Lived Experience Forum

[Dimity]

@tyme Ziera have lots of orthotic-friendly styles. I'm a fan of their Gummibear mary janes. 

[Shaz51]

Ouch @tyme ❤️

Ohh my hips are bad today 

Through the night I find it hard to move with the aches and pains @Dimity 

[Emelia8]

Thanks for tagging me @Dimity and no, you are definitely not intruding. 

I'm sorry you are dealing with all this. It sounds painful, as well as restricting. Back pain really is the worst! 

I have dealt with severe lumbar back pain for many years as a result of a serious injury some 24 years ago. I managed it over the years,  with osteo, physio, chiro, hydro, anti inflam meds, strong pain meds as needed, bed rest at times when I was unable to roll out of bed,  etc. 

Then a couple of years ago the nerve pain increased to the extent that the pain became unbearable. I had no choice then other than to agree to major spinal surgery. Something I avoided over the years. 

Last year I had major surgery in Feb just to basically get me through to later in the year when I could be scheduled for further surgery. Spent 2 months in hospital then. But it relieved some of the pressure off the nerves.  Still had big problems with legs though and needed walking stick to get around as I awaited further surgery in November last year. 

Last November I went through 2 major spinal surgeries 4 days apart to free up the impinged nerves,  remove the damaged disc material, jack up the spaces between several collapsed spinal discs, put in some bone graft in a cage to hold them up, and fuse the spine at 3 levels. 

Again I was in hospital for 8 weeks recovering. Rehab was tough and is still ongoing. 

I know you hear some awful stories about unsuccessful spinal surgeries. But touch wood, it was a success for me and I dont regret it one bit. 

I live relatively pain free for the first time in over 24 years. And most people cannot even imagine what that is like. 😊

Yes I have restrictions, and always will. But thats nothing compared to the restrictions I had before,  due to pain. 

So yes,  if you want someone to talk to who understands ... thats me. And although I dont come on here all that much these days,  I am happy to chat when I do come on. 

As for your treatment,  I hope you find something that provides some relief, from both pain and symptoms. 

Emelia 🌷

[tyme]

Thank you for sharing @Emelia8 . It's great to see you online. It feels like it's been a long time since I last saw you.

Hope you are okay.

[Shaz51]

Hugs my @Emelia8 ❤️❤️

[Dimity]

Sorry to hear that @Shaz51. I find some positions give relief re back. But arthritis and nerve pain (pinched nerves) not so much. Actually my cat had good relief from an arthritis injection that the vet said was so good it was being trialled on humans. 

Actually he (the cat) just yelled st me for dinner - I'd better feed him.

[Shaz51]

Ha yes my cat did that too @Dimity 😁

What kind of cat do you have 

Mine was a tortoiseshell like @Jynx cat 

Called Missie 

[Dimity]

Thankyou @Emelia8 for responding and sharing. I'm sorry you've been through so much, and such massive surgical interventions, but it's good to hear they were successful and you're now relatively pain free. I hope and trust your rehab continues to go well.

I've been inconvenienced more than anything, with the intermittent pain and restrictions. My gp's ongoing dismissal may be mh stigma but I found a physio and osteopath who diagnosed likely causation and the osteopath insisted I follow through with the MRI that confirmed it. It's good to know there's light at the end of the tunnel (I've been very depressed, which is also limiting.

Thanks again, I appreciate your support - and I'll look forward to hearing your progress.

[Dimity]

@Shaz51 mine is a brown tabby short hair  tripod. He's got arthritis in the remaining hip. He's probably the most demanding cat I've had, and very talkative when awake. 

If you got another furbaby do you think it would be a cat or a dog? 

[Shaz51]

One of each @Dimity would be lovely 😍