wishing all well~ Maria

[dshobbies]

I think the brace I wear is pretty standard, a firm back, stretch sides with velcro closing and two side panals that adjust individually. I also got a similar one is Hungary (forgot to pack it). It;s the same design but the back is more rigid. I only use it for all day stuff, like sitting for classes at the conference.

As for Neurontin - I hoped you tapered off gradually. I was on it for two years. It did resolve most if not all of my pain but when it affected my eyesight, enough already. Even now, when my pain level is up, it still is not bad enough to get me back on that stuff. But Judy, from what you're telling us, yes, I think you were premature in getting off of it. If you had no pain while on this drug then by all means, begin to see what life might be like without it but you are still in a considerable amount of pain, even while taking it. I think you're setting yourself up for just more painkillers. But this is your choice -

Dale