WHATS HAPPENING THURSDAY

Boy I tell you between the rough weather, Sugars episode, and Joe being gone to pick up the grandkids. I have had a horrible night last night and today. STRESS!!!!yuck. But Joe will be home soon, Sugar seems to be getting better and even tho we are still having rough weather maybe things will be ok for all of us. I hope no one had any damage from the rain and wind last night. I want to thank the prayer warriors that are on here. You all are awesome. What could have been a very bad thing for Sugar because of your intercession worked out ok. God Bless all of you Well I haven't gotten much done outside today since it has rained off and on all day. Put on a large roast with potatoes and carrots and onions around noon today in the crock pot so there would be something here for them to eat when they get here. Tomorrow I will probably have to take granddaughter to town to get them a few groceries. She has an appointment with Wic on Monday since she has two babies and the oldest wont be 2 till August and the baby is only 2 months old. They will be eligible for several things from that. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VESTA....HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT AND WONDERFUL DAY... TAMMY: A bowel obstruction if it doesn't resolve itself can only be taken care of by surgery. Im just so thankful to God that hers unkinked or what ever they do. It does happen with new post ops at times but can also happen to older post ops as well .It is a serious thing to happen . I am so proud of you for sticking to your liquid diet when the kids were making brownies. That is will power now. Actually I think you deserve more than just a pat on the back for that. Maybe a gold star . That is strength . That is keeping your eye on the Prize for sure. MELISSA: glad you now have your computer up and running again. Hey you know what they say about the squeaky wheel getting the grease . that 100.00 dollars taken off of a bill was well worth squeaking. Who do you think is going to win on Idol? Im not really sure this year. Every other year I have been able to pick the winner but this year I don't know. The best one probably isnt the one that will win but in my thoughts that is Melinda Dolittle. Oh wow yummy I love liver and onions. One of my favorites and you don't find a lot of people that really like them. Do you soak your liver in milk first? It really makes a difference. CLAUDETTE: Thanks for the prayers for Sugar. They helped. JANET: LOL I laughed myself silly over your story about the snakes. You are very good at writing maybe you ought to try it for a living. A column for a newspaper or something. You always have some good story of daily living. Never thought of snakes getting into bags of cans. Boy I bet you really do have water standing now don't you after today. Did your husbands work get the water out of their place. What does he do? Hope he doesn't work with electric. Lol Yes with family members that want to drag you down all the time you just have to stick to your guns and not let them push your buttons. Anyone that is grown you have to let them make their own decisions and live with them. That is what I had to do with my youngest daughter, I had to learn that as much as she did. When I finally told her no , no more she started growing up. Finally. My knees hurt. Lol I am getting the syn-visc put in them again. I had that done 6 months ago and medicare will pay for it every 6 months so May 1st I am going back up and do it again once a week for 3 weeks. Those things hurt but they made them feel better for awhile. They have been getting worse and worse for the last 3 weeks. I figure if that will work for awhile then I can put off knee surgery for a while longer. I really don't want to have another surgery for awhile. But I want to be able to walk too. I cant imagine how you manage as well as you do with no knee caps. How did that happen? Hey tell my little buddy that he cant be the flower man if he is going to be afraid of flys. Lol Hope the spinal went well today and wasn't as much pain as it was from the last one. I have prayed for you all day about that. TARA;Thanks for praying for Sugar. Yes I know I had big tears for her too after she called me and told me. She is my baby sister and sure hate to see her in so much pain. Bless her heart. If I could take it from her I would share some of it with her. DEBBIE M: Yeah I think Sugar has had all of the sickness that she needs to have. She is sort of like me not use to being sick really. So this has really threw her for a loop.I told her that if there was some way to do it I would gladly take part of her pain for her. That is such a shame about the son and the dog. I don't know why people want a pet if they aren't responsible enough to care for one. Maybe if they are in a shelter someone will come along that really wants a dog or a puppy to care for. VESTA: I have told her she will have to get on the computer and read all the back post and how everyone was praying for her. It has been so wonderful