Colleen, I have been down for a few weeks- my life Gluteus torn away from the Bone and other main body- which really hurt 24/7- sorry don't mean to whim, I know I haven't been very active. The constant pain and added my Spine and Back -I'm wondering what's next. The doctor think it could agent orange which is destroying the inside of my Gluteus. I'm waiting to find out from an expert when they call me. My energy level has dropped to about 30%. I really want to thank Colleen for your checking on us and your continued Kindness, knowing you have health issue yourself. I pray for you and your staff and all the help from everyone who trying to help with answers. All of you are wonderful people and God is using you in our(My) life. JJAMES

@johnjames

I'm sorry that yet another issue has been added to your list. I'll be praying for you. Thank you for your input here. You're an encouragement to me.

Jim

Thanks Jim- I very much appreciate your support and prayers, please I don't take it for granted. Question: How do you sleep at night, I can't very well- it takes me hours to finally go to sleep- I know PTSD is part of the problems. but I guess why so many hours and to just can't sleep. Thanks for listening and God Bless My friend. - How are you doing these days and what is the main health I can pray about for you. JJAMES>

@johnjames I'm sorry to hear of the further problems with your gluteus muscle. I can only imagine the level of your pain. Since you mentioned Agent Orange, I assume you had your initial injury in Vietnam and you're a veteran. I deeply regret that your service resulted in ongoing pain and problems in your life. I pray for peace and comfort in your life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with us. Gail B

I value every prayer that is offered to God on my behalf. I sleep quite well, for the most part. Taking several meds that are drowsying helps, I'm sure, as does doing my Bible reading, praying, and having our couples devotional at bedtime. A routine is good. I have sleep apnea, and use a CPAP machine faithfully. The problem I have is sleeping too much. I've been sleeping 10-12 hours every day. 8 or 9 is what I need to shoot for, but when I wake up, it's a struggle to drag myself out of bed.

Right now, beside the neuropathy pain, depression and suicidal ideation, I've started seeing blood in my stool, which could be a rerun of the peptic ulcers I had several years ago. It's probably caused by the pain medications I take. I just started seeing a therapist again a few weeks ago, and every time I start with a new one, it's like starting all over again, going back to the trauma, hurts, etc.

My wife is flying back home on Tuesday, after spending a month with our daughter, who just had her first baby, Kaitlyn Rose. I'm glad she could go, but being alone for a month is a little risky. I've kept busy, doing maintenance projects on the house. I won't make it through the whole list, I'm afraid. We've never been apart for this long in our 45 years of marriage.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Jim

@jimhd You definitely have my thoughts and prayers, Jim. You have done well being apart from your wife for an extended period of time. I sense a great deal of strength in you in spite of the struggles you have experienced! Praying that your wife will have a good flight home. Teresa

@johnjames Thanks for the update. I am so sorry to hear of this new problem. Chronic pain is such a difficult problem to deal with. Be assured of my concern and prayers for you. You have exhibited great courage, bravery and faith in your life and I admire those qualities. Best wishes to both you and your wife. Teresa

gailb/ Thank you for caring with such kind email, Yes I'm an old veteran, Served over 44 years in the Army- twice in Viet Nam, and is where I ( as many more) were sprayed with agent orange - at times, every day for a week or weeks. Hard to change uniforms in the jungle and our missions was usually 10 -17 days. But, I would say over ( 85 %loved the Army and would go back again if needed) I was Diagnosed with agent orange Parkinson's 3 years now. and in my tissue and possible internal areas I'm waiting to hear from the VA Experts on Agent Orange. MY wife was a combat /OR RN in Viet Nam and she saw far more than nurses here in 20 years. She is a great nurse and I thank God for her, Thank you again for your prayers and kindness, JJAMES.

Thank you for this post, John @johnjames . I know it was months ago, but I ran across it and was encouraged by your words. Even my wife, after living with a depressed husband for more than 12 years, doesn't understand the feeling of heading down into that dark hole. The triggers of depression were several, but I couldn't name them until I'd been through 3 or 4 years of therapy. I don't know if I yet know all of the causes.

I haven't heard from you for awhile, so I thought I would reconnect.

Jim