Hi Joel, no worries at all about venting. I'm sorry about your recent setbacks from back surgeries and your most recent flare up.

Yes, Dr. Sletten- the man, the myth, the legend, was there during my time and still is. I keep in contact with him and the PRC staff as needed and am occasionally a guest graduate speaker for current classes, which is rewarding and helpful for me as well.

I'm doing pretty good, thanks for asking. Have better days, have worse days, and continue to work the program. PRC has greatly helped by providing a blueprint of pain management...heck life management really.

You are not alone in having setbacks. especially from acute issues. Please give yourself grace. Life ain't easy having CSS...you know that, everything is amplified.

Have you ever reached out to PRC staff through the Mayo portal? Once you've graduated, you're always welcome to remain in contact to run concerns or obstacles by them. Also, there is a PRC private Facebook group which supports the principles (no pain behaviors etc, etc.) and serves as a support group to help, encourage and motivate each other. Noone quite understands like fellow PRC grads and there are plenty that have been through surgical set backs and flares as you describe.

One thing that has really helped me is to re-read the PRC manual and stay refreshed. Do you still have your manual and notes from class?