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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 20, 2017 17:07:41 GMT -5
OMG!!! That's awful! You know, I'm not a litigious person, but I hope you were able to sue someone for that. 3 years with a broken back? I can't even imagine. as much as it hurts now, this is a cakewalk compared to then! the last few months before my surgery the dr put me an Actiq lollipops which is what they give cancer patients toward the end. Bad, bad stuff, but the pain was unmanageable otherwise. Had to go through detox and see a shrink to come off of it. If not for my wife, I would not have had the strength and will to keep going. Pain and depression is bad JuJu. I have pain problems, too, so I know what you mean. Doc gave me extra strength percocet and I was scared to take it. I didn't want to be in pain, either, so I took it as infrequently as I could. I'm not trying to compare myself to what you went through, by any means, but I do understand how depressing constant pain can be- that and the loss of mobility. I hope this new route with the docs helps you overcome your misery.
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Erich
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2015
Posts: 411
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Post by Erich on Feb 20, 2017 20:13:58 GMT -5
I feel for each of you and can empathise; I had to have a triple laminectomy and spinal fusion at L4-L5 (rods & screws with a bone graft) which my Surgeon said was the minimal amount of surgery needed to get me functional again. I had lost almost all feeling in both legs down to the knee and could no longer walk for more than a few minutes at a time. Prior to the surgery I had a series of spinal epidurals- 12 altogether - which would only help for 4-6 weeks. I wasn't bothered by the epidurals, pain was manageable. Prior to the Epidurals I was a regular exerciser, lots of core work and aerobics. The fusion surgery was in Aug. 2014, fixed my leg issues. Back to work within 4 months and slowly other back issues showed up. My Dr. diagnosed spinal surgery failure and chronic pain, I was eventually on 100mg -120mg of Oxy and Fentanyl patches just to get through a work day until finally I just couldn't work anymore. I opted to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted in my lower back this past April 2016 which is controlled by an external Ipod. After recovery from that surgery I attempted to return to work but that lasted only 2 weeks before I realized that I could no longer do the job I had for 29 years. I retired due to disability and was able to wean myself off the drugs over a period of 3 months. Now I'm totally pain killer free and I'm learning very quickly that I can no longer do the things I loved but I'm able to play with my rocks - slabbing isn't to much bending and now I am cabbing 2 -4 hours a day and take breaks as needed. All in all I'm pretty content. VA health care kicked in this December and I was just approved for social security disability last week. Thank God! First try too. I have worked since I was 8 years old delivering newspapers 7 days a week starting at 4:30 AM, also 3 afternoons a week spent collecting from my customers for the papers. I have never not had a job since then except for 2 years spent hitchhiking through Europe and Morocco after HS.
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 20, 2017 21:08:19 GMT -5
Wow! Erich, I feel for you, too. Back problems are the worse. Especially the lower back. I have some problems with my SI joints, too, due to my kind of arthritis. I never have leg problems, though, I have hip problems from that and enthesis which is inflammation where the tendons attach to bones. Between that and my other ailment, I didn't walk farther than the bathroom for about 2 years. Thanks to modern medicine I'm doing pretty well now except for flares. Sounds like you really took the bull by the horns. Good for you for kicking the drugs. It's too bad something so helpful is so bad for you. I'm glad you can still mess around with your rocks. I find it therapeutic, too. I hope you continue to manage things so well.
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