that everyone on here cares so much for each other. LANA: Hey does that Lunesta really work well? I have been thinking about asking my doctor if I could try it. I never sleep more than about 3 hours tops and then am up for a couple of hours then another 3 hours of sleep. Naturally most of the time I am worn out it seems. LOL yeah when you told me that you was going out and shielding the tomato plants from the really strong winds I had to laugh at you . You are silly girl. Since I planted my plants one of them started looking like it has some sort of illness so I sprayed it with some stuff that is a natural cure for a lot of things I hope it helps the tomato plant. I get too involved with my plants too I think. But they are like my babies to me. And I hate to see anything really mess them up. Hopefully all the rain and storms are about over. Pray that Sugar does all right tonight . They gave her a soft diet for supper and said that if nothing happened to her overnight that she would probably go home on Thursday. Thanks again everyone . I truly love you and I owe you lots. Thanks for keeping Sugar lifted up in prayer. God Bless each and everyone of you. LOVE AND JOY AND PEACE ABOUNDS JAN

Howdy Everyone.... Well so far we have been lucky down this way....Got quite a bit of rain but no damaging stuff as of yet...Have not had the chance to watch the news so I don't know how much we are suppose to get but I hope it's nothing drastic..... And for the 3rd time if you seen any of my other posts lol lol.... and the 4th for those whom I have emailed............I am smiling so big I am about to out shine the sun!! I weighed tonight and I am only 13 lbs from my 50lb goal to get to set my surgery date!!! I was so worried this would take for ever but it is actually about to happen!!!! I love you all for praying for me!!!! I have always had crappy will power until now...but I know I have not done it alone!!!!! Janet...your post mentinoed you were on the couch with a heating pad!!! I pray that does not mean the shots did not help....Are you using the heat becasue of getting the shots????? I hope you feel well enough to call me tomorro night...I will wait for you to call me incase you don't feel like talking.... I spoke of most everyone that has posted today in my prayer post.....I hope you all are doing well....I am so thankful I found this board and have met so many wonderful people!!!! I am so excited about getting to meet most of you later this summer..I don't even care if its just a big ole picnic thing for the day....I really want to meet you all face to face and give some big ole HUGS!!!!!!! Being fat has been such a crappy thing for me....Who would have thought it would eventually lead me to so much excitement, happiness and to such caring & wonderful friends..... I can not wait to get on that loosers bench....Of course so I can be on my way to loosing all this lard I am carring around but also so I can be in the position to be an Angel!!!!! God really blessed me when he brought my Angels into my life!!!! I can not thank them enough.....And now I can not wait to do the same for others!!!!!! Well gotta run.....Yall have a great day....Big Hugs and Lots of Love....Tammy H.

Well hello everyone! Evening? Morning? Afternoon?....Jan, you seem to be getting earlier and earlier with your post.....may be it just me getting later!...lol It's been a rough night here! bad storms, tornado warnings, flash floods! The flooding got so bad that they had to shut 71 hwy down for a bit. From ditch to ditch across the divided 4 lane highway....what a mess! Right now, we are in a moat! Our ponds and creeks are overflowing and the water is creeping this way. In the 12 years we have been here, David didn't make it to work once due to high waters. I trust that God will keep us safe! I guess it's a good thing that Roy's dog went into labor when she did. If it would of happened today, they all would of drown. That area is under water! It looks like Roy might of abandoned us with his dog and her 6 pups. We haven't heard a thing from him since the night they were born. His ex-girlfriend came by today, we had a long talk and we found out a lot of things about Roy that we didn't know and it almost makes me want to stick my head in a hole! Knowing her the way I do and knowing Roy, I unfortunately have to believe her! I know he was raised better...what he does now is all him, not us! I will just keep him at the altar with the rest of the kids! She did tell me to call her if Roy does abandon the dogs...she said she would help us anyway she could. Her Dad has some land down in the Ozarks, maybe they will find good homes there. I am so disappointed with Roy over those dogs, in a way I hope he doesn't come back right now. I'm afraid I would say something that I would regret later! I totally agree with you Jan on people that get dogs but won't be responsible for what they do. She was only doing what comes natural for her, Roy should of been the responsible one there and trust me when I say that it angers me way beyond my