(No subject)

[Guest guest]

today things are a little better. it'll be about $300 for my sons car and my

parents are helping him with that. we went to his school. the registrar

didn't even look at his schedule and just put he was full time, due to

graduate in june. (he may do it by jan) dropped it off at the social security

office. my attorney called and said we'd get together next week. said she is

not concerned if my rheumi sides with work that there are no physiological

findings for my dizzyness. that is not our main arguement. guess i have a

childless weekend!!! whoppee, i'll sit here alone and run a fever and watch

tv. ssdd kathy in il

[Guest guest]

<< guess i have a

childless weekend!!! whoppee, i'll sit here alone and run a fever and watch

tv. ssdd kathy in il>>

I'm having a husbandless week starting Saturday night. I plan to do pretty

much the same. Whopppee is right!

Hugs,

Carol

Re: [ ] (no subject)

today things are a little better. it'll be about $300 for my sons car and my

parents are helping him with that. we went to his school. the registrar

didn't even look at his schedule and just put he was full time, due to

graduate in june. (he may do it by jan) dropped it off at the social

security

office. my attorney called and said we'd get together next week. said she is

not concerned if my rheumi sides with work that there are no physiological

findings for my dizzyness. that is not our main arguement. guess i have a

childless weekend!!! whoppee, i'll sit here alone and run a fever and watch

tv. ssdd kathy in il

[Guest guest]

((((((((Debs)))))))))

I'm glad you posted to let us know you're hanging in there. You are going

to see the surgeon about the adhesions next week, right? I was thinking:

could you do split pea soup, or is that too much to digest? It has a

surprising amount of protein, and would add some variety. I don't think you

would want a cream based soup, but split pea or potato soup might be good.

I hope you get some rest tonight. I'm hurting but am going to lie down and

hopefully sleep will come.

Love and hugs,

Carol

[ ] (no subject)

Hi All,

I am still hanging around with my abdominal pain. No real change. Still

pretty much existing on egg drop soup and clear liquids. It must be a

partial obstruction.

Just wanted to let you know that I am not in the hospital, just waiting

around for this thing to resolve, hopefully, by itself. I promise I won't

let this go on too much longer as my tummy is starting to become distended.

If anything changes, I will have my daughter post something.

Gentle, tender, angel hugs to all,

Debs

[Guest guest]

geez debs good luck. don't wait too long. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Debs,

Sure hope your tummy problems resolves without a visit to the hospital. Keep

on taking care of yourself and may God watch over you with his healing hands.

you're in my prayers,

Gail

[ ] (no subject)

Hi All,

I am still hanging around with my abdominal pain. No real change. Still

pretty much existing on egg drop soup and clear liquids. It must be a

partial obstruction.

Just wanted to let you know that I am not in the hospital, just waiting

around for this thing to resolve, hopefully, by itself. I promise I won't

let this go on too much longer as my tummy is starting to become distended.

If anything changes, I will have my daughter post something.

Gentle, tender, angel hugs to all,

Debs

[Guest guest]

Hi Debs,

Hope you start feeling better soon. Don't let it go too long. How do I sign

up for one of those cabana boys anyway?

Love and Hugs,

Stacey in PA

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 7/22/02 11:54:47 AM Central Daylight Time, Kringlemom

writes:

>

>

>

>

> to whom it may concern. the above patient has been in my care since 1997

> for muscle and joint pain associated with an abnormal bone scan and

> elevater esr and c-reactive protien consistant with an inflamatory

> disorder. her diagnosis is an undifferentiated spondyloarthropy. she

> initially came to my care in 1997 with a one year history of arm and hand

> pain. over the subsequent years, she noted moe significcant neck an back

> pain associated with stiffnessand progressive foot pain. she also

> experienced profound pain and fatigue and a low grade temperature

> elevation. bon scan in 6/00 demostrated uptake at the knees ankles and

> feet. these findings in association with her elevated labratories for

> inflamation suggested an nonspecific spondylarthropy. she has no oter

> evidence of inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, or reiter's syndrome.

> objective findings have included a persistantly elevated esr with the last

> being 6/02 demostrating an esr of 48mm/hr with c reactive protien of 4.1.

