New member

[Guest guest]

or else they evidently are related to poor adrenal function, which doctors

don't treat.

Gracia

> Bev,

>

> You wrote:

> >

> > You said three's?? Can you give me an example of three.

>

> Sure. The triplet of most interest to us includes Type 1 diabetes,

> Grave's, and Hashimoto's. They evidently have a genetic control of the

> immune system in common:

>

> http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/genome/genesandbody/hg06n004.html

>

> There is a more complete list of the common disorders at:

>

> http://www.ibdanswers.com/Document.2004-01-10.0358/view

>

> with many more available through a search.

>

> Chuck

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Joanne,

Hello, and thanks so much for re-introducing yourself. It helps so

much to see it all as one united " piece " .

You may know that I am just 2-3 weeks ahead of you in the revision

game..I had the two stage surgery with Dr Rand Feb 9th/16th at NEBH.

We will have to compare notes a little closer!

I was lucky that everything went as scheduled/planned and I was in

the hospital 13 LONG days...but also returned to my life fairly

quickly. I must say I was surprised that you were allowed to drive

after a week though...wow..you must not live in the city.

I think Dr Rands concern with driving was two part: difficulty in

looking about...risk of twisting...and the chances of being in an

accident before the fusion is solid. It actually still worries me a

little...I live on Nantucket and the crazy NY drivers are

here...Yikes!

I agree with you that one thing necessary to undergo this surgery is

the clear understanding that you are the best advocate for yourself.

And I doubt you can undergo this surgery with any degree of calm

unless you have gotten a few opinions and feel that you have made

the right choice of doctor/hospital.

It is a scary thing. To be completely honest, my logical self knew I

had made the right choice for me....but I know I did not make the

emotional choice until Dr Rand signed my back....thankfully I never

regretted my decisions.

I am glad to hear you are in the area...I have had the chance to

make several trips to Boston where I met Ann, Carolyn (not hearing

much from her these days as she is taking the Bar Exams this month-

also a Glazer patient) and Dianne....in fact they all came and spent

time with me while I was incarcerated! Hopefully we can get together

this fall. I know from the Chat last night that Theresa from Houson

is going to be nearby in the coming weeks and I think there is a

tentative lunch plan brewing...sadly I can not attend...but stay

tuned!

Again, thanks for sharing your story...Cam

thankfull

> I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

decision

> to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of

you

> may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

tell

> you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>

> Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

> and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime

in

> the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

> longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>

> At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

former

> surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

> was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

> complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I thought

> something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

didn't

> know who could help me.

>

> Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

> not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

> and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

> him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

> scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

> because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

> still the case.

>

> After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of whom

> were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon myself

> to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

>

> He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo jumbo

at

> me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

> revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

> Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

with

> his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical dictionary

> in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>

> I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

with

> physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I sent

a

> letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He called

> and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I

come

> back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me

the

> way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

> needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

know,

> but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> understanding and reassuring.

>

> I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

Dr.

> Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

diagnosis,

> he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

> decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and with

> having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>

> I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound up

> having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

days,

> and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet quick

> enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>

> Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

> that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

> was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

> then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving within

a

> week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

> April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

> occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>

> I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him I

> was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>

> Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

> must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

> not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have a

> lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

> Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary,

and

> there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

> care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

your

> body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability to

> sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses. They

> cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and you

> can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

>

> In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

have

> had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he

has

> let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

xrays,

> that he is available when and if I need him. Still, communication

> is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

communication

> open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I am

> doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>

> My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body

to

> heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to

the

> medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

easily

> and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want to

> do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

> severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>

> Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of luck

> and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

> know if I can be of any help. Joanne

[Guest guest]

Joanne, Thanks for sharing your story. I am glad you are doing so

well. I live in Boston and would love to chat more with you, but I am

too tired to type and think tonight. Just wanted to say hi and that I

am glad you posted. Ann

, " Joanne " <jchertok@e...> wrote:

> I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my decision

> to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of

you

> may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will tell

> you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>

> Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

> and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime in

> the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

> longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>

> At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my former

> surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

> was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

> complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I thought

> something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

didn't

> know who could help me.

>

> Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

> not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

> and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

> him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

> scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

> because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

> still the case.

>

> After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of whom

> were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon myself

> to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

>

> He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo jumbo

at

> me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

> revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

> Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy with

> his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical dictionary

> in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>

> I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter with

> physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I sent a

> letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He called

> and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I

come

> back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me the

> way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

> needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

know,

> but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> understanding and reassuring.

>

> I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion. Dr.

> Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same diagnosis,

> he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

> decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and with

> having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>

> I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound up

> having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

days,

> and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet quick

> enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>

> Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

> that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

> was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

> then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving within a

> week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

> April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

> occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>

> I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him I

> was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>

> Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

> must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

> not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have a

> lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

> Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary,

and

> there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

> care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows your

> body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability to

> sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses. They

> cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and you

> can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

>

> In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I have

> had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he has

> let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

xrays,

> that he is available when and if I need him. Still, communication

> is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

communication

> open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I am

> doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>

> My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body to

> heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to the

> medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

easily

> and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want to

> do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

> severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>

> Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of luck

> and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

> know if I can be of any help. Joanne

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanne,

Just wanted to say welcome and tell you how glad I am to hear that

you are recuperating so quickly.

Thanks so much for sharing your story. As with all of the stories

being posted since this site started, it was an interesting, moving,

and enlightening read. (oh jeeze, I sound like the Gene Shalit of

flatback revision surgery stories!)

Your advice about being the person with the last word on what goes

on with your medical treatment is dead on!

All my best, Dianne S.

> I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

decision

> to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of

you

> may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

tell

> you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>

> Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

> and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime

in

> the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

> longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>

> At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

former

> surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

> was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

> complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I thought

> something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

didn't

> know who could help me.

>

> Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

> not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

> and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

> him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

> scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

> because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

> still the case.

>

> After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of whom

> were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon myself

> to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

>

> He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo jumbo

at

> me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

> revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

> Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

with

> his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical dictionary

> in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>

> I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

with

> physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I sent

a

> letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He called

> and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I

come

> back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me

the

> way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

> needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

know,

> but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> understanding and reassuring.

>

> I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

Dr.

> Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

diagnosis,

> he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

> decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and with

> having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>

> I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound up

> having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

days,

> and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet quick

> enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>

> Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

> that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

> was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

> then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving within

a

> week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

> April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

> occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>

> I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him I

> was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>

> Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

> must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

> not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have a

> lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

> Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary,

and

> there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

> care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

your

> body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability to

> sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses. They

> cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and you

> can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

>

> In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

have

> had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he

has

> let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

xrays,

> that he is available when and if I need him. Still, communication

> is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

communication

> open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I am

> doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>

> My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body

to

> heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to

the

> medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

easily

> and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want to

> do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

> severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>

> Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of luck

> and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

> know if I can be of any help. Joanne

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing your story, Joanne. You've already helped me. I had

considered getting a second opinion from Dr.Glazer, but had not heard from

anyone who had actually been operated on by him. I feel just a bit more

confident now that I've actually found a patient of his, especially since

you seem to be pleased with your outcome.

We definitely should have another Boston area get-together. We've gotten to

be quite a bunch!

Sharon in NH.

[ ] New member

>I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my decision

> to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of you

> may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will tell

> you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>

> Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

> and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime in

> the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

> longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>

> At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my former

> surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

> was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

> complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I thought

> something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or didn't

> know who could help me.

>

> Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

> not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

> and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

> him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

> scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

> because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

> still the case.

>

> After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of whom

> were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon myself

> to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

>

> He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo jumbo at

> me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

> revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

> Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy with

> his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical dictionary

> in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>

> I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter with

> physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I sent a

> letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He called

> and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I come

> back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me the

> way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

> needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never know,

> but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> understanding and reassuring.

>

> I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion. Dr.

> Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same diagnosis,

> he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

> decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and with

> having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>

> I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound up

> having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10 days,

> and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet quick

> enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>

> Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

> that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

> was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

> then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving within a

> week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

> April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

> occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>

> I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him I

> was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>

> Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

> must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

> not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have a

> lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

> Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary, and

> there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

> care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows your

> body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability to

> sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses. They

> cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and you

> can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

>

> In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I have

> had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he has

> let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up xrays,

> that he is available when and if I need him. Still, communication

> is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of communication

> open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I am

> doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>

> My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body to

> heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to the

> medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired easily

> and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want to

> do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

> severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>

> Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of luck

> and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

> know if I can be of any help. Joanne

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> scoliosis veterans * flatback sufferers * revision candidates

>

[Guest guest]

I think we swapped e-mails last December Sharon. We talked about

baclofen and you were concerned you might be diagnosed with MS. I

think I read that MS was ruled out. That's good. I have the thrill

of managing the challange of both flatback and MS. It can be

overwhelming at times.

If you need a second opinion I would definitely recommend Glazer.

is right, he is very understanding and helpful. I had some

frustration with communication with other members of his office, but

when I spoke with him he was great. He finds a way to give you all

the time you need with him, but sometimes you have to leave more

than one message. He often gets called for emergency trauma surgery

and that seems to cause some comunications to get lost. Not a

terrible price to pay for having one of the best surgeons.

Let me know if you're in Boston. Joanne

> Thanks for sharing your story, Joanne. You've already helped me.

I had

> considered getting a second opinion from Dr.Glazer, but had not

heard from

> anyone who had actually been operated on by him. I feel just a

bit more

> confident now that I've actually found a patient of his,

especially since

> you seem to be pleased with your outcome.

>

> We definitely should have another Boston area get-together. We've

gotten to

> be quite a bunch!

>

> Sharon in NH.

>

>

> [ ] New member

>

>

> >I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

decision

> > to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of

you

> > may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

tell

> > you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

> >

> > Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

> > and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime

in

> > the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

> > longer standing up as straight as I used to.

> >

> > At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

former

> > surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> > steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

> > was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

> > complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I

thought

> > something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

didn't

> > know who could help me.

> >

> > Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> > acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> > running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

> > not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

> > and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

> > him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

> > scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> > year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

> > because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> > scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

> > still the case.

> >

> > After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of

whom

> > were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon

myself

> > to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

> >

> > He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo

jumbo at

> > me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

> > revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

> > Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

with

> > his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical

dictionary

> > in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

> >

> > I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

with

> > physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I

sent a

> > letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He

called

> > and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I

come

> > back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me

the

> > way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

> > needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> > questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

know,

> > but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> > Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> > understanding and reassuring.

> >

> > I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

Dr.

> > Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> > initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

diagnosis,

> > he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

> > decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and

with

> > having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

> >

> > I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound

up

> > having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> > density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

days,

> > and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet

quick

> > enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> > (definitely not a pleasant experience).

> >

> > Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

> > that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

> > was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

> > then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving

within a

> > week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

> > April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

> > occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

> >

> > I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him

I

> > was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

> >

> > Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

> > must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

> > not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have

a

> > lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

> > Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary,

and

> > there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

> > care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

your

> > body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability

to

> > sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses.

They

> > cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and

you

> > can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

> >

> > In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

have

> > had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he

has

> > let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

xrays,

> > that he is available when and if I need him. Still,

communication

> > is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

communication

> > open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I

am

> > doing. I drop him a line now and then.

> >

> > My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body

to

> > heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> > depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to

the

> > medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

easily

> > and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want

to

> > do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

> > severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

> >

> > Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of

luck

> > and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

> > know if I can be of any help. Joanne

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > scoliosis veterans * flatback sufferers * revision candidates

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi, Joanne.

Sorry I wasn't sure if I knew you. I slacked off from flatback forums for a

while. Actually, MS wasn't ruled out, and I'm taking Copaxone injections.

The diagnosis is barely a " probable " , but I'll be happy enough if I never

get a " definite " . Better safe than sorry.

So, it looks like you and I have several things in common. Glad to get

re-acquainted.

Sharon :^)

[ ] New member

>>

>>

>> >I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

> decision

>> > to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some of

> you

>> > may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

> tell

>> > you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>> >

>> > Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for scoliosis

>> > and for around 20 years was without incident. I began, sometime

> in

>> > the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was no

>> > longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>> >

>> > At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

> former

>> > surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

>> > steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the pain I

>> > was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I kept

>> > complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I

> thought

>> > something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

> didn't

>> > know who could help me.

>> >

>> > Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

>> > acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

>> > running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I was

>> > not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had been

>> > and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred me to

>> > him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized in

>> > scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

>> > year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at first

>> > because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

>> > scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that was

>> > still the case.