limits! I thought about loading up momma dog and the pups and going to Roy's work or apartment and putting them in his car, but the dogs aren't the ones that did wrong and it wouldn't be fair to them! Maybe do it later when their bigger and poop more!!....just kidding!....lol I will try to get some pics of them in a few days. Momma dog is being pretty aggressive with Gracee and Jake (just doing her job) right now and I want things to calm down for her before I go taking all the pups for a photo op....lol In a way, it's funny to see her go up to the fence that divides her and the pups from Jake and Gracee...she's not even half the size of Gracee and Jake towers over her but she gets out there and stands her ground and growls at them! They just look at her like she's crazy...poor thing. Roy has no idea what he is missing out on right now. Momma dog is showing us that she is a very good and proud Mom! Jan, I'm happy that Sugar is okay and I know she will do fine with the soft diet! I want to thank all the prayer warriors too! We have an awesome team, don't we? Hey....I love liver n onions too! I don't eat them now but I still love them! Craig...good to see you up and visiting! I always get a big grin on my face when you post. Like I have said before you are a inspiration to us all! Thank you! Janet...snakes?? Oh my! I had to laugh....yeeeeeeeeeears ago I was with this guy and in the middle of the night I guess I had a nightmare about snakes being in the bed and I guess I started hollering about them...next thing I remember is waking up with my boyfriend jumping out of bed and screaming like a girl! (to this day I still laugh my butt off about that!!). Being from California you would never think about snakes really being in your bed, well at least where I lived but here in Missouri that can really happen and I guess my bf really thought they were there.....okay, okay...I have to stop talking about that one. I'm laughing so hard that my cheeks get in the way and I can't see the keyboard, and my eyes are tearing up!....lol Tammy...congrats on your weight loss girl...just awesome!! Won't be long now!! Good to see Doc H checking in....glad to know he keeps an eye on us....besides, it reminded me that I need to make an appt for another fill!....lol Melissa, I'm glad you finally saw my post..I was beginning to wonder if you could see my type...lol That is a hard, thankless job that you are doing and I totally understand any and all your frustration when it comes to him. I will be keeping you, hubby and your FIL in my prayers! Jan...your gonna have a house full for awhile! You stick to your guns too about that SIL. I know it's gonna be hard but I know you have it in you to put your foot down or up, if need be. I won't go any further there....lol Well, I'm off to bed....I pray that everyone has a peaceful night's sleep and that tomorrow will be a beautiful day and that we all have the energy to get all the things done that we need or want to do! Love & Prayers, Deb M

Good Morning Everyone: Well it started out as a pretty day the sun was shineing brightly. Then it rained and then turned sunny all over again. Aaaawww the 1 bad thing about living in MO. LOL Went to an appt first thing this morning. Wanted to slap some womans face for the way she was talking. And in a church of all places saying the F**K word and talking down the the volunteer there. I was so mad and upset I bawled all the way home. You know I can understand (well actually I dont understand but I deal is better word) that not everyone has a realationship with the Lord. And that is their choice after all. The Lord did give us free will. But to walk into a church asking for help then mocking the people their that volunteer and walking up and down the hallway talking on your cellphone saying F this and F that was too much. I gave them my nastyest look I could and hoped they would make a comment. Of course they would of proabley asked me to leave also cause I would of knocked some sence into them. Aaarrrggggg Then I got home changed clothes got ready to go with Janet (Frick) to her appt. Didnt have finger prints on my hands today. I just keep standing on faith that she is going to receive a healing!!!! We came back to our place. Then followed Terry & Dad to the lawyers office to get those papers noterized. YEA they got taken care of!