How about one of Libardo's WC icons
https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?skinid=14377&libid=29
https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?skinid=15375&libid=29
Thanks Tim, forgot about Libardo.
Are you taking requests or what? cool avatar
I had no part in this dead thread.
it's not a dead thread.... it's a continual, ongoing rare icon request thread... just hasn't been used much lately....
and it looks like someone is up for some challenges....
feeling better Po' ?...
I dunno.
Trying to find some inspiration. Need to get my feet wet.
I cut my teeth on this thread, along with some other skinners.
Thanks. It's one I made and used a while back.
they tweaked that spinal stimulator to perfection yet
You mean the $100k piece of freaking hardware/SURGERY that they attached to my spine with a bunch of metal and have the battery for it floating in my back fat that makes my feet feel like I am walking on needles and has done absolutely NOTHING to relieve the pain in my 4 disks because it DOESN'T WORK FOR ARTHRITIC PAIN AT ALL AND WAS NEVER INTENDED TO SORRY WE DIDN'T MENTION THAT TO YOU BEFORE WE SHOVED IT ALL IN THERE AND NOW YOU'RE KIND OF STUCK WITH IT CAUSE IF YOU INSIST WE TAKE IT OUT NOW, SO SOON, YOU'LL LOOK LIKE FREAKING LOSER?
no.
we are still in the 'tweaking' process.
we 'tweak' about once or twice a month.
mostly, we are tweaking it cause it keeps tweaking ITSELF and i get these bizarre sensations in places where I shouldn't be getting ANY to the point that I can't USE the dang thing and have to turn it off until the next TWEAK session.
but the shrink they sent me to who specializes in post traumatic stress and injuries assures me that I just need to keep my POSITIVE attitude.
which i am doing.
i'm doing it right now, as a matter fact.
being positive.
yup.
doin' it.
jesus...
had such high hopes for that helping you too...
you've been in pain for sooo long, I'd hoped this was your break...
I admire your....keeping positive.. I suppose you have to keep thinking that there is an answer around the corner... they do come up with medical breakthroughs frequently in all sorts of areas.... I hope your breakthrough is soon...
I've been looking after my Mum who, at 96, has osteoporsis of the spine... and two older compression fractures and the pain has been so great she had just about given up on existence... Doctors are keen to tell you at 96 that its just age and you have to put up with things... but I took her to a specialist who ordered an MRI... ends up the fractures, (he thought due to her pain level that there was a new one/s).... were not the issue... it was osteoarthritis of the spine... and said not to underestimate how painful that can be... I didn't.... I've been watching her wince...and squirm... and writhe in pain for the better part of a year... days sometimes having to put her in a wheelchair to get her to the loo and back... Due to a trip to emergency with lethal levels of potassium a few weeks ago... they got hold of the MRI results and put her on Endone... (oxycodone)... and she is a new woman... back walking.. going out on the deck... and although she still feels the pressure... and can't do too much at one time... the extreme pain is masked sufficiently to have a happier existence.... I'm guessing, with all the drugs you have been on for some time now... that that is one you've already tried... I'm wondering if your body builds up a kind of immunity to them working over time... and whether a break from them and then going back to them helps...
It's pretty cruel at any age... but for you to have had these crippling issues from so young, is extra cruel...
The drugs are good and bad. I started with tramadol...which is what most pain docs will start you with..iy's a non-opiate. Then, when that stops working, you move on to the opiates....percoset, oxycontin, etc. I've been on fentynol patches and have graduated to methadone. A lot of them barely touch the worst of the pain. I'm dealing with arthritic pain and severe nerve pain on top of it in my legs and feet, arms, hands...lately in my shoulders and hips as well.
The doctor who told her it's her age should be bitch slapped back to med school. I spent two years in hell because the doctor I was made to see said it was all in my head. I basically had to beg for a mylagram. When he got the results, he couldn't even look at me and passed me off to another doctor...I guess cause he knew my trust in him was gone at that point.
What I have is degenerative. It's never going to get better and will continue to worsen. I have to keep adapting to the level of pain. They want you to decide what level of pain you can live with...but seem to always forget that level keeps going up. Sometimes I don't know what is worse...the pain or the side effects from all the drugs.
Be your mom's voice, Don't ever let them play anything down or ignore her. Even the best doctor can forget...they have other patients as well...I think sometimes they unconsciously tune it all out. I don't care what they say,,,if they haven't experienced it then they really don't know...and I don't mean the pain...I mean YEARS of pain and years of people rolling their eyes at you like 'it can't be THAT bad'...I don't think the doctors realize what we go through 'adapting' to the pain. These conditions aren't like a sudden broken arm or getting hit with a hammer...they start slowly and the pain increases as the condition worsens. I put up with it for years thinking it was 'my age' or that my job was too physical, etc...constantly adjusting to more and more pain. Yes, it's amazing what we can tolerate and live with...but everything has it's limits.
I had a relative who had severe emphysema...after a few years of it worsening and constantly fighting to breath...he had enough. I'm having breathing problems with the methadone and am getting off of it and going back to something much milder. I am only getting the 'sensation' that I can't breathe (Thank God) but its real enough to scare the crap out of me. I finally understand what my relative was going through. It must have been a nightmare to live like that everyday. Sometimes the constant pain is like that. There are nights, where it's the third or fourth night I haven't been able to sleep and my legs or back is screaming obscene things at me... I sit on the edge of the bed and think of all the things I would do for just one day...just one,,,where I had no pain at all.
