I'm tired of living in pain.
I have been dealing with back pain for over two years since I had a fusion surgery on my L4-L5 vertebrae. Because I have osteoporosis in the lumbar region the fusion has since failed. I deal with regular pressure on my sciatic nerve which sends pain down my left leg into my foot. As it stands right now I am unable to have any revision surgery until I can get my bones strengthened.
On top of that I had recently been diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis in my left shoulder, which now is a candidate for replacement. It is starting to prevent me from sleeping at night, which was one of the questions that the doctor asked me that leads to the decision to have it replaced. I have had three shoulder surgeries, two on my right and one on my left. This has left me with much indecision about having a replacement. Once the bone is cut and disposed of there is no turning back.
I have been viewing many YouTube videos about the surgery and the recovery to help me to make my decision about having the procedure done. I am on a steady diet of Tramadol and Gabapentin. When the pain gets too much to stand I take Percocet. That helps the shoulder pain but not the sciatic nerve pain. The Gabapentin helps to reduce some of the nerve pain, but not all of it.
I am unable to stand for more than about 10 minutes at a time as this starts my back pain which leads to the sciatic nerve pain.
I hoped writing about what I am experiencing would help me to cope with it, at least get these thoughts out of my head.
My wife has been wonderful in helping me to cope with this, even though she herself is dealing with some pain issues of her own.
Update:
In February 2019 I started having chest pains and went to the hospital. An additional two stents were placed in my circumflex artery on my heart. Doing much better. Still dealing with back pain as initially described.
11/8/18
On a steady diet of Percocet, Gabapentin and Baclofen due to constant back pain and muscle spasms. I use an ice pack when necessary to deal with muscle spasms.
On 4/24/18 went to the hospital due to shortness of breath and some chest pain. Discovered that I was having a heart attack due to blocked arteries that need stent placement. There were 4 stents that were finally installed. Doing better now. Had 3 months of cardio therapy that helped me get my heart back into shape.