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!!! Got home played on the computer Janet & I. Janet left to go home in time for my lil buddy to get home and the other kids. I went to Wal Mart to pick up dads meds and grab a few items. Needless to say I picked today of all days to park out in the back 50. GOT TOTALLY SOAKED!!!! It rained so hard that by the time I got to the car I looked like a drowning rat. And the rain was so COLD!!! I thought I was going to wet myself I got so cold!!! Stopped on the way home at the smoke shop for ice (forgot it at Wal Mart). Right besides the smoke shop is a veggie stand thro the rain and windshield wipers I saw tomatoes. Had to jump out and buy some fresh garden tomatoes NOT HOT HOUSE!!! Cant wait to bite into one of them tommorow!!! YUMMY!!! By the time I made it home. Unloaded the car, put grocery away, put car in garage, changed clothes, made out bills, ect. I didnt have the energy to make supper. So we eat left overs from last night. I will make them today after they have soaked good over night in milk. Anyways I was trying to get comfy in my PJ and the phone rang. It was my B-I-L he wa son his way over to pick up the tarp that I threaten to throw in the trash if he didnt get it pick up this week. Brought his flavor of the week along with him. When he knocked on the door I told him to come in but she could go sit back out int he car. Too long of a story to get into tonight. TRUST ME!!! Anywas he didnt like it too much but didnt have a choice. Went in to see his Dad. Told Terry (his brother) that he talked to the other brother and had made a comment that Dad wasnt doing to good. So Mark (Terry's oldest brother) came over to see for himself. WHAT????? Hello, we have only been asking for his help for over a year now. But his only reply is I dont have time for his **** or Put him in a nurseing home!! I kidd you not. He tried to play the concerned son but of course by this time I wasnt feeling well. (I have had this terrible heartache all day long. Like something devestating is going to happen. I have bawled at the drop of a hat today and just felt like I have lost my heart. Dont know what is going on??) Anyways I poped around the cornor and mouthed off that he was full of poopy and that the ONLY REASON HE WAS AROUND WAS TO GET SOME MONEY FROM DAD. OTHER WISE HE DIDNT CARE IF DAD WAS HERE OR NOT. Trust me everyone I am or at least I think I am a very compassionate and loving person. I would do or give people whatever I could to help them out. But there is something about Mark that when he is aorund or calling I am instantly pissed. I just dont understand how people are out for only themselfs??? For those of you that havent meet my Terry I am so thankful that I got the BEST of all the RUSSELL MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! He must take after his Mother god bless her heart. Needless to say Mark didnt stay long expecially when he mentioned that he wanted to come by and get Dad & his car to go see the youngest son. And I told Mark not with Dad car they wont unless Terry goes. Due to Mark or Dad not having a driver licenses. And Mark will make dad pay for everything and stop at all the antique shops. Plus I expained to him that Dad now wears Depends to prevent accidents. But I would be more then willing to pack Dad a bag with an extra set of clothes, Depends, Gloves, and Wipes. All of a sudden Mark had to leave and said he would get back with us it. I wont hold me breath. I just wanted for one sec for him to see that Dad isnt like Dad use to be and it is harder then hell to watch him & help him go thro whatever is going on with him. Getting up and down all night long with him. So he doesnt catch the house on fire or fall and break something. But you know what I will do it every night if this what it takes to make sure he is happy and as healthy as possible. Okay I am not only off my soapbox but I threw it out the window. Sorry I didnt mean to rant and rave. I hope everyone has a great day. So glad to hear Sugar is doing so much better. And that Pam came thro her surgery with flying colors!!!! Please keep me in your prayers. I know I need to adjust my sttitude also!!!! God Bless You ALL!!!!!! Mel

Good morning everyone...Jan you need to find a way to start sleeping more, it will get you down, it does me when I cant get any sleep...mel bless your heart I can relate to what you are saying, I went thru the same thing a few years ago...everyone have a nice day and tks again for my birthday wishes.....vesta

Vesta Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!!! I Pray you have a blessed day!!!! We sure did miss you at the meeting. God Bless Mel

Dear Jan and OH Peeps~ Good Morning ALL-not sure WHY-but it took me over an hour to get my puter up and going this morning.....I think the good Lord knew that IF it didnt straighten out-it was about to fly through the window and into the lake I USED to call my yard!! LOL...I hope its just the wet weather and nothing wrong.....NOT going without a puter for 6-7 months like I did last time! Thats for sure. Jan-thanks for the compliments on my writing-but unfortunately-these things just happen to me and I write about it-you guys are like therapy for me-LOL LOL....I am sure I will never make enough money in my lifetime to pay you all back-LOL... To answer a couple of questions for ya-my husband is the manager for Sharp-he builds, repairs and maintains Sharp copiers all over the 4 states. He is certified on ANY Sharp copier there is-and he is the BEST....They send him to school once or twice a year for updated training-and the trainers have ALL offered Mike jobs at one point in time or another....We may move one of these days-Im sure the benefits would be better at a larger company and