>> >

>> > After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of

> whom

>> > were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon

> myself

>> > to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an appointment.

>> >

>> > He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo

> jumbo at

>> > me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would need

>> > revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my mind.

>> > Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

> with

>> > his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical

> dictionary

>> > in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>> >

>> > I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

> with

>> > physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I

> sent a

>> > letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He

> called

>> > and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested I

> come

>> > back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with me

> the

>> > way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the time I

>> > needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

>> > questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

> know,

>> > but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

>> > Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

>> > understanding and reassuring.

>> >

>> > I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

> Dr.

>> > Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

>> > initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

> diagnosis,

>> > he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the end I

>> > decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and

> with

>> > having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>> >

>> > I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and wound

> up

>> > having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

>> > density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

> days,

>> > and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet

> quick

>> > enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

>> > (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>> >

>> > Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to say

>> > that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught up. I

>> > was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day since

>> > then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving

> within a

>> > week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle of

>> > April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than an

>> > occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>> >

>> > I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told him

> I

>> > was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>> >

>> > Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out well, I

>> > must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital were

>> > not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to have

> a

>> > lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the limit.

>> > Their presence helped me to run interference whenever necessary,

> and

>> > there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the fantastic

>> > care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

> your

>> > body better than you and you have to have faith in your ability

> to

>> > sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses.

> They

>> > cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and

> you

>> > can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about anything.

>> >

>> > In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

> have

>> > had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but he

> has

>> > let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

> xrays,

>> > that he is available when and if I need him. Still,

> communication

>> > is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

> communication

>> > open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how I

> am

>> > doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>> >

>> > My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my body

> to

>> > heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

>> > depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due to

> the

>> > medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

> easily

>> > and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I want

> to

>> > do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not in

>> > severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>> >

>> > Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of

> luck

>> > and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please let me

>> > know if I can be of any help. Joanne

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> >

>> > scoliosis veterans * flatback sufferers * revision candidates

>> >

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I want to re-enforce what Cam said. I,too, had a wonderful

experience with Dr. Rand and Priscilla. In fact, my first

appointment with him was much better than my first appointment with

Dr. Glazer, and Priscilla couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.

I was anxious to move forward and have the surgery to get rid of the

pain. To make my decision easier, I decided, before hand, not to go

through a lengthy comparison of the 2, but instead to stick with

Glazer so long as Rand agreed fundamentally with his diagnosis. A

positive for going to Rand is the New England Babtist and the fact

it has its own Rehab attached to the hospital. My brother-in-lae

had knee replacement done there and they were great.

Bottom line is I don't think you can go wrong with either. They are

both terrific surgeons.

Hang in there, Joanne

> >> Thanks for sharing your story, Joanne. You've already helped

me.

> > I had

> >> considered getting a second opinion from Dr.Glazer, but had not

> > heard from

> >> anyone who had actually been operated on by him. I feel just a

> > bit more

> >> confident now that I've actually found a patient of his,

> > especially since

> >> you seem to be pleased with your outcome.

> >>

> >> We definitely should have another Boston area get-together.

We've

> > gotten to

> >> be quite a bunch!

> >>

> >> Sharon in NH.

> >>

> >>

> >> [ ] New member

> >>

> >>

> >> >I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

> > decision

> >> > to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some

of

> > you

> >> > may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

> > tell

> >> > you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

> >> >

> >> > Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for

scoliosis

> >> > and for around 20 years was without incident. I began,

sometime

> > in

> >> > the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was

no

> >> > longer standing up as straight as I used to.

> >> >

> >> > At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

> > former

> >> > surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

> >> > steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the

pain I

> >> > was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I

kept

> >> > complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I

> > thought

> >> > something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

> > didn't

> >> > know who could help me.

> >> >

> >> > Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

> >> > acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

> >> > running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I

was

> >> > not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had

been

> >> > and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred

me to

> >> > him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized

in

> >> > scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

> >> > year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at

first

> >> > because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

> >> > scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that

was

> >> > still the case.

> >> >

> >> > After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of

> > whom

> >> > were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon

> > myself

> >> > to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an

appointment.

> >> >

> >> > He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo

> > jumbo at

> >> > me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would

need

> >> > revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my

mind.

> >> > Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

> > with

> >> > his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical

> > dictionary

> >> > in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

> >> >

> >> > I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

> > with

> >> > physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I

> > sent a

> >> > letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He

> > called

> >> > and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested

I

> > come

> >> > back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with

me

> > the

> >> > way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the

time I

> >> > needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

> >> > questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

> > know,

> >> > but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

> >> > Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

> >> > understanding and reassuring.

> >> >

> >> > I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

> > Dr.

> >> > Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

> >> > initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

> > diagnosis,

> >> > he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the

end I

> >> > decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and

> > with

> >> > having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

> >> >

> >> > I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and

wound

> > up

> >> > having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

> >> > density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

> > days,

> >> > and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet

> > quick

> >> > enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

> >> > (definitely not a pleasant experience).

> >> >

> >> > Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to

say

> >> > that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught

up. I

> >> > was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day

since

> >> > then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving

> > within a

> >> > week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle

of

> >> > April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than

an

> >> > occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

> >> >

> >> > I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told

him

> > I

> >> > was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

> >> >

> >> > Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out

well, I

> >> > must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital

were

> >> > not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to

have

> > a

> >> > lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the

limit.

> >> > Their presence helped me to run interference whenever

necessary,

> > and

> >> > there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the

fantastic

> >> > care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

> > your

> >> > body better than you and you have to have faith in your

ability

> > to

> >> > sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses.

> > They

> >> > cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and

> > you

> >> > can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about

anything.

> >> >

> >> > In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

> > have

> >> > had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but

he

> > has

> >> > let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

> > xrays,

> >> > that he is available when and if I need him. Still,

> > communication

> >> > is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

> > communication

> >> > open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how

I

> > am

> >> > doing. I drop him a line now and then.

> >> >

> >> > My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my

body

> > to

> >> > heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

> >> > depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due

to

> > the

> >> > medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

> > easily

> >> > and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I

want

> > to

> >> > do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not

in

> >> > severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

> >> >

> >> > Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of

> > luck

> >> > and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please

let me

> >> > know if I can be of any help. Joanne

> >> >

> >> >

> >> >

> >> >

> >> >

> >> >

> >> >

> >> > scoliosis veterans * flatback sufferers * revision candidates

> >> >

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the input, Joanne. I expect to receive the same kind of good

treatment, as I know I am a candidate for surgery.

