being disabled....

Sorry to remind you guys but the OP asked for fonts in size 5 or bigger..

[amiyesiam]

Originally Posted by Incubus

Sorry to remind you guys but the OP asked for fonts in size 5 or bigger..

Actually thank you for saying this. Some of us have a hard time saying things that need to be said.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by Incubus

Sorry to remind you guys but the OP asked for fonts in size 5 or bigger..

Also, check out how to make your own browser adjust font sizes for you. That way, it doesn't matter if someone forgets to do it for you.

http://www.disabled-world.com/disabi...izing-text.php

Also: http://www.ehow.com/how_4877692_adju...font-size.html

[Soft*Silver]

tramadol is a waste of energy to open my mouth to even take it. it does nothing, nothing, nothing for me. I get sent home with a script for it like its suppose to be my miracle drug. I would rather drink again that rely on that shit. Seriously. Self medication is better than dealing with doctors in denial about my pain.

My surgery is Monday and I was told I am going to get an epideral drip and that they dont kid around with pain.They sent me home with a script for liquid oxycotin. Damn. And yes they know I am in recovery. They asked me if I am responsible. Hell yes. Finally. FINALLY.

While I like my PPC, after this surgery, if my level of pain doesnt go down, I am done with her. The past two years have been traumatic. When I look back on it I cant imagine how I survived the shit I went thru and endured the level of pain I had. It looks like a grainy old black and white film when I think of it...sad...depressing...I dont want another day like that in my Here and Now. I was put thru a bureaucratric crime war to get on SSDI...I feel like I was released as a POW.

[DamselFly]

i apologize for taking so long to get back here. i now have a new-born orphaned foal in my life that depends mainly on me sometimes. that has turned life upside-down and sideways, in a good way, though. despite the toll that lack of sleep takes, seeing Nickers's sweet strong spirit while he learns how to use his body and explores this new world makes everything worthwhile. *smile* watching him is better than any drug, and the effects of loving him long-lasting!
i have been reading all of Y/your posts and am amazed at Y/your spirit and determination to live life to Y/your fullest! thank Y/you for sharing Y/your stories, books that inspire Y/you, and information on meds, dr.s, and other things medical. a special thanks to DOMNC for info on meds!
by the way, tramadol is "just" the generic for Ultram. i don't like the automatic substitution that insurance requires of generics for brand drugs. i've found, that despite claims to the opposite, generics are NOT the same chemically for the most part as brand drugs. sometimes that difference can have dangerous effects and/or interactions with other medications. i REALLY dislike that medicine, esp. for those of us on medicare/SSD and/or medicaid, is dictated largely by the insurance companies, instead of by medical professionals. i also wish that medicare and medicaid did not differ so state by state, thus making the quality of medical care available largely dependent upon where you live. surprisingly, i'm finding that the general quality of medical care i received in WV is superior, esp. when it comes to PCPs. though i have access now to the best eye clinic in OK, i have been told nothing that my optho dr in WV did not say and offered no better solution than his. i.e., i am going blind; now the rate of optic nerve deterioration has increased, and the dr.s can offer no solution other than eye drops to try to hold on to what little vision i have left. apparently, i don't have enough optic nerves left to try anything else. in addition, i'm having to go through the whole process of "proving" i have MS, despite being diagnosed in the past by 3 neurologists. i'm so tired of having to do this every time i move. why do i have to do this???
for my book contribution, i can recommend The Migraine Brain, can't remember the authour-female MD based in NYCity. excellent book that explains migraines as a whole-body neurological disease and has things to take to Y/your dr. to explain what is needed by a migraineur in general. has A/anyone ever taken lidocaine shots for migraines? i am going to start them thursday (from the same neurologist making me prove i have MS). i looked this treatment up online and found that this is a treatment given for cluster headaches, not migraines. since i've tried everything on the market for migraines (and some alternative treatments), i'm willing to try this. but i don't like this neuro-he has the same god-complex i've run into before in many neuros.
Taoism/Buddhism gives me strength and the ability to do what i can to give back to others. compassion and loving-kindness are the basis for life for me, and i try my best to offer what i can to all sentient beings, be they animal, people, insects, plants, whatever. meditation helps greatly. re a partner, i had given up on the possibility but now do not close myself off to that any longer. whatever my medical status, i am still me and have much to offer to the right person, plus i make a wonderful friend, the foundation for any kind of relationship! so believe in Y/yourself; be kind to Y/yourself and others, and the rest will follow. Tao moves as Tao moves, and karma DOES affect this life as well as future incarnations.
i hope and think that W/we have the foundation and beginning of a community here. please keep posting and let U/us support one another!
namaste, my friends! (and i appreciate Y/your efforts to post in larger fonts!)
DamselFly

