Posted 7/18/2008 11:37 AM (GMT 0)
Great to hear from all of you! scars show in many ways Tom and I have several that are quite visible, 5 to be exact. Had knee surgery when I was 21 and the did a laprascopic procedure where they tightened up the muscles surrounding my kneecap to prevent it from slipping out of place and causing me gobs of pain. When that did not work, they went in and did a Patellar realignment and tightened the muscles once again. They also placed screws in the knee to keep it from wiggling around. (Not the knee cap itself but at the bottom where the muscles connect). I was fantastic after that surgery and the knee felt good. In my 22nd year of life again here we go with another knee surgery so I had the right one done, but it was unsuccessful and I had to go back in and have it redone. Doc said that one day I would probably have to have total knee replacements. At 32 I was diagnosed with the big C.....Cervical cancer. Now this scared the heck right out of me and after I had already had two wonderful boys I had not planned on anymore so with that my OB/GYN decided it was time for a Hysterectomy. They left the right and left ovaries but that was about all I had left.
I have been healthy otherwise and have not been plagued with any other problems besides what I have already described. Until......the year 2000 when I was injured at work and required surgery to shave the disc. The ortho that did this only did one disc at S1-L5, this was in September of 2000. By October I had returned to work (light duty) and was taking a full 14 residents on my own (short staffed will do that). Each of the CNAs did alot of complaining about this and told me I should just suck it up or quit. By November of that year I had been on Percocet, Soma, Flexeral, Nerotin, Lycira and many other pain meds to try and lower my pain but none helped and I decided that it was time to find a new doc, since my Ortho told me that there was nothing wrong and that I should quit complaining (he also would not give me anything stronger then Tylenol for the pain)
I found a fantastic neurosurgeon in Casper WY, 8 hours from where I live that would take my case and after two or three injections of steroids plus many tests, they finally decided it was time to do a two level fusion on S1-L4. Two years I was pain free, for the most part and was back to my old life happy and hunting with hubby. In May of 2002 I was doing some yardwork, very light and watching how I bent my back, and low and behold I started getting pain in my back once again, except this time it was a little higher. So with that we headed once again down to Casper to see my Neuro and he confirmed that sure enough L4-L3 had bulged. We again went in and did the fusion surgery but this time there was no relief. The pain had stayed with me to which my doc replied "your going to have to expect pain." My legs were fine it was all in my back so I agreed and off I went. But in May of 2003 I went to work at Walmart and the pain returned to my legs, butt and feet so I called to get an appointment and was seen four days later.
The doc determined that the screws were loose and that going in frontally and stabilizing the front part of my fusion would be the best way, as too he discovered that L-4-L3 had not fused. So once again I went under the lights of the operating table. Ever since then the pain has been horrible and since my Neurosurgeon could not explain this he diagnosed me with "Failed Back Syndrome" and "Chronic Lower Back Pain"
And here I am, with you all in gobs of pain at 4:30 in the morning (or at least that is when I gingerly climbed from bed) and thinking geee will it ever end? Anyway the muscle relaxer is known as Robaxin and I apologize for taking so long to get to that point.
I am now plagued with knee pain which I am told is arthritis, so yay me!