anyone feel more burning/numbness when sitting

Hank, you made me laugh! 😂 It's all a front LOL! Just kidding. Believe me, I struggle, cry and fight for my sanity daily but and am very deliberate and determined, with God's help, to represent Christ in my character, attitude, outlook, heart, etc. I am so very grateful that God has allotted me an extra measure of faith and, I try so hard in the midst of my pain to keep what my 2nd grade teacher wrote about me on my report card, "a sunny disposition". I pray that I will never miss a need. I am humbly aware that it is only by the grace of God go I. I am acutely aware of my blessings and the presence of God at all times, no matter how intolerable my pain becomes. I rely heavily on the bible. God's word is living and changes hearts- Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." and that is where I find the peace of God through Christ that surpasses all human understanding that I'm always talking about - Philippians 4:7" And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" This life is so hard. We all walk through many fires but knowing it's only temporary in light of all eternity, helps me a lot.

I know a lot of what I 've said here is a repeat. I just can't remember who or where I said it.

I am really afraid that my poor memory (which I believe is the Gabapentin), is going to irritate or offend some of the beautiful people on the blog bc of my repeats. This is a problem in other areas of my life. For example, I have many medical appointments a lot. I had 3 referrals at once so today I called one that I was referred to, to schedule an appointment. They told me I already have one. Oh my gracious I was so embarrassed! I even have it in both my phone and wall calendars!! I think about this problem all the time. Oh my.

Thanks so much for being so patient and supportive. It means a lot to me!! Warmest regards and a zillion blessings to you and your wife, Sunny. 😊

Thank you so much Rachel! I'm wondering how the criteria differ from the doctors who are hired at Mayo Clinic than the doctors who are hired by Kaiser Permanente. Some of my doctors have gone to Stanford and the best medical schools and have good experience. Thus theirin (is that a word?) lies some of my hesitancy. Can I really be helped more there than I am now? You would not want to have my mind it's constantly overthinking and way too analytical!! Sunny

@sunnyflower

Can you list the questions you have about your conditions and diagnoses, either things you aren't sure you agree with or don't have adequate information about? Questions that the world's best physicians might answer, that may be outside the scope of your doctors? One thought I have (if I can write it before I forget it) is that if I were your doctor, I'd appreciate it if you asked me, "If you were to refer me to a specialist, what specialist do you think would be the most helpful", or some other question framed in similar words. That would affirm my professionalism, rather than putting me on the defensive.

I'm pretty sure that your doctors know how highly you think of them, but verbalizing it ensures that they know. Most people appreciate that kind of affirmation, and a lot of people will go out of their way to dig deeper for such a person. If any of your doctors have a clear picture of your overall health challenges, they could perhaps know someone, or know of a particular kind of specialist who would be likely to be able to give you solid answers.

Even though driving is painful for me, if I heard that there was a possibility of hope from a doctor in Portland or Seattle or one of Mayo's clinics, I'd probably do all I could to get there somehow. Probably isn't a certainty, though. Our son wants us to fly out and visit them in Indianapolis, but my feet say NO! Not just the flight, but going to all of the places they'd want to take us while there...They don't understand. I'd rather be hurting at home than travel 2000 miles so the pain could be worse doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me. But if I knew there was a doctor there who might actually help me, I might make the trip.

I'm still a new patient with the neurosurgeon who's going to do the decompression, and I've been really impressed by her, so for now, I'm going to give her a chance. I don't know if she has anything new to offer, but I want to find out before I move on to whatever Mayo or Portland could possibly do for me. My neurologist did refer me to OHSU for some tests that aren't available where I live, and I think he wouldn't hesitate to refer me to a specialist in Oregon or California or the UK if he thought it would benefit me. That shows to me his level of care and concern for me. I think I could say the same thing about any other doctors I see, with the possible exception of the ophthalmologist.

Your kind nature doesn't want you to offend your doctors, but I suspect that any one of them would jump at the chance to find you the help you need. Are you praying about this decision? Silly question. Of course you are, and I'll join you in that prayer.

Gotta get off my feet and into bed. Lidocaine will cool the nerves in my feet so I can go to sleep.

Jim

Thank you very much for all your suggestions Jim . I have let my doctors know how much I appreciate their care over the years and have written surveys rating them very highly and have taken the time to articulate what superior care I received from them. I have even sent cards of appreciation.

I think the problem is more mine and because I worked in healthcare so long and was being trained to be a physician assistant, and do so much research on everything, I'm not sure there are any questions left but I am only a late person and only know the tip of the iceberg of what there is to know I'm sure.

It is truly a grueling hardship for me to travel. Just the medical equipment alone is a lot to deal with and travel with.

Anyway, I have several actually many appointments scheduled through September and into October with different Specialists and have a couple of procedures under Conscious Sedation coming up so we'll see what happens this fall.