he just MAY get a REAL vacation!!! He has worked for Ozark Business Systems for close to 13 years now. He has been talking about going to school in St. Louis to take a course that would have him fixing and maintaining medical equipment-the big stuff-like MRI/Cat Scan machines-things like that-and I think he should do it-if thats what he wants and would be a great choice-and they make good money too!! Will see. I have had arthritis in my knees since I was 4, my knee caps have been eaten up by it and my doc (who is a VERY LARGE MAN) says that he could make a fist and put it right through where my knee caps WERE....I was born with them, just have been gone since I was like 29. I guess I used it as a crutch, because the less active I became due to my knees etc-the more weight I gained-and I used it..I dont anymore-in fact, most times I wont even give in to it anymore. Mind over matter, sure it hurts like hell-but I am like you-I am not ready for another surgery just yet-and I am gonna put it off until I cant put it off anymore! I go in on the 30th and I am getting cortisone shots in both knees. I hope your syn visk work for you. Mine didnt the last 3 series I got-so I stopped doing them. When I did them, they were once a month for 3 months. Of course, that was years ago...A lot has changed. The first 2 sets worked good, the 3rd-NOTHIN! I have tried to reassure Jon that a FLY wont hurt him-and cant even bite-he doesnt care. He can stand there and watch a spider or snake-and not flinch-he plays with the lizards when the boys catch them-but a fly or a nightcrawler on his fishing pole-both scare him!!! He is something else~~He waved to the puter yesterday at your picture and said HI FLOWER LADY....Thanks for my flower!~ He loves it and has shown everyone his prizes when they come through the front door! My daughter, her fiance and my mom-I know I have made the right decision. I just had to face how much it was truly dragging me down! I have so many other issues right now and IF I dont let my own issues ruin my day or my attitude-I just cant let theirs, right? One thing that urks me-is when one of them will say things to me about my home or car or my marriage to Mike and say-I wish I had what you have-well, you dont get that by sitting on the couch and rubbing a lamp-you gotta get off your butt WORK for what you want-and go for it-and DONT settle for someone who isnt your soul mate!! Right? Life is way too short-to SETTLE and be unhappy-thats my thought on it. Well, I got some good news AND some bad news yesterday-lets do the good news first-good news-I took Jon to his appt yesterday morning-when he went in October, I was told that he was considered obese! He was in the 90th percentile for weight and a little on the short side. I never have thought of him as fat or chunky-he is just stocky, but then shoots up! Well, he has only gained 1 1/3 # since Oct. and he has grown 1 3/4 inches. His BMI went from 21.9 to 18.? forget now-but his nurse said that he is now leveled out and they can tell that I have been changing things with him-I changed from certain juices etc-that were FULL of sugar and until I started going to NUT for my surgery...didnt realize that A LOT of things I THOUGHT were good for my kids-werent. Stephanie has lost a LOT of weight since my surgery as well! Im so excited for her. That was the good news. I got my 2nd spinal yesterday....asked a lot of questions to Julie (who gives the shots) she told me to check with my bariatric surgeon because some of the drugs I mentioned to her she thought had anti inflammatorys in them-like the Ultram???? So, I am going to email my nurse and see what she suggests that I take to help eleviate some of this day to day pain. The shot went easier than the first one-BUT the initial anesthesia one was bad. THis time I took pain meds BEFORE going in-unlike last time when they told me NOT to-whatever! After I was done-drove to Mels about 3-4 blocks away-and thats when I started getting the shakey hands and legs a bit. I hung out at her house for awhile-and then came home to meet the kids-I called my ortho surgeon and his nurse (whom I LOVE!!) said that they found some herniated discs as well-and started reading through my report--and then just said she would make an appt for me to see the doctor. So-I dont know what else they found-but I hope and pray thats not what Mels feeling was about...I was wigged out. Mels sister told me (she is in medical field) that the herniated discs are probably like that from overcompensating for the ones that are disingrated. It looks at this point like surgery for fusing ALL 6 discs is my only option DAMMIT! My nurse told me that it was no wonder I was in so much pain-she said its bad enough having ONE or the other-but having BOTH....leave it to me to do it all the way or nothin-LOL. They will be referring me to a pain management doc probably in Springfield. I pretty much spent the rest of the evening on the couch with the heating pad-and out of it. Thank you so much for the prayers. I sure feel so loved and so secure