lost update

[lostforawhile]

I wanted to give an update on my condition, I am out of the back brace, finally, been in it since the accident in January, the doctor says I am allowed to lift 20 pounds, I'm going to try and go back to work some, I was able to do some yard work and mow my lawn, it was a jungle out there! I've been doing small stuff on the car to get what I can finished, I still have pain in my legs and other crap, I guess I might as well get used to that, the vertebra in my back, stabilized at 50 percent collapse, and I only lost an inch in height, At least I'm not in a wheel chair, if it's ok with the mods I set up an account if anyone wants to help defray some of these medical costs, we are in a mess with me only receiving only partial EUC since January, we were supposed to get some money advanced on the future settlement, but that fell through, and it's looking like it may be a year before we see a dime, they shut off my wifes phone already, and we will lose our internet soon, as well as the car insurance, she is trying to update her old accounting degree online, then she will be able to work at a job she can sit down at, I have no options to go do side work, it's enough to get through the day as it is, just taking one day at a time, I know a lot of people have helped me in the past on here, it seems our bad luck never ends, I'm hoping the future will be better. if the info on here isnt appropriate, I will remove it. but it's here, the hospital copays alone ran over 2 grand so far, between all the CT scans and the brace, and a number of trips to the ER because my entire digestive system shut down, they think it was due to the shock of the impact, or something along those lines

http://gfwd.at/137PJTl


I also have a paypal, it's [email protected]



if nothing else I appreciate all the well wishes and encouragement so far, it's been a very long road, and it's not finished yet. one day yo are trying to take care of yourself and being healthy, then someone mows you down with a car

[2oodoor]

Ok you got mail.

[2oodoor]

Back injuries never let you be normal you just get used to it and train other muscles to do the work of the damaged circuits. Trust me I know all about it, I have to get approved myself now to get something done with this arthritus in my back and it's eating up my big toe and ruining my gate. Im scared to take on a new job that may make me stand all day and that sevey limits my field of job selections.

[lostforawhile]

Back injuries never let you be normal you just get used to it and train other muscles to do the work of the damaged circuits. Trust me I know all about it, I have to get approved myself now to get something done with this arthritus in my back and it's eating up my big toe and ruining my gate. Im scared to take on a new job that may make me stand all day and that sevey limits my field of job selections.

I'm hoping to see some sort of settlement in a year if i'm lucky, I'm going to take some of that and go back to school to do something else, if it gets worse,friends of ours took us to golden corral, and the guy serving the steaks said he had to wear one of those braces for a year, he broke his back in three places and fractured his skull, and he had managed to eventually go back to work, he was going 85 on a bike and someone pulled out in front of him

[lostforawhile]

2oodoor, sorry for the belated thank you, it's just been nuts, the help was very much appreciated, sometimes I wonder if I have some neurological damage too, I did land on my head from a good distance, I have been forgetting a lot of things lately, I dont seem to have lost any fabrication skills, just forget every day stuff, like I pay for my gas, and drive off without ever putting it in. They never did do any kinds of tests to check for things like that, might be time to see a neuro surgeon, I dont even think they ever did a ct scan of my head

[2oodoor]

Your welcome
Meds like gabapentin(neurontin) cymbalta, any opiods, benzos like klonopin, valium etc usd as muscle relaxers, bp meds like interol, nsiads with weird names ... All can cause the memory blanks. The gabapentin is the strangest.. When I was on 2000mg I could type a paragraph and words would just be missing completley as I proofread.

[Dr_Snooz]

Sorry I can't help financially, but my thoughts and prayers are with you. I fell and pulled a ligament in my shoulder last Friday and I'm not sure how long I'll be out with that. The last time I pulled a ligament, it was 6 months before I could use my arm again. Ugh. What do you plan to study when you return to school?

[lostforawhile]

Your welcome
Meds like gabapentin(neurontin) cymbalta, any opiods, benzos like klonopin, valium etc usd as muscle relaxers, bp meds like interol, nsiads with weird names ... All can cause the memory blanks. The gabapentin is the strangest.. When I was on 2000mg I could type a paragraph and words would just be missing completley as I proofread.

I'm not taking anything, I've refused any prescription pain meds from day one, it's too easy to end up depending on them, I take some tylenol and ibuprofen, but thats it, he did have me on 800 mg of ibuprofen for a while, but that was to reduce inflammation, he said dont get the prescription, go to walmart and buy the big bottle of the stuff, and each tablet was 200 mg, much cheaper for exactly the same thing, after the guy came up from the hanger clinic and outfitted me in the brace, I made myself get out of the bed and into the wheelchair by myself, they practically want to force these narcotic pain killers on you, I'm not supposed to take them anyway, I have some scoliosis, and for some odd reason, taking pain meds when you do is supposed to be risky, something about stopping breathing or something. the nurse actually bitched at me because i didnt want a pain shot, i figure if i could get out of bed and deal with it, it could only get better, last year i broke my big toe and had to reset it myself, and my car was torn up for weeks, so i had to hobble everywhere, that was actually worse pain then my back has been so far, if i can handle that i can handle this

