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I know how to thread needles without actually squinting, learned the secret decades ago. You make sure the end of your thread isn't all fuzzy, then you hold the end of the thread between your thumb and forefinger, and I do mean the very tip of it, so that you can't see it at all. Then you hold the needle with the other hand and put the eye between that thumb and forefinger and push it over the end of the thread. I.e., you needle the thread, you don't thread the needle. Works surprisingly well.
How awful. As someone who suffered from chronic pain for years, I can sympathize. I really hope the surgery works. I've had back surgery myself and it worked out well so I wish the same for you. When it works, it makes all of the difference in the world. Living in pain 24/7 is a nightmare.
The doctor wants to send me to a rehab hospital, but I don't want to go. I used to work there, so I know what it's all about. Three hours a day minimum of PT, and a stay of one to two weeks. I would rather go to a nearby PT facility as an outpatient, and that's what I'm planning on. As long as I can drive, I will go.
Ask for a consultation with a physical therapist before surgery, so that you can get instructions and have a good idea how to be careful with yourself. After surgery, go to all your appointments with the therapist, and do everything he or she tells you to. Those are the best tips I know of to make back surgery successful.
Margret
Thanks for the tip, Margret! I'm going to try that. I remember when I used to go up to Mom's and thread about 20 needles for her with different colored threads, so that she was prepared to sew when she needed to. I couldn't do that now if my life depended on it. I should just buy a needle threader and be done with it. I don't sew often because I'm not fond of it at all, but if a button needs to be resewn or a hem needs repair, well, I have to do it then. Rick told me to just take the pants into the drycleaner and have them re-hem them, but I figured I could do it myself. The hem doesn't look bad at all, but I don't know how long it will last.
That is the result that I will be visualizing for you! Daily.
My beloved Uncle Chuck had horrible back problems after working in construction all his life; he was so hunched over that it hurt just to look at him! But he was trying to take care of himself, visited his doctor regularly, did everything she told him to do. Then one day he developed horrible belly pains and went to his doctor. She said "Well, Mr. C******, when you're all hunched over like that, all your organs get squished together. This is bound to cause pain, and there's nothing we can do about it. I'm sorry." It was an obvious diagnosis. What it didn't take into account was the fact that his back had been like this for many years but the belly pain was new. And, unfortunately, doctors who order tests when they already have an obvious diagnosis risk being accused of Medicare or insurance fraud.
Anti-seizure drugs work on pain? Not in my experience. I'm on Keppra because of epilepsy caused by the brain tumor and surgery, but I still get headaches and the Keppra did nothing for the pain while my broken arm was healing. That required Oxycodone.
Of course they'd miss you! Aren't you their favorite bed? And can opener? And toy swinger? And litter box cleaner? Oh yes, and they love you as much as you love them.The doctor wants to send me to a rehab hospital, but I don't want to go. I used to work there, so I know what it's all about. Three hours a day minimum of PT, and a stay of one to two weeks. I would rather go to a nearby PT facility as an outpatient, and that's what I'm planning on. As long as I can drive, I will go.Ask for a consultation with a physical therapist before surgery, so that you can get instructions and have a good idea how to be careful with yourself. After surgery, go to all your appointments with the therapist, and do everything he or she tells you to. Those are the best tips I know of to make back surgery successful.
Margret
I'd like to think the cats will miss me if I'm gone for two weeks.
Be careful using things like sugar and rice that way. If the wind can get at it so can the rain.
I kid you not, Lyrica is excellent for pain. I went through two misdiagnoses and 2½ months of pain when I finally wheedled Lyrica from my doctor. My PT told me to ask for Neurontin for pain, but he opted for Lyrica instead. Even with having to quit PT early due to my move, within 2 weeks the bulk of the pain was gone. The doctor stopped it early but apparently that short course not just suppressed pain, it cured me of what was causing the pain. By the end of the following month all pain was gone and I had regained all my muscle strength (I had lost a lot of muscle strength in that arm).
Ah, it's a specific anti-convulsant. Pain, especially nerve pain, is the first use for Lyrica on the website I found (http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/lyrica). I believe the same mechanism that Lyrica uses to block pain signals is the mechanism it uses in the brain to block convulsions. Neurontin appears to be similar. Keppra, on the other hand (the drug I'm on) is for seizures and nothing else.
Apparently Neurontin would have done the same thing, just with more side effects and potential interaction effects (I'm on 3 long-term medications). And Depakote is used for migraine pain. Tegretol is used for facial pain. WebMD and Drugs.com both say that older anti-seizure medicines are equally effective on pain but just have lots more side effects.
