unlucky 13

[Lloyd Smale]

going in on the 20th for back surgery #13. seems anymore its every year or at least every 2 years. last one lasted 2 years and ill take that! this one at least wont be a fusion and the doc has some new tech hes going to try that is simular to scoping a knee and says recovery is about half but the procedure actually takes twice as long

[Drilling Man]

  I hope you have a good outcome!

  DM

[Ranger99]

Good Luck
Hopefully you still have some left

I had a neighbor who had what was
supposed to be a simple spinal
surgery with the recovery/rehab
much longer than the surgery.
They had him all tractioned up
and took him loose too soon.
Whatever they cut wasn't healed
enough yet, and when he moved
around, something popped and
he was paralysed.
After a lengthy repair and rehabilitation
he was able to walk/ hobble along,
and could talk and other simple stuff,
but his neck wouldn't pivot and his
arms were limp and useless.
He went on for some years like that,
and finally passed when his breathing
failed

[ironglowz]

   Here's hoping it goes better than ever for you, Lloyd !

[Lloyd Smale]

i quit worrying after about the forth one. left it in Gods hands. never stopped motocross or snowmobile racing back when the docs said absolutely no. spent my career climbing poles and towers when they said no about that. God had ample chances to leave me a cripple if that was his plan. quit worrying decades ago. my wife shakes her head. she says i show up for surgery anymore like most do at their doc for a cold. back surgery #13 and well over 20 various surgeries. just another day

[ironglowz]

  I understand..  Back at turn of the century, I was told that I was a ripe candidate for a right shoulder replacement.  However that would have halted my blacksmithing.

  I said "no thanks", and kept on smithing..

  My shoulder does give me a share of pain..as does arthritis in the other major joints.

  Was it a good decision?  I don't know, but I expect that if I had accepted a replacement 26 years ago, I would be ready for a replacement again, since they don't seem to   
   last any longer than that..

[Lloyd Smale]

my ankle replacement and 2 hips are going strong since the early 70s  knee though has had to be redone twice. backs the bad one. have one and it just endlessly needs another. but there was no option as the first fusion was done because my back was broke, id recommend anyone they want to do back surgery on to wait as long as you can!!

  I understand..  Back at turn of the century, I was told that I was a ripe candidate for a right shoulder replacement.  However that would have halted my blacksmithing.

  I said "no thanks", and kept on smithing..

  My shoulder does give me a share of pain..as does arthritis in the other major joints.

  Was it a good decision?  I don't know, but I expect that if I had accepted a replacement 26 years ago, I would be ready for a replacement again, since they don't seem to   
   last any longer than that..

[Land_Owner]

Should it be found that Covid caused my waist paralysis, such that I now can't walk or sue the treatment manufacturers, I am going to be upset.

[Lloyd Smale]

a hard life, hard work and ignoring my doctors advice to stop doing things i love was the cause of mine. but then i was never one to give up and sit in a chair. bottom line is id rather be dead. who knows if it would be better or worse if i wouldnt have worked out and played hard. had a chance once to leave the line crew and sit behind a desk and i laughed at the offer. when i was first hurt in the early 70s the docs said id never walk. 6 months later i was walking and a year later passed the physical test to reenlist. it took lots of work and pain but i bucked up and used grit to prove them all wrong. they still didnt want to let me reenlist but a navy master cheif and my lt commander used all there influence to hep me, thankfully the mission i got hurt on was classified so it didnt show in my discharge records so the power company had no clue or they would never of hired me. but at 52 i just couldnt do it anymore and took an early retirement. i had 3 covid shots, wont take another but they didnt seem to bother me. who really knows if they do or dont. with my beat up body its hard to put any blame on the covid shots. quit them because i tested pos for covid once. didnt have any symptoms but dont see a vacine that didnt stop me from getting it!

[Bob Riebe]

       Number 13 will be the miracle cure of all that ails you.

[Lloyd Smale]

doubt that bob. im hoping for 2 years of a little less pain that at least lets me sleep

[Ranger99]

. . .  im hoping for 2 years of a little less pain that at least lets me sleep

I can sympathize.
My joints are creaky from ( mostly) heredity
and the shoulder they wanted to replace
some years back usually wakes me up with
an electric shock-type sensation, or my aging
overmedicated bladder, or all of the above.
I look at it like there's always somebody who's
way worse off than me.
I've had good friends pass of cancers and
bad hearts and bad kidneys, and paralysis
from strokes from sorta to full-on, etc.
As long as I can move around and restroom
and feed myself, etc. on my own, I try to
look at it as a blessing.
I gave up on a full nights sleep a few years
back. Sleep is overrated

[Lloyd Smale]

well said. you can catch up on sleep when you die. but if i get less than 4 hours i cant live the way i want while awake. especially after a week to a month of it. surgerys are EASY. you go to sleep and wake up when iits done. sure you have recovery pain but ive found more times than not its less than the pre surgery pain. last 6 surgerys ive taken nothing but advil after. never could understand some peoples fear of surgery. its much eiser than a trip to the dentist

. . .  im hoping for 2 years of a little less pain that at least lets me sleep

I can sympathize.
My joints are creaky from ( mostly) heredity
and the shoulder they wanted to replace
some years back usually wakes me up with
an electric shock-type sensation, or my aging
overmedicated bladder, or all of the above.
I look at it like there's always somebody who's
way worse off than me.
I've had good friends pass of cancers and
bad hearts and bad kidneys, and paralysis
from strokes from sorta to full-on, etc.
As long as I can move around and restroom
and feed myself, etc. on my own, I try to
look at it as a blessing.
I gave up on a full nights sleep a few years
back. Sleep is overrated

[DDZ]

Hope all goes well with your surgery.

