Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

Well I am having a bad day but on a professional level so I decided to take some time out to breathe and calm down and writing helps me do this :) I have been on Lyrica now since the 12th July, 2010 and we have had some interesting moments! I am definitely a different person, not quite on the ball as I used to be, I am delayed in my reactions to everything, I am always tired and lethargic and I forget what I am doing ALL the time, I walk into a room and say "what am I doing in here?" a few minutes later I will go "oh yeah, I remember now", not me at all and not sure I like that, what is this drug doing to my brain exactly? My periods are all over the place, I was late by 2 weeks last time and only bled for 2 days - this is most unusual for my cycle as for years, since the age of 14 I have been regular and lasted fror 5 days so I guess Lyrica is playing a part in that also. I think I read somewhere that Lyrica makes you infertile but if you consider we are trying t...

Well, I have been up front and sharing since I joined the Scoliosis community over 5 years ago so I decided I would not stop now, I am sure I will not say something here that has not crossed the mind of many chronic pain sufferer with Scoliosis! But I have never been one to mix my words so I will not start now :) I think this week has to be in my "Top 10 Pain Weeks with Scoliosis" and finally I gave in, went to see the Dr and got myself some drugs! While we are at it, let's throw some facts in here - where does the word drug come from? Well it turns out that the word comes from the Dutch word droog, which means dry because most drugs (medicines) came from dried plants - so there you have it, cool fact for the day hahaha! I have always had a problem with the donor site as many of you well know (donor site = where they take bone form the hip to place around the spine) but these past few months it seems to have changed and would swell constantly rendering me unable to...

The Cobra coverage was cheaper than I thought, and my mom said she'll help pay for it. We decided it's worth it to see what Dr. STL has to say, so we're flying up there on Tuesday. My appointment is Wednesday, we're flying back Thursday. If we could stay longer, we would, but it would cost extra to change our tickets. Ugh, the whole quick trip idea was so I wouldn't miss work. I wish I could see my relatives while I'm there. Anyway, I'll post when I get home, probably Friday. I really have no idea what to expect, or even what to hope for. I think I can stop praying for flexibility and symmetry. I think the most realistic thing to hope for is pain relief, and the rest is just icing. I'm pretty pissed off, actually. Why is this happening to me? My x-rays don't look so bad, compared to some others I've seen online. Why am I in so much pain? I look fine from the outside, except for my limp and rib hump. Life sucks sometimes.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Not much to talk about. I've been loving the Flexeril, although I've never had dry mouth this strong before. I got new electrodes for my TENS unit, but haven't had to use them yet. I've had quite a bit of free time on my hands - I lost my job. The pain seems to all but disappear when I don't have to work! I doubt I'll be able to afford Cobra coverage, but I'm gonna try my best to find the money somehow. Otherwise I have no way to take care of myself until I get a new job with insurance. The surgery is off. I found out today it's way more expensive than my mom or I had imagined. Six figures. I doubt that even includes the hospital stay, rehab, plus all the assorted "little" fees, like medication and the staff's fees - radiologists, ahoy! I have no idea what the doctor would even do, so I kinda resent the lady there telling me that. It really took the wind out of my sails. Her saying that killed the onl...