Thank you

August 20, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

NICHOLAS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

FROM- NATE & ILSE

> For all ' Birthday wishes..hard for me to fathom that my

> youngest born is already 8.. even worse than that, my 1st born will

> turn 16 in 2 weeks. How can that be, i still feel like a teenager at

> heart!

>

> hugs Helen and (8.systemic)

November 4, 2005

Yes I know how it is! We want what we want when WE want it! And I am soo

that kind of person. But, as everyone has mentioned here to you..20 pounds (give

or take a pound) is GREAT! If your hungry..then eat! Just try to make wise

choices when you can. I remember being on Craig umpteen years ago and one

of my many failed attempts to lose I might add, but I would go in weekly to

get weighed, ate everything I was told to eat, etc. But my body was the kind

that I could go a full 2 weeks with no loss, than BAM!!!, on the third week

I'd have a 10 or 11 pound weight loss! I learned to accept that THAT was how

my body worked..back then. Even now post MGB I will go a few days or even a

week without so much as even an ounce of loss..then if I'm patient..which I'll

admit is very hard cause I am as I described above, a " I want it now " kind of

girl..I will lose a couple of pounds or maybe even 3 pounds overnight!..As I

said..it is the END result to be concerned about, not so much how you get

there,but that you in fact DO get there.. I'm NOT saying that it is okay to

fill up our new tummy's with junk and pay no attention to our bodies..I am just

saying. RELAX! Blessings Cheri,

March 9, 2006

Hi :

That's awful of the social worker and nurse trying to take away HOPE! I

understand statistics, etc., but there are still miracle stories too. Even if

the doctor says it's a small hope, it's still hope, you hang on to that .

I know you have a good understanding of medical issues and cancer with all

you have been through at a young age and through your volunteer work with

children with cancer, you are going in with eyes wide open and I hate that they

would try to take away hope from you.

How is your Mom feeling, physically. I know pain brought her into the ER.

Have they been able to minimize the pain she was in? I hope she gets to come

home soon to you all.

Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

Take care.

Patty

March 9, 2006

,

Prayer are for you and your family.

and Allie (9 poly)

________________________________

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Salvucci

Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 12:47 PM

Subject: Thank you

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Yesterday morning we had a

chance to talk to a social worker and a oncology nurse which actually

felt like it hurt us more then it helped us. The social worker seemed

uncomfortable and like she wanted to leave the moment we started crying

and the oncology nurse was like well she has advanced cancer.. she might

have a year left.. which then the social worker chimes in with well you

should just let her know let that you love her and appreciate what she

did for you. So of course we were all devestated and crying and it was

such a horrible situation.. However when we talked to the oncologist he

actually said that there was a survival chance.. even if its a small

one.. there is one there.. So we are sticking with that.. this has been

a horrible experience so thank you all for being so supportive..

Love always

(JAS, 21)

March 10, 2006

She is still in a lot of pain and on a lot of pain killers. They are hoping the

radiation will bring down the swelling and the pain will go away. The radiation

however is making her feel really awful.. so we are just praying that she will

start feeling better. Apparently when they did the bronchoscopy there was no

cancer in the bronchial tubes which we are hoping is good news.. but now she

will have to go through a more invasive procedure to get a biopsy since they

could not reach that part of the lungs.. but we are holding onto hope!! Its the

only thing we have!!

(JAS, 21)

ThreeMayEmeralds@... wrote:

Hi :

That's awful of the social worker and nurse trying to take away HOPE! I

understand statistics, etc., but there are still miracle stories too. Even if

the doctor says it's a small hope, it's still hope, you hang on to that .

I know you have a good understanding of medical issues and cancer with all

you have been through at a young age and through your volunteer work with

children with cancer, you are going in with eyes wide open and I hate that they

would try to take away hope from you.

How is your Mom feeling, physically. I know pain brought her into the ER.

Have they been able to minimize the pain she was in? I hope she gets to come

home soon to you all.

Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

Take care.

