Age: 49
Sex: Female
Primary Medical Conditions: 5 Vertebrae Back Fusion, Remission from Breast Cancer, Depression
I have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. I love the beach; I would go every day if I could. Unfortunately life doesn’t allow us that. I like being tan. I adore spending time with my family. We just had our mom’s 80th birthday celebration. It was awesome. I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters, many great nieces and great nephews. I travel every other 7 days to help care for my mom in the bay area. My sister and myself are pretty much my mom’s caregivers. It’s so very hard to see your mom sick. I lost my dad August 2011.
Hi, I was selected to do this strain review at Granny’s and am most thankful to be a part of it. I am a woman who was in a bad car accident on March 19, 2005, in the rain on the freeway and 300 miles from home, the other driver lost control of her car at 60 mph and hit me hard, all I could do is hang on for the ride. Upon her hitting me, my seat belt cinched down, I then hit the brakes (out of panic & reflex) which made my seat belt cinch down more and all I could think of is someone is going to hit me from behind and was all going to over except the crying. I managed to get my truck to the shoulder without being hit from behind, how? I do not know. I had a few angels on my shoulder that day.
I had my 1st back surgery a diskectomy on L4 vertebrae on July 18, 2006, it failed so 9 months later April 2007 I had a surgery to fuse 4 of my vertebrae, L3, L4, L5 and S1 (L= lumbar vertebrae) (S = your tailbone) I had to learn to WALK AGAIN!!! Then after some acute rehabilitation and weeks in the hospital and starting physical therapy, I could walk with a walker. It’s been a very long road. So after learning to walk again I fell down many times. I have ongoing pain every day, the electrical shocks that happen unannounced feel like you are being electrocuted, it’s part of the downside of the surgery and I was informed and agreed to the surgery. It hurt a lot.
In 2008 we lost 5 close family members in the first 5 months. 2 weeks later I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was mortified but also numb. How could this be happening to me??? I have enough on my plate. My cancer is Ductal Carcinoma stage 2. I had a lumpectomy on my right breast. I am now not only knowing that my cancer can come back but I suffer from Lymphodema in my right arm, shoulder, neck and hand. Lymphodema is when you have had surgery that involved removing lymph nodes (the surgeon took too many to test) your lymphatic fluid cannot process normally so it backs up and is very painful.  Your hand, arm, breast, and neck swell up. I have compression sleeves and gauntlets to wear. It helps the fluid move in my arm to the filter in your neck area that cleans it. If you don’t do what you’re supposed to – to alleviate the toxic fluid build-up it taints your body – basically you poison yourself with the toxic fluid build-up. It’s so hard, but I am still standing!!!!
October 2009 L2 vertebrae degenerative disc – another back surgery to fuse L2 vertebrae. 2010 NO SURGERIES FOR ME yay!!! February 2011 Major back surgery only this time my S1 = tailbone has not solidified (healed properly) 3 years after the cadaver bone was placed in my tailbone and vertebrae. So I had a 4th back surgery where they did anterior back surgery (anterior = surgery enter from your side or lower belly. I have a 4 inch scar on my belly where they dug out the old bone and replaced it with new cadaver bone. I was at the cancer dr. yesterday and I didn’t get the news I wanted to hear. I’m scared. I suffer from DAILY back pain and DAILY pain from my Lymphodema it’s a sharp shooting pain that drops me to my knees – even in public. I can’t help it. Most times I don’t care I just breathe through it. People stare – no-one asks are you ok? They are probably afraid to ask….who knows?
I have taken so many RX’s the first list is the ones I HAVE NOT taken in a long time.
- Vicoden 1000 (makes me sick)
- Morphine 20 mg (makes me sick)
- Oxycontin 20mg (gave those back asap)
- Percoset 325/10mg w/tylenol worked great
- Oxycodone 5mg (fast acting & short lasting)
- Toradol great pain relief
- Fentanyl patches. (never again)
- Ativan 1 mg – for anxiety & depression
Current RX’s I take
- Â Neurontin 800 mg 4x a day helps with the spasms in my back & muscles.
- Remeron 15 mg anti-depressant & helps me sleep
- Tamoxifen 20 mg 1x a day – for my cancer
- Flexeril 10 mg as need for spasms
- Â Valium 2 mg helpful in the daytime.
- Valium 10 mg use at nighttime
- Ibuprofen 800 take daily to try to ease the pain.
I will medicate with medical marijuana as opposed to pills if I can. I have replaced the heavier triplicate RX’s with the list above of current meds I take. Medical Marijuana is a godsend. I don’t get why they don’t approve it federally.
I used cannabis long before my accidents or my cancer. About 35 years. I now use about 7 grams a week. I smoke in the morning, afternoon and 2 times in the evening. I prefer to smoke a blunt, but smoke out of a glass pipe if necessary. I use some edibles; sometimes I need more of a body high especially if my body is hurting.
