Well there goes my active lifestyle....errrr...

[Harrybaby666]

Hi Gang,
I just wanted to post and tell you all that I got the results of an MRI I had done last month, and boy is this a whopper...even though it's not cardiac related, I just thought I would let you all know anyway....I was told that I have "Congenital Spinal Stenosis" which means that I was born with a spinal canal that is too small, and thus is now causing me pain 24/7 and is bringing on Degenerative Disc Disease and Osteoarthritis all through my spine..I asked my doctor about operating (my pcp) and he told me that I was at the end of my road, that there was nothing more that anyone could do for me, and that they would not operate on me anymore because of my heart, diabetes and all my other wonderful illnesses.. This is the second time I have heard this out of a primary doctor...so right now they are giving me steroid shots in my back (epidural) once a month and even that is starting to wear thin as they are giving me almost the maximum dose that they can. I don't know if this will help anyone else on this website, but I thought that it would be at least worth mentioning.....

 

[hensylee]

Uh oh, Harry - that is bad news. I am so sorry to hear this - but you know that we are here 24/7 when you need to talk and I think you probably will. My prayers are going as we speak. Bless you, Harry. I don't know what else to say. This is really sad to hear.

 

[geebee]

Harry,

Don't know what to say except I am sorry for this news. I will pray that the shots start helping more rather than less. Miracles still do happen.

 

[bvdr]

Sorry about your news, Harry. Hope you can find some relief for the pain.

 

[Abbanabba]

Wow Harry - that's a really tough break! Have you sought a second opinion about surgery or other treatment options? So often people are told this, only to have someone else be able to help them..... it might be worth a shot.

I'll be sending an extra load of positive thoughts your way Harry.......

All the best
Anna : )

 

[Harrybaby666]

Thanks Ann, Gina, Betty and Anna!!

Thanks Ann, Gina, Betty and Anna!!

Well, at least they finally got to the bottom of things at the Pain Care Center.....This all started because they found that my left leg was getting weaker and weaker and thus the MRI was needed. So far the epidurals are helping, but I am getting shorter and shorter on how far I am able to walk and I am also not able to stay on my feet for any longer than say 20 minutes now, so I have a feeling that I will be heading for either a scooter or wheelchair at some point I don't have to get a second opinion from the Pain Dr. Anna, because he has been the most honest and caring doctor (THANK GOD FOR THAT!!!) that I have had out of all my doctors with the other exception being my Pulmonologist, Dr. Reeves. Thanks for all your support, and yes Ann, I will be needing more as time goes on...Thanks Again, Harrybaby666

 

[Debrinha GT]

I can't believe it!

I can't believe it!

Hi Harry, so sorry to hear that and I really can't believe that a person as nice and caring as you are has to go through yet another ordeal in life. I remember you mentioning that some time ago and I think we even talked about it on yahoo messenger. Take care and get in touch. I miss our chats. By the way, I took Milady to the vet today to get a couple of shots and right enough, I had to put the muzzle on her, and that was after having given her 10 drops of a tranquilizer 40 mminutes before the appointment. The vet took a couple of pics of her and said she'd send them to my email. I promise to send them on to you as well as a couple of my new house. Talking of such, how are you getting on in your new place? Any photos taken yet? LOL!!
Débora

 

[kurli]

Sorry to hear about your bad news. Will say a little prayer for your pain

 

[Yaps]

Harry

Harry

I have arthritis in my spine ,neck.. so I know how it feels..sorry you are in pain..love yaps

 

[Nancy]

Harry-

I am so sorry to hear your news. You have been through so much, and now this.

I guess, throughout all of Joe's travails, I have not listened at all to the "end of the road" statements. So I hope you will not take this as gospel and will still keep pursuing another opinion. For every 10 doctors who can't handle something, there will be one who will know how to do it.

I hope you will find that one.

 

[Harrybaby666]

I am pressing on...but....

I am pressing on...but....

I am also getting tired of bouncing around from doc to doc, and my current PCP has complained to me about this matter as well, but what am I supposed to do when i don't feel that the docs are doing enough? As I had said earlier, the only two docs I have total faith in are my pain care doctor, and my pulmonologist...but everyone else aweful...I am getting ready to leave for Portland Maine to see a cardiologist who is affiliated with Maine Medical Center and I hope that I get some answers from him this afternoon...I mean, when I talked to the Cardiovascular surgeon's nurse, she told me that there was alot more testing that they can do (TEE, MUGA, both of which I have heard mentioned here NUMEROUS times), but I am wondering if because of my being on medicaid, I am not getting the same quality of care as someone who has a good insurance policy...I don't mean to sound like this, but it's beginning to look like it. I REALLY have my doubts as to the capabilities of my current PCP at the moment....Thanks for all the support. Harrybaby666

 

[Marguerite53]

sounds painful

sounds painful

Hi Harry. I had a bout with cervical stenosis after I moved my household 2 years ago and it was scary! Lots of pins and needles feelings and lots of pain. I want to suggest chiropractics to you. I don't know if your medicare will cover it. It can be expensive. However, if it is something you are willing to try, perhaps your PCP will figure out a way to get you covered since he isn't able to do enough.

I used Google on chiropractic for spinal stenosis and got several good websites. Be sure to narrow in on spinal stenosis, not cervical as the neck region is handled much differently.

Here is a smattering of what was said on this link:
http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/spinalstenosis/spinal_sten.htm#spine_i
What Are Some Alternative Therapies for Spinal Stenosis?