> mri more recently confirmed an enthesopy with a thickening along the left

> posterior tibialis tendon and previous tarsal tunnel syndrome with

> bilateral tarsal tunnel and carpal tunnel surgeries. she underwent tarsal

> tunnel decompressive surgery with mri demonsttrating a hypertrophic medial

> calcaneal nerve. carpal tunnel syndrome was confirmed by emg dating back to

> 1997. she also has diffuse trigger points consistant with ffibromyalgia.

> from a medical standpoint, the patients carehas been limited by unexplained

> vertigo with neurologic evaluation suggesting no clear etology. she has

> gastritis limiting nsaid use. she has persistant neck and back pain and

> stiffness. particularly while at rest. this islimiting sleep and causing

> increased fatigue. her foot pain is limiting her ability to walk more than

> a few blocksand plan activities. her significant and unrelenting pain and

> fatigue has limited her vacation as well as avocational activities and

> prevented her from returning her regular employment. she has failed nsaid

> therapy arava enbrel steroids muscle relaxants and remicade. she has had

> only minimal short term relief from steroid injections and chiropractic

> care. she has been compliant with all recommondations and attempted to

> initiate an independent exercise program, limited by her profound pain. she

> is currently on prednisone, nexium buspar flonaise zyrtec and tylenbnol.

> she is undergoing care with a psychologist to improve her ability to deal

> with profound limitiations and for pain control measures. her examination

> has demostrated eidence of signifiacnt muscle joint and tendon tenderness

> and pain. spondyloarthropy, she has no clear joint swelling but more soft

> tissue tenderness and pain. spondyloarthropy is a form of arthritis which

> does not often demostrate joint deformities. she does have objective

> testing by bone scan with an inflamatory arthritis. carpal tunnel syndrome

> tyendon thickening by mri in ankle and physical excam tenderness to

> correspond these areas of pain and neurologic deficit.

this is the last letter from my rheumi. i took it to my atty and she thinks

this will definatly help my case. she has contacted my employer today for the

first time with this and is waiting for their response. i still go for my

functional capacity exam tomorrow. my dad is going to drive me. we figure i

will be stiff, sore and they will probably release me in rush hour. it says

to plan on spending most of the day and my appt is at 12:30. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

At the bottom of each email, there is a link to change subscription options.

You can unsubscribe or change delivery options to individual emails or the

digest, where 25 emails are grouped into one email. For those that don¹t

want a lot of mail, digest is the option you may want to choose.

a

> Please tell me how I can unsubscribe.

> Thank you,

> Connie on

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Barb,

Thank you very much. It has definitely been a trying time but we are

doing okay.

Take care,

Al

> Al,

> I am very happy that you've discussed this problem with your

doctor. At

> least they may be able to find out what the problem you are having

could be

> and then you can get treated for it. My mom had something similar

happen to

> her and after seeing a cardiologist and having and endoscopy done

it was

> found to be a reflux that was giving her these problems. If I were

your wife

> I would also be sleeping with one eye opened to make sure that you

were fine

> too. I do hope that this can be resolved for you soon and that not

only can

> you get some relief but that you and your wife can also have some

peace of

> mind. Take care. Barb

[Guest guest]

<PRE>please rest and feel better deb. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Debs...This is horrible! How can he take you off

antibiotics when he is so concerned about

infection...a lot can happen over a weekend? Please

stay in the BED and let your family care for you. Do

you have ultimate faith in this dr or are you

beginning to doubt he will be able to help you? I

wish I could help; it hurts to hear you going through

so much pain. I wish you sleep, sleep, gentle rest

and recovery. Iris

--- Auntblabbie2000@... wrote:

> HI Friends,

>

> I have just returned back from surgery once again

> and I don't know how much

> more I can do this. The ortho removed over 150cc of

> blood and fluid from my

> knee and is extremely worried about an infection.

> However, he feels that the

> antibiotics are compromising my GI tract and wants

> to give me a break until

> Monday when I see him again. I started crying in

> his office and in the car

> on the way home because the pain was so bad. He has

> given me plenty of

> percocet 10mg and told Ron that I am to remain quiet

> in bed today and see how

> tomorrow goes. If I have no relief by late this

> afternoon, I am off to the

> ER. Ice is also the word of the weekend. So I

> don't know if I will be on

> much more today. The pain is worse than the pain

> from the TKR. Ron is home

> with me today, thank God.

>

> Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

>

> Love and angel hugs,

>

> Deb

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Debs-

Take your pain pills. Stay in bed. Let Ron/Ricky baby

you. No high heeled pink sandals ok? Seriously be verry

verry good to yourself.