[iamkeri1]

A Saturday night hello to you all. I am wondering how everyone is doing, so I am bumping this up.
Smooches,
Keri

[Rockinonahigh]

Hi Keri,how are u?All I can say about being diffrently abled ...well its a pain in the a$$ at times,I use to worry about things and how it was going to be in haveing diffrent ablities now that also kept me from doing the things I wanted to do.The docs agree that I do have a fue problems but are draging there feet about what to do,soooo what am I to do?The anser I came up with was just to do all I wanted to do,reguardless of the health issues I have,im not doing anything stupid and crazy but im liveing life to the fullist I can.If something goes out of wack I just hop to the E.R then deal with it as needed.Not long agao my asthma kept kicking in cause of the weather but it didnt stop me from doing what I needed to do as the meds I take keep in in check,my back goes nuts at times...meds again..keep on trucking.I take pain pills and relaxers to keep going as neded so all is going way better that I thought they would.

[iamkeri1]

Rockin,
It is always good to hear from you. Your posts are so positive. I mean when you look at life, what else CAN you do but do your best to have a full life?

As you know I use a scooter for mobility. I constantly receive "compliments" from people about how well I am doing "getting around." I usually smile and say thanks (Why not - they're only trying to be nice), but sometimes I say back - "Hey you are doing a pretty good job of getting around yourself. I like the way you're walking there." They look at me funny, and then they laugh. Then there are the folks who tell me they find me amazing, or wonderful or some other positive adjective because I am working or driving or doing some other normal activity. What do they expect us to do with our lives? Stay in bed and cry all day?

Well maybe one of our roles in life is to be the educators as to what can be accomplished by us "handicapped" people, LOL.

Keep rockin, Rockin!
Smooches,
Keri

[TIMBERWOLF]

Hey Ms DamselFly,
I have been disabled since 1988 with a hip injury from being a Meat cutter.I was also born with a foot smaller and turned in.It took me two yrs to learn to walk after this injury and they couldn't do anything for my hip because I was too young to have a hip replacement and it wouldn't last. They wanted me to wait till I was 60,well thats coming up fast and i mainly walk with a cane now do to the pain i have. The Dr's wanted me to take Vicodin for the pain and i refused .I found that my Mortin 800mg worked on the pain along with my muscle relaxer(PRN).My pelvis also sits on my sciatica nerve which also gives me pain. I can't walk like i use to,or dance,go bowling and do the things I like to do.My partner is also disabled.We both still work and still able to get around,thank the Spirits.
We do things we can and understand our constraint of things we can't.The Motrin has knocked out my kidneys and they want me to take Tylenol which doesn't do much for my pain and my Aunt died from Tylenol poisoning.Unfortunately Lidocaine Im hypersensitive to, and hurts me 5X more than it does most people, so veer away as much as possible when i hear it. I use to take Caffergot for my Migraines when i was younger, which allowed me to still work without being in the dark and taking Darvocet. I haven't had one since my Hysterectomy in 1996.I have asked my Endocrinologist if she would recommend something for my pain but she won't ,so I will have to find a pain doctor. I normally only take my meds after i get home from work,because I don't want to impair my judgment with my patients,so I take my motrin with my bad kidneys.
TIMBER

