Spinal Stenosis

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Hi everyone

I am Kerrie. I am a mom to two boys, one in heaven and one here with me. He is really not a boy anymore but a young man.

I live with multiple health challenges including asthma, diabetes, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis, spinal stenosis, a bulging disc, degenerative disc disease in my cervical and lumbar spine. I am in pain all the time. My biggest problems are trying to work and trying to keep my small apartment clean by myself. I have also dealt with severe financial problems the last few years. Paying rent and buying food are huge issues for me.

I am here for support and to try to support others.

39 reactions 11 comments
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I'm new here!

Hi, my name is Mic58. I'm here because I have pain related to spinal stenosis, severe and advanced degenerative disc disease. I’ve had multiple surgeries (laminectony/cervical and lumbar fusion/SCS implant - revision-removal). Here to give/receive support and ideas about how to be more active and achieve/maintain positive mental health. Wishing everyone a no/low pain day!

#MightyTogether #SpinalStenosis #DegenerativeDiscDisease

1 reaction 2 comments
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Me, Her, and Mental Illness

Part 1 of 2:

I’ll give you some vital stats first: Tom, AMAB, bigender, bisexual, 49 years old, white person from England, lived in Canada since 1980. I’m 6’1” tall. I collect comics. Diagnosed with BPD, ADHD, Spinal Stenosis, and severe Osteoarthritis.

I often try to figure out the verifiable, actual things I can say about myself. At the moment, what you have just read above is about all I can come up with. So let’s talk about “her.”

By “her,” I am not referring to my ex-partner, who suffered so much from the difficulties of my lack of, and mis-, diagnosis, my over- and under-medication, and my not knowing what the heck was going on in my head and soul. No. By “her,” I mean Tommy. Tommy is the woman that, if I’m as honest with myself as I can be, has existed in my psyche for my entire life. So I want to talk about her, the me that is her rather than the me that is him, and how my struggle with this aspect of my life has impacted, and been impacted by, my mental health challenges.

First, a little bit about being Bigender. As with any identity, how it feels for me is going to be different from everyone else. As you read on, you’ll see that I refer to Tom and Tommy in the third person, almost as if I’m talking about a separate individual. I want to disabuse us of that idea. I often describe my experience of being bigender in a similar way to the Indigenous Two-Spirit identity. For me, there are two different expressions of the self – one masculine and one feminine. They mix more often than not, but they still feel like two different versions of me. But not two different people. I’m still me regardless.

She smiles when I see her in the mirror, a genuine smile that I haven’t seen on my masculine face for a very long time. I think she is, I am, simply so happy to finally be able to be. I remember, over the last 4 or 5 bad years, moments where I could hear her shouting at me to stop, to embrace her, to open my life to the possibilities she presented. I know now that this was what we pathologize as “gender dysphoria.” Different from body dysphoria, where an individual feels like they are in the wrong body, my dysphoria had to do with being forced into one particular gender identity based solely on the body I was born into. I don’t blame anyone for this. Had I embraced this aspect of me while growing up, told there’s an excellent chance I wouldn’t be here to be writing these words. Being queer in the 80s and 90s was not a safe prospect. I hate thinking it, but I know I only survived those decades because I was closeted. The only time I’ve been thankful for that.

Tommy got a chance to shine, a chance to breathe the air, in February 2023. I had accidentally gone off my anti-depressants (which my psychiatrist doesn’t think I need to be on anyway, but we’re not going to mess with it while I’m in a delicate place), and finally found the voice and the courage to tell my partner that I was bigender, that sometimes I was a woman and it was killing me not being able to express that.

I want to reiterate: I’m nearly 50 years old. I look back over my life, my 30-year relationship, my time in high school, and I can see her. Not clearly, but I can see her, waving, calling, discovering herself even as Tom, who was just trying to keep me safe, was shutting her away. I wrestle now with being ashamed of myself, feeling disappointed with myself, for not coming out sooner. And I struggle, so, so much, with how my denying this aspect of myself fundamentally exacerbated my mental health challenges, which was a contributing factor to the dissolution of my partnership. My spouse was nothing but supportive, and quite excited, when I came out to her. But by that point my difficult behaviors had done too much damage and things fell apart pretty soon afterwards. It breaks me to think of this. I had so looked forward to being her girlfriend.

I think we’re all pretty aware of the fact that where there’s one mental health challenge, there will be more, perhaps a lot more. But this doesn’t just include diagnosed, or pathologized, challenges. What about challenges that we were never prepared for in our lives? I am so grateful to see the open conversations that happen now about mental health difficulties and about gender identity, and about the struggles that come from the combination of the two. That young people have the knowledge that if they hear what appears to be a voice talking to them in their souls that doesn’t conform to the identity they’ve had thrust upon them, it’s okay to explore other ones, without fear of persecution.

Continued...

#BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ADHD #LGBTQ #GenderDysphoria

(edited)
1 reaction
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I’m new here!

Hi, my name is IndependentEllie428. I'm here because I’ve been diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2, Chronic Pain Syndrome, and other issues. I have also been referred to a Rheumatologist for possible diagnosis of autoimmune disease. I find it is difficult for people in my life to believe my pain and other symptoms are real because they can’t see it with their own eyes. It’s truly frustrating!