Take Good Care and thank you, Sunny

@sunnyflower
Whoa! Now you stop right now thinking that anyone here is going to take offense to your memory issues, whether you repeat yourself or whatever. I have learned a lot about those people who post here overall and so I am pretty confident not one soul here feels anything but love and compassion for you and your situation.So you just repeat away. And even beyond that, I have been profoundly inspired by you as a person, "sunny disposition" and all and by knowing what you are facing each day. What gets me the most is knowing that these health issues you, my wife and others face are not just challenges for "a while" but rather EVERY DAY, WEEK, MONTH AND YEAR! Just the shear constancy of it, the waking up each day and facing it AGAIN, seemingly forever. As you say, this life is temporary, and thank the lord for that! We must live this life that He has given us, and by doing it as well as you do, Sunny, you honor Him and are an inspiration to the rest of us.

As to whether to try to take your quest for healing beyond what you currently do by seeking further help from new and different teams and specialists, is undoubtedly for you to decide. Linda and I developed a deeply skeptical attitude long ago about pursuing further worldly answers to intractable problems, after the first, second and third go-round didn't seem to do it. We believe there is a time, after a certain amount of strenuous effort has been made, for acceptance. I know you pray, and, as Jim said, that is where you can find the answers for YOU. I just hope before you set out on any new venture that takes you out into the crazy world beyond home and your normal support framework, that you have a concrete reason to make the journey, a rational reason to hope it might make a difference.

I wish you all the best of good luck, good results, and a feeling of comfort in your decision. With love, Hank

Hello! Maybe you gave yourself a nerve conduction study! I have no answers for us,Drs tell me to occupy my mind on something else like volunteer work,i don't sit around all day talking to my pain (it tends to scream at me!) but a day of watching my grandchildren or going on a walk to keep up their pace I must admit my mind drifts to my feet as I pray "Oh Lord don't let me fall" or reading a good book,there is always this nagging burning pain that follows me everywhere. We are in this together and we will keep fighting for one another and one day there will be no more pain. Take care of yourself

Thank you so much Hank. Yes, unrelenting, no break, often in tears at bedtime knowing what l will face in the morning but at the same time being grateful. I try to thank the Lord everyday the first thing when I wake up for whatever he has for me in that day. I definitely hold myself to a much higher standard in everything, then I do anyone else and have you ever heard of guilt, the gift that keeps on giving? Well, let's just say it tortures me day and night because I fall so short in my humanness. But at the same time God is such a forgiving God and I find it so easy to forgive others but not myself which we are required to do if we too want to be forgiven. It's just too much thinking and analyzing that gets me into trouble. Like my pain, my brain won't stop either LOL! 😩

I have found everyone on this website to be so supportive, encouraging, inspiring, kind, patient and the list goes on!

By the way, I try to see if I have already replied by clicking The View and reply button under a post. I notice you have to go there anyway if you want to like that person's post. But there are so many different post and subjects that I think I'm sharing the same things in those different places that I think that is what is confusing to me about the repetition issue.

First of all, is there an easier way to like someone's post? Now most of what I do on connect is on my cell phone so maybe it's different on my tablet, I should try to pay attention there to see if it's easier to like a post and to find whether or not I have already replied to or liked that post.

Hope you and Linda have a much better day than normal. Warmest regards, Sunny

@sunnyflower I don't use my phone that much for Connect, I use my laptop mostly. But like you say, you can click on View and Reply and do the ❤ Like button there, in fact I just did that with your post right here just to see that I could do it. There is nothing wrong with just doing that. Sunny, I pretty much assume you like everything, being as you are you, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. But if I have not answered your specific question please pose it again and I'll give it another shot. I am always here to help (if I can). Best, Hank

Hello nitborntoburn, I LOVE your "handle"! Really creative and some humor go a long way!

I can't resist telling you guys this. I had two broken pelvic bones but they were not seen on an X-ray or MRI. So my husband and I went back to the ortho who said the following words verbatim to me, " you're getting older, you're going to have pain, you need to take that pain put it in a box and store it in the back of your mind and the worst thing you can do is to stay off your feet." I was on crutches at the time and in more pain than ever.

When we picked our Jaws up off the floor, we went home and there was a message on her voicemail from my own PCP. She said the ortho doctor had asked her if I had had a bone scan which I had not so they ordered one. We went over right away and after the scan, I was expecting the technician to come and dismiss me home. It was the radiologist who told me I had two broken pelvic bones and of course I was to stay off that foot.

I wanted to write a letter to that orthopedic doctor saying something like I did not come to you for a psych evaluation, but of course I never did.

I bet we all have similar stories unfortunately. Some of them really take the cake.

Keep fighting the good fight and I pray you get relief from your horrible symptoms. Bless your heart, Sunny. 🙏😊

Oops, my bad, I misspelled your title and didn't edit so two bads for me!