FreshFluff

I've used an iPad instead of a laptop since December, which definitely strains the neck more. I think I often slept on my stomach with head to one side. I think that's probably what caused it, along with just holding tension in my neck. I now sleep on my back, of course, but of course the horse is out of the barn. Thanks for your last post about the scary MRI results not necessarily being paralyzing. That was my instinct too, but it's been 4 weeks of pain now. After so many "OMG, this is so bad", it's great to hear some hope. If the nerve block works, even a little bit, that will give me time to think and consult. I'm consulting with an anesthesiologist tomorrow just to get a second opinion. @Unicorn , Thank you. I may try acupuncture and am considering medical marijuana, which I've never tried.

Thank you so much, @rvwnsd , @bashful , and @samhexum, @easygoingpal , and @sniper. The new meds are fine, but still have a limited efficacy time. I haven't filled his Rx yet as I'd prefer the version that's an extended release, but doctors seem hesitant to prescribe that. @bashful , Thanks for letting me cry. I do that often now. @rvwnsd , asthma can be really scary. I hope that it's not flaring up too much. You are always so supportive. @sniper, I'm glad you got out of this and can still run. That is awesome. I totally agree; For something of this magnitude, I want to get the best surgeon in the country. Unfortunately, MDs tend to refer you to some surgeon at whatever small regional hospital is closest to them. As for PT, I heard traction helps, but you can't do it while the pain is this bad. I think he's right that I will need surgery though. The MRI results look really bad--almost no space between the vertebrae. I totally agree about the pain meds just taking the edge off--and we're talking about the strongest meds that I thought no one would prescribe. @samhexum, thanks for sharing that. It's good to know I'm not alone on the neck issue. Sorry you have pain post-op. That sucks after two surgeries.

As you know from my previous thread, I had a medical problem already and was seeking out surgery. That problem has already caused me a bunch of issues--serious issues. After several months of consults, I finally scheduled both the preliminary surgery (in a few days) and a major surgery with a 6 week recovery. Then, 4 weeks ago, I wake up with what seemed like a muscle spasm. I'd had them since childhood and they always resolve after a few days. This time, it worsened. Finally, I asked for an MRI. It showed that the lower half of the neck (cervical spine) had severely deteriorated. I saw a really good physiatrist today. He basically said, "Sure, I"ll do a nerve block but here's a referral to a surgeon. You can apply for temp disability. Oh, and you just got a prescription for for that famously strong pain medication? You're clearly suffering, so it's not enough. Here's a bunch more.". With an opiate epidemic going on, you can imagine how bad the situation must be to be for him to encourage that. So now I'm facing spinal surgery on top of the original surgery. Spinal surgery is famously risky and can leave you worse off than before--with a damaged larynx or even paralyzed. Everything was relatively ok 6 weeks ago and then bam! My life as I know it is over. When Avalon posted a similar thread, I thought he was pretty young. I'm about two decades younger. I could have eventually accepted being homebound, even bed bound, if that had been my prognosis. I would have been ok with walking around with a walker. (For now, I'm still walking but obviously I need medication for that.) What I can't take is this level of pain, not for long. The medications can barely touch neuropathic pain, and the little relief they give doesn't last. I barely sleep because I'm woken up by pain. I hesitated to post this because I know that others have been through worse. But I could really use support right now.

RIP. I enjoyed War and Remembrance a great deal.. Charlie, interesting that he's was living in PS. Would anyone know who he was even in LA?

RIP. I enjoyed War and Remembrance a great deal.. Charlie, interesting that he's was living in PS. Would anyone know who he was even in LA?

I’d say a concierge worth it if you want a lot of attention and want someone who is willing to order imaging, dig deep to make high quality referrals and so on. But they vary in quality. I was referred to a concierge IM doctor who is amazing. He left me have one visit at a regular per-visit rate . I was impressed. Unfortunately, by the time I decided to sign on, he had become a lot more popular and increased his rate to 5-figures. My insurance GP is a smart guy but a little impatient and can get hyper-focused on editing EMRs. I’m hoping to find a local concierge at a reasonable price..

Yep. Str8 men can’t afford to be picky when seeking sex partners. An attractive young gay men, OTOH, might walk into an adult video store full of men, see nothing of interest, and just walk out.

Gman, I wish I could help. The only thing I can say is that your family menbers’ Opinions of you are largely set. I doubt that anything they learn tonight would change that. I too am not that excited about tomorrow, though for different reasons. Your post made me think of the situation from a different perspective.

There was a lot of gay sex going on in the real life SS. Himmler eventually made it a capital offense for SS and Gestapo men. https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20050726-giles.pdf

Meh. The doctor had nice eyes but the nose is no good.

Yes, PGD is run on tissue from the embryo in order to test for genetic issues. But the couple can run micro-array tests on their own blood samples. Numerous inconsistencies between the blood tests and PGD results would set off alarm bells. As for gender testing, the reality is that couples are usually told the gender of each viable embryo before the transfer.

Wow. What a nightmare or those of us who have eggs sitting in a freezer or have used an egg donor. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGD) should have caught this eventually, particularly for couples that had run genetic tests on their own blood samples first.

Those two dogs or Poms in general? A beautiful cream colored puff is worth the trouble. [MEDIA=instagram]BuG33MEAlg5[/MEDIA]

Most of this research was conducted on samples of college kids. It doesn’t surprise me that 21 y.o. women are no more interested in marrying immediately than their male counterparts are. Nevertheless, they typically want to settle down long before men do. Survey data show that women tend to freeze eggs (and delay childbearing) not because they want to focus on their careers but because they can’t find “stable partners.” Of course, I agree with you. But the focus of the so-called moral panic is not so much that sex is an important part of the dating process, but that that sex is now a prerequisite for dating.

To be fair, the hookup culture discussion on college campuses is/was about whether women being forced to choose between casual sex and not dating at all. The people who complain about this are usually college-age women, with a few National Review-type conservatives along for the ride.

The little head doesn’t care about risk. Otherwise, men wouldn’t have gay sex in places like Saudi Arabia.

I want a cream colored fluffy coated teddy bear Pomeranian. But I have sleep problems, so I won’t be getting one. Again, we’re talking about fantasy vs reality. Very few women in big cities can pull this off. There are only so many available rich men, and it takes two incomes to sustain a middle class lifestyle in high COL areas. Moreover, wealthy men are high maintenance, and they tend to up and leave when they get bored. Some women would rather work and marry a decent man with good character who will be a good father.

I do like the wedding dresses cum bridesmaids dresses. They’re much more flattering than traditional bridesmaid attire.

Do you mean that you find this offensive or unbelievable? The more educated and high earning a woman is, the smaller the pool of male equals, let alone betters. That’s before we even take into account the fact that some men are turned off by such women. Most women have a primal drive to children. At some point, the window for that closes, and they become more willing to compromise. Hell, there are sites where women and men who want children can find men who will both donate the sperm and coparent with them.

My post was a response to the claim that women marry for financial security.

Actually, most marry to have children. That’s why you see women marrying men who make less than they do.

Guys who hire female escorts often say, “I pay her to leave.” As laughable as that sounds, it might actually be true for a hypothetical client like this.

How much would the A-list escort pay you?

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For now, you could just ask for PReP and get into specifics later. It sounds like your immediate issue, MG, is the one to concentrate on anyway. The last time I talked about sex with a doctor, a sub-specialist no less, he told me, “I’m not judging. I learned long ago not to judge.” Thanks, bud.