knowing that there are people really praying for me and what I go through. It means the world to me!! I got pulled over on my way home from Jons appt...Seems like I was speeding (Looking around as if to say ME?) I came down the hill and started around the corner-and there he was. There was a car behind me-then the cop pulled out-turned his lights on, that car pulled over-and so did I thinking he was going to a call-(YEAH RIGHT) now-thank the Lord I was already crying-because my back and knees hurt so bad-and so that just added to it-and then I found my insurance card, gave him my licesnse-and he asked me- Maam, are you ok? I explained No I wasnt, told him of my fall and the snakes (with tears!) and he came back to the car, told me to slow down-and that was that. Only AFTER he said that-told him I thought he knew my husband-as he comes and fixes their copiers and b.s's with them-and I was saying Michael-when he said- OH, I know MIke-so then I had to fess up to my hubby that I was speeding and got pulled over. Dummy Dummy....although Im sure Jon would have ratted me out anyway!! LOL. and this time-there was NO CLEAVAGE showing whatsoever!!! Promise!~ **Tammy Ammy-you dont know how PROUD of you I am! I pray for your strength and that the Lord has his hands all over you EVERY DAY...I know this is so hard-but I know you will be getting that date-you GO GIRL....Happy Happy Baby Circle Dance for ya!!! Keep your chin up honey and you will be getting that date reallllllyyyy soon!!! Love ya-and thanks for remembering me in prayer too! **Susan-Come out Come out wherever you are?? Havent heard from you since the meeting-no email or call to let me know you made it home ok...Did you decide after meeting us that you just couldnt keep talking to people as crazee as we are? Dont make me come to St. Charles now and put you in a head lock!! LOL...Hope everything is ok. **Mel-First-let me say THANKS for being MY WINGS when I am wounded and unable to soar by myself. Your my rock-and I love you so much. Thanks for ALWAYS being there for me....NOW-I am gonna kick your butt for not telling me about that feeling! WHAT the hell? It sure would have explained some other things going on yesterday, that I didnt tell you about because you have so much going on with dad and Terry. You ****head!! Love you. Thanks again! **Debbie M-Let me say-IF I had been your boyfriend, I probably would have been on the phone calling the 911 or something to get the snakes out of my bed-thats NOT funny. Glad that MY horror makes you sick-os laugh- LOL LOL LOL....Now-I am just kidding, so dont anyone take that wrong....I guess I am just a scaredy cat-but I am NOT afraid to admit that-no way, no how...the only good snake to me, is a dead one. Im sorry your son is being an ass about his dog-I hope you can find good homes for them-because it doesnt sound like he deserves a dog! Jerk. At least YOU are a decent person and compassionate-or who knows what would have happened to that poor mamma dog and her babies? Thank you for being good to her. You are special and you will be rewarded for your big heart-you will!!! I will keep you in my prayers-as well as your son, who obviously doesnt follow in his parents footsteps-for him to see the error in his ways and straighten out. Im sorry you had to go through all that. **Vesta-Happy Happy Birthday-I hope your day is as wonderful as you are!! I am so glad Sugar is doing better (thank you Lord!!) and that Pams surgery went well and I hope they BOTH get released from the hospital soon and that Sugar is healed now for good-NO MORE PROBLEMS....I have been claiming that over her!!! Well, I am gonna go for now. I feel like I am missing something I wanted to say or someone-if it comes back to me, I will just get back in later!! LOL... Love and prayers to everyone-Janet

Janet...at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot I need to ask you about your knees. I don't understand! I have had knee problems, nothing like what you, Jan and others go through on here. Mine mainly hurt from kneeling on them. I cannot for the life of me get ahold of how you do things without knee caps! Do you have anything in there protecting the joints or when you kneel? Do you have some kind of padding in there? Most of my knee pain is from old sport injuries and now the weight but man, when I was reading your post I almost got sick of the thought of you doing those things without padding. I know the pain I go through but if my knee caps were gone, oh man! Then the shots in the needs...making me squirm just thing about it! I have spent a lot of money trying to find something to keep my knees from hurting so much when I work on them, especially outside! If my knee finds a rock, Im dying from the pain! It just gives me the hebee jeebees when I think about what you go through. I pray they find something to help you guys...that is just awful! Deb M

