I give up. I'm going to have the damaged nerve in my shoulder cryoblocked.

[Redstone]

The neurologist said that a cryoblock would only work for about a year, and could only be repeated once because the damage is so close to my spine.

But I simply cannot stand living with this anymore. I'll take those two years without the pain, and deal with whatever happens at that point, when I get to that point.

And hey, guys, you all will get to have two years of relief from having to put up with posts from me complaining about being in pain.

So everybody wins, yes?

Redstone

[NC_Nurse]

1. I hope you win freedom from pain.

Good luck with it. I hope it surpasses the expectations and lasts for much longer, like forever. :hug:

[Redstone]

14. Thank you for your good wishes. Like I said, even two years would be a blessing.

I simply cannot stand this anymore. It's eating my life.

Redstone

[hippywife]

2. Any chance of a

selective nerve root block instead?

[Redstone]

5. Unfortunately, no. The extent and age of the damage limits the options to the nuclear one.

Redstone

[hippywife]

6. Sorry to hear that.

I hope it works for you and you enjoy your time free of pain.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Go for it!! Chronic pain is a bitch. Enjoy being pain-free

and deal with the future in the future. Yes?

[Haole Girl]

4. I don't think anybody felt your posts were a burden

Good luck. I hope it gives you relief. :hug:

[Sugar Smack]

7. Shit. I hope you feel better, Cuz.

I love you dearly.

[Redstone]

13. Thank you, m'dear. My shoulder feels better already, from reading that.

Redstone

[flvegan]

8. Any chance that a cryoblock might work longer?

I mean, is the neurologist convinced it will only take for that long?

Nobody "puts up" with your posts, sir.

[Redstone]

10. Possible, but unknown and unpredictable. The way he states the situation is thus:

"The brain is remarkably clever in rebuilding nerve pathways. We can kill it, but your brain will make a new pathway around it."

Although, if that's the case, I have to wonder why people don't recover from paralysis? I'll have to ask him that question.

Redstone

[sir_captain]

16. It's because

the body can somewhat regenerate/reroute parts of the peripheral nervous system, but cannot regenerate anything in the central nervous system, which encompasses spinal cord injuries--this is why stroke victims, for instance, can sometime regain some of their mobility. In any case, it's all the more reason why it's a crime that we are not funding stem-cells up the wazoo.

Good luck with your pain management--much hope that the cryoblock gives you some relief for as long as possible.

[Redstone]

17. Aha. Thank you so much for the explanation. And I could not agree more with your

opinion about stem-cell research.

Redstone

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

9. Whiner.

I know what you mean- I walked with a disintegrating knee for EIGHT YEARS before I was finally able to have it replaced. I've since had it redone once- they say "PERHAPS" I have enough bone left for a third one if needed. After that it's a wheelchair.

Those of us who have suffered chronic agonizing pain are absolutely sympathetic with you.

[Redstone]

12. You're on your SECOND knee? Damn. But have hope; replacement joints are one thing

that's actually getting better. I was told 20 years ago that I needed a hip, but shouldn't get one at the time because they only lasted 15 years or so back then, so it was recommended that young people (I was one of those then) wait until they couldn't walk anymore. Now they don't even know how long the hips last, because people don't live long enough to wear them out.

And there's an 84 year old guy in town who I know pretty well, and he's had BOTH knees done within the last year, and is walking (embarrasingly enough) better than I do.

So hang in there, OK?

Redstone

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

23. The first one failed after just five years

It was an alignment problem- my leg was literally 90 degrees out of line, and when they did the TKR it resisted the straightening they did and worked loose from the bone. When it gave out, it gave out suddenly, in the middle of a parking lot. I had to literally hop back to my truck, and even then it took me ten minutes to get the damned leg inside the door. Talk about your basic painful inconvenience...

So far the second one is doing okay, although it still gets stiff and painful in rainy weather.

[Ellen Forradalom]

11. Redstone, you are a pleasure to read

Whether or not you are in pain.

That said, I'd much prefer you were not in pain.

The very best outcome to you, sir.

[Redstone]

18. But, but...after the cryoblock kills the nerve, I won't be able to

hit a tennis ball backhanded anymore!

(Oh, wait a minute...I don't actually PLAY tennis. So never mind.)

Redstone

[fizzgig]

15. i hope you can find some freedom from your pain

and your posts are not something we 'put up with'...i genuinely enjoy reading them and look forward to them

[Ptah]

19. I'm a visual kind of a guy. Here's to relief from pain.

[redwitch]

20. Maybe in 2 years they will have something that lasts for 10 years.

Or forever. :-)

[DS1]

30. that was my thought

eventually, nothing will exist without a cure

[Beausoir]

32. My thought as well.

Blessed relief from that pain.

