yesterday,all my troubles seemed so,,,,,,away

[biff]

we left donegal early,with the babies in kennells for the day because we did not know how long my opp was going to take.sligo general was busy trollies full and lots of running around and excitment.my appointment was for 2pm.i was dreading this opp but i was left with no other option because nothing else was working and i could neither work not walk any distance with the result that my dream shed and other projects have been lying unfinished since last summer.after plenty of form filling and different stops i was wheeled into the ward to get ready. the opp was performed with me lying on my tummy.a large needle with camera is inserted into the base of the spine,insering the needle takes many efforts,in my case a good dozen,each effort bring pain by the bucket,finally the needle gets under way steered by the camera,it travels up inside the spinal cord to locate the areas it has to treat,the surgeon watches on his laptop and when he finds the area i get warned of a pressure sensation,indeed,it is so uncomfortable i can feel a buildup behind my waterworks and farther up.it take 20 minutes to complete the injection and by that time i have gone through every oath and curse i could remember since childhood,i never normally curse, ever, but because it is such an invasive opp,nothing prepares you for the sensation of feeling you are in the wrong place,help!!,this is a mistake.
  lying face down on the trolly,just before the opp,i asked a very pleasent nurse who was keeping hold of my hand and checking my blood pressure every second,i asked her would it hurt,,"not really,, no not much,,a little stinging feeling which soon goes away"she replied sweetly.and she was nice.after the opp she asked me how i was feeling,  "sore i said,,"damd sore,,and you lied,you lied"....how she laughed and god i had to laugh with her. the relief of getting it over,i could,nt wait to get away but they kept me still for another hour before letting me go home. we collected the babies and home we sailed.going to bed with a cocktail of steriods and god knows what else in my spine brought hope of better days ahead.i have 3 days to rest and by the seventh i am supposed to be feeling like new.i look forward to that,i must clean the rust of my trowel and get ready for business.god loves a tryer,...........biff.

[martin]

Hope you're feeling better soon!

[biff]

thanks martin,
              i believe things are looking up,
                                                      biff

[daftlad]

I know how you feel, I had quite a few X ray guided epidurals, they didn't work so I let them get the hammer and chisel out on me. 

peas

[StBarnabas]

Biff
get well soon sounds painful!
Sean

[biff]

sorry to hear it did not work for you daftlad,,,, thanks sean,, yes it was pretty gruesome,even thinking about it sends shivers up my back. i got the impression the surgeon was working wearing  boxers gloves.i can laugh about it now but at one stage i was in flight mode.,
                                                            biff

[JohnS]

Biff

I hope and pray that you get better soon.  I had back surgery 24 years ago so I know what it is like.  I can remember after coming round from the op, I was pressing the pain button, which was meant to give a dose of pain killer into the drip, all the time but it was limited what it would dispense.  Also, the top of my body seemed disconnected from the bottom, so if I twisted or turned onto my side using my arms or shoulders, it seemed as if the hips and below would not move.  Strange.

However, I made a full recovery and hope you do the same.  Soon, you will get to the stage when you don't think about pain for an hour, and then a few hours and then a day and longer.  It takes time but these milestones will happen.

John

[Contadino]

Get well soon Biff. Back trouble is something I think we all dread. When I was a desk jockey I got laid up for 3 months with an inflamed disk and it was a frustrating nightmare, so gawd knows how you're coping after problems as long as you've had them.

[biff]

thanks john and contadino,
                          i think the injction is beginning to work,i really do.last night i could take off my socks and move about a lot better.
                                                          biff

[Ivan]

Wishing a speedy recovery. Remember you're not superman when you start feeling better. Take it easy and build things up little at a time to make sure you don't end up back where you were.

[biff]

thanks ivan,
             thats exactly what my better half is saying but this injection is certainly working, she will get some pics of my dream shed before i begin again and hopefully i will get it all sealed off before the winter sets in.
                                                                     biff

[biff]

yesterday,tuesday,i started back to work,
                  little jobs,shooting and screwing ties for blockwork into steel,tidying up and organising, today i began cutting block cuts for round the doorway.4"cuts,12"cuts just to have them to hand for when i start laying,,cleaning up and putting everything in order,
      the solar panels drive the mixer quietly and efficently,this job came to a stop last october,i decided to take a rest because i had trouble with my legs and thighs,then when i stopped work i could not sleep and when i could not sleep life became extremely difficult,i would get  into such a state trying to get to sleep where i was running the marathon and drenched in sweat,muscles cramping and spasms occuring here there and everywhere,i had to sell my traffic because i could not stand when i got out of it,the only vehicle that gave me comfort was a fiat doblo,which had a very upright and supported seat.
        by january and febuary my wife was so worried,she was doing the rounds of doctors but nobody could tell us what was wrong,after every test under the sun i was told in march that my bloodcells were the wrong shape,so weekly testing showed that the virus or what ever had attacked my system was on the way out,different spectrums of antibiotics were tried and i knew they did make a serious difference(even though they were not supposed to),after half a dozen bloods i was assured that the cells were returning to normal.then i was advised to go for the jab in my spine, the jab in the spine was the turning point,it took a good 3 days to feel any sign of difference and change was slow,but somehow i was getting to sleep and walking became more painfree,i still cannot jog or run but i can walk and get around pretty good and it gets better by the day.
    i look back on christmas and january and febuary,the nightmare. for a week there i though it was all over,especially in the middle of a 4am marathon, tomorrow i will be laying once more,the trowel will once again perform.i always loved my job as a brickie,even churchill used bricklaying to keep his head right.its that kind of job,satisfying and constructive in the truest sense of the word.
        today the sun shines on me,,,,,i am off down the garden,,,,,,
                                                                                  biff

