Re: Travel + Doc Visit

[Guest guest]

Dear Bonnie,

Here's wishing you answers at Dr. Bridwell, and sounds like it was a good decision to put off your CA trip. How many planes do you have to take to get to St. Louis from your place? Hope it isn't another marathon day for you! left this morning for New Orleans by way of Atlanta. The security took two hours at our little airport in Colorado Springs, he just got to his flight. When he called me to tell me that I thought of you, and I'm glad you didn't try to go now with your pain level the way it is. You are in my prayers, and I hope the fresh pair of eyes will give you some answers and pain relief!

Colorado Springs

[ ] Travel + Doc Visit

Hi All,

To everyone who responded to my request for advice on traveling, thank you so much for your input.

I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I get during the day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2 times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered, ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are at eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints.

My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr. Bridwell before I get the shot.

Well, that's it for sitting for a while.

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

HI ,

Thanks for the good wishes. As for my travel to St. Louis, it's much easier than gong to CA. First, we can fly out of our local, small, airport that's only 15 minutes from our house, so no need to drive 2 hours to Raleigh the day before and stay overnight on yet another strange mattress. (Yes, we take an egg-crate mattress topper with us.) The first flight is short, about an hour, to Charlotte, which is a very nice, easy airport. Then, not a long layover, and an hour and a half flight to St. Louis. And the Parkway Hotel is, I think, just about 15 minutes from the airport. In CA, we would have had about an hour and a half drive after the flight. And the timing to St Louis is good, too. I don't have to cut short my night's sleep. We are arriving in St Louis the day before my appointment and will fly home the day after. The total trip will be three days, and only one mattress. In CA, it was a total of two weeks which included five different beds and many hours of driving on several days.

My friends at home have been very supportive of both canceling the CA trip and our going to see Dr. Bridwell. And my husband, too. He has been great. Most of our friends said they couldn't imagine how I was going to manage the CA trip. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Bonnie

[ ] Travel + Doc Visit

Hi All,

To everyone who responded to my request for advice on traveling, thank you so much for your input.

I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I get during the day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2 times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered, ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are at eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints.

My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr. Bridwell before I get the shot.

Well, that's it for sitting for a while.

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

just my two cents on travelling since none of the other replies

exactly matched my experiences.

Standing longer than 30 seconds causes me pain, and my handy

cane/stool is not all that comfortable for long periods of time, and

walking is difficult.

So, for the past few years, I always request handicapped assistance -

- including a wheelchair from arrivals through to the departure

gate. I like it best when I am flying on an airline that has

curbside check-in and the wheelchairs at the curb. (but the last

couple of times I have flown, I have been on a budget airline where

you not only have to take the bags inside and get them weighed at

the counter, but then you also have to take them to the xray machine

around the corner -- I am glad I had my kids with me this last time!)

Not only is the wheelchair nice for getting from the entrance to the

airport to the departure gate, but the attendants usually don't have

to stand in that long security line, either. They just wheel me

around to the side, and I get hand-wanded. I have a picture of an

xray in my wallet, but they usually can tell that it is hardware in

my body that sets off the scanner and don't need to see a card or

picture. It is still a pain when I travel with a laptop and

computer since those have to be taken out of the carryon bag to go

through the xray machine separately, but at least I don't have to

wait in the back of the line, or stand up.

Once I get to the departure gate, I request pre-boarding. They will

usually come over and tell me when I can board since when they

announce preboarding, most folks get up and get in line even if they

don't meet the qualifications for pre-boarding. It is much easier

to roll my camera/computer bag onto the plane and get it situated

under the seat in front of me when I do preboarding -- no standing

and waiting for other folks to get situated.

I have also discovered that I have horrible pain if I sit at a

window on the left side, so I go online and pick my seat as soon as

possible. I like window seats when going to the Bahamas, and so do

my kids. By splitting up so we were in three separate rows, I got

lucky and there was nobody in the middle seat. My sciatica type

pain is much better if I sit with my legs apart. An aisle to my

left works well, too.

When the plane arrives at my destination, I stay in my seat until

most everybody else is off the plane. That way, I don't have to

wait in line while people retrieve their carry-on luggage from the

overhead bins. And, it gives the person with the wheelchair time to

be waiting at the gate for me. They usually know the shortcuts to

the baggage claim area, too.