Healing hugs and prayers,

[Guest guest]

(((((((((((((((Deb)))))))))))))

You need to just go to the ER if you continue to have problems. I don't

understand why he would give you a break from the antibiotics if he's

worried about an infection. Particularly since you're immunosuppressed.

I'm glad Ron is home with you. I love you, my friend, and you are in my

thoughts and prayers.

I'm headed to the Dr. at 2:30 as well. Hopefully he'll shed some light on

my situation.

Love and hugs,

Carol

[ ] (no subject)

HI Friends,

I have just returned back from surgery once again and I don't know how much

more I can do this. The ortho removed over 150cc of blood and fluid from my

knee and is extremely worried about an infection. However, he feels that

the

antibiotics are compromising my GI tract and wants to give me a break until

Monday when I see him again. I started crying in his office and in the car

on the way home because the pain was so bad. He has given me plenty of

percocet 10mg and told Ron that I am to remain quiet in bed today and see

how

tomorrow goes. If I have no relief by late this afternoon, I am off to the

ER. Ice is also the word of the weekend. So I don't know if I will be on

much more today. The pain is worse than the pain from the TKR. Ron is home

with me today, thank God.

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

Love and angel hugs,

Deb

[Guest guest]

Hey Debs:

Sorry to hear that your knee is still giving you so

much trouble and pain. Has your doctor suggested

injectible antibiotics if he is concerned about your

GI tract? Also, after one of my son's surgeries, he

went home with a semi-permanent I.V. for the

administration of antibiotics - a nurse would come by

daily to give them to him - it worked quite well. You

really do need antibiotics if there is any chance of

infection in that knee. Keep in bed, ice your knee,

and let others do for you - when I was bedbound for a

week after my knee surgery, I read a lot which was

great because I do love to read. It helped to take my

mind of the pain - that and lots of Vicodin lol.

Maybe your husband or daughters could find some books

at the library to take up your time. I'll be keeping

you in my thoughts - get better kiddo.

Kathe in CA

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Deb,

I just want to cry when I think about what you are going through. Having

had a TKR, I know the pain. I am so worried about you, especially the

infection possibility. I don¹t want to scare you, but remember Esther lost

her knee and hip replacement to infection. It¹s not anything to mess around

with. Besides being serious, your doctor seems to be very complacent about

it. If he has concerns about your GI track, then there are other

alternatives such as IV¹s. Percocet 10¹s wouldn¹t touch my pain of a TKR

until at least the 3rd or 4th day post-op. The pain you are describing

sound very severe.

You¹re in my prayers Deb and I¹ve lit a candle for you. I wish I could do

something. It¹s such a helpless feeling being so far away and wishing I

could be by your side.

Hugs,

a

> HI Friends,

>

> I have just returned back from surgery once again and I don't know how much

> more I can do this. The ortho removed over 150cc of blood and fluid from my

> knee and is extremely worried about an infection. However, he feels that the

> antibiotics are compromising my GI tract and wants to give me a break until

> Monday when I see him again. I started crying in his office and in the car

> on the way home because the pain was so bad. He has given me plenty of

> percocet 10mg and told Ron that I am to remain quiet in bed today and see how

> tomorrow goes. If I have no relief by late this afternoon, I am off to the

> ER. Ice is also the word of the weekend. So I don't know if I will be on

> much more today. The pain is worse than the pain from the TKR. Ron is home

> with me today, thank God.

>

> Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

>

> Love and angel hugs,

>

> Deb

>

>

[Guest guest]

Just beautiful

Stacey in PA

[Guest guest]

This is incredible news. Tell your mom she remains in my

prayers and we miss her. Give her my love and prayers

and a great big hug!

[Guest guest]

Debs,

So glad you are home. Just take it easy. Are you on IV vancomycin? I've

done that a few times. Called the IV pole Fred as in Fred Astair, my

dancing partner. I'm sick today with a bit of a fever and chills. I get so

scared about the possibility of infection now. Didn't look at email at all

yesterday and am reading some now, then back to bed.

Temple

3 Fox Haven Way

Chelmsford, MA 01824

I know God won't give me more than I can handle. I just wish He didn't

trust me so much.

dat2352@...

[Guest guest]

DEBS, it's so good to hear from you.