Alternative (or complementary) therapies are diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Some examples of these therapies used to treat spinal stenosis follow:

Chiropractic treatment?This treatment is based on the philosophy that restricted movement in the spine reduces proper function and may cause pain. Chiropractors may manipulate (adjust) the spine in order to restore normal spinal movement. They may also employ traction, a pulling force, to help increase space between the vertebrae and reduce pressure on affected nerves. Some people report that they benefit from chiropractic care. Research thus far has shown that chiropractic treatment is about as effective as conventional, nonoperative treatments for acute back pain.

Acupuncture?This treatment involves stimulating certain places on the skin by a variety of techniques, in most cases by manipulating thin, solid, metallic needles that penetrate the skin. Research has shown that low back pain is one area in which acupuncture has benefited some people.

More research is needed before the effectiveness of these or other possible alternative therapies can be definitively stated. Health care providers may suggest these therapies in addition to more conventional treatments.

Good luck! Massage therapy might also be an option. Sorry you're hurting

Marguerite

 

[Ross]

Harry while none of this is funny, I have to say that I'm pretty well on my way to being Mr. Scooter man myself. Perhaps we should terrorize everyone when it occurs to the both of us? Just think, we can go into the super market and run folks over. Kids on skateboards? No problem, mow em down. Extra points if they have multicolored hair too!

 

[Barry]

Bummer.

An excellent pain pill that your doc may not have thought of is Methadone. Most folks think of it as what you give junkies to keep them off heroin. That too, but it's an excellent analgesic. Unfortunately, it's an addicting one, but that's not a problem so long as you don't start fooling around with the dose and stick with taking it only as prescribed.

Friend of mine has degenerative spinal disease and had tried any number of pain meds without much success. I suggested that she speak with her doc about Methadone, she did, he prescribed, and she's been doing much much better for about four years now.

I first stumbled across Methadone as an analgesic when I was a counselor and had a patient whose doc was prescribing it for severe chronic facial pain.

Has an interesting history: The Germans lost WWI largely due to the British naval blockade. When they were gearing up for what was to become WWII they began the "ersatz" program to see what strategic materials they could make synthetically in the lab - especially from the vast quantities of coal they had - and thus not be dependent upon importing it into Germany in the event of another naval blockade. Methadone was one of the things they came up with - it's basicly a synthetic substitute for morphine. That's also how synthetic oil (e.g. Mobil 1) was developed. Morphine and oil are two things you need a lot of if you're going to have a war, and before the Germans figured out how to synthesize them they had to import them.

Oh, yeah, another nice thing about Methadone is that it's been around so long that it's available as an inexpensive generic.

 

[Harrybaby666]

Bummer
Methadone was one of the things they came up with - it's basicly a synthetic substitute for morphine.

.

Thanks Barry for the tip....the pain doc has me on epidural shots once a month, and has me taking 1. Kadian (morphine) 60 mg twice daily, 2. Darvocet 100mg 3Xdaily, and Oxyprozin (Daypro) 600 mg 2XDaily for osteoarthritis....Does this mean I am a junkie? LOL LOL, actually though, I wanted to ask you if the morphine is actually better than the methadone, or does it matter? Thanks for the help. Harrybaby666

 

[Harrybaby666]

I could just see it now...lol

I could just see it now...lol

Harry while none of this is funny, I have to say that I'm pretty well on my way to being Mr. Scooter man myself. Perhaps we should terrorize everyone when it occurs to the both of us? Just think, we can go into the super market and run folks over. Kids on skateboards? No problem, mow em down. Extra points if they have multicolored hair too!

I could just see us now, doing the tag team scooter killing...lol sort of like the way they tag team wrestle on tv? We both could steer with one hand, hold up a clothesline with the other and really wrack them up...LOL LOL Whadda Ya Say Bud? LOL (DON'T MIND ME FOLKS...I AM JUST TRYING TO INNOCENTLY MAINTAIN MY SENSE OF HUMOR....LOL ) HARRYBABY666

 

[Harrybaby666]

Well....You Know......Your Hilarious yourself...lol

Well....You Know......Your Hilarious yourself...lol

Harry and Ross: You guys are so funny...!

I have to tell you, with my first C-spine fusion surgery, I had the whole nine yards - hard collar, walker, cane and a drug list similar to Harry's narcs! One of the best times I had during that whole ordeal was going to the grocery store and using those little scooter carts they have for handicapped individuals. Man, those things are fun - throw in some pain meds and it's psychedelic! And you can turn on the little blue light when you need something from the top shelf and someone will come help you - I had my blue light flashing all the time - they was runnin' around like crazy! My husband was embarrassed but heck, try finding a good time in a hard cervical collar!

This one is an absolute riot!!! I would have loved to be a bug on the wall on this one....lol lol But Seriously(Yeah...Right..LOL ) I try to maintain a sense of humor because hit helps me as I hope it helps other people...sometimes that's all we have....Harrybaby666

 

[Harrybaby666]

By The Way....Did I Mention....

By The Way....Did I Mention....

that I used one of those carts in walmart once, and they have the clothes racks so narrow, that one day I was trying to navagate a corner, and didn't make it, and drove the scooter up the side of a wall? LOL I about died of embarrasement Harrybaby666

 

[Harrybaby666]

Oohhh A Real Storewrecker!! Lol

Oohhh A Real Storewrecker!! Lol

Heck, I knocked a bunch of ketchup bottles off of the shelf and I gunned it down the next aisle! I was giggling the whole way!

MUST HAVE BEEN THE DRUGS? LOL HARRYBABY666

 

[Ross]

Spider wire! They'll never see it coming and we can knock a whole bunch down in one charge.