Dear Deb..... Honey, you couldnt sound like an idiot-there are NO stupid questions, remember? Ok. Let me see how to explain this-between the arthritis, Stage 5 Osteoarthritis and the DJD-what happened is that the arthritis started eating away....so I already had very weak knees. I went to the Shriners hospital when I was 4 and had many many problems with the pain way back then....Well, I started (as a young adult) having where my bones would chip OR snag-and when my knees would lock up (ever so pleasant feeling, let me tell you) and as soon as it would get knocked back into place-you could hear more bone breaking off.....thus-leaving me like I am now....Now-there are probably a tiny bit around the rims left-but I cant tell you for sure. At one point my ortho surgeon told me that we were gonna be in REAL trouble IF it went up or down any (the breakage when the knees would lock or snag) because of them going towards femar and whatever that other bone is....Said that was definitely ONE area WE DIDNT WANT TO BREAK!!!! Now then-when I weighed over 400# and my knees gave out ALL the time-falling at work, at home-at the store-I would usually fall right on-yep-you guess it-my knees.....I cant even tell you how I lived-except that the narcotics I was on for 6 years helped me to function every single day-Oxycontin 90 mg per day and then vicodin for breakthrough pain-4 a day or so.....It sucked. I NEVER KNEEL DOWN!!! When we had that horrible ice storm, I did lay on the floor on a mattress in our livingroom by the fireplace-we were ALL in that room-so anyhow, I put a pillow under the knee, but never applied pressure directly to the knee cap-and trust me, I have learned how to do that-I kinda tilt to the side (outer) which isnt brilliant either-as I dont need that breaking off as well. Now-before I say the next thing, I am knocking on wood-my knees havent LOCKED since surgery and the weight loss-had a couple of snags here and there, and hear and feel the bone breaking-but nothing I cant live with. The WHOLE reason I ever researched the WLS is because my ortho surgeon told me that I would be in a wheelchair within a year AND that NO prostetic knee could hold my weight for more than 6 months TOPS...and he said that would be a viscous cycle to start. I needed the knee replacement surgeries-but was too fat for them-and he was very concerned for me.....thats what started it. I am not going to lie-there isnt a day that has gone by that they dont hurt-but I am not like that old fat Janet who would sit on the couch and feel sorry for herself (depressed etc) I dont give into it anymore. It hurts. I move forward and move on....My life is too precious to waste on the freaking couch one more day!!!! I was actually going to have them done this summer-but dont feel ready for another surgery yet-and my bariatric surgeon wants me to hold off on it at this time as well-so maybe next summer? I dunno-I guess we will see. A lot of people think the weight loss would make it go away-but there isnt anything to replace those kneecaps-they are just gone. IF you get to look at my knees-you can see where the holes are-my skin just dents in there-where the holes are - and you can actually poke your fingers around and feel it. Its gross and ugly-but....one day they will be normal-LOL....I am hoping the cortisone helps just a little to relief the pain. I still walk-I do not use the cart at the stores anymore-and I do my excercises-so I am really a lot better off than I was last year at this time-or for the past 15-20 years-you know? I hate the fact that I cant sit in the grass or kneel down and plant flowers or whatever-but you learn to live with it and you make adjustments-it stinks-but its okay.....Thank you for thinking of me and praying for me, that sure means a lot to me-ecspically coming from you- Love ya!!! Now-to get to your other post so I dont have to turn around and go right back in here LOL....My DDD-the discs that are disingrated are L4-L5 and S1....I really am not sure what the other one is.....and I am not sure which ones are herniated. I guess I will find out on the 30th when I go see Mr Dreamy (doc) again! What happened when you had your fused? Why? The DDD or what? WOW-all the other Diagnosis sound like me too-they put stenosis on one of my papers for the DX....I just dont know. My nurse said they will go over the rest of the MRI when I go see him...I just hope that the mass and cyst my PCP talked about are nothing serious-they said they wouldnt show up on the X-rays, but would show on the MRI...so I was/am a little concerned about that as well. Its funny-when I was a lot bigger-my fat acted like a pillow-but now that the pillow has been down graded- (LOL) My freaking back hurts worse than anything has ever hurt me. I find myself getting very depressed over the fact that I had this surgery to be a healthier me-and Now I spend my days in constant pain...and it is constant. Never would have dreamt it-I am praying for the best, and preparing for the worst. The lady that did my spinal yesterday, I asked her about Taradol shots for my back....she said to talk to my surgeon, so I will ask him when I go in. I am actually allowed one more of these shots within the next year-but they do