Happy Election Day!

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Wassup, Yo?

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PFC Rickert, Robyn Sue

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Fingers Crossed

Well the pain management doctor is finally confident that he's found the exact nerve in my neck that's causing my pain, so the next step is to "disable" that nerve so it cannot send pain signals to my brain. This procedure should hopefully provide me with close to a year of pain relief, during which time I will be working on strengthening and rehabilitating my neck in hopes of preventing the pain from returning.
Here is an article that explains the procedure: http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article2816.html

I can't wait until I can ride my bike again!!

What a Pain in the Neck

Literally...

It's now been nearly a year that I've been suffering from chronic neck pain w/ numbness, tingling, headaches & muscle spasms. I'm so sick of it!

I've been through the works:

• 2 MRIs
• countless X-rays
• an EMG
• blood testing...

Plus a handful of diagnostic surgical procedures under conscious sedation & live x-ray:

• 2 sets of facet injections at 3/4/5 and 5/6/7
• epidural at 5/6/7
• bilateral medial branch block at 5/6/7

And of course I've tried just about every type of therapy under the sun:

• Physical Therapy
• Strength Training
• IMS (Intra Muscular Stimulation)
• Low Level Laser
• Trigger Point Injections
• Massage
• 2 different types of Cervical Traction
• Ultrasound
• Sleeping on a Tempurpedic neck support pillow
• Ergonomic adjustments to my desk/computer station and my driving position
• TENS (Electrical Stimulation)
• Chiropractic
• Accupuncture
• Vitamin & Mineral Supplements
• Countless Medications & Pain Killers

At this point, I am able to do almost nothing. I can't ride my bike, work out at the gym, or do any exercise (even walking hurts). I can't lift anything even remotely heavy (even my parents' cat is too much to lift). Will it ever end?

I'm about ready to say "screw it" and get back on my bike. If I'm going to be in pain regardless, I might as well enjoy what I'm doing while I'm hurting, rather than just sitting around getting fat and feeling depressed.

Quote of the Day

In one of those countless forwarded chain emails, I stumbled across a quote that I like:

"The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."