I'm still pretty nervous about all this, though I haven't been entirely

aware of it, and it has been coming out in weird ways. This past Tuesday I

was enjoying my cousin's summer place on the lake. I got on a huge towable

raft with my neices so my cousin could tow us around with his boat. While I

was lying face-down on the raft my brother-in-law called out to me to " look

up! " so he could snap a picture. I said " I can't " , and he said " Yes you

can " . I was astounded that someone who has been in my scoliosis-ridden

family for 20 years didn't know that a scoliosis fusion makes one incapable

of arching her back! It shouldn't really have bothered me, but I guess this

business of actually going for a surgical opinion is getting to me at a gut

level.

It's also getting to me because I'm waiting for an answer on a life

insurance application and I know if they get wind of the fact that I'm

considering surgery of this magnitude it will put me in a higher risk

category. I know " no-one " dies in scoliosis surgery any more, but it's

still got to be of concern to the underwriters. Last night I was very tired

and I just broke down and cried, saying the surgeons didn't know what the

(blank) they were doing 33 years ago and I find it hard to believe they

really do now.

I really am a big baby sometimes, and I hope I'm getting it out of my system

now so I can talk intelligently with Dr. Rand when I see him.

Sharon

[ ] New member

>> >>

>> >>

>> >> >I used the former group, FeistyFlatbacks, before making my

>> > decision

>> >> > to move ahead with revision surgery this past March, but some

> of

>> > you

>> >> > may not know or remember me so, to re-introduce myself, I will

>> > tell

>> >> > you my story and try to keep it as brief as possible.

>> >> >

>> >> > Like a number of you, I was operated on in the 60's for

> scoliosis

>> >> > and for around 20 years was without incident. I began,

> sometime

>> > in

>> >> > the late 80's to develop lower back pain and to notice I was

> no

>> >> > longer standing up as straight as I used to.

>> >> >

>> >> > At that time I was able to get an appointment with one of my

>> > former

>> >> > surgeon's from Children's, then at U. Mass Medical Ctr. With

>> >> > steroids and physical therapy he was able to eliminate the

> pain I

>> >> > was having and I went on my merry way. Like some of you, I

> kept

>> >> > complaining to my doctors over the subsequent years that I

>> > thought

>> >> > something was going wrong, but they either couldn't see it or

>> > didn't

>> >> > know who could help me.

>> >> >

>> >> > Two years ago I was referred to Dr. Glazer, and although he

>> >> > acknowledged he was seeing former scoliosis patients who were

>> >> > running into difficulty, he never provided any detail, said I

> was

>> >> > not a candidate for surgery, should continue doing as I had

> been

>> >> > and to call him if necessary. My primary care who referred

> me to

>> >> > him seemed to have no idea at the time Dr. Glazer specialized

> in

>> >> > scoliosis revision surgery. So when I ran into trouble a

>> >> > year ago last March I did not think to call Dr. Glazer at

> first

>> >> > because he had led me to believe a mere 2 yrs before that my

>> >> > scoliosis surgery was not a problem, so I assumed that that

> was

>> >> > still the case.

>> >> >

>> >> > After 6 months of going to other doctors for the pain, all of

>> > whom

>> >> > were reluctant to recommend me to a surgeon, I took it upon

>> > myself

>> >> > to finally call Dr. Glazer's office and ask for an

> appointment.

>> >> >

>> >> > He took one look at my x-rays, threw a lot of madical mumbo

>> > jumbo at

>> >> > me (scaring the you-know-what out of me), announced I would

> need

>> >> > revision surgery and told me to call when I had made up my

> mind.

>> >> > Needless-to-say, I was frightened by the news and not to happy

>> > with

>> >> > his abruptness. After that appointment, with a medical

>> > dictionary

>> >> > in hand, I went on the Internet to do some research.

>> >> >

>> >> > I've learned over the years not to react to my first encounter

>> > with

>> >> > physicians, so once I had a little more knowledge in hand, I

>> > sent a

>> >> > letter to Dr. Glazer with questions about his diagnosis. He

>> > called

>> >> > and said I had misunderstood a number of things and suggested

> I

>> > come

>> >> > back to see him. On the second appointment he sat down with

> me

>> > the

>> >> > way I wish he had done in the first place and took all the

> time I

>> >> > needed to go over what the situation was and to answer all my

>> >> > questions. Why he didn't do that the first time, I will never

>> > know,

>> >> > but you never know what kind of day a surgeon is having.

>> >> > Regardless, in the 2nd appointment I found him very open,

>> >> > understanding and reassuring.

>> >> >

>> >> > I then made an appointment with Dr. Rand for a second opinion.

>> > Dr.

>> >> > Rand and Priscilla gave me far more time and information in my

>> >> > initial appointment. Although Dr. Rand gave me the same

>> > diagnosis,

>> >> > he had a slightly different approach to the surgery. In the

> end I

>> >> > decided I was more comfortable with Dr. Glazer's approach and

>> > with

>> >> > having the surgery done at the Beth Israel Deaconess.

>> >> >

>> >> > I went in for my first surgery on March 1st this year and

> wound

>> > up

>> >> > having 3 surgeries instead of 2 due to issues related to bone

>> >> > density. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks instead of 7 to 10

>> > days,

>> >> > and due to the extra surgery was unable to get up on my feet

>> > quick

>> >> > enough to avoid going to rehab where I spent another 2 weeks

>> >> > (definitely not a pleasant experience).

>> >> >

>> >> > Although this delayed the start of my recovery, I'm happy to

> say

>> >> > that as soon as I got home I progressed quickly and caught

> up. I

>> >> > was taking care of myself within a few days, and every day

> since

>> >> > then has gotten better than the day before. I was driving

>> > within a

>> >> > week after getting home, back to work part-time by the middle

> of

>> >> > April and haven't had to take any pain medication, other than

> an

>> >> > occasional Tylanol, since leaving rehab.

>> >> >

>> >> > I must admit, this has surprised even Dr. Glazer, but I told

> him

>> > I

>> >> > was a fast healer, he just didn't believe it.

>> >> >

>> >> > Although, in the end, everything seems to have turned out

> well, I

>> >> > must tell you all that my surgeries and stay in the hospital

> were

>> >> > not without their share of difficulties. I am fortunate to

> have

>> > a

>> >> > lot of family living in the area and I taxed them to the

> limit.

