57redbird

Progress report - I took 1 - 300 mg gabapentin at bedtime last night -- only woke up twice because I needed to go to the bathroom, not because of pain!!!  YAY!!! was a little uncomfortable this morning but the last pain med I took was at 2 pm yesterday.  I'm supposed to increase the gabapentin in a couple of days but don't think I will - depending on how I feel.  A couple of tender spots on my leg still but not like before.

Cucumber Mojito is my fav from there.

@JazzyV  I'm sorry the gabapentin didn't/hasn't helped you.  I had to call the dr's office earlier because I hadn't been notified by Walmart that the Rx was ready.  When the PA ordered it, he had written too many directions & the computer wouldn't take them all so it just aborted the order but didn't notify anybody...the PA or me.  I'm glad I called Walmart & found out they hadn't received the order.  He reordered it & called me to let me know.

Since I'm still having left hip/thigh & leg pain I talked to the ortho doc's PA.  He thinks it's nerve pain so I'll be starting Gabapentin....hope it helps.

On the K last year, in order to avoid people sitting on the stairs for presentations, they scheduled a 2nd session in the afternoon to accomodate everyone....maybe that can be done on your cruise.

53 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Guessing you are talking about staying in San Diego? They do A LOT of big conventions there.

Yes I am.  Seemed odd that so many properties were marked 'Sold Out' in January for December.

If anybody's thinking of booking this, there's a medical convention with a whole of attendees that ends Dec. 10 so there are limited lodging options.  

1 hour ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

@57redbird

Here's what's in my back ..

I had no neuro symptoms.

I thought you had mixed up your x-rays with DH.😊 But then realized that his shows bars on either side of 3 vertebrae. Wild what medicine can do! And so far, he doesn't set off the scanner at the airport. Happy to hear recovery is going well.

Who did your DH's surgery?  Dr. Jeff Garr at Swedish did mine.

Got the original one but so far no follow-up one.

@Quartzsite Cruiser  t was my DH who had the polymer ties, and no back pain after the surgery.  The raddioloy technician at the h9spital told me they redo a lot of traditional back surgeries to remove the hardware.

Sorry for replying to the wrong person....I think my 'hardware' isn't metal - just the screws are.

@StLouisCruisers  I want a do-over on my fusion...that looks way more comfortable!

Used to be 7-8, now it's 2-4.

Just now, 57redbird said:

 

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Here's what's in my back ..

I had no neuro symptoms.

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

We did better at trivia this afternoon.  DH joined Debbied  @dfish and me.  We followed in our leader's, Rich @richwmn,footsteps.  We had 13 correct and the winners had 14.

 

Later, we cleaned the salt off the chairs and balcony rails, but still couldn't sit outside, since we were still getting salt spray.

 

 

I don’t think you will get a completely definitive answer since everyone heals differently, and everyone's damage from spinal stenosis is different.  What I can tell you from what DH's neurosurgeon said and from what I've read, is that it takes about ten months for the vertebrae to fully fuse.  His doctor followed his progress for a year.  DH also had no back pain, but severe pain from sciatica.  That disappeared after the surgery.  However, the leg numbness he experienced has not disappeared, but it might be lessening very, very slowly.  Nerves do take a lot longer to improve.  I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer.  Another difference is his surgeon used the Karma system which replaces the metal rods and screws with polymer ties.

 

Lenda

20240103_124906.heic

2 hours ago, marshhawk said:

@57redbirdYour surgery seemed quite major to me, and i think you have come a long way in 7 weeks.  But my question to the doc would be, when does the pain go away.

 

DH thought he would feel fine after the last angioplasty, and he is still in pain.  Knowing he is going in this week for more major surgery on the artery is not making him very happy.  But one of his meds makes him a tad obsessive and things must be done...NOW..  so when he was not supposed to be lifting things,  he was.  When he was supposed to lie flat, he went to work and sat up for hours.  And then wondered why he was in pain for two weeks.  I guess after your  major surgery , 7 weeks aint that bad.  ? What do I know, pain is pain, and it wears you down.

I've asked anybody & everybody who might have an answer & I've not gotten the same answer from any of them....could be anywhere from 3 months to 2 years....I'm hoping to be on the shorter end of the time frame.

2 hours ago, smitty34877 said:

@57redbird, It sounds as if you are progressing very well. Is there a difference in the type of pain or is it similar to the old pain?

 

@marshhawk,Sorry about the cough but glad you are resting.

 

@Seasick Sailor Oliver is such a cute boy. I love how our two pooches help as well.

I didn't have any back pain before the surgery....I thought I had sciatica -- the pain in my left leg is different than the pre-op pain --- that was shooting, stabbing spasms.  Now it's a dull, fairly constant ache - sometimes in the front of my thigh or back of it & down my leg.  The motivating reason for the surgery was we are headed to our timeshare on Maui in early March & I thought elective surgery, close to home, would be a better choice than emergency surgery there.  

@BgwestHi & welcome!

Quick update on my recovery from my lumbar laminectomy & fusion done on Dec. 11 - back is a little tender where the hardware is, left hip & thigh have manageable pain - maybe 1 or 2 pain meds a day.  Back to walking our dog .7 mile a day.  I think for 7 weeks post-op I'm doing ok.

Didn't know upsells were negotiable....I'll remember that for next time.

3 hours ago, RedneckBob said:

My problem with the shops are that the clothes were too small for me. If Oceania expects me to sail with them all the time, sell larger size shorts! I had no problem on HAL. One time on a cruise I forgot my belt. So when we arrived in St Lucia I went to a local store to buy a belt but the largest belt they had was a 32” waist. I told the clerk my waist size and she suggested I buy two belts and tie them together! 😳

Hubby forgot his belt & had the same problem in Mexico - I can't remember how that turned out.

1 hour ago, Cruising-along said:

We enjoyed it recently on the Volendam. Very tasty but messy as others have said. No Mariner discount. 
The chowder was *not* anything like Ivar’s (native Washingtonian here). Extremely thin and only a couple clams and tiny bits of potato. No bacon to be seen. 
Other than that we enjoyed it but most likely wouldn’t go again. 
 

I don't like the Ivar's chowder that Costco sells - nothing like the real deal - native Seattle-ite here.

45 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

DH has had it twice. He's decided that next time he will ask for the salmon to be served separately-he didn't care for it being in the broth. After he ordered, I went to the Lido and found what I wanted to eat so we ate together, and I didn't have to eat smelly seafood! And he always had a small piece of corn on the cob.

You live on Vashon & consider seafood smelly?  Where are you originally from?  Native Seattle-ite here.

The current theory, at least around here, is to ice things that hurt - not heat.  Heat causes swelling which causes more pressure on whatever is hurting....ice does the opposite or so says our Physical Therapist & it makes sense.

24 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

I am starting to wonder if it is a good idea to let the world know you will be away from your house for the period you will be cruising.  One of the trusted members of the Fleet Report and Daily stated that his home insurance policy required him to not mention that on any social media site.  I actually stopped my subscription to the local newspaper when I heard that a delivery person was notifying his friend the thief when customers notified him that they would be away.  I wonder how many CC members feel this way.

Ray

That's part of the reason we switched to the online version of the Sun....we trust our mail carrier - she will extend our 30 hold if needed.

We like the angled balcony for a couple of reasons - larger balcony that the sides can buffer the wind & the area where the connecting door is in the cabin is a great little storage nook for the collapsible hamper & the cabin seems a little larger.