Wow Jeanette, good for you, and Cheryl again

[Guest guest]

You know, Jeanette, I think you're making a good decision. I'm a

little surprised your surgeon is so gung-ho to fuse two disks, given

the symptoms you describe. Perhaps I'm lucky to have encountered

only conservative surgeons, but they have *never* seemed like they

really were pushing the surgery. If you're not having tingles or

sciatica, I'd say--leave it.

Good for you too, that you lost all that weight. I've struggled

with my weight since quitting smoking in 1990, and it's not easy!

Maybe the thing I hate the most about my back problems is that it

prevents me from doing all the types of exercise I always relied on:

walking, aerobic tapes, and weight lifting. Oh well, I am assuming

that I will be able to get back to at least some of it someday.

Someday soon, I hope. Wish me luck, I'm seeing my surgeon today

about the problems I've had since getting back to normal life after

my L4/L5 fusion last September. I think there is a good possibility

there is another procedure in my future, but I cannot go on like

this.

Cheryl--in my experience, there are times when an antidepressant can

stop being effective. It is one of the things they don't understand

about the newer antidepressants. I know it is hard to take pills

for these things. I really do. But I think you may need to go back

to whoever wrote the Rx for the Cymbalta, and get something

different. The doc will understand, b/c this really does happen.

Maybe someday you won't need these anymore, but it seems to me,

right now is a time when you need all the support you can get from

your prescription.

Take care, happy holiday weekend everyone. I love this list.

in allentown