[Bob Riebe]

going in on the 20th for back surgery #13. seems anymore its every year or at least every 2 years. last one lasted 2 years and ill take that! this one at least wont be a fusion and the doc has some new tech hes going to try that is simular to scoping a knee and says recovery is about half but the procedure actually takes twice as long

      Well now you know the old Dr. Welby cure; take two aspirin and get plenty of rest, although a shot or
      two or three of brandy helps.

[Ranger99]

Good Luck ( again) on tomorrow's adventure

[Lloyd Smale]

heading to the butcher shop in about an hour.

Good Luck ( again) on tomorrow's adventure

[Lloyd Smale]

operation was a piece of cake for me but a grueling 4.5 hours for the doc. they cut a small hole and went in with fiber optics and a grinder. recovery is nothing. didnt even take a Tylenol yet. im actually in less pain this morning them yesterday other than some at the incision site. i can even walk withot being hunched over today! overall the easiest surgery ive had. 

[Ranger99]

That's great
You just never know when dealing with
the medical mess these days.
Have an appointnent myself tuesday.
Supposedly allegedly minor, but I
never know what might transpire

[Land_Owner]

Lloyd, keep track of your progress walking in therapy. After the third surgery mine got slower to recovery and finally I could not longer stand. I don't know when the nerve bundle got nicked, or neuropathy did its evil dirty work. Bottom line, no walking, no bathroom, no shower, none of the previously taken for granted pleasures.

[Lloyd Smale]

neuropathy is probably my biggest concern. doctors back in the 70s when i first was injured said i had alot of nerve damage and would no doubt have neuropathy. they told my that there was a 90% chance id never walk because of it. funny thing is at first when i got walking i only had a small amount of it in my left foot. was like that and didnt get worse for about 40 years. then about 10 years ago i noticed it was getting worse now both feet and my entire right leg are bad and my right leg up to my knee. been to 3 neurosurgeon's and none of them can pin down whats causing it and just say the massive trauma, many surgery's and just getting older probably are the causes and nothing can be done. i sometimes get cramping in my legs so bad that i bolt out of bed and end up on the floor unable to get up when the cramps die down. i have to pound on the floor to wake the wife to come and help. its still getting worse and i fear that that will be what eventually puts me in the bed they said id spend my life in back in the 70s. they can patch up your spine every couple years even cure cancer in some cases but there are zero treatments for neuropathy other than quack cures that just drain your wallet. when it gets as bad as yours a guys better off being paralized. at least youd have no more pins and needles, buring, itches you cant scratch and at least in my case those God awful cramps

Lloyd, keep track of your progress walking in therapy. After the third surgery mine got slower to recovery and finally I could not longer stand. I don't know when the nerve bundle got nicked, or neuropathy did its evil dirty work. Bottom line, no walking, no bathroom, no shower, none of the previously taken for granted pleasures.

[Land_Owner]

Who did we piss off?

[Graybeard]

Who did we piss off?

The world prolly Richard. I have diabetic neurology very badly. Have basically zero feeling in bottom of both feet, same in left hip and into my crotch. I take a pill twice a day that really helps with the nerve pain part of it. It's called gabapentin.

Is gabapentin a very strong painkiller?
Is gabapentin a strong painkiller? Gabapentin is not a conventional painkiller. It is an anti-convulsant medication that is very effective in relieving nerve pain. There may be better medical treatments for other types of pain.Sep 16, 2025

[Bob Riebe]

Who did we piss off?

The world prolly Richard. I have diabetic neurology very badly. Have basically zero feeling in bottom of both feet, same in left hip and into my crotch. I take a pill twice a day that really helps with the nerve pain part of it. It's called gabapentin.

Is gabapentin a very strong painkiller?
Is gabapentin a strong painkiller? Gabapentin is not a conventional painkiller. It is an anti-convulsant medication that is very effective in relieving nerve pain. There may be better medical treatments for other types of pain.Sep 16, 2025

I accidentally hit the love button.

[Bob Riebe]

       Number 13 will be the miracle cure of all that ails you.

SEE, just what I said.

[Lloyd Smale]

ve taken 200mg gabapentin twice a day for near 20 years. took oxycodone 3 times a day before that for all sorts of pain but went to my doc and said no more narcotics and wont even take them after sugery anymore. gabapentin helps with the pain but doesnt do anything for numbness weakness or the cramps. i take it with flexural and backsulosin only at night because if taken in the morning i tend to sleep half the day. i also take naproxin twice a day and every vitamin that helps with cramping. keeps the bad cramps down to once a week or so. odd thing is bill mine too has left me with no felling on the bottom of both feet numbness up the legs but like you the left one is the bad one. it goes all the way up the leg and into the crotch. excuse the spelling. im a bit to sore to chase around the house to get correct spelling off the bottles 

Who did we piss off?

The world prolly Richard. I have diabetic neurology very badly. Have basically zero feeling in bottom of both feet, same in left hip and into my crotch. I take a pill twice a day that really helps with the nerve pain part of it. It's called gabapentin.

Is gabapentin a very strong painkiller?
Is gabapentin a strong painkiller? Gabapentin is not a conventional painkiller. It is an anti-convulsant medication that is very effective in relieving nerve pain. There may be better medical treatments for other types of pain.Sep 16, 2025