I sure hope you are feeling better, we missed you but carol kept us all

updated on your progress and we thank her for that. I read them every day and

you were in my prayers at night.

Please take it easy and be patient with the therapy.

post when you feel like it but don't overdue.hugs,

Judy in Indy

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb...it was good to hear from you directly...I have been gone for a week

in Las Vegas at a conference...so am just catching up on the news..I just

wanted to offer my thoughts to you as you continue to seek the best

treatment, I wish you the best as you make these tough decisions...just

remember youare not alone in this hard period of life...I wish you the

best...marge

[ ] (no subject)

> Hi all my dear friends,

>

> Well, here is the latest. The sepsis is VERY slowly going away, however,

my

> knee has gotten increasingly worse. He took out the last remaining

staples

> and now I have a hole in my knee the size of a half dollar and goes down

at

> least 1/4 of an inch. I am currently doing wet to dry dressings twice a

day

> in order to save that skin. His first thought was to call a plastic

surgeon

> in and have him repair this hole, however, it the infection is not gone

> completely, then he is doing me no favors. Option #2, is to go in and

remove

> the entire prosthesis, put in antibiotic treated cement in its place for

> approximately 6-8 weeks, take me off the IV antibiotics after an 8 week

> course, draw some cultures, make sure that the infection is COMPLETELY

gone

> and then schedule OR time to do the total knee replacement again. A lot

of

> hard work ahead of me. Most of my afternoons if not at the doctor's

office,

> I spend crying, don't want to cry in front of Ron or the girls, Monday I

> didn't even care that I started crying in my ortho's office. I was in so

> much pain and that was before I saw the hole in my knee. The big concern

is

> that the infection may have traveled to the left knee and the same problem

> may be starting there. I still have the two ports in my chest right now.

> The ortho is putting me in a different hospital as the one I was in is not

> equipped to handle my type of condition. I will be going to one of the

> trauma centers in the county. He feels that is the best possible place

for

> me. I don't smoke, but I do chew on straws and right about now, I am

about a

> 1 1/2 pack a day chewer! Well, at least, no calories or cancer!

>

> Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers, good

> wishes, phone calls and cards. They were the very best medicine that I

ever

> could have received. I will love you all forever!

>

> Gentle, tender, pain free angel hugs to all,

>

> Debs in FL

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

<PRE>gosh debs, i can't blame you for crying one bit. you have been through so

much. it is really good to see you posting and i hope you continue to chase

this bad boy away. you sure do have your hands full, but please please let

ron and the girls help out as much as possible. wish i could do something to

help. don't worry about your trip this fall. although i would have loved to

meet you and carol your health is much more important. you can cry to us

anytime you want. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Marge,

I am still making my headway thru the e-mail and I always KNOW that I am

never alone. Tonight I got an e-mail from my other brother in law telling me

that this would be a good time to start a home business! Heck, my only job

right now is trying to stay alive! The doctors still won't give me more than

a 50/50 chance of beating this infection even with the surgery that is

planned. I guess there will always be people out there who just NEVER get

it. That is why I try to stay quiet or talk about things totally off topic!

Ron and I had hopes of going to Vegas for our 25th wedding anniversary next

year, I guess we will have to see how things turn out! Glad you were able to

go and somewhat enjoy yourself. As you can see, I have now become a member

of the night owl club!

Gentle, tender, Mr. Sandman angel hugs,

Debs in FL

[Guest guest]

Hi Debs,

It is so nice to see you posting. I just wish the news was better, you have

had such a terrible time. I sent you and card and yesterday it came back to me.

I think either you had come home or changed rooms and the hospital didn't get it

to you. Please know that you are in my prayers, hope you will soon be feeling

better.

Lynn (MeMom)

Auntblabbie2000@... wrote:

> Hi all my dear friends,

>

> Well, here is the latest. The sepsis is VERY slowly going away, however, my

> knee has gotten increasingly worse. He took out the last remaining staples

> and now I have a hole in my knee the size of a half dollar and goes down at

> least 1/4 of an inch. I am currently doing wet to dry dressings twice a day

> in order to save that skin. His first thought was to call a plastic surgeon

> in and have him repair this hole, however, it the infection is not gone

> completely, then he is doing me no favors. Option #2, is to go in and remove

> the entire prosthesis, put in antibiotic treated cement in its place for

> approximately 6-8 weeks, take me off the IV antibiotics after an 8 week

> course, draw some cultures, make sure that the infection is COMPLETELY gone

> and then schedule OR time to do the total knee replacement again. A lot of

> hard work ahead of me. Most of my afternoons if not at the doctor's office,

> I spend crying, don't want to cry in front of Ron or the girls, Monday I

> didn't even care that I started crying in my ortho's office. I was in so

> much pain and that was before I saw the hole in my knee. The big concern is

> that the infection may have traveled to the left knee and the same problem

> may be starting there. I still have the two ports in my chest right now.

