Career Ending Operation???

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

GREETINGS pro1,

IT'S GOOD that you are still among the LIVING and while you shall endure some pain, you should be allowed a full recovery to again enjoy some or many of the venues you have enjoyed before the accident.

Thank You!
CHEERS!!

 

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

GREETINGS pro1,

HOW are you doing?
HOW is the recovery process and how are you fairing?
Are you able to do some things previously not able?

How are things in general?

Your (former?) employer, is he supporting you or wondering why it's taking so long or even cares?

Thank You Mate!

CHEERS!!

 

[pro1driver]

GREETINGS pro1,
HOW are you doing?

as well as can be expected, more below

HOW is the recovery process and how are you fairing?

well, i still have pains in my back. i was told it was "the healing process", but it hurts to go and sit down, then hurts when i go to stand up. i cannot bend my back, right now, for instance, i cannot bend down and touch my toes. if i drop something on the floor, i have to keep my back straight and "squat" down, but then i get a shooting pain in the back as well. i still walk slowly, with a cane most times. i do not know how much "range of motion" i have lost, but i do believe it is a lot, since i can not bend forward.

Are you able to do some things previously not able?

no, not really. since i cannot bend forward (or backwards) i cannot work my garden. i cannot wash my car, i cannot sleep more than say 1 hour each night, before i wake up, then if i am lucky, fall asleep for another hour. i cannot lift heavy objects, like my laundry basket, or a bag of groceries..the list goes on...

How are things in general?

generally speaking, i am on this side of the dirt. but i am sorely limited in my activities, i cannot really climb or descend a set of stairs that well, and i live on the 3rd floor, which means, i have to climb or descend 2 flights of stair cases which have 14 steps each. when i sit (as being here at the pc), i cannot sit for more that 30 minutes some days, till i have to get up and walk a bit.

Your (former?) employer, is he supporting you or wondering why it's taking so long or even cares?

when i first got hurt, the owner of the company called me a couple of times. i got a call or two from a supervisor. then one day last month, i got a call from the safety manager saying that they have to drop me from the health benefits since i am not working, and the benefits cost them money, which is how i was actually able to get ALL free health benefits and medications from my state, as my state (and state law), does not recognize worker's comp as any income, which means i am dirt poor to the state. so by my company dropping me from the health benefits, i actually save about $400 per month from having to mail them that money, to keep up with my health benefits...!!

but as told to me, from a reliable source, the dropping me of the health benefits, is a sure sign, i have been dropped as an employee.....(i'll probably have more on this later)..the lawyer says, there is no state law (my state that is), that an employer MUST keep you when out on worker's comp....one can be fired off at any time, but the worker's comp insurance still stays with me, till i am released.

Thank You Mate!

CHEERS!!

no...thank you.....

 

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

i cannot sleep more than say 1 hour each night, before i wake up, then if i am lucky, fall asleep for another hour.

i cannot sit for more that 30 minutes some days, till i have to get up and walk a bit.

Kiwiray stated the same yet with his legs...and lower back.

No possibility of moving to the 1st or 2nd floors?

No one available to help with some necessities?

Sorry to read you're not doing better as you hoped.

Keep up with your contacts as you are able and hopefully soon you regain some movements and sleep ability.

~CK~

 

[pro1driver]

Kiwiray stated the same yet with his legs...and lower back.

i do not remember all that he had wrong.

No possibility of moving to the 1st or 2nd floors?

sis and her family are on 1st, mom and dad on 2nd....no spare rooms in either

No one available to help with some necessities?

oh heck yeah..bro-in-law is on lay off, he does help mom and dad's laundry as well as mine.

sis tends to the garden as often as possible

mom (at 88) still cooks enough to feed 127,000 pro football team players

what is also killing me, is that dad is not doing so well, he had a procedure done last month, and i try to help him with his bandages,etc...

it is the "daily" things like showering, dressing, climbing the stairs, getting around the apartment i try my best to get done on my own.. the "heavy stuff", is all taken care of. for instance, i like having a very clear car....but i cannot fill a bucket with soap and water, nor drag the hose around, so, the car stays dirty, as i will not ask anyone to wash it, as it is not as important as laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

Sorry to read you're not doing better as you hoped.