Originally Posted by DamselFly

A/anyone ever taken lidocaine shots for migraines? i am going to start them thursday (from the same neurologist making me prove i have MS).
DamselFly

[Rockinonahigh]

Hi Keri
I get where you are comeing from about being mobile,I know theres a scooter some where with my name on it but I hope it dosent show up anytime soon.Mont people have no idea I keep a walking cane in my car at all times just incase I need it.at home I also have one right along with four pairs of crutches and all kinds of back/knee braces mostly never worn except the oldest ones I used when I had the accident and needed them more than now.
For me what helps is plenty or as much as I can stand leg strengthining exersises wich I do three times a week or more if I can,I also do lots of core work as long as it dosent agravate something or other in my back right along with tons of upper body work.I use a stair stepper at 100 or more steps every day I use it,I also use free weights top do lots of upper body stuff and the bowflex helps a lot to.I am hopeing the doc will just give my a shot to deaden or quieten my sciatic nerve but so far nada for what ever reason I haveno idea.Yeaterday my son placed a chin bar between to beems in the garage and some pading on the wall so I dont lean on the wood wall,the idea is the core strength leg lifts the gymnist use against a wall and I can already do a reasonable leg lift and not bave any pressure on my back.It all comes down to pure down mule stubborness I got tons of that..being a bone head has some benefits.I also rest when I need it often before my body says rest helps bunches.
Rockin

[Andrew, Jr.]

Hi Everyone. I hope everyone is doing ok these days.

[DomnNC]

Hey Timberwolf,

I'm kinda surprised to hear your Dr tell you that about hip replacements. My baby brother (who is now 45) had both hips totally replaced by the time he was 33. His condition came about because some ignorant Dr kept him on prednisone for 3 years, it ate all the cartilage up between his hip and shoulder joints. He was in such agony trying to walk that his surgeon opted to give him hip replacements. As with any newfangled implants they don't last forever and have to be replaced at some point, the hope is technology will advance by that time to where there is a more suitable replacement that will indeed last longer or be permanent. I think his Dr told him if he didn't abuse his hips that his could last for 15 years or a little longer.

I've had 2 cervical fusions and one lumbar fusion and I know my neurosurgeon told me that they last on the average of 10 years if no more abuse is heaped upon the vertebrae. My first cervical fusion was in 1998, the 2nd one right above it in 2004, which my neurosurgeon inspected the one he did in 1998 and said it still looked brand new, woohoo, cuz I'm passed that 10 year thing by 3 years on the first one, lol. But I know in the future I'll have to have it done again. Would I do it all over as I have, darn right, the improvement in the quality of life area vastly improved, as with my brother.
I guess it's a trade-off knowing if your quality of life would improve greatly vs having to have a repeat surgery. Sounds to me like he only wants ya to have it once and hopes you bite the bullet before that 15 year lapse. It's a shame they've made you wait all this time and endure the level of pain you seem to have.

[iamkeri1]

Rockin,
On the subject of scooters. Using a scooter has been 99% positive for me. I've experienced a huge increase in energy, and I can do a million things that I could not do before. When I was walking on crutches I used to use up the last iota of my energy doing everyday tasks. I could continue to keep going as long as I kept going (an object in motion tends to stay in motion, LOL) I could work all day, come home, cook dinner, wash clothes, do some sewing, wash dishes, etc. and fall in to bed exhausted. BUT if I came home from work and made the mistake of sitting down on the couch to talk to my sweetie for a while, then I was done. Either he was cooking or we were ordering in pizza. I used to keep work piled up bedside the couch because TV was too boring to sit there and just watch. I would do bills, crochet, turn up pants or skirts, whatever. I wish I had started using the scooter at least part time much earlier than I did. We each have to make our own decisions though.

You certainly are doing lots to keep yourself going. I salute you.

Smooches,
Keri