[TK421]

21. That's the best news I've heard all day! I was growing tired of your incessant whining!

..........



just kidding, of course :D I wasn't even aware you were having problems with your shoulder.

I must have missed those threads. Hope this helps your pain

[petronius]

22. What's a cryoblock? (My google-fu is letting me down)

I hope it works better than expected and for a longer time - good luck!

[Redstone]

35. An injection of liquid (cryogenic) nitrogen into a nerve, which kills the nerve.

Redstone

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. My dear Redstone...

I have never minded hearing you talk about your pain...

What on earth are friends for, after all?

What bothers me is that you're in PAIN....and that's just not right...

I hope it cures you forever, sweetie.....and I mean that. :hug:

[MilesColtrane]

25. Godammit, where's Bones McCoy when you need him?

(I know, he's dead Jim)

Sorry that you're dealing with chronic pain.

If we didn't have the every-zygote-is-sacred Bushistas in control we might have a solution by now.

[crim son]

26. Why is that "giving up"? A hundred years ago you'd have lived with it.

Now you need not. My friend, it's a strange world when our miracles are viewed as our terrible challenges.

You have ano opportunity for a year of lelss pain; you don't know what the future may hold. Perhaps I sound ignorant and I guess I am. But my dearest friend, you might have lived two hundred years ago. Sad humanity; lump us all together because only that wayl can we have a clear picture of what we face.

Hugs, Redstone. I am your greatest supporter. -L

[EFerrari]

27. I'd go for it in a heartbeat.

Who knows what they'll be able to do in two years.

:hug:

[NewWaveChick1981]

28. Go for it, Redstone...

:) Nobody should have to live with chronic pain. :hug:

[Dangerously Amused]

29. Yay!

Then I can give you that really BIG bear hug I've always wanted to!


:bounce:


:7

[Flaxbee]

31. go for it.

Life's too short for that kind of pain. And who knows? Maybe in two years there will be something new and better to treat the pain/eliminate the painful condition altogether. As a family member of mine who struggles with chronic cancer has said, you just hang in there until they find the next thing to help.

[Midlodemocrat]

33. I'm so sorry my friend.

I hope something else comes along in the new future to help ease your pain.


:hug:

[BlueIris]

34. How strange; I was just thinking about you and thinking about this procedure.

And now...this post. I'm not skeptic of psychic ability, especially when it comes to my own, but (no offense, Redstone) I've never felt connected to you in that way.

Good luck with this treatment; if it feels like it's what you should do, go for it.

[Redstone]

36. BI, I'm going to say right here in public, and Mrs R knows I'm saying it: Yes, there's

some kind of connection. You and I do not communicate all that frequently but when we do, there's something there.

I'm not about to go all new-age and mystical and healing-quartz-crystal, and Shirley MacLaine on you (or on anyone else for that matter), but there are forces in this universe that we simply cannot begin to pretend that we understand.

Redstone

[Bennyboy]

37. I have chronic shoulder pain......

And They tell me ther is nothing they can do aobut it. I will be asking about this and if it pertains to me....It sure would be nice to be pain free again....

[Redstone]

41. You want a copy of the PM I sent to QMPmom? Just ask, and it's yours.

Redstone

[Bennyboy]

45. Yes, that would be awesome...thanks.

[QMPMom]

38. I hope that it works for you, Redstone.

Could you PM me the details about this? I am having some horrid nerve pain in my neck and shoulders. It takes turns on which side of the neck and shoulder is going to hurt, and hurt it does.

Thanks bunches.

[Redstone]

40. Will PM you right now. My case is a rare one, but if it'll help, so be it.

Redstone

[QMPMom]

44. Thank you, Redstone.

I read your PM and feel very lucky that my condition is not nearly as painful or complicated as yours.

I hope that you get relief soon.

[BarenakedLady]

39. ...

:hug:

[LynzM]

42. I'm glad for you, to read this

Sad for what you will lose with it, but so very, very glad for you that you will be without pain. No decent human being deserves to live with the pain you deal with.

Come have lunch with me sometime so I can toast to your relief? And I'm going to add myself to the "we don't 'put up with' you" crowd :loveya:

[KitchenWitch]

43. And maybe by the time you need more relief, the technology will have caught up

and they will have found something that will help you for longer.