Keep up with your contacts as you are able and hopefully soon you regain some movements and sleep ability.

~CK~

what is most surprising to me, the last back operation on 2001, i never went through this BS. it was all different back then. i nary needed pain meds, where as now, i am on a second pain med, as the first (oxycodone) was giving me constipation. so this new pain med, is mild by comparison, but i am only supposed to take one pill every 5 hours...

i have been swallowing up to 6 at a time to deaden the pain....

and i am not supposed to go back to the oxycodone, but i do...it's a mixed bag of pain meds

and i am supposed to start out patient physical therapy next Tuesday....!!!

what a joy that will be....high on drugs.....low on performance.

i still believe it is too soon to start that crap...but the doctors p/a said, "the doctor has it all planned out"......

i do not think he "planned out" the continual pains.

 

[TedWard]

I'd take the oxycodone, but with it I'd take metamucil with each meal or whatever. Pain sucks.

 

[pro1driver]

I'd take the oxycodone, but with it I'd take metamucil with each meal or whatever. Pain sucks.

ohhhhhh....i've done thaaaaaat cocktail............


not enough t/p in all 345,986,386,984,242 stores in my area however.......

 

[pro1driver]

Quickie update

well it's been since July 8th of the operation.

had a home care physical therapist (for 3 weeks) get me somewhat up and moving, so i could then go to out patient therapy.

went Tuesday and Friday of last week, maybe about an hour each day.

still in pain, cannot bend and touch my toes. still cannot twist my body.

when i lay in bed, i am as flat as possible and still pain.

i try to elevate the legs, no good.

i ran out of the Tramadol, and went back to Oxycodone.

waiting since last week for a refill for the Tramadol.

at the physical therapy place, they can only give me very small amounts of therapy, then ice my back.

strange how this back operation from the first one i had in 2001, is seemingly not responding the same.

i was told, (by all the physical therapists i have seen so far) but i had a feeling.....nothing does (respond the same from a previous time)......dammit..

i was also told now by the same therapists.....i may not be able to go back to my job, but they were not specific if they meant the job i got hurt at, or truck driving in general.



that's it for now.


thanks

 

[FLOUNDER]

Try the pool at the YMCA and get a water belt and free float in the deep end with the belt under your arms this will take pressure off ur back and you will feel much better.

Good luck, praying for ya.

 

[mud]

Take one day at a time and keep posting.

 

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

Try the pool at the YMCA and get a water belt and free float in the deep end with the belt under your arms this will take pressure off ur back and you will feel much better.

Good luck, praying for ya.

True Mate and Thank You, such activities DO HELP, until the time to EXIT, then often the pains return.
Of course, a lot of folks have problems GETTING TO those locations and pro1 lives on the 3rd floor without a Lift.
- - - -
mildew,

I wood never have expected you to promote "one day at a time".
Are you a friend of Bill?
Oftentimes, platitudes do not help.

EVERYONE has the same day, that is all Nature will ever give, as the next day (some call such tomorrow, so find tomorrow listed on a calendar) is not promised, and for some, never granted.

CHEERS!!

 

[pro1driver]

Try the pool at the YMCA and get a water belt and free float in the deep end with the <u>belt under your arms</u> this will take pressure off ur back and you will feel much better.<br>
<br>
Good luck, praying for ya.

actually the p/t place i am going to, has 4 locations, and one of those, had a pool. i will be making a switch over to that place, one for the pool and two, i do not like the p/t person that is working with me<br>
<br>

Take one day at a time and keep posting.