want to wait and see what happens with this one and if it will piggy back the first one and start to work. I sure hope so. Not sure what else I can and WILL do-DId you get relief after your fusing? How often do you get the Taradol shots? I am still trying to find out if thats what my PCP shot into my back (I got 5 shots in my back when all of this first started) and he told me then that IF it were a jumbled up muscle mass-the shots would help it....so, I dont know!!! (it didnt work tho).... I never heard how MR. Jake was doing? I sure have a soft spot for him because he reminds me of my buddy and he is so beautiful-I think about him all the time-so how is he doing? Maybe I missed a post or something? Is he better now? Also-Hope I didnt come off harsh about your son-but I just get so upset-because he reminds me of some in my family that just THINK that we are always going to take care of their messes-and because of our hearts-we usually do-and they dont care. They walk around acting like we owe them something OR they can be as irresponsible as THEY WANT-and they dont understand WHY we dont want to help them anymore-DUH....Wake up Einstein....I really really admire you-and I know how hard it is-and how it can tear someone up inside-and you know what? after I read your post about your son and his girlfriend and baby-and I gave you advice-I decided it was time to take MY OWN ADVICE and thats when I decided that ME, MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY in MY HOUSE come first-PERIOD. Cant help people Who wont or dont help themselves. Right? Well, sweety-I gotta get off here and go lay on the heating pad (Yes, it does help right now) After the last shot and now this one-where I got the shots feels like I have exposed nerves back there and they are so sensative-so the heat seems to sooth it-where the ice makes it feel tense more? I dont know how to describe it-but anyway-I am going to the heating pad-and I hope to hear from you soon. All my love and prayers-OH-and so glad I could make you laugh....LOL LOL LOL-YES I did think- ONLY FREAKING ME!!!!! Love, Janet

JANET...I totally agree with you on the snakes "the only good one is a dead one" but as I was reading your post I flashed back to that night....lol Girl, I didn't take any of it wrong, you don't have to worry about that with me! I just thought it was hilarious! I could just see you going through all that and thinking that would be my luck! I am so proud of you standing your ground with your family! If it matters, I really think you did the right thing! You and your hubby need to have YOUR time and you can't do that with others around, you know that and the rest of your family needs to figure that out and the only way they will is if you do what your doing! I will be praying! Thank you for backing me on the puppy situation! I LOVE animals, especially dogs and unfortunately many people use that love against me! I think Roy was here this morning, I could be wrong but as I was waking up for a potty run about 7:15am and I thought I heard him pulling out of the drive. When I went to replace the blankets in the puppy house, it didn't look like he had added any food and the water wasn't changed so who knows. I know he didn't come to the door but that could be because he is too ashamed or to scared to face me and he should be...what he did was just about unforgivable in my book but with me TRYING to be a GOOD Christian I have to forgive him, no matter what! You poor thing with all the back problems! I have DDD, DJD and L5/S1 is fused, L4/L5 is a partial disectomy, L3/L4 is bulging, I have stenosis, sciatica and drop foot on the right side. I also have problems in my neck but I don't even want to think about those yet! The spinal shots never did me any good, just helped me to gain weight but I already told you about that. The heating pads never helped my back but soaking in a hot bath does. A couple of things that helped me were... 1. a stationary bike...the sitting up style worked best for me but I'm sure the laid back style would work too. 2. I lay on the floor (not the bed, need a harder surface) David would kneel on one knee next to me facing the same way I was. Then I would have David put his hands (palms down) on my back, just below my hips (outer sides), then I would have him press his weight into his hands and slowly push his hands up my back, in a deep massaging type move, avoiding the very tender areas of my spine (just the outer sides of my hips and low back). He would do this aproximately 15 to 20 times or until I felt some relief. For me, it was like some of my weight was lifted off my hips which in turn relieved some of the pain in my low back and hips. The relief lasted days, sometimes weeks...hope it works for you! At the time he started doing this I was a bus driver for the city (KCMO). After many hours of sitting and driving, it was major relief to get home and have this done...and it didn't hurt our relationship one bit! Well I need to drop Jan a quick post then I'm off! Have a great and blessed day! Deb M