Patty

April 5, 2006

You're welcome...it's important that someone does it and I care about

this board a lot...I have no problem doing it - thanks for the

acknowledgement (sp) Ks... - tori

May 24, 2006

Wow Vesper,

I just read about your fire. I am sorry too. I hope you are OK.

I am happy you had renters insurance.

We have missed you on the site. Welcome back :0)

Thank you

Thanks everyone for your concern. I was able to salvage most of my things, and my renter's insurance will cover the rest. I just really loved my apart ment. It was actually the lady next door that started the building on fire, so the most severe damage was on that side of the building. I am just glad to be settled back into a place. It doesn't seem homey yet, but I'm sure it will eventually. As far as the stomach pain goes, its kind of like a muscle ache. It's not up in my shoulder and it comes and goes throughout the day, regardless of how little, or how much I eat. It seems to feel better when I eat nothing at all. But this isn't healthy at all. I think I may try going back on liquids. If it continues another week then I am going to go to the doctor and have my band looked at. I haven't been PB'ing, and I haven't been overeating. So I don't think I am worried about slippage. But I would rather be safe than sorry. Kelli, I can't wait until you reach 100lbs!!! You probably already have as I am writing this. Both you and made me feel more at home by your responses. Thank youVesper

May 26, 2006

EVERYONE ALWAYS ZEROS IN ON JUST THE PAIN THEY ARE HAVING!

PAIN,SPASMS,HEADACHES,TINGLING,NUMBNESS ARE MANY WAYS FOR YOUR BODY TO GIVE YOU

A HEADS UP

SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT. I HAVE SPINAL STENOSIS AND FIBROMYALGIA. I'M LUCKY

LIVING IN BOSTON WITH HAVING THE HOSPITALS AND THE DOCTORS I HAVE TO PICK FROM.

IF

YOU HAVE A DISK PROBLEM ESPECIALLY AT L5,S1 IF YOU FIND THAT 2 OUT OF 3 DOCS

SAY YOU NEED SURGERY AND YOU OPTED FOR THE ALTERNATIVES TO TRY TO MASK THE

PAIN YOUR DOING YOURSELF A REAL INJUSTICE. I HAVE HAD THAT AREA DONE TWICE AND

BEING THAT IT'S NO FUN THEY WAY IT WAS PUT TO ME THE NERVES IN THAT AREA RUN

SOME SERIOUS FUNCTIONS MAINLY YOUR BOWEL FUNCTIONS.

SO TO MASK THE PAIN WITH PT, BLOCKERS, PILLS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY TO

GO ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR YOUNG. REMEMBER AND THIS IS HOW IT WAS PUT TO ME " THE

THINGS YOU DO WHEN YOUR YOUNG YOU PAY FOR AS YOU GET OLDER " . GOOD LUCK AND I

HOPE YOUR MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION.

MARK FROM BOSTON

May 26, 2006

Jeanette,

in Feb a surgeon wanted to fuse 3/4 of my spine; another surgeon in CA wanted to

fuse at least 2 cervical vertebra. i would be a walking stick lady!! those

guys scared me to death.

even though i am 63, i am active as a volunteer service dog puppy raiser, do

lots of hiking and hunting with my hubby, spend lots of time outside in my

flower gardens. i just could not imagine my life after such surgeries let alone

deal with the complications and the horrendous recovery period.

my family doctor looked at my mris and said he has seen people with backs as bad

or worse than mine who have no pain and are leading a normal life. two other

doctors told me the same thing. the orthopods love to look at the MRIs and say

" see, here is the problem, this is what i need to do. "

so i started with rolfing to get some of the worst locked tissues released and

now am doing restorative yoga and Primal(also called Pain) Reflex Release

Physical Therapy with one of about 300 of these people in the country. this is

a rapidly growing type of pt and has had great success. after 6 weeks, i am

mostly pain free, except sometimes at the end of the day when i have overdone it

a bit. but just lying down in my zero gravity chair immediately releases all

pain.

