Wow... It's 2am Sunday morning. I go home Monday after almost 2 weeks here. Tuesday will be 7 weeks post-op. The tough part of the trip is over. 2 of 3 clients are gone... the 3-level lumbar client is out of the hospital and doing quite well. It's been an amazingly busy time and I cannot believe that I was able to sustain the pace that I did. I had been afraid to cut the pain meds in the middle of such a demanding trip. Today, I cut them in 1/2. (This was possible because here you can get 5mg oxy... something I wish they would bring to the US... this is such a great dosing option. It would make it so much easier to finish your taper off of oxy with this option.) We'll see how I do on the lower dose and I still have to worry about the flights home.
I KNOW I'm better because I won't wait for the elevator. I'd rather sling my backpack over one shoulder and run down 5 flights of stairs. I'm getting glimpses of feeling better than I have in years. I'm beginning to realize that over the past few years when I thought I felt good... I did not. It's a strange sensation to really feel good... almost giddy. As Sam Perroni said... "the absense of pain is a sensation".
I still don't know how good I'll get. I'm only getting glimpses of feeling really well and am still taking substantial meds. However, I expect to leave the meds behind very soon. If you all will help me and come hit me with a stick if I work long days again... and if I get to PT, work on my core strength and take Baumbach's advice for frequent mud baths... I expect to do VERY well.
All the best,
Mark
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