>> >> > Their presence helped me to run interference whenever

> necessary,

>> > and

>> >> > there were many times it was necessary, in spite of the

> fantastic

>> >> > care. My one piece of advice to remember is that no one knows

>> > your

>> >> > body better than you and you have to have faith in your

> ability

>> > to

>> >> > sometimes make better decisions than the doctors and nurses.

>> > They

>> >> > cannot administer any medical care unless you agree to it, and

>> > you

>> >> > can and should say no whenever you are in doubt about

> anything.

>> >> >

>> >> > In the end I feel I picked the right surgeon to do the job. I

>> > have

>> >> > had very little need to speak with him since I got home, but

> he

>> > has

>> >> > let me know more than once, when I have gone in for follow-up

>> > xrays,

>> >> > that he is available when and if I need him. Still,

>> > communication

>> >> > is difficult, so I make an effort to keep the lines of

>> > communication

>> >> > open by not waiting for problems to arise to let him know how

> I

>> > am

>> >> > doing. I drop him a line now and then.

>> >> >

>> >> > My greatest difficulty now is being patient and allowing my

> body

>> > to

>> >> > heal without pushing it too hard. I had a lot of bouts with

>> >> > depression in the beginning, but I think a lot of it was due

> to

>> > the

>> >> > medication which hadn't quite left my body. I still get tired

>> > easily

>> >> > and I wonder if I will ever be able to do all the things I

> want

>> > to

>> >> > do, but I comfort myself with the fact that at least I'm not

> in

>> >> > severe pain anymore and that's a beautiful thing.

>> >> >

>> >> > Hope I haven't gone on too long. Wish all of you the best of

>> > luck

>> >> > and a positive outcome as you tackle this problem. Please

> let me

>> >> > know if I can be of any help. Joanne

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> >

>> >> > scoliosis veterans * flatback sufferers * revision candidates

>> >> >

[Guest guest]

Sharon - I know what you're going through with your family.

I had the same problem before going in for surgery. While I knew I wasn't going to die, I could not seem to get them to understand the severity and difficulty of the surgeries I was about to go through. They were reacting like I was going in to have my tonsils taken out while I was, rightly, frightened to death.

When the time actually came, however, and I was in having the surgery, the reality hit them quite hard.

I'm happy to be able to say that when it came to the hard part of being there every day, they rose to the occasion and ran interference for me, making sure nothing was slipping through the cracks that could wind up causing me additional pain or stress.

Don't laugh, but now I complain about looking so good again that they don't realize I'm still in the healing process and need help sometimes. They are once again responding with the familiar " Oh you can do it", while Dr. Glazer is telling me I shouldn't do "it" or anything if possible until September.

This time, however, I have a mix of emotions. On the one hand I get angry that they are not still seeing what they can do to help.

On the other hand, it has forced me to push and get back on my feet faster than I might have and I am regaining my independence, which is a good thing. The thing I had the hardest time handling emotionally while I was in the hospital was the feeling of total dependence for everything.

Don't apologize for reacting emotionally. You're entitled until you get through this. Once you have it done your family will have a better understanding.

I'm close with my brothers and sister, but we learned a lot about each other through this. While I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone, you gain a whole new respect for each other and it can bring you closer in many ways. We look back on it now and find a lot of things we can laugh about (though they weren't funny at the time).

Stay in touch. Let me know if I can help. Fortunately time passes quickly and it will be behind you before you know it. Joanne

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the encouragement, Joanne.

My sister (who has been married for 20 years to the aforementioned brother-in-law) wore a Milwaukee brace for 2 years and watched me go through the surgery when we were kids. Later my father also had Harrington rod surgery. When I told her they now know that scoliosis can continue to progress for life, and she really should get check-ups, she said "Why? I am NOT going to have surgery!!" She has seen it up-close. She also still dreams about the Milwaukee sometimes. So she surely understands. I guess I just have to realize that spouses don't learn stuff by osmosis.

One of these days I really ought to digitize my x-rays so I can print them, and pull them out when I'm explaining my condition to people. I always love it when people say, "I have a bad back too."

I'm hoping my sister will agree to come up from SC and stay with us for a while after my surgery, because my husband will surely be at a loss, and I don't have family living less than an hour away. But I haven't been able to bring myself to ask her. She doesn't seem to think I'll really be stupid enough to let anyone cut into my spine again. It's not like she is ignorant. In addition to her own scoliosis experience, she is a biology professor, so she does have a pretty good handle on human anatomy and physiology. Maybe I am stupid. But she doesn't live in my chronically tense, inflamed, and exhausted body.

It still worries me that after 50 or so years of treating scoliosis with fusion surgery, and trying to mop up (or wish away) the problems it causes in later years, all the scoliosis surgical profession has to offer is more fusion. Improved, perhaps, but still a lesser-of-two-evils solution. I also have a half-sister who received a non-instrumented fusion 4 years before mine. She doesn't appear to have flatback, but she does have a lot of pain problems that I strongly suspect are from the fusion.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to know less than I do. Here's a question I'd really like to ask a revision surgeon before committing to surgery. "If you were in my condition, would you have the surgery you are proposing?"

Anyway, I do appreciate the encouragement, Joanne, and will indeed keep in touch. Perhaps we can meet one of these days.

Sharon

Re: [ ] Re: New member

Sharon - I know what you're going through with your family.

I had the same problem before going in for surgery. While I knew I wasn't going to die, I could not seem to get them to understand the severity and difficulty of the surgeries I was about to go through. They were reacting like I was going in to have my tonsils taken out while I was, rightly, frightened to death.

When the time actually came, however, and I was in having the surgery, the reality hit them quite hard.

I'm happy to be able to say that when it came to the hard part of being there every day, they rose to the occasion and ran interference for me, making sure nothing was slipping through the cracks that could wind up causing me additional pain or stress.

Don't laugh, but now I complain about looking so good again that they don't realize I'm still in the healing process and need help sometimes. They are once again responding with the familiar " Oh you can do it", while Dr. Glazer is telling me I shouldn't do "it" or anything if possible until September.

This time, however, I have a mix of emotions. On the one hand I get angry that they are not still seeing what they can do to help.

On the other hand, it has forced me to push and get back on my feet faster than I might have and I am regaining my independence, which is a good thing. The thing I had the hardest time handling emotionally while I was in the hospital was the feeling of total dependence for everything.

