On 10/1/2014 9:57 AM, sf wrote:
> On Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:52:39 -0700 (PDT), Nancy2
> > wrote:
>
>> I can attest to the back surgery conundrum. I had lumbar fusion surgery (3, 4, 5 and S1) about three years ago, and
>> arthritis plus scar tissue has created severe chronic pain and further degeneration. There is no plus
>> in my case, and seniors who abuse narcotics like hydrocodone have made it extremely difficult, if not
>> Impossible, to get effective painkillers prescribed by over-conscientious scaredy-cat physicians.
>> They should be scared. Most mornings when I wake up, the tenor of my day is, I hate my life.
>
> That's because those drugs don't work in the long run. It works for a
> while, then your body gets used to the dose, so the Dr. gives you a
> stronger one. Pretty soon you're dependent and then you're an addict
> in a permanent fog. Pain control is a lose lose situation. My son in
> law has had a lifetime of pain control since age 12. He was
> prescribed narcotics in recent years, then a synthetic to get off the
> narcotic. The synthetic turned out to be the worse of the two, so he
> decided to detox (not easy). He sees a shrink, an MD who will help
> him with pain management, but won't prescribe narcotics, a physical
> therapist, goes to the gym, does acupuncture - there's probably more
> I'm not remembering. I know he was considering Qi (pronounced: chi)
> Gong at one point, but I don't think he's doing it. What used to be
> an 8 or 9 on the pain scale is now a 2-4, totally manageable and he's
> his old self. I almost jumped for joy the last time he was over
> because the first thing he did was go to the refrigerator looking for
> something to eat. His appetite is back big time and that's a good
> thing, IMO.

That is wonderful news for your SIL, I am happy to hear that he is
getting back to his old self. He has really been through it.

Becca