Guest guest Posted August 18, 1999 Report Share Posted August 18, 1999 Hi gang, My name is Loni and I just found this list today.. I have been trying to participate on another list with not much success, so I thought I might try this one..I am going to send an intro that I wrote on the other list, (for which I got unsubbed for. Why??? don't ask me..) First, let me fill you in on some background. I was diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis 5 years ago. This is a misalignment my L5/S1 and is putting a lot of pressure on my Sciatic nerves. I am beginning to have some nerve damage in my legs... I am in the process of applying for SSI/SSDI as I am no longer able to groom dogs (for which I have done for 15 years). I have not had surgery yet... am waiting to see what will happen next with SSDI/SSI... I can no longer stand for 5 minutes without being in a lot of pain... and walking distances(like at a mall or store) is impossible. Picking things up usually puts me to bed... I also have a 21 mos old very active child... who needs to be " captured " quite often.... Now, here is the question.... How do you know your limits???? If I do to much, I end up in bed, unable to move... My daughter causes me to constantly get up and down, And occasionally, I need to carry her around from one place to another... Loading the dishwasher is almost impossible, the angle you need to bend is " back breaking " . And, if you are a parent, you know this... picking up after the little darlings.... is also a pain.... After all of this up and down, by the end of the day, I am hurting so bad that I can't sleep cause of the back spasms... Now, Because I have been involved in dogs, and train dogs for the disabled, I have a wheelchair here... I am finding that I use is more and more... my daughter likes to sit in my lap. .. and it doesn't stress my back out... also... I have an Assistance dog I have trained to help me get up and down, help me when I need to bend over... and also retrieve stuff from the floor. (toys, paper,... etc....) My family says I am being lazy for using the chair and dog... I try to explain that because my back is so unstable, by me using the dog and chair, I can get more stuff done, and not hurt as bad as before. How do you all handle this type of pain? I am not on prescription meds yet, tho, when I do take pain meds, I over do even more. Do any of you have this same trouble? I am a very active person... but am getting very frustrated with this thing... Thanks.. and I can't wait to get to know all of you. Loni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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