Don't apologize for reacting emotionally. You're entitled until you get through this. Once you have it done your family will have a better understanding.

I'm close with my brothers and sister, but we learned a lot about each other through this. While I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone, you gain a whole new respect for each other and it can bring you closer in many ways. We look back on it now and find a lot of things we can laugh about (though they weren't funny at the time).

Stay in touch. Let me know if I can help. Fortunately time passes quickly and it will be behind you before you know it. Joanne

[Guest guest]

Hi 'Ron',

Sorry to hear of your plight! I have stenosis and spondyliothesis,

and spondo... etc. in both lumbar and cervical spine. Yup, it's pure

hell. Surgery is still not an option- as far as I'm concerned it

never will be! I spend much of my day using cold pacs and a heating

pad, doing my PT stuff, cervical traction, TENS, I have an at home

ultrasound (my wife helps with this!), hot bath/shower, we do

reflexology and accupressure. Basically I do lots of things to 'keep

busy' through the day- all aimed at easing/releiving pain. Sometimes

the pain lessens, sometimes (rarely!) it goes away, sometimes it gets

worse. The pain/cramp thing seems to have a life of its own.

I've tried ESI, RFablation, nerve bloc, several meds- it's been a real

trip! As you probably know by now, frustration, anger, and depression

are also a big part of the 'mix' we have to deal with.

A couple of things I think may be of some help are: get an advocate.

This is someone who knows you well, cares about you and is

willing/able to make the effort to document your symptoms/reactions,

deal with (fight) your doctors/insurance carriers, etc. A wife does

this in a most excellent way! Next, keep records (your advocate can

do this)- of all your dr. appointments, meds & reactions, PT

appointments, costs of meds & supplies, 'lost time'. Keep a 'pain

journal'- note the type of pain you have, where it is, if/how

it 'moves', how long it lasts, what you do to ease it/ what makes it

worse; you may want to make entries every 3 or 4 hours for the first

few days until you get the hang of it. Use a summary of the pain

journal to tell your doc what is going on.

All this is a lot of work, but necessary. When you get around to

applying for disability the documantation will be priceless.

I gather from your post that you belong to Kaiser health system? If

they have a pain clinic- or pain specialist, you really want to get

referred to that service. I am reluctant to speak ill of any insurance

provider/health provider system. However, having said that, these

companies are in the busines of making money- that's 'job one'. If you

are getting the care you need, great! I used the VA for a while until

I found that the drugs I needed weren't in their stock. The docs

acted like the drugs didn't exist- even accused me of being

a 'druggie'! So, being part of a 'closed' system may be OK, or it may

be severly limiting! When you get on disability the whole world of

medical 'help' is open to you.

Good luck with it all. I'm sorry this is so long- just nature of the

beast!

God bless you

> Hi all. I am 58 years old and have severe back pain for nearly

> fifteen years. I am a truck driver by trade and recently have gone

> out on temporary disability due to a heart condition and back pain.

>

[Guest guest]

thanks and i appreciate your help, I am currently applying to S.S.A.

for disability but expect to be denied at least the first time

around. It seems like everybody is shot down the first time.

> > Hi all. I am 58 years old and have severe back pain for nearly

> > fifteen years. I am a truck driver by trade and recently have

gone

> > out on temporary disability due to a heart condition and back

pain.

> >

[Guest guest]

Dear Nan,

Boy, our stories are so similar, it's such a relief to have a diagnosis, I cried all the way home from my surgeons office, such a blessing to have a name for what was wrong, and someone who understood and listened. Where are you in the country? There are members here across the country, and a list of many fine surgeons who do revision surgery. Welcome, and know that we are glad you're here, and we'll help in any way we can!

Colorado Springs

[ ] New Member

My name is Nan, and I have just been diagnosed with "flatback". I have been suffering for about 15 years, after the birth of my last child. As my husband was being transferred quite a bit, I have been to several orthopedists all over the south who all said that they could see nothing wrong in my MRI's. Thankfully, I have a great MD here that said she would not give up on me, and referred me to another ortho. It was he that diagnosed it just last week. He has done an MRI with contrast, that he said would show me how much scar tissue I have from the previous surgeries. He did tell me that the revision surgery was something to think about, and he would fill me in at the next appt. Of course, he did say that he does not perform the surgery, but would let me know who would. I have been just reading everyone's post's for the last week, and you all seem like a great group, so here I am. I do have lots of questions, so I am hoping for a few answers from those have been through it. I am obviously just starting what I think will be a long process, but I am ready to go forward with this.Thanks for listening! I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.

[Guest guest]

Nan - I suffered from back pain for many years too. I had the harrington rods inserted in 1967. I would go to many ortho drs and they would tell me everything looked good. I spent some time of the web and diagnosed myself with flatback. I checked on drs in Miami who specialized in flatback and made an appt with one. I had the revision surgery in 2003. It was a major undertaking. It took me a year before I was back to 'normal'. I had some of the hardware removed July 7th 2005. I hope I won't have to have anymore surgery. I am fused from T-2 to the sacrum. But, I don't lean forward anymore. After the revision surgery I gained 2 inches in height. I wish you well in finding a good surgeon. Kathy G.dams4all <dams4all@...> wrote:

My name is Nan, and I have just been diagnosed with "flatback". I have been suffering for about 15 years, after the birth of my last child. As my husband was being transferred quite a bit, I have been to several orthopedists all over the south who all said that they could see nothing wrong in my MRI's. Thankfully, I have a great MD here that said she would not give up on me, and referred me to another ortho. It was he that diagnosed it just last week. He has done an MRI with contrast, that he said would show me how much scar tissue I have from the previous surgeries. He did tell me that the revision surgery was something to think about, and he would fill me in at the next appt. Of course, he did say that he does not perform the surgery, but would let me know who would. I have been just reading

everyone's post's for the last week, and you all seem like a great group, so here I am. I do have lots of questions, so I am hoping for a few answers from those have been through it. I am obviously just starting what I think will be a long process, but I am ready to go forward with this.Thanks for listening! I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Start your day with - make it your home page

[Guest guest]

Hi Nan..

You have had a bit of a shock, no doubt, even though it sounds like

you suspected all was not well with your back. It really is good to

know that you are not making it up and that there is a reason you

feel like you do. On the other hand....there you are, facing more

issues; pain,surgery etc.. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,

to say the least, but I can assure you you will find many here who

can understand where you are.

