Re: Dave, Best thing that ever happened to my back

[Guest guest]

Hi Dave, sorry to hear about your wife, I will keep her in my prayers. I hope

they find something soon that helps her. Glad to hear you finally found a way to

sleep. I LOVE my sleep number bed that I got about 3 yrs ago. Unfortunately its

been in storage since our move up here waiting for us to get a home. But its the

only bed I really slept well in, the first day we got it I slept almost a

straight 7 hrs something I never did back then. If I was lucky I'd get a couple

hrs in my chair. I love the way it shapes to fit your body and support your all

over, its wonderful. It was a GREAT investment. check online because each summer

they used to have a sale on their extra bed and discount them quite a bit. Now

you won't find the best selling model or newest one they have. But I bought my

daughter a bed this way after I paid fullprice for mine and it was a good deal.

I am looking forward to getting mine back next month when we finally close on

our house here. Take care and best wishes to you an your wife. Sharon

>

> ____________ _________ _________ __

> From: Dave Cruikshank <d.cruikshank@ comcast.net>

> PainInTheNeck- Back@groups .com

> Sent: Wed, May 5, 2010 12:34:23 AM

> Subject: [PainInTheNeck- Back] Best thing that ever happened to my back

>

> My wife was in s Hopkins hospital last week for 5 days. She was

> there getting evaluated and treated for chronic migraines.

> Unfortunately what they tried didn't help, but they told her there

> was only a 10-15% chance of success going in. The reason why was

> because she has had migraines since she was 16-17 and daily headaches

> since her mid 20's. She is now 45. They told her that she waited too

> long to seek help. That after such a long period as 20 years the

> brain remaps itself and thinks pain is the norm. I'm sure this is

> the case with many of us at this point. They also told her that

> taking opiates such as Vicoden actually hurts in the end. That they

> would never be able to help her until she got off the Vicoden, which

> she had been on for 3 years. She ended up taking herself off cold

> turkey. It took her about 1.5 weeks of hell, but she did it. That is

> not how they wanted her to do it, they wanted her to come into the

> hospital and they would detox her. Anyway long term use of opiates

> just changes the way our nerve endings and brain perceive pain and

> how our body fights it. It takes so much more pain killers to mask

> the pain after years of opiates and it hinders the bodies own ability

> to fight it. But that's not why I wrote this.

>

> I was going to stay with her in Baltimore, but I was going to get a

> hotel room. Well the nursing staff surprised us. They said since she

> had a private room I could stay with her. So they found me a bed. I

> got a regular hospital bed with adjustable head and feet. Well.... I

> slept like a rock, I never sleep at home. My pain level was way

> down. I skipped over 1/2 my meds and didn't miss them. I also get a

> massage every night before bed. I didn't get or need that. Besides

> being adjustable the bed was also firm. I like a firm bed. My wife

> on the other hand had a hard time sleeping because she likes a softer

> bed. So we are definitely buying an adjustable bed. I'm spending $55

> a week on massage right now, that really helps but it is short term.

> So I may as well make payments on the bed. The Sleep number in a

> split frame with adjustments is like $6200.00 To me that's a car not

> a bed, but it is a long term investment and for me and my wifes pain

> it's a need not a luxury. We did find a less expensive manufacturer

> called Comfort Aire which is the originator of the sleep number bed.

> Theirs cost about $3800. We are going to look at it this

> weekend. The least expensive option would be to buy a used

> Craftmatic or Hospital bed. I see them in the newspaper often for

> about $2-300.00 But that means we would have to sleep separate. I

> told my wife long ago that when we sleep in separate beds it's over,

> we are big snugglers. So for ME, the right bed made a world of

> difference. Dave

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