<br>
<br>
this is all i can do. if i stay in the house, i get bored as all hell. so i go outside and sit by my garden. if i even try to do something like pull onto the garden hose to well...water my garden..i get a sharp pain in the back. funny how a garden hose, which can be dragged on the ground, can be "heavy"...<br>
<br>

True Mate and Thank You, such activities DO HELP, until the time to EXIT, then often the pains return.<br>
Of course, a lot of folks have problems GETTING TO those locations and pro1 lives on the 3rd floor without a Lift.<br>
- - - -<br>

<br>
<br>
true, that.....climbing 2 flights of stairs is time consuming. i cannot "run up" then like i used to.<br>
<br>
i'm just glad i don't live in the Empire State Building.....on the top floor......and the elevator is broken...!!!!!<br>
<br>
i will post updates every once in a while.<br>
<br>
thanks

 

[Dockworker]

Do you smoke?
Do you have a grab/reach tool?
Do you have a toilet riser and other essentials to help ease the recovery?
I forgot if you mentioned these things?

 

[pro1driver]

Do you smoke?

i will sometimes smoke a cigar, but it has been since my injury, back i April, when i had my last one.

Do you have a grab/reach tool?

yes...88 year old mom, 90 year old dad...then sis, and her dipshyte hubby....

my elderly parents always like to help and feel useful.

my sis tries her best to be helpful

her dipshyte hubby tries his best to muck up things, in order NOT to be asked to help.....but i use "reverse psychology on him", and tell him he did a great job.....confuses the crap outta him........but when you have shyte for brains....that is easy.

Do you have a toilet riser and other essentials to help ease the recovery?

no

I forgot if you mentioned these things?

uh....nope.....

 

[Dockworker]

Good thing you stopped during your healing process.
I was told by a spine surgeon that any kind of smoking and constant inhalation of second hand smoke can lower the chances of a successful fusion by 40-50%. That's significant, especially when someone gets older in life and the healing process takes longer.

Glad you have a human grabbers/reacher's/gophers available. Are they sick of you yet?

You were able to pop a squat without a riser?

 

[pro1driver]

Good thing you stopped during your healing process.
I was told by a spine surgeon that any kind of smoking and constant inhalation of second hand smoke can lower the chances of a successful fusion by 40-50%. That's significant, especially when someone gets older in life and the healing process takes longer.

i miss puffing on my cigars, but i am not the type of person to run out to a store and buy things, just on cravings alone...i like a beer once in a while, none in the house, but to run out solely for beer, isn't for me....i have to be out shopping for other things, THEN i'll pick up some beer....

Glad you have a human grabbers/reacher's/gophers available. Are they sick of you yet?

no, they are not sick of me yet...but dad plays the "i'm having a heart attack" card with me...screw him, he has 2 stents in him.....

You were able to pop a squat without a riser?

the only way to get to something that falls onto the floor, is to squat down, and keep my back as straight as all possible..

but even when i do that...i have this back pain, that IS there. the gal at the p/t place said last week, i am having a back spasm...

i looked up "spasm"....

it is something that "hits you all of a sudden"....

this pain IS THERE ALL the time, not "all of a sudden".....!!!

on a "pain scale" of 0 to 10....

it IS a constant 6 thru 7

can't sleep, can't sit for too long.....

 

[pro1driver]

unusual update...????

ok...i just got an unusual phone call from a "salesperson".....

most times of course, i never answer my phone, that is the job of the answering machine.

anyhow, i had to listen to the recording.

the salesperson was given my number, by my neurosurgeon's office.

seems like now, i will have to wear an...."external bone stimulator", which will help my fusion.

i had said to the gal that my operation was back in July, she said, "up to" 9 months from the operation, you can start wearing this.

she said i need to wear it for about 30 minutes a day, and it "looks like" a steering wheel.

this pic here may not be the exact type/brand or model, and since i have no exact anything right now, all i have seen for prices are $90.00 up to $3,000 for one of these....

when i get this "device", only then can i look up prices.

of course, workman's comp pays for it, and i get to keep it, as they do not resell "used" medical equipment. the insurance company does not buy used equipment either..

here is a pic, of what it "might" look like....

from what the additional pics show, the "front" is with the white box, while the back is just under that. i can see an electrical cord.....i'd wear it for the time said. i sure do hope that it ain't too hot/muggy here......

all that voltage surrounding my hot, sweaty body.......and ZAPPO..........!!!!!!!