[lostforawhile]

Sorry I can't help financially, but my thoughts and prayers are with you. I fell and pulled a ligament in my shoulder last Friday and I'm not sure how long I'll be out with that. The last time I pulled a ligament, it was 6 months before I could use my arm again. Ugh. What do you plan to study when you return to school?

thanks, believe me that means just as much, this is a very depressing situation sometimes, i'm not sure what i'll study yet,it depends on how my back holds up

[cygnus x-1]

2oodoor, sorry for the belated thank you, it's just been nuts, the help was very much appreciated, sometimes I wonder if I have some neurological damage too, I did land on my head from a good distance, I have been forgetting a lot of things lately, I dont seem to have lost any fabrication skills, just forget every day stuff, like I pay for my gas, and drive off without ever putting it in. They never did do any kinds of tests to check for things like that, might be time to see a neuro surgeon, I dont even think they ever did a ct scan of my head

Forgetting everyday stuff could even be caused by stress. It's not likely to be neurological damage. Did you have a concussion?

If you can stand to stay off the narcotics it's not a bad thing. But at the same time pain is stressful so with severe pain you might be better off taking some narcotics. Your mental well being is just as important as your physical well being, so don't neglect that either. Being stressed out because you're in pain all the time could actually slow your recovery. Just something to keep in mind.


Anyway, take it easy while your injuries heal. Aggravating injuries just drags out the process. Studying up before you go back to school is also a good way to keep your mind engaged in a positive fashion. Keep looking toward the future and stay positive.


C|

[lostforawhile]

Forgetting everyday stuff could even be caused by stress. It's not likely to be neurological damage. Did you have a concussion?

If you can stand to stay off the narcotics it's not a bad thing. But at the same time pain is stressful so with severe pain you might be better off taking some narcotics. Your mental well being is just as important as your physical well being, so don't neglect that either. Being stressed out because you're in pain all the time could actually slow your recovery. Just something to keep in mind.


Anyway, take it easy while your injuries heal. Aggravating injuries just drags out the process. Studying up before you go back to school is also a good way to keep your mind engaged in a positive fashion. Keep looking toward the future and stay positive.


C|

going to try and go back to work some, so i have to stay off the medication

[2oodoor]

Cygnus that is so true on so many levels, that was very good advice. (As usual)

[lostforawhile]

well now they might have cut off my emergency unemployment, wont know until tomorrow when I can call the department of labor

[cygnus x-1]

Cygnus that is so true on so many levels, that was very good advice. (As usual)

Thanks Roo.

I've always been pretty healthy (good genes I think) but there were a couple years where I had a lot of stress with my job. I would get home in the evening and just be exhausted, even though all I did was sit at a desk all day. My blood pressure was really high because I was always so stressed out and I had no energy to do anything. Eventually I worked up the nerve to quit and it was like a huge weight was lifted. Almost instantly my BP went back to normal, I lost a few lbs (not that I really needed to since I'm pretty thin as it is), and I just felt better in general. I didn't even realize how bad it was until later. I had always heard that your mental health has an effect on your physical health but I was surprised at how much of a difference it can make.


C|

[2oodoor]

^^^ certainly, I had issues where they "nicked" a nerve while doing my back surgery, something about a forked nerve they never seen the likes of before (area 51 my first ssn digits) and They had to do a map out of the nerve path. This took several weeks, meanwhile I was working. At work, the day after having a nerve block injection, everyone commented how much different my face looked... It was amazing difference after wearing that pain so long.
Stress works like that like a sandbag strapped to your shoulders you carry everyday , you get accustomed to the bags and once they are lifted one by one you see a huge difference in your health, demeanor and facial expressions.
Im just emphasizing how pain affects your whole being and pain treatment is important. I also undrstand medical cost associated with it.

[lostforawhile]

most of my pain is in the muscles in my back, that should clear up in time and the muscles in my side too, bruised up my right side pretty good somehow, and possibly fractured some ribs, they said the brace would protect those

[2oodoor]

From the language you use I gather you haven't had a MRI ?

[lostforawhile]

From the language you use I gather you haven't had a MRI ?

I've had a bunch of ct scans and enough xrays to make me glow in the dark, what happened is all the time wearing that brace made all these muscles weak, he said the best thing I could do is walk, all the years of long distance walking and all the bike riding,undone by the time in that brace, if I walk all my core muscles hurt, he said thats going to happen until I build that core strength back up

[lostforawhile]

I'll trust his judgement on this, my wife was born with a congenital defect in her spine, that actually makes part of her spine sideways, and he's been an excellent doctor to her, also to a lot of other people I know, he's not a cutter, he tries every other option before he does surgery. The pain isn't in my spine itself, it's all in my core muscles in my back and sides, my spine hurts from time to time, but thats pretty much a judgement call on the pain, as I have a high pain threshold