Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

That's even better!
http://www.vitals.com/
http://www.lifescript.com/
Thanks Jen!

@jimhd Wishing you well on 7/19 and praying for you. Teresa

@johnbishop

Thanks for the links. It's always a little scary for me to walk into a doctor's office cold.

Jim

I've posted before and I thought I'd introduced myself but I will again. I'm also Jen, I have many broken bones from two accidents that I've had surgeries to repair them. I also have fibromyalgia and a cyst on my lower spine S2 called a Tarlov cyst. All of these things cause me a great amount of pain. I manage life fairly well even with all of these things. It seems like everyone else has much worse things to deal with so I shouldn't complain.
Take care!!
Jen

Congratulations Jim!
Praying that it all goes well.
Keep us posted.

Hello, Maxine here. amongst all my problems I also have polymyalgia and as you say it is like having the flu because it attacks all the muscles and nerves and leaves you feeling helpless. after I got on a prednisone regime and now maintain with 5mg. a day. I have lived with chronic pain a long time from different occasions. my cervical spine is fused C2,3,4,5,6,7,with t1. a result of being rear ended. then I have l5 screws and 3 plates. Next got hurt lifting a patient and that resulted in lumbar fusion of s2,3,4,5. fusions are not so bad but then we age and get arthritis and scar tissue etc. I only take ultram but the muscle relaxer at times gives relief {stelizine] by itself, I use a heating pad when things are worse and ice when needed. My pain radiates in my legs but I have found that no matter where it is, it is pain and get little help from Drs. so what we must do is accept that we will be like this as long as we live and move on from there. My best relief is from smoking Marijuana. I also am a Christian and prayer is our power. I enclose love for every one of my fellow chronic pain pals, xoxo

Hello Maxine. If you don't mind sharing, when you say polymyalgia, does that mean polymyalgia rheumatica?

@sandytoes14, I use those sites also but they are not always reliable I have found. I picked out an orthopedic doctor who was very well rated when I had a knee replacement a few years back and that knee bothers me terribly. I discovered last year that the knee he used is a 30 year old knee! Let's face it, there have been many improvements since then but apparently he knows that knee and sticks with it. When I went back to him he did nothing for me.
Also, I think you need to make sure some of the reviews are recent. I put a 5 star review on Vitals of my PCP a few years back but since then he has changed, I believe he is burned out. I wonder if I can get rid of that review somehow now. It is definitely no longer accurate.
JK

@katemn I too know someone who put a "gofundme" up on facebook but I wonder just how this works. I have no idea what kind of success they have had in getting funds but I can't help but wonder what happens to that money if the person does not get a transplant? Also it was put up before they even knew if they were accepted as a candidate for transplant and before they knew what their insurance would pay. I am also a bit leery because I have met this woman, she's a friend of a friend, and her attitude is not very good. She is not doing anything to get in better shape, and she intends to resume drinking after she gets a transplant, assuming she does get a transplant. I don't mean drinking loads, but drinking socially, she mentioned having pina coladas.
I am very ambiguous about contributing to her "gofundme" due to all of this.
JK

Good luck. I have been cheated on Go fund me. Fortunately, not much. Go with your heart. Call that person and find
out more if you really want to help someone and maybe a contract is necessary.