 

[pro1driver]

therapy today...didn't go well

well went to physical therapy this morning.

i was "hunched over" walking in, and in a bit of pain.

the gal put me on this bicycle machine, that can work your arms as well (if one needs that)

i was asked to try to get thru 6 minutes..

i made it to 4.

then she put me onto a machine in which i sit down, and using my legs, i have to push back, and by doing this, weights get lifted. there was the minimum amount of weight, of 15 pounds....

she asked that i try to do this 10 times...

i made it to 5.

then i had to stand up against the wall, and with a large soft ball, lean into it and try to do "squats", but only go down a "few inches"...

she said try 10 times...

i made it to 6...

she then "felt" my back, and it was hot....

when i was told to lay down, on my back, she had me try some other minor exercises.

there was probably about 5 in all, i made it nearly half way thru each one, never making it to the full count...

my back was even hotter now...

she said my back is irritated (no shyte), and that i DID NOT take the operation well, nor am i taking therapy well...

being as well experienced as she is, she knew i was not doing well.

she iced me down, and used an electronic machine, similar to a "TENS" machine, to massage my back.....

when i was done at the therapy.. i walked out just as hunched over as when i had arrived...

i'd say all of about 1 hour later, i was at my "drinking hole"....(the barbershop), and as i was talking with some guys i knew....

i had such a BIG SPIKE in pain, i nearly fell to the floor.....

i went home, took 2 oxy's.......

think of when YOU fall down.....some pain right..??

then think of the NEXT day......when you get MORE pains......right...??

that's how it was, about 1 hour after today's p/t.....


dammit....dammit...dammit......

Wednesday (tomorrow) i have an appointment with my lawyer.

he will get an earful.......how much that will help.....i do not know.....

i "see" the doctor's P/A, in another week......

i have said all along, that i should NOT be going to p/t so soon after surgery......my bones need to heal......

but hey, what do i frigging know.....

it's only MY back...right...???

 

[SMOKESTACK]

Ugh !!!!

I heard the C word.....

Concentra misdiagnosed a very serious injury to my shoulder
and milked FedEx for everything they could before I said
enough ! Bottom line Concentra should of been sued....

 

[pro1driver]

Ugh !!!!

I heard the C word.....

Concentra misdiagnosed a very serious injury to my shoulder
and milked FedEx for everything they could before I said
enough ! Bottom line Concentra should of been sued....

yeah, i too am NO FAN of Concentra.

in my state, i can go where i choose to go.

but....

my company told me to go there. as a result, i did not want to say no, only so that i do not get to hear from anyone "then you ain't hurt, go back to work, or go work someplace else"....which is why i have a darned good worker's comp lawyer, that has taken care of a few things thus far, and is keeping track of everything...and he is not an ambulance chaser, nor needs to advertise...my "regular lawyer" sent me to him, as he is that good.

Concentra is (from what i have been told) a company that has the employer's interests in mind, rather than the patient's...

which to me became evident, when the second week follow up visit, the quack that examined me, said i had a "back spasm"....

that is when i demanded an x-ray, and MRI.

the first doctor that examined, when i had gone there the day after the injury, said that by my description of the pain, and location, she seemed to have known right away, it was the L-5 disk.

she was right. MRI proved that...!!!!!

from the time of injury, to the x-rays/MRI and then to surgery, was far, far less than my first back injury.

there i got hurt in Sept, went to the "company doctor", and was given one pain med after another, sent to therapy, and no x-rays or MRI's, till around January..!!!

then surgery in March...

so all in all, this time on the merry-go-round, was faster.

but yeah..Concentra.....not the world's best place for the "practice" of medicine.....

or maybe...Concentra..."practice here first, for your experience"...