Sorry. I didn't mean to [post here to get into all of this. lol. I hope your mother continues to find relief. I'll say a prayer for her. Just remember what I said. Be her voice with these doctors. I say this for two reasons. She needs to be heard, no matter what...and...as someone in pain, I can't tell you how important and what a difference it makes to have someone in your corner fighting for you and most importantly 'believing' you even if they can't make it a;; better. Sometimes just having someone who believed me and not looking at me like I was whining or exaggerating got me through some dark moments.
This is probably not going to help but you've both touched me so I want to add anything I can.
First off someone takes care of me and I know what that means to me, Sydney you're a wonderful person. When I was a caregiver I was told that its common knowledge that it can be as hard on the caregiver if not worse.
Second, Noah I know this won't help with pain but they have me on Prozac and Abilify to help with the depression, once I started on the Abilify it really did.
My heart goes out to you both and you're in my prayers, hang in there we all love you.
Well, I've certainly learnt over recent years that it's very necessary to be a very loud voice... every doctor/specialist we have gone to starts off with me trying to explain she lives alone, with assistance, has all her marbles, and then some.... and still has a very worthwhile quality of life... people tend to look at the elderly and instantly pass judgement....mostly, they've been terrific... from the surgeon who agreed to perform a mastectomy on her at 94.... and the oncologist who organised 5 weeks radiation therapy... she came through all that like a trooper... only to find out late last year that it has spread to her lungs as she delayed telling me about the whopping great lump for 6 months because she thought they wouldn't do anything about it at her age... grrrr..... she'd seen a program on tele stating they really didn't operate on breast cancer much past 75...... but luckily, the cancer that was agressive in her breast is behaving quite differently in the lungs and barely changing....we were told a few weeks back that it could take a few years before it even started growing enough to affect her... so.. at 96, that's good news.... but, the spinal specialist I took her to was a different kettle of fish.... a top notch guy... but no idea of dealing with elderly patients.... after getting my son to wheel her out to the waiting room while we had a... 'chat'... he then began to berate me for not having her in a nursing home.... she belonged... in a nursing home... she wasn't coping with the pain.... well... that's what we came to you for buddy...pain management... grrr.... we left with no pain medication... but an MRI referral, which is what the hospital acted on giving her the Endone... thus relieving us from having to ever go back to the spinal guy... he 'summed her up' on two questions... do you have any hobbies... and do you do your own shopping.... she's ninety friggin six you dipstick and in agony.... whadaya think.... grrr.... anyway... she's back to being human and happier than I've seen her in quite awhile... she's in her own home with all her things around her.... I wouldn't give her 3 months in a nursing home... but it's amazing how much it takes out of you having to fight those who are supposed to be understanding/helping you... once they get a handle on her they are fine... but it's getting them past those preconceived ideas...
Well, I've been quietly hoping for many years now for that miracle cure/relief for you... I guess that's a stretch now from what you've described... .. still, I am going to follow your docs orders and... stay positive.. you never know..
I've read in chronic pain forums that focussing on doing things can shift the focus a tad from the pain... so here's hoping some people come up with some rare icon requests for you to get your teeth into... I'm sure little Journey is a welcome distraction too... nothing like kids to entertain you....
... and thanks for your thoughts DP... there have been a number of our true blue members who have shared their chronic medical conditions here over the years... it's very humbling knowing what they're going through and still turn up here cheerful, helping others and achieving some wonderful skinning... it's just frustrating that a wand can't be waved over them all to give them some relief... they certainly deserve it...
I've tried and am trying several. What I am learning is how much a lot of these can suck the motivation right out of you. It's like trading this for sleep or that for a clear thought and it never stops. I haven't found that happy medium.
I wouldn't go that far. If I did or do, it's over. There are people worse off than me...some practically crippled...that have found a way to beat it in every sense of the word. I put up with the doctors nonsense for now. Sometimes I just don't have the strength to argue with them and I 'go along'. I regroup, do more research, try another aproach. I'm currently;y trying to do Tai Chi in my living room with a beginners disk I found. I haven't made it past the warm up exercises yet, but I am trying.
Whats hard is feeling so useless. Since the car accident in 2011, I can't drive. I'm 50 years old and I am afraid to get behind the damn wheel so much it's almost paralyzing. And I drive my wife insane because I have become the worlds biggest pussy-backseat-driver. So I am stuck in my house about 90% of the time. If it weren't for having to go to the doctor, I might not get out at all.
I've heard this as well. I know I drive my wife nuts. I was bad enough BEFORE I got to where I am now. I don't know how she puts up with me. I can barely stand me. I didn't know about your situation, DP. I wish none of us were in this boat.
Don't kid yourself she does it cause she loves you dearly. I was a caregiver cause my soul mate got Leukemia. While she was still alive I told her in no uncertain terms that I had no regrets being with her and would do it all over again, twelve years later and I still feel the same. Thank God for women with questionable taste in men.(you didn't think I was going to be serious for ever did you?)