As Kathy says, we are a friendly group. In order to help keep

everyone's story straight, when you can, please post a more complete

story so we can get to know you better and put you over in the

database/file for reference as time goes on. It helps us keep each

other's situations straight in our minds...and will help new members

join the conversation buy knowing a little about the current members.

I look forward to spending time with you, Cam

[e

> My name is Nan, and I have just been diagnosed with " flatback " . I

> have been suffering for about 15 years, after the birth of my last

> child. As my husband was being transferred quite a bit, I have

been

> to several orthopedists all over the south who all said that they

> could see nothing wrong in my MRI's. Thankfully, I have a great MD

> here that said she would not give up on me, and referred me to

> another ortho. It was he that diagnosed it just last week. He

has

> done an MRI with contrast, that he said would show me how much

scar

> tissue I have from the previous surgeries. He did tell me that

the

> revision surgery was something to think about, and he would fill

me

> in at the next appt. Of course, he did say that he does not

perform

> the surgery, but would let me know who would.

>

> I have been just reading everyone's post's for the last week, and

> you all seem like a great group, so here I am. I do have lots of

> questions, so I am hoping for a few answers from those have been

> through it. I am obviously just starting what I think will be a

> long process, but I am ready to go forward with this.

>

> Thanks for listening! I'm looking forward to getting to know

> everyone.

[Guest guest]

Hey Kathy - Are you in a safe spot? I've been thinking through who

lives in the southeast region of the US and couldn't remember exactly

where you were. I hope all is well where you are. ~kam

[Guest guest]

Kam - Katrina didn't affect me. I was in Naples and we got some rain and wind. I feel so bad for those who were hit. Thanks for asking. Kathy G.advokam <advokam@...> wrote:

Hey Kathy - Are you in a safe spot? I've been thinking through who lives in the southeast region of the US and couldn't remember exactly where you were. I hope all is well where you are. ~kam

Start your day with - make it your home page

[Guest guest]

Good to know you are safe. I am sure we will all know people affected

by this at some point. It does keep things in perspective, no?

kam

[Guest guest]

I am all to familiar with doctors not wanting to do much I have had

problems my entire life with doctors who do not take me seriously.

I have been mentioning my neck to the doctor for at least 3 years I

noticed a year ago that lump when I tilt my head back so I made the

doctor feel it when I went in a month ago because I was sick as a dog (

I caught a cold from my granddaughter and it went into pneumonia ) and

that is when he ordered xrays he said the pain doctor will probably

order an MRI.

I have had nothing but problems for the last 5 years I found out I had

cervical cancer and had to have a hysterectomy then I could not see

anymore and had to have cataract surgery on both eyes then developed

capsuls over the implants and had to have surgery on both eyes again

then still could not see due to huge floaters so had to have surgery

again I was suppose to have surgery again on the other eye but I said

screw it I still can't see so why have surgery that will do no good then

my gallbladder went bad and I had to have surgery and now my neck my eye

and gallbladder surgeries all took place in a 6 month period last year

so I have had my share of surgeries

Our health insurance requires a second and third opinion for any

surgeries for cervical disc problems so I am sure they would not approve

it anyway. I only worry about when my neck snaps and I almost pass out

that scares me. I went to the doctor 7 years ago for the muscle spasms

in my back and because I don't walk right he thought I had MS so I had

to go to a neurologist and have tests and he told me I was fine now I

wonder if my neck was bad way back then and that was what was causing

the muscle spasms and my not walking right.

My husband is an over the road truck deiver so he is never home so can't

go with me but I really don't want him to come to the doctor with me he

is to much in my business as it is as far as my health goes I try not to

let him know how bad things are because he will go tell his mom and she

is in her 80's and then worries herself into a tizzy or he will tell me

you need to tell the doctor this and that which I have done and the

doctor dismisses me so I try not to let my hubby know how bad things are

since the doctors won't do anything anyway.

I am not to sure about pain therapy after that awful experience with the

fentanal patch I got so sick from that patch. If they could give me

something for the muscle spasms I would be happy my doctor tried me of

flexeral but it made me tired I have fibromyaliga so I am already tired

I am on provigil for fatigue which has helped so I try to avoid meds

that make me tired but the muscle spasms are getting so bad now I can't

take it anymore and now I am getting a feeling in my arms and legs that

feels like electric current running through my limbs and my fingers go

numb which is bad because I do allot of crafts and sewing and it makes

it hard when your fingers are numb. I noticed even the end of my tongue

feels tingly so I have no idea if part of this is my imagination or not

I also get dizzy if I turn my head to fast and sometimes I will be

walking and just fall over for no reason so I always try to walk near

something so if I loose my balance I can catch myself.

I have never kept a pain journal I never heard of a pain journal before

I have so much pain every day guess I am just use to it right now it is

really bad I live in northern Indiana and our weather is changeing so I

think it is causing me more pain. I have major problems falling asleep

because I get really bad pain in my hips and lower back then will sleep

for a couple hours and the pain wakes me up if I sleep on my back I will

end up with a major headache. I also have osteoperosis in my left hip

and I notice that is the hip that bothers me really bad when I lay down.

It would be nice if they can find something to take away some of the

pain I noticed that my pain seems to have consumed me to the point I

have no quality of life anymore so I know I really need to do something

about it I have just had such bad luck with doctors I sometimes dont

think it is worth the effort anymore to even try to get help since no

one seems to want to help me. I just feel like if you ask for something

for pain the doctors view you as some kind of drug addict or something

I am sorry to ramble on I just get really frustrated over all the

medical problems and lack of help from doctors. Thanks so much for your

suggestions I will write down the questions you suggest I should ask the

doctor

Pamm

[Guest guest]

pamm, welcome to our group. a pain doctor is someone who will try to

alleviate the pain by non surgical means. i love my pain doctor. she has

helped

me tremendously. good luck. marsha

[Guest guest]

Hi Pamm, and welcome!

It sounds like we have a lot in common. I get all the same symptoms

you listed- plus when my neck swells my eyes go blurry! My lumbar

spine has the same mess going on there too (DDD, stenosis, a

few 'spondo' thingies, etc.).

As for pain docs- well, they are not all the same. Some prefer pills,

some needles, some therapy, some a combination, some go for surgery.

It all depends on what their specialty is. Most reputable surgeons

will refuse surgery if there is a viable option. They often just tell

you: 'There's nothing I can do', and just leave you hanging! They

don't have the best communications skills.