so there are other options and something to remember is that " motion is lotion " .

we get in a catch-22 where it hurts to move so we don't move and things freeze

up more and hurt more when we try to move. we need to move even if it hurts,

within reason. also my PT is starting me on an aquatic therapy program; good

cardio workout and good for muscle tone and he says it will move me to the next

level of my healing.

google the PRRT and see if you can find a practioner in your area and also see

if there is a restorative yoga class. the rolfing is also good but be sure to

tell your rolfer what you problems are so s(he) knows how to work with them. i

gave my rolfer a copy of the MRI report.

in addition to degenerative disks, bulging disks, scar tissue, spurs, etc. i

have osteoarthritis and had my right thumb rebuilt in Feb 2005 and had both

knees replaced in June 2005. that is enough surgery to last me the rest of my

life!

good luck in finding an alternative to surgery. and feel free to email if you

need more dets: birddog@...

Carlene in MT

Thank You

Hello,

A few days ago I posted a question regarding how long it was after

spinal fusion people were able to get back to normal activities and

jogging. After all the responses I got both on the board and by

email, I have decided to cancel my L4/L5 and L5/S1 fusion surgery

that was scheduled for July 10th.

I'm going to look for other options before I take that very drastic

step. I've found a couple other less invasive options and want to

check them out before going through a surgery I wasn't comfortable

with to begin with (my surgeon seemed to be pushing it down my

throat). I'm only 32 (which from what I've heard is young for these

types of problems) and my symptoms are not stopping me from doing

anything (other than sitting for long periods which can be

avoided). I have no tingling, no bowel problems and no sciatica

pain. My main symptom is feeling like I have a muscle ache in my

lower back most of the time. A lot of what I've read about

degenerative disks says that sitting relieves the pain, not that it

causes the pain, so I'm now wondering if it's actually the disks

that are causing my pain. I had 2 epidural steriod shots. The first

one relieved my pain for about 10 days and the second one did

nothing. I'm not an expert, but I would think that if the steroids

didn't work, then it's not just the disks that are causing my pain.

I've read about laser surgery and that sounds better than fusion.

My friend is going to contact her chiropractor to see if I can get a

free consult from him (she loves him). He's done wonders for her

back so I'm looking forward to what he has to say.

Thanks for all of you who gave me very honest answers. Please don't

think that I'm not going to continue treating my back problem, I

just want to make sure I do what's best and that I can live with

whatever decision I make. I know that if I went through with the

fusion and I wasn't able to return to doing Agility with my dog, I'd

regret my decision forever (kind of like how I'm regretting having

reconstructive surgery on my ankle for a deformity that if I knew

then what I know now, I never would have gone throuhh). In the last

two years, I've lost 130 lbs and now have a normal BMI so I'm not

going to do something that can debilitate me after working so hard

to get the weight off and become more active.

Jeanette

May 26, 2006

>

> EVERYONE ALWAYS ZEROS IN ON JUST THE PAIN THEY ARE HAVING!

> PAIN,SPASMS,HEADACHES,TINGLING,NUMBNESS ARE MANY WAYS FOR YOUR

BODY TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP

> SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT. I HAVE SPINAL STENOSIS AND FIBROMYALGIA.

I'M LUCKY

> LIVING IN BOSTON WITH HAVING THE HOSPITALS AND THE DOCTORS I HAVE

TO PICK FROM. IF

> YOU HAVE A DISK PROBLEM ESPECIALLY AT L5,S1 IF YOU FIND THAT 2 OUT

OF 3 DOCS

> SAY YOU NEED SURGERY AND YOU OPTED FOR THE ALTERNATIVES TO TRY TO

MASK THE

> PAIN YOUR DOING YOURSELF A REAL INJUSTICE. I HAVE HAD THAT AREA

DONE TWICE AND

> BEING THAT IT'S NO FUN THEY WAY IT WAS PUT TO ME THE NERVES IN

THAT AREA RUN

> SOME SERIOUS FUNCTIONS MAINLY YOUR BOWEL FUNCTIONS.

