Good Monday morning!!

[Guest guest]

Y'all,

I hope that everyone had a good weekend, like I did. The pancreas pain that I

was

suffering through last week finally abaited before I had to go to the ER. I

spent two days

doing absolutely nothing, just lying around, and that seemed to do the trick. I

was really

worried there for a while.

On Friday I went to my PM doctor, and he agreed to change my 75 mg. duragesic to

every

48 hours instead of 72. I'd kept a diary of my pain cycles and when I was

taking the meds,

and without even reading it, he agreed. I think just the fact that I'd done

this and kept a

good record, was all he needed. With another doctor, though, I imagine that

you'd have to

prove it and make him read it to get the changes you need. This PM doctor's

just a lot

easier to work with than other doctor's I've had.

He also talked to me about the last series of X-rays they'd done of my spine.

They did the

lumbar area, and then the shoulder area, and lastly, the shoulder/neck area. I

know

there's medical terms for each area, but can't remember what they are. The last

neck area

X-rays showed several old severe injuries to my left shoulder....duhh, I could

have told him

that!!! I've dislocated it at least 3 or 4 times in my lifetime, I guess that's

caused some

residual damage that has caused some of my problems. The film also showed that

my ribs

start higher up than normal, there's some small bones up in my lower

neck....this, he said,

could also cause pain if I'm not precise about keeping my back and neck

straight. He said

I need to sit and stand tall like a Marine, with shoulders back, head up....when

I'm sitting I

need to be an L. Oh goodness, that's hard to do on a constant basis (as I sit

here,

slouching at the computer!) But he's right, if I could remember to do that ALL

THE TIME,

he said my pains would be lessened. He also wants me to go to a physical

therapist, I just

haven't found one here, yet.

Lastly, he plans to do some kind of nerve test on my next appointment. I don't

know what

the test is called, has anyone else here ever had a nerve test? Since I have so

much left

shoulder pain, the pain in my left elbow, and occasional numbness and tingling

in my left

fingers and wrist, he thinks it might be some damage to the nerves or pinching

somewhere on my left side. Whenever I have my pancreas pain, all the left sided

pain

starts up in these areas, too. He seems to think that they're somehow all

related. I don't

know what he'll do, or recommend, if the tests prove that it's all related. I

hope it's not

ANOTHER type of pill!!! I'm on too many already!

My weekend was spent in ton doing wedding stuff, this time it was picking

out the

bridesmaid dresses and arranging for the cake. It's a relief to finally have

get

those decisions out of the way. We spent all Friday night talking about

flowers, looking at

pictures I'd brought to show her, and discussing what we needed, etc. She's

really

frustrated about the whole flower issue; bouquets, centerpieces, wreaths,

decorative

arrangements, etc. It causes her so much stress that I told her I'd take care

of it as much

as I could without involving her in it, now that I know what she likes. The

evening started

out poorly, she was practically in tears and almost at the point where she

wouldn't talk

about them at all. But, with gentle persuasion, I was able to get her loosened

up and

interested again, and we were finally able to make some firm decisions. That's

all I'll say

about the weekend, since it was all " wedding stuff " . If anyone wants to hear

more about it,

just drop me a note offline!

I hope everyone has a good week, and doesn't overdo.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should

not be substituted for consultation with a medical professional.