If you go back through the Postings, you'll notice there is a lot of

frustration involved with finding a pain management doctor. Be ready

for a long quest!

A few questions you might want to ask:

What procedure/meds do you recommend for ____?

If this isn't effect, what else can we try?

How will my current meds effect the treatment?

What releif/side effects will the new meds cause?

What other meds/procedure are available?

If I have a 'flare-up' how quickly can I get in to see you?

You may want to bring your husband with you. YOU are in pain and may

not attend/remember what the doc says. You might want to talk to you

primary physician about what the pain doc recommends and get his view

on things.

If you are faced with surgey, you would do well to check out:

www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/020408fa_FACT

It is an 8 page article about surgery and several docs discuss the

pros and cons very candidly. The info is priceless.

If you aren't keeping a pain journal, now is a good time to start.

I hope some of this helps.

GBY

> Hello,

> I am a new member to the group. I just recently found out I have

> I am hoping someone can tell me what to expect when I go to the pain

> doctor and what questions I should ask and if my symptoms sound like

> they may be due to the degenerative disc disease in my cervical

spine.

> Thanks for any information.

> Pamm

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

It appears at first glance to be hormonal imbalance.

What type of doctors are you seeing and for what? Your

med for thyroid is what? What tests have been run for

the thyroid? How is your diet? Since you are over the

age of 30, your body no longer produces its own

digestive enzymes in enough quantity to have adequate

nutrition in your blood stream without overeating

compounded with the fact that your hypothyroid may be

undertreated. You might consider enzyme rich foods

like homemade yogurt and kefir.

You'll see a lot of remarks in past posts in the

archive relating to treating the symptoms instead of

lab results. Treating lab results is something that

most doctors are trained to do instead of symptoms. A

sign of improper treatment of the thyroid is skin

issues and bloating (more signs of undertreating). It

is a fine balance to be right in the middle between

hyper and hypo. Please post all your lab results for

the last couple of times along with your dosage at the

time of the lab test. I know that Kerry, Chuck and

Gracia will want to comment.

I have learned to listen to my body and adjust my

dosage accordingly. I have found an endo who listens

and will follow my treatment philosophy but also makes

her recomendation, and together a concensus is

reached. For example, although my latest TSH was .13

and she showed concern of possible hyper, she agreed

to continue the current dosage that I determined

provided that a bone density test was done to make

sure my calcium absorption was still acceptable which

it is.

There is no ONE answer to hypothyroidism, it is

understanding its effects to the body, and providing

your body with what it needs to compensate for what

the thyroid can no longer do for itself.

It can be a long road, I have just recently figured

out a system that works for me that alows me on most

days to have a cheerful outlook on life and an

abundance of energy. :-)

Mike

--- hypotomus <velvet07_oz@...> wrote:

> Hi all, Ive been dealing with Hypothyroidism for

> three years, and have

> seesawed on medication dosage of 125 - 100mcg. I am

> 41 years of age,

> and have always been active. I now never have

> enough energy for the

> simplest tasks. I weigh only 49kg but seem to be

> always bloated, but

> my biggest concern is the condition of my skin. I

> always seem to

> suffer breakouts almost an acne type. Its so hard

> to follow a skin

> care routine as one moment im dry and scaly then the

> next day im oily

> and broken out. I am hoping someone else may have

> this problem and

> have a wonderful remedy that worked for them. I

> have tried a

> naturopath and a million products off the shelf plus

> an antibiotic

> cream from the doctor....but no great results.

> thankyou..

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store./redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Welcome to our group my friend! You've come to the right place for

sure. After you've had a chance to read my main article " How to

Successfully Overcome Candida " please do get back to us with questions,

etc. But we are always here to support you. It is tough to eliminate

foods that feed candida because they are very addictive, so you will go

through withdrawal symptoms and have severe cravings - check out the

article on " Withdrawal Symptoms " in the " Candida Diet " folder, which

also contains some very handy diet lists. One of the top symptoms of

candida sufferers is cravings for sugars, high carbs, grains, etc.,

which as you will see must all be eliminated in order to get well.

Hang in there . You can beat this candida beast! Many of us

have been in your shoes so we understand and will help you. If you get

a chance also read " Bee's Personal Candida Story " in the files (after

all of the folders).

Education is the key !

The best, Bee

wrote:

> Hi, I've been looking for some type of support group for a long time.

> I am 23 and have been suffering what I believe to be the effects of

> Candida ever since I was 16, probably well before that. I have always

> gotten ill easily and had terrible headaches, etc. I don't even know

> what living a normal life is like because I'm afraid that anything I

> put in my mouth, or am intimate with my partner, will cause a flair

> up. I have tried the candida diet three times, and each time I can

> only stick with it for about two weeks. My symptoms disappear for a

> little while, and return. I am usually disuaded from the diet by my

> live-in boyfriend, who doesn't diet. I am so happy to find a

> community that will hopefully be able to remind me that I am not

> alone, and that candida can be overcome.

[Guest guest]

,

You are definitely not alone in your journey. I am glad to hear of your

successful surgery. One thing you need to be able to do is put your faith in the

Lord Jesus Christ and take it one day at a time. Having any type of back

problems is a life changing situation of whom many recover fully with few

limitations. There are others who in turn have had unsuccessful surgeries and

are

now paralyzed so be thankful of your outcome.

You mention you are 32 and I want your to know that I am 38 and have

inoperable thoracic disc extrusions compressing my spinal cord (looks like a

kidney

bean). I have very few neurological symptoms but have much pain. I am taking

lots of meds including the Fentanyl patch, percocets, Neurontin, lyvica,

Cymbalta, and provigil to name a few. I am taking the equivalent of ~700 mg oral

morphine/day. If I think past tomorrow, I too sometimes loose sight of the

challenge before me. Looking to far forward will lead to depression or worse in

some cases. Pain is a very real problem that is not often tank serious enough

in the US. I am fortunate that I have a great pain management doctor who is

compassionate and willing to try new drugs to alleviate my pain. My average

pain level on a daily basis is 7/10 even when taking all the drugs.

I want you to know that you aren't alone and will get plenty of support from

the members of this group. I am lucky to have a very loving wife and family

along with great church and church family. All are genuinely concerned and

will do anything to help us out. I pray that you have the same type of support

system to rely on. Take it easy and try not to re-injure your back. I share

your love for horses as do my girls.

Feel free to ask any questions. Remember, one day at a time.

Take care and God Bless you.,