The only time I have really had a problem has been travelling to

Chicago. The hotel where I usually stay has a shuttle bus, and it

is a very long walk from the baggage claim area to the shuttle bus

if you follow the markings on the floor. The last two times I have

been to Chicago, it took over an hour for my luggage to be on the

carousel, and the wheelchair attendant didn't want to wait that

long. On one trip, the person wanted a tip, so I told her she would

have to take me all the way to the bus shuttle area if she wanted a

tip. Now, I know a shortcut for getting there, but it involves

going outside and it is usually snowing when I go to Chicago.

It seems that a lot of chairs in airport waiting areas are not very

comfortable, and sometimes I take pain medication when I get to the

airport. On my last trip, I had a delicious mango daquiri on the

way to the airport and did not need any medication.

I wish I didn't like traveling with computers and cameras -- it

would be much easier not to have to deal with carry on luggage.

[Guest guest]

Hi SB,

Thanks. You have very good suggestions for how to handle airline travel. However, been there, done that. All those things help a great deal on a short-enough flight. Without those, I wouldn't be able to go even short distances.

Bonnie

[ ] Re: Travel + Doc Visit

just my two cents on travelling since none of the other replies exactly matched my experiences.Standing longer than 30 seconds causes me pain, and my handy cane/stool is not all that comfortable for long periods of time, and walking is difficult.So, for the past few years, I always request handicapped assistance -- including a wheelchair from arrivals through to the departure gate. I like it best when I am flying on an airline that has curbside check-in and the wheelchairs at the curb. (but the last couple of times I have flown, I have been on a budget airline where you not only have to take the bags inside and get them weighed at the counter, but then you also have to take them to the xray machine around the corner -- I am glad I had my kids with me this last time!)Not only is the wheelchair nice for getting from the entrance to the airport to the departure gate, but the attendants usually don't have to stand in that long security line, either. They just wheel me around to the side, and I get hand-wanded. I have a picture of an xray in my wallet, but they usually can tell that it is hardware in my body that sets off the scanner and don't need to see a card or picture. It is still a pain when I travel with a laptop and computer since those have to be taken out of the carryon bag to go through the xray machine separately, but at least I don't have to wait in the back of the line, or stand up.Once I get to the departure gate, I request pre-boarding. They will usually come over and tell me when I can board since when they announce preboarding, most folks get up and get in line even if they don't meet the qualifications for pre-boarding. It is much easier to roll my camera/computer bag onto the plane and get it situated under the seat in front of me when I do preboarding -- no standing and waiting for other folks to get situated.I have also discovered that I have horrible pain if I sit at a window on the left side, so I go online and pick my seat as soon as possible. I like window seats when going to the Bahamas, and so do my kids. By splitting up so we were in three separate rows, I got lucky and there was nobody in the middle seat. My sciatica type pain is much better if I sit with my legs apart. An aisle to my left works well, too.When the plane arrives at my destination, I stay in my seat until most everybody else is off the plane. That way, I don't have to wait in line while people retrieve their carry-on luggage from the overhead bins. And, it gives the person with the wheelchair time to be waiting at the gate for me. They usually know the shortcuts to the baggage claim area, too.The only time I have really had a problem has been travelling to Chicago. The hotel where I usually stay has a shuttle bus, and it is a very long walk from the baggage claim area to the shuttle bus if you follow the markings on the floor. The last two times I have been to Chicago, it took over an hour for my luggage to be on the carousel, and the wheelchair attendant didn't want to wait that long. On one trip, the person wanted a tip, so I told her she would have to take me all the way to the bus shuttle area if she wanted a tip. Now, I know a shortcut for getting there, but it involves going outside and it is usually snowing when I go to Chicago.It seems that a lot of chairs in airport waiting areas are not very comfortable, and sometimes I take pain medication when I get to the airport. On my last trip, I had a delicious mango daquiri on the way to the airport and did not need any medication.I wish I didn't like traveling with computers and cameras -- it would be much easier not to have to deal with carry on luggage.

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie: Just want to let you know that there is an easy &

inexpensive ($3-$4) way to get to The Parkway Hotel. In Lambert

Airport in St. Louis, you would catch the Metrolink (rail

transport), by just following the signs in the airport. There is a

ticket machine right before you get on. It would take you to the

Central West End stop. From there, you would walk about a block to

get to The Parkway Hotel/Center for Advanced Medicine buildings.

You may already be planning to do it this way, but wanted to be sure

that you knew. A cab is much more expensive (if I recall around

$40), but if you have trouble walking, maybe the walk from the

Metrolink stop would be too much-?

