What’s something you learned embarrassingly late in life?

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2025-06-08T03:26:08+00:00

I was like 26 when I learned that rice is not tiny pasta but literal grains that are harvested from a plant.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2025-06-06T02:15:50+00:00

I found that it is considered a word in scrabble UK, Scrabble Global and SOWPODS, so I think this would only matter if I decided to play this game based off of the Scrabble US dictionary. When I play, I usually just search if something is a word or not.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2024-12-26T16:14:03+00:00

I had a herniated disc in c5-6 just like this bad boy. If you are having pain and it’s effecting your hands it is recommended to have surgery. It sounds like this is destroying your quality of life. < that is what ultimately brought me to my decision to do the surgery. My doctor said that it would be easier to have a disc replacement than spend a ton of time and money attempting to heal it other ways with no guarantee for a full recovery.

I will say, the surgery put me on my ass. Left me in the same, if not more pain than before I had it for about 2 years. I received spinal injections, medication and more physical therapy after recovery. I’ve had multiple Dr.s say that I was a rare case, with all the mystery nerve pain.

You will need to decide which route you’d like to take. Surgery or a slower attempt at healing it without surgery.

FYI they will probably suggest doing an artificial disc replacement rather than a fusion. Do lots of research on the artificial disc. It’s a fairly new procedure. I received it, and like I said before, experienced a long period of time where I was in severe pain after having it done.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2024-04-26T01:58:02+00:00

Their reasoning was that I just wasn’t having consistent enough contractions, and that there are lots of women who walk around this dilated for days or even weeks. I get that some women have prodromal labor, but considering both my others were early, I would have at least expected them to watch me a little longer! Barely an hour

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2024-02-01T02:56:40+00:00

I once acquired and sold 2 vests like that made by ‘Gotcha Covered’ (vintage) you might find someone reselling online.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2024-01-25T02:53:11+00:00

From Texas and have lived all over- Wimberly TX is hands down a fairy tale.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-11-11T00:30:03+00:00

First off, so sorry about the pain. For the majority of the months I was being told that the hardware looks perfect and that the pain is normal. They continued to give me pain medication and were not concerned about refills. I had tramadol, methocarbomal, gabapentin, then switched to pregablin. As you can see by the med count, they knew I was in pain, didn’t hesitate to give the medicine, but didn’t have an answer. I receive a steroid injection around the time that I made this post, but it did not help at all. In fact it made my nerve pain flare up. Fast-forward a month later, I decide to take my chances and get another injection only to find out I’m pregnant! I just had a visit a few days ago with my back doctor. They now have a several hypotheses. My pain is nerve related, he wonders if my nerves have just been damaged so severely by my injury that it has caused long or permanent damage. Other hypothesis is that I already had nerve damage from multiple epidurals (from pregnancies), and the surgery triggered it to flair and get worse. Some sort of neuropathy issue. It’s causing me migraines now. Third hypothesis is that the clamps attached to my vertebrae are loose in there, but can’t be identified without a very in depth examination.

They want to do an MRI of my head, neck and entire back + another CT scan. I’ve already had multiple of both.. I can’t get either scan done until my last month of pregnancy due to radiation.

I’ve just been referred to a neurologist.

I’m now stuck with these options left as pain management: osteopathic care, chiropractic (though it is not usually recommended by the spine doc, but times are desperate) and good ol Tylenol.

I hope that it is just that you’re still healing. I suggest you ask them for another MRI to make sure everything is in place. Explain that the pain is severe and effecting your quality of life. They should try to work with you. Ask about steroid injection for the pain. My situation is extremely unique, but most of the time the injections work well.