[StBarnabas]

Biff
excellent! Great to hear you are recovering! I had some sort of post viral syndrome some years ago (about 5) and it became scary after about three months as any effort seemed too much - even climbing the stairs. Fortunately I gradually recovered.

Never been very good at bricklaying - if you are ever in Geordie-land please visit!

[MR GUS]

Biff.
 PM me your address & i'll send you up a tube of my special pain relief gel, which should ably assist recovery now, it's very able stuff & not uk medicine market (a Canadian / U.S. brand from Pfizer) uk pain creams are rubbish, if in france they have good stuff over the counter, but Bengay is our winner & will take down the worst of "walking patient" pain.

I recommend you get your wife to apply it & wash your hands thoroughly afterwards! (or apply with latex disposable glove, takes a few minutes exposed to air to leach into the skin then you can dress as normal, it's an anti-inflammatory, so medical notes on yourself are advisory.

It is a bit "linamenty" but not as bad (imho) as the old deep heat, & certainly better received by the skin, warms it not burns it!

Biff listen to your back to avoid setbacks, it's way to tempting to just do "one more thing" ..& bang you're flat on the floor, obey your nagging wife, or you'll be sitting prone & defenceless at hers & your backs mercy.

If you get on with it (& most people swear by it) there is also a very good arthritis version which helps folk with crippled hands etc, so it's worth knowing about as a product, we generally scoop up a load every trip!

ST B, I've had a malingering virus for many years now (probably 12) which paralyzed me in my bed for many days, couldn't get to a phone)  turning my lower half mottled black, when it finally released me I sought medical attention, nothing significant was found upon tests, however each year it has wiped me out (lessening strength thankfully) over autumn, winter, spring periods ..used to simply make me collapse.

Whilst never diagnosed I do wonder if these things are simply caught from modern travelling & exposure to folk from all over, (even if going no further than europe, we are a global community at every airport / ferry terminal, then when you go to your doc they don't dream of testing you for anything vaguely exotic? ..So it just sits & your body gradually fights it off?  ..needless to say it changes your perspective to perceived "malingerers" ringing in

The wife being a nurse in a heart hospital, refuses (old school) to go in & pass virus infections to her fellow staff or patients, the hospital pushes for staff to come in no matter what (& they're already run down, depressed, crying, new staf leaving because of lack of mentoring, or  because the career Sister hasn't got where she wants to be in the management chain.
harassed, tired etc) so prone to picking stuff up from family & "kids" ..

The Hospital is clearly aware that one day someones loved one is going to die as a result of staff cross infection & will be threatened & sued , charges brought upon by  a patients family & yet would not under that scenario back up staff (nor would the nursing board) ..but it will bully you into coming in with a full blown infection.
 So be careful if your immune system is less than 100% ...we see it happen all the time with old folk, who go in for one thing & get caught in a hospital infection loop!

My wife could easily lose her job for valueing patients welfare & conducting herself in a professional manner.
Anyone who see's ill staff in the hospital ought to chase it up there & then with the ward sister, as this is commonplace sadly.

But it will happen & some well meaning lowly nursing staff will cop the full load, ..we recently had the exact old person scenario catch my aged aunt, the result was a hospital snatch was planned with a nurse to medicate her upon removal from the hospital.

I really do recommend looking up the openly available stats of any hospital where a loved one finds themselves & be aware.

[biff]

thanks sean,i do sometimes travel to newcastle, but lately my newcastle connections have been coming to stay with us,however next time i travel that way i will drop into see you.
  my wife is a retired nurse gus,and everything you can think off has been tried,when you last mentioned bengay,she ordered it online immediatly and began applying it but what ever kind of illness i had,muscular massaging only set my thighs on fire,in other words any rubbing seem to have an extremely painfull effect.it did not matter what she used,light oils or anything ,the results were the same,the muscles complained as though they were being beat up.the doctors,consultants and specialist had no clue as to what it was. thankfully that side of things has gone and all i have to do now is build up again.i am still weak as water but i am getting there.the whole thing is very strange,we will try bengay again and maybe this time it will speed up the recovery.
   the stuff that came was a cream,perhaps the gel is better.?
                                                             biff