Martha

>

> HI ,

>

> Thanks for the good wishes. As for my travel to St. Louis, it's

much easier than gong to CA. First, we can fly out of our local,

small, airport that's only 15 minutes from our house, so no need to

drive 2 hours to Raleigh the day before and stay overnight on yet

another strange mattress. (Yes, we take an egg-crate mattress

topper with us.) The first flight is short, about an hour, to

Charlotte, which is a very nice, easy airport. Then, not a long

layover, and an hour and a half flight to St. Louis. And the

Parkway Hotel is, I think, just about 15 minutes from the airport.

In CA, we would have had about an hour and a half drive after the

flight. And the timing to St Louis is good, too. I don't have to

cut short my night's sleep. We are arriving in St Louis the day

before my appointment and will fly home the day after. The total

trip will be three days, and only one mattress. In CA, it was a

total of two weeks which included five different beds and many hours

of driving on several days.

>

> My friends at home have been very supportive of both canceling the

CA trip and our going to see Dr. Bridwell. And my husband, too. He

has been great. Most of our friends said they couldn't imagine how

I was going to manage the CA trip. Wishful thinking, I guess.

>

> Bonnie

>

>

>

> [ ] Travel + Doc Visit

>

>

>

>

> Hi All,

>

> To everyone who responded to my request for advice on

traveling, thank you so much for your input.

>

> I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to

CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is

just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to

my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without

any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I

can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I

get during the day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2

times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I

tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can

deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I

increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I

can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but

that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing

any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down

for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little

time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can

barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when

I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day

goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered,

ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are

at eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is

getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle

pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints.

>

>

> My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've

hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't

want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had

my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just

as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because

that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have

been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I

went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the

first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last

time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan

of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He

has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a

wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and

then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any

more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see

what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be

done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I

have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain

doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr.

Bridwell before I get the shot.

>

> Well, that's it for sitting for a while.

>

> Bonnie

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie: forgot one thing! When staying at The Parkway Hotel, I

request a room with a view of the street and handicapped room, if

possible. Otherwise, you may get a room that is very dark, with a

view of the inside of the parking garage (very dismal). I like the

handicapped rooms, because they have a walk-in shower and the toilet

seats are higher! The view of the street is much nicer (facing St.

Louis Bread Company) than looking into the parking garage!

Martha

>

> HI ,

>

> Thanks for the good wishes. As for my travel to St. Louis, it's

much easier than gong to CA. First, we can fly out of our local,

small, airport that's only 15 minutes from our house, so no need to

drive 2 hours to Raleigh the day before and stay overnight on yet

another strange mattress. (Yes, we take an egg-crate mattress

topper with us.) The first flight is short, about an hour, to

Charlotte, which is a very nice, easy airport. Then, not a long

layover, and an hour and a half flight to St. Louis. And the

Parkway Hotel is, I think, just about 15 minutes from the airport.

In CA, we would have had about an hour and a half drive after the

flight. And the timing to St Louis is good, too. I don't have to

cut short my night's sleep. We are arriving in St Louis the day

before my appointment and will fly home the day after. The total

trip will be three days, and only one mattress. In CA, it was a

total of two weeks which included five different beds and many hours

of driving on several days.

>

> My friends at home have been very supportive of both canceling the

CA trip and our going to see Dr. Bridwell. And my husband, too. He

has been great. Most of our friends said they couldn't imagine how

I was going to manage the CA trip. Wishful thinking, I guess.

>

> Bonnie

>

>

>

> [ ] Travel + Doc Visit

>

>

>

>

> Hi All,

>

> To everyone who responded to my request for advice on

traveling, thank you so much for your input.

>

> I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to

CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is

just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to

my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without

any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I

can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I

get during the day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2

times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I

tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can

deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I

increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I

can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but

that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing

any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down

for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little

time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can

barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when

I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day

goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered,

ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are

at eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is

getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle

pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints.

>

>

> My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've

hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't

want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had

my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just

as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because

that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have

been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I

went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the

first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last

time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan

of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He

has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a

wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and

then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any

more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see

what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be

done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I

have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain

doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr.

Bridwell before I get the shot.

>

> Well, that's it for sitting for a while.

>

> Bonnie

>

[Guest guest]

HI Mrtha,

Thanks much for your tips on transportation to the Parkway Hotel and room selection!