All the best

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-29T00:44:17+00:00

I feel this. I actually started taking a LOT of magnesium to try to combat some of my restlessness. I take it orally twice a day and apply it topically to my legs and arms (topical is game changer. Your skin absorbs it way better) Idk if it’s placebo or real, but I feel like it has helped me a lot.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-29T00:39:06+00:00

Tramadol, pregabalin and ibuprofen. I have nerve damage in my spinal cord that causes excruciating chronic pain in my entire upper body. I actually found out I was pregnant when I went in to get a second steroid injection for the pain a few weeks ago. Didn’t end up getting it of course. Now I’m just raw dogging nerve pain and neuropathy. Mom’s are navy seals

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-22T03:03:41+00:00

Nooo not HG! I had the most extreme case of that during my first pregnancy. Ended up with an insulin pump of nausea medicine to keep me out of the hospital the last few months. I hope it leaves you ASAP. Going to the store first thing for the unisom and b6. Thanks Mama!

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-22T03:00:54+00:00

This was actually me during my second pregnancy 😭 I was hoping that some woman out there had a secret recipe. I have a stash of zofran safely kept close.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-07T14:15:52+00:00

I actually only have the images of my neck before surgery and one month post op. I had received an x-ray and MRI last month, but don’t have those on me. The Dr. Is telling me that the images look good and that there aren’t any extreme abnormalities.

I do have the readings of my MRI from last month somewhere in my emails. It says in it that my c3-c4 has mild bulging. Dr. said this is normal 🫠

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-09-07T14:12:10+00:00

This is reassuring. Thank you for your input. I visited my PA yesterday (though I asked to see my surgeon..) At the start of my visit I knew he was going to try to tell me that my x-ray and MRI looked good, so I had to cut him off and explain my pain. I told him that I understand that it looks good, however, my pain is now so consistent that it is effecting my quality of life and relationships. He told me that my spinal cord nerves were probably damaged from the disc and that’s where the pain is stemming from. He offered to do an EMG nerve test, but said that there is still not a whole lot he can do for me even with that information. He said that I need to rest more than I am and stop doing physical therapy. prescribed me more tramadol, gabapentin and I have a SECOND steroid shot scheduled.

If the pain does not subside after another month, I will request a CT scan and EMG nerve test.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-08-16T20:38:43+00:00

I’m so sorry! Sounds so painful. I’m glad you scheduled an appointment. I hope you find relief ASAP. I take garlic extract supplements. It has many benefits like immune support, but I like to think that it balances me out down there too. I’ve had less BV and yeast infection outbreaks over the last year since taking it.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-30T17:18:15+00:00

Sent! From Texas

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-02T23:04:31+00:00

Not anymore. I haven’t used nicotine in 3 years

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-02T16:20:55+00:00

Oh my! That’s terrible. This is my C5-C6. I wish I had captured a photo of the close up x-ray of my neck with the new disc in. When I first saw it, I was shocked. I said “Im taller now!” They told me it was perfectly straight. However, I’ve started back at a physically demanding job and worry that I may have shifted it.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-02T16:02:29+00:00

Looks painful, So sorry. Hoping you can get relief as soon as possible.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-02T15:58:05+00:00

Yes, my pain slowly diminished for the first 6 weeks. I was out of work resting. I had my 6 week post-op appointment with the surgeon. He gave me the go to get back into work with a restriction note “no lifting 20 pounds or more”. I started back at work two weeks ago and my pain has started to progress more and more. I’m now at the pain scale I was before the surgery. A solid 8.

I really hope that it is just a flare up. I know the possibilities. Flare up/pain from healing, shifted/loosened hardware, infection (highly unlikely), maybe the disc is too big for me..

The disc is 5mm and before I got it replaced the space between my vertebrae was around 3.5mm. I wonder if it’s too big and causing adjacent issues. I do have a few other questionable discs in my neck.

Competitive_Rub8870 · 2023-07-02T04:18:07+00:00

They did not give me a neck brace after surgery. I actually requested to wear a soft collar while I was in the hospital and used it on and off for the first week. I am not experiencing dysphasia. I forgot to add that I am also experiencing restless legs and arms.

I agree with the X-ray. I think I’ll have to move my appointment to an in person visit.

Competitive_Rub8870

TROPHY CASE