Degenerative disc and other problems (exercise, breast, therapy, boil)
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You sound like a wonderful husband. My DH is truly special (as are you). I also have scoliosis, spinal stenosis, spondylosis, RA and have had two strokes. The strokes left me paralyzed on my right side so the left side has had to overcompensate causing great pain.
I have tried everything - PT, water PT, massage (which feels great but I hurt again in two hours so not really worth it); hydrotherapy (hot tub)- feels wonderful but I have to be careful that my core temp doesn't rise drastically, huge amounts of narcotics,acupuncture (feels nice but doesn't last long).
I FINALLY after living with pain since I was 11 (I am now 46) have found something that works for me. I now have a pain pump. My pain is vastly improved (not gone but under control) and I am able to take substantially less pain meds as it is delivered directly to my spinal cord instead of having to be absorbed and then parted out. I am no longer depressed and life is certainly sweeter. This may not be the solution for your wife but it has certainly allowed me to more fully participate in my own life!
I hope that she finds relief- Bless you both.
I hope she can get that amount of relief someday. One thing I don't want to do is walk into her pain management doctor's office demanding or asking about other medicine. Her condition is complicated and I don't want to be a pest. I do go in with her when I'm off of work and try to ask questions about her condition and treatment as well as bringing up problems she has that she forgets to bring up. Though I remind her over and over again, she never writes down her problems as they happen nor the few days before her doctor's appointment. When I go to the doctor for a particular problem, I try to write down ahead of time all my problems and questions. For my problems, I try to be as detailed as possible and hand it to the nurse at check-in and she attaches it to my records for the doctor to review. It saves time because most of his questions have already been answered before he even sees me. I keep my questions with me to ask him/her in person. When in the doctor's office, many people get nervous and forget the questions until well after the appointment. Oh, and it's always a good idea to type and print all these things to make it easier for the doctor to read (plus spell check can be your friend).
Right now I'm not doing well. Though it was hot and humid, I cut the grass yesterday before going to work. 5,000 sq/ft yard, soft wet soil, and a push mower (not self propelled). Yard hadn't been cut in over 2 weeks due to rain. Not long after cutting, had to shower and head off to work at the hospital boiler room. Feel weak and my foot is sore from twisting in the mud. It's 1:45pm now and I still haven't eaten. At least the dishes are done. Wife's off at Walmart getting a few grocery items, and visiting with friends she knows who work there.
Good news. Her doctor just called back with the approval for water exercises. He's giving her a list of physical therapy centers that have water exercises which our insurance may cover since this is for medical needs. Time to go bathing suit shopping before they vanish from department stores and we're left with specialty stores and their prices.
Good news. Her doctor just called back with the approval for water exercises. He's giving her a list of physical therapy centers that have water exercises which our insurance may cover since this is for medical needs. Time to go bathing suit shopping before they vanish from department stores and we're left with specialty stores and their prices.
Woo hoo, congrats to you and your wife! I think once she gets past the initial awkwardness of showing up in a bathingsuit (and what woman wouldn't, no matter what their body looked like!), she'll let the water soothe her aches. Really - there's nothing quite like near-weightlessness to get you feeling your old self again.
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She went to her first appointment yesterday. They started off with an ultrasound to see which muscles need the massage treatment. They then worked her muscles with the massage until those points were relaxed. She said she felt great for about two hours afterwards. They said they'll continue the massage until those muscles relax and then begin the water exercises. She's had physical therapy massage before but they didn't do anything like this and it didn't help at all. She was excited to make her appointment for today. Instead of a bathing suit, she got those shorts with a skirt over them and a tank top exercise shirt with a sports bra. She's determined not to wear a bathing suit. Body image problem. Even when she was at a healthy weight and figure she still hated her body because of her scoliosis, the teasing of high school kids, and the pain her body gives her.
Wife is getting worse. .... I'd just like to see her have one day without pain.
Boy, that is a hellish medical history! And, as others have said, you are one great husband.
Acute spine problems are part of my father's family genetics. My sister died from a malformed spine in infancy. I have had increasingly serious problems with degenerative disc syndrome, complicated by an accident that injured my spine.
I have had three of the "old fashion" bone-only fusions, a fusion with an implanted device, and three cervical fusions with bone and a retaining plate with six screws, more recently the scoliosis required major surgery with the implantation of two rods and twenty-some screws. Unfortunately, I fractured my spine after this last operation....I think it was due to some unwise movement too early afterward. It really screwed up (no pun intended) what had been a successful operation, and now I have to go back and have those rods taken out and longer ones put in.
In my case, the early surgeries allowed me to live a relatively normal life - I went out dancing until my late forties, and we were not doing the waltz! But the installation of the rods took a long time to get used to, though I found the discomfort tolerable...the fracture and the derangement it has caused in the previous surgery brought major pain into the picture.
Those are my credentials, so to speak.
I have been on a regimen of the drug Lyrica for several months, and will continue it up to the next operation. Afterward I will begin to withdraw, as withdrawal can be unpleasant and I want the surgery over, not ahead of me. I have found the Lyrica a godsend for "short-circuiting" spine pain. Never have found anything like it (well, there wasn't years ago.) It is not a powerful narcotic drug - I've been there, twice for a period of years. You do have to take it regularly, and beginning the drug and each increase in dosage if you need to do it will give you temporary unpleasant symptoms.
Some people cannot take the drug, but most find the initial difficulties only annoying and/or disorienting, but stick it out. I absolutely swear by it, but it did take me several weeks to get used to. I have so little pain that I would cancel the next operation were it not totally clear some real nasty deterioration is going on and does need to be addressed surgically. Lyrica is a pain-blocker, it does not cure.
I wonder if your wife has tried it. And if not, would she ask her doctor.
The web, unfortunately is full of forums with "horror" stories about why people could not/would not take Lyrica. Guys like me who have benefited greatly from it, don't make a lot of contribution to those sites it seems. I do know now that I take it that there or other people successfully taking it that I was unaware of before. I read your post and was just going to let it go by, but then I read it again and your wife is tough. And so am I. I think, if she hasn't tried Lyrica already, she would probably give it a fair trial before saying....I can't deal with it.
So, that's my suggestion. And whatever, good luck to her, and keep up the beautiful work.
P.S.- I do want to add that I have found a good mid to deep massage on a regular basis has been helpful, and so has accupuncture....it was the latter that got through the pain of the fracture in the spine.
She's tried Lyrica and it did nothing for her. Her therapy has added easy Pilates exercises for her to do there and at home. She says she does them before getting out of bed (she awakes long after myself). She's not home right now. Her and her friend went to their appointments and eat out together. While they're out I swept, mopped, installed insulation around the bathroom vent fan, and re-caulked the tub.
She's tried Lyrica and it did nothing for her. Her therapy has added easy Pilates exercises for her to do there and at home. She says she does them before getting out of bed (she awakes long after myself). She's not home right now. Her and her friend went to their appointments and eat out together. While they're out I swept, mopped, installed insulation around the bathroom vent fan, and re-caulked the tub.
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