Bonnie

[ ] Travel + Doc Visit> > > > > Hi All,> > To everyone who responded to my request for advice on traveling, thank you so much for your input.> > I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I get during the day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2 times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered, ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are at eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints. > > > My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr. Bridwell before I get the shot.> > Well, that's it for sitting for a while. > > Bonnie>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie, That sounds like a good plan. Thanks for spelling it out.That pain sounds scary. For those of us in N.C.,I would consider this for a second opinion.I tryed the Ca.trip and it did take a few weeks to pull parts together.Good luck to you.You are a pioneer at 8yrs.----We will ptay for a quick fix. EileenBonnie <bonnie@...> wrote: HI , Thanks for the good wishes. As for my travel to St. Louis, it's much

easier than gong to CA. First, we can fly out of our local, small, airport that's only 15 minutes from our house, so no need to drive 2 hours to Raleigh the day before and stay overnight on yet another strange mattress. (Yes, we take an egg-crate mattress topper with us.) The first flight is short, about an hour, to Charlotte, which is a very nice, easy airport. Then, not a long layover, and an hour and a half flight to St. Louis. And the Parkway Hotel is, I think, just about 15 minutes from the airport. In CA, we would have had about an hour and a half drive after the flight. And the timing to St Louis is good, too. I don't have to cut short my night's sleep. We are arriving in St Louis the day before my appointment and will fly home the day after. The total trip will be three days, and only one mattress. In CA, it was a total of two weeks which included five different beds and many hours of driving on

several days. My friends at home have been very supportive of both canceling the CA trip and our going to see Dr. Bridwell. And my husband, too. He has been great. Most of our friends said they couldn't imagine how I was going to manage the CA trip. Wishful thinking, I guess. Bonnie [ ] Travel + Doc Visit Hi All, To everyone who responded to my request for advice on traveling, thank you so much for your input. I've decided not to go to go on the planned two week trip to CA. My decision has nothing to do with the terror alert. It is just about my pain level. I just can't handle it. Just to get to my destination would have taken 14 hours of upright time (without any delays), but I never go more than 8 hours without lying down. I can't. My pain is too severe and lying down is the only relief I get during the

day, beyond my meds. I'm taking 10 mg Oxycontin 2 times a day, Cymbalta 60 mg daily and 5 mg of Ambien every night. I tolerate the meds well, except that I'm always a bit sleepy but can deal with that as long as I get 10 hours of sleep per night. If I increase the meds, I wouldn't be functional enough. Now at least I can manage a trip to the grocery store or a movie or dinner out, but that's about it, one per day, aside from my daily exercises. Doing any of that makes the pain worse, of course, but ..... I lie down for at least an hour and a half every afternoon. That's too little time for a lot of relief, but it does help. By bed time, I can barely stand the pain, but I'm generally pretty much pain free when I awake in the morning. The pain gets worse and worse as the day goes on. All I've done today are my morning stretches, showered, ate breakfast, and straightenedd two shelves of my pantry (which are at

eye level and are rather small, pull-outs), and the pain is getting really bad already. I believe it is piriforrmis muscle pain, mostly, with a good nudge from my SI Joints. My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the first year

till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr. Bridwell before I get the shot. Well, that's it for sitting for a while. Bonnie

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[Guest guest]

Thanks, Eileen,

I had thought of Dr. LaGrone, too, but it's much easier for me to get to St. Louis than Amarillo. Also, I thought that perhaps with being in a university setting and so prominent in the SRS, then Dr. Bridwell would know about any (if any) research that's being done to follow-up patients who are as far from flatback revision as I am. Of course, that's not to say that Dr. LaGrone would not be familiar with any such research. So far, and I'm still searching, I have only found tidbits of research done on patients up to 5 years post revision, though there is what seemed to me to be a patient satisfaction survey that Dr. Boachie was involved with that looked at people up to 7 years post revision.

Bonnie

[ ] Travel + Doc Visit

My pain has been getting worse year after year. I've hesitated to tell you guys just how severe it is because I don't want to spook anyone about revision surgery. I am still glad I had my Harrington Rod surgery because it gave me 20 good years and just as happy to have had revisioin surgery with Dr. Boachie, because that gave me the last 8 and a half years. No doubt I would have been worse off without my revision surgery. No doubt at all. I went back to Dr. Boachie for every post op visit, annually after the first year till year 5 and then 2 years after that. So the last time I saw him was May of 2005. Since then, he has seen a CT scan of my back and SI Joint and concurs that I have SI Joint issues. He has consistently suggested pain management and I've been seeing a wonderful pain management doctor. I've had SI Joint injections and then piriformis injections. But that's just not good enough any more. I think I need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look and see what's going on and if anything besides pain management can be done. So, I have an appointment with Dr. Bridwell, on Sept 1st. I have not yet had the botox injection in the piriformis that the pain doc suggests we try next, because I think it's better I see Dr. Bridwell before I get the shot.

Well, that's it for sitting for a while.

Bonnie/ size="1" How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.