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression #BipolarDisorder #Migraine #ChronicPain #ChronicFatigue #PeripheralNeuropathy #SpinalStenosis #DegenerativeDiscDisease

(edited)
3 reactions 2 comments
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Don’t know what to do anymore….

So here is my story. Been suffering from Fibromyalgia and various other illnesses and conditions. Go into see a surgeon next month for an opinion. I am in constant pain from sacroiliac it dysfunction, neurogenic claudication, crps, spinal stenosis of lumbar region, lumbar radiculopathy, cervical spondylitis, cervical radiculopathy which is enough. Has anyone had any of these issues and if so any surgeries? has it helped? I’m at my wits end. Thank you and good health to all of you!

18 reactions 14 comments
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I'm new here!

Hi, my name is Painwarrior63. I'm here because I've been a chronic pain sufferer for 40 years and just wanted to find a community of like minded people that I could relate to.

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Depression #SpinalStenosis

6 reactions 3 comments
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Prescription anxiety

I had spine surgery on 3/3 (5 days ago) and I’m in a lot of pain. I expected this as I just had spine surgery 6/22/22 as well. I prepared for the worst and I hoped for the best. Here’s my question….I got a prescription for pain medication the day of my procedure which contained enough for 8 tabs a day spaced at every 4-6 hours, just like the prescription says. Here I am on day 5 with 8 tablets and I’m anxious…is the surgeon going to give me a refill , there’s no way people come off pain meds 5 days after spine surgery right?, am I crazy that I’ve calculated my dose’s exactly because I don’t want to experience the crazy pain that follows?.
Seriously, is there something wrong with that/me? I’ve never been an addict, but if pain was involved and pain medication was needed, I didn’t let anyone help me with that part. I’m the child of an addict, could be something there.
My bruising has only just begun and the swelling is horrific (ice is my friend). So my anxiety has kicked in because I’m scared to call the surgeons office and ask for a refill (to be called in tonight preferably so I don’t have to drive), docs don’t like to refill pain medication even for surgery relief. I’m so afraid to be in pain, but the anxiety of actually calling is getting the best of me right now. Ugh. Why? Just why? Why does my brain do this? I’m certainly not actively thinking these thoughts. I don’t understand why this has to be an issue for me. 😤😩🥴😵‍💫🙄🤥🫥🫤😳😔 #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #Anxiety #PanicDisorder #MoodDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #AnxietyMedication #SpinalStenosis #MightyTogether #CheckInWithMe #CrohnsDisease #Fibromyalgia #BrainFog #BackPain #SpinalSurgery #ChronicPain

9 reactions 6 comments
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Spine Surgery Anxiety 😵‍💫

I have a major spine surgery quickly approaching this Friday 3/3/23 and l'm extremely anxious. I just had a different type of spine surgery 6/22/22. Something just feels different this time and I can't seem to wrap my mind around it. I keep having nightmares that I’m going to wake up from surgery paralyzed. I didn’t have nightmares or anxiety before my last spine surgery. It makes sense and it’s valid, but it just seems odd to me. In total, this will be my 13th surgery, I’m generally not anxious about surgeries or procedures (colonoscopies and endoscopies every 1-2 years for the last 29 years). It definitely doesn’t help that I’m also in a Crohn’s flare currently. Getting to the bathroom quickly can be very challenging after spine surgery, I learned that from the first surgery. Sitting on the toilet is very uncomfortable/difficult also.

⭐️❤️Any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated, I'm having trouble escaping/controlling my mind right now.⭐️❤️

Photo is of myself with my awesome Service Dog Onyx, he makes living life much easier for me. 🐕‍🦺

I've had some difficulties finding groups that are active here, so I'm not even sure where to post or where this post will end up. I'm not giving up on finding people to connect with though.

#MightyTogether #SpinalStenosis #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #ChronicPain #chronicbackpain #Arthritis #DegenerativeDiscDisease #PanicDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #CrohnsDisease #InflammatoryBowelDiseaseIBD #ChronicSpinePain #Anxiety #Insomnia #Nightmares #PTSD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder

60 reactions 25 comments
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I’m new here!

Hi, my name is Hpruiett. I'm here because i fell in November and injured my back badly. since then I’m in constant pain. literally it has never been lower than 2-3 since it happened. I’ve had MRI. I have lumbar spinal stenosis as well as moderate arthritis in my lower back as well as multiple fractures in my sacrum. I’m terrified of opioids so I was prescribed ibuprofen, Tylenol, muscle relaxers and back injections. last month I was terminated from my job of 8+yrs for attendance due to my chronic pain. I also lost my insurance. I just need people who understand. I feel like I’m going insane. I only get about 1.5 hrs sleep at a time and lucky to get a total of about 5-6 unrestful hours of sleep. I’m hoping I’m not alone.

#MightyTogether #ChronicIllness #CentralPainSyndrome #Depression #Anxiety #PTSD #Grief

21 reactions 10 comments