> The ortho is putting me in a different hospital as the one I was in is not

> equipped to handle my type of condition. I will be going to one of the

> trauma centers in the county. He feels that is the best possible place for

> me. I don't smoke, but I do chew on straws and right about now, I am about a

> 1 1/2 pack a day chewer! Well, at least, no calories or cancer!

>

> Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers, good

> wishes, phone calls and cards. They were the very best medicine that I ever

> could have received. I will love you all forever!

>

> Gentle, tender, pain free angel hugs to all,

>

> Debs in FL

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

sorry you have joined the night owls; but nice to hear from you...and you

are right...getting your health straightened around is your number one

business for now...I am wishing you the best...I'm an old chicago girl

too...lived and grew up in the old town district in the 60's..lot's of crazy

memories...I'm heading to bed probably up in a few hours so will write if

I'm awake..otherwise hope you sleep well through the night..peace...marge

Re: [ ] (no subject)

> Marge,

>

> I am still making my headway thru the e-mail and I always KNOW that I am

> never alone. Tonight I got an e-mail from my other brother in law telling

me

> that this would be a good time to start a home business! Heck, my only

job

> right now is trying to stay alive! The doctors still won't give me more

than

> a 50/50 chance of beating this infection even with the surgery that is

> planned. I guess there will always be people out there who just NEVER get

> it. That is why I try to stay quiet or talk about things totally off

topic!

>

> Ron and I had hopes of going to Vegas for our 25th wedding anniversary

next

> year, I guess we will have to see how things turn out! Glad you were able

to

> go and somewhat enjoy yourself. As you can see, I have now become a

member

> of the night owl club!

>

> Gentle, tender, Mr. Sandman angel hugs,

>

> Debs in FL

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Debs...I hear all of your anguish, frustration

and anger and I think you are more than justified. I

wish I could help you. There has to be some health

professional out there that can help you. a and

...where can we go to find help for Debs?---

Auntblabbie2000@... wrote:

> Well, a new day a new way to get screwed by the

> medical community. Went to

> see the ortho with bags packed and everything in tow

> only to find out that

> the ortho has changed his mind once again and no he

> is not going to take out

> the infected knee joint. He thinks that the hole on

> the top of my knee is

> getting better so therefore, the infection must be

> getting better also. So

> now maybe I can go see a plastic surgeon in 3-4 days

> and see if they are

> willing to close this lovely gap in my skin or I can

> try steri strips. The

> hole goes down deep enough to see my knee cap. I am

> sure that this is going

> to help the sepsis no end. When I suggested this

> procedure, he said it was

> not a good option as he might miss a portion of the

> infection and if he

> removed the entire prosthesis there would be no way

> that the infection would

> be left in my body. Sooooooo, I have now put steri

> strips on the hole and in

> about 9 months this thing should look like something

> I used to have in my

> knee area. I suppose that as long as he feels that

> the infection is gone,

> there is no longer a need for the IV antibiotics

> that I am torturing myself

> with. I will never trust another medical

> professional again if their tongue

> came notarized. I think I have pretty much cried my

> tears out but every so

> often, I find a spot that still has a few left.

> This is all doubly hard to

> swallow because this is just how my Dad's problems

> started. He had an

> infection, they " thought " it was cured only to have

> it lie dormant and then

> it reappeared and settled in his heel and within a

> few weeks............dead.

> The pain from this non infection problem is

> unrelenting and that is what

> part of today's admission was to be was better pain

> control in preparation

> for the removal of the prosthesis.

>

> Thanks for reading thru my saga or if you lost

> interest and deleted, no

> problem. You have no idea the pain that this causes

> in addition to the pain

> that we had originally sought help for. It will be

> a very very long time,

> before I am even a shadow of my former self.

>

> Debs in FL

>

>