> SO TO MASK THE PAIN WITH PT, BLOCKERS, PILLS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE

BEST WAY TO

> GO ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR YOUNG. REMEMBER AND THIS IS HOW IT WAS PUT

TO ME " THE

> THINGS YOU DO WHEN YOUR YOUNG YOU PAY FOR AS YOU GET OLDER " . GOOD

LUCK AND I

> HOPE YOUR MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION.

> MARK FROM BOSTON

>

HI Mark

what if anything would you suggest i do for this problem in 2004 i

had a double disc surgry in the very bottom of my back i keep

forgetting the levels but since that surgry i have had more pain in

the right in my hip & down my right leg to my calf area i recently

had an MRI & emg both showed no new damage but very sever old damage

that cant be fixed i take oxy 4omg 2xs a day & nerourotin for pain

it doesnt touch the pain nothing does it feels like i have a hot

knife stuck in my hip i am in tears most of the time my DR of course

is out of the office this week & wont be back till tuesday i am

praying that she will give me higher doses of my meds or something

else do you have any ideals ? Cheryl in PA

>

June 2, 2006

hi mark from boston, i love to read your emails but they are hard to read

when they are all capitals. would it be possible to write in lower case? i

know, i know.

but i really do look forward to your emails and i need some help here.

thanks,

marsha from new york

June 2, 2006

hi, jeanette, a couple of things. first of all i had radio frequency

ablution of the facet joints which got rid of a lot of the lower back pain.

also,

i was with a neurosurgeon who told me i needed an L3, L4,L5,

s1 fusion. and i wasn't willing to do that bec.. it is a super huge

surgery. no guarantees. bec. of the support from this group i started further

checking and found my current orthopedic surgeon and this coming monday it will

be two weeks since i had L3-L4 fusion.l that i could handle. some other

questions. have you been to an orthopedic and a neurosurgeon who both

specialize

in the spine? important opinions are really important. also have you

thought about a tummy tuck? it would strengthen your back muscles by

strengthening your stomach muscles. and since you've lost so much weight, it

could have

a very big impact.

my best to yu, marsha

November 4, 2006

Lora I don't know what it means other than what it literally states, much as you

would know. I just wanted to respond and say h i and give you a big hug

Alley

January 24, 2007

Mike, did you live in S. Florida at one time? I knew a Mike who

was a bank manager for Jupiter/Tequesta bank several years ago. barb dudley

March 17, 2007

Joyce:

So 3-4 tbsp. VCO daily and I've read that VCO can actually get rid of stretch

marks and other skin problems but it takes a lot of time. Patience.

Bonnie

Thank you

Yes, a good Candida Diet PLUS Coconut Oil on the skin, religiously.

Bonnie ... From: MSSJG candidiasis Sent: Thursday,

March 15, 2007

Thank you very much Bonnie & Belinda for your prompt response. I used

to take encapsulated caprllic acid, which I thought was coconut oil.

Joyce.

March 17, 2007

Jeannie,

I long ago found out that " family " has nothing to do with blood, or legal

definition of family. Those usually disappear or get hurtful when times get

tough. The people who care about you, when you can't give them anything,even

when you can't entertain them on a holiday, those are family!

Big Hug to you, Dee

jeannieboo1 <jeannieboo1@...> wrote:

Hi

Just want to thank everyone who has been kind enough to send me a brief

note while I'm going through this messy car accident and all it's

problems. It's ironic that the only ones who care enough to ask about

me are not family members. I know I don't have a terminal disease, can

still walk and talk, can't walk like I used to, but I'm trying to

accept it. Just angry at my family for their inability to see how being

disabled has changed my life. So my husband and I are doing the best we

can, he's in constant pain also, and somehow we'll make it through. You

all give me more than my family, and I thank you, and thank Sharon for

starting this group so I can get this all off my chest!

Sincerely

Jeannie

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March 17, 2007