Lets hope and pray 2012 brings Health Wealth and happiness

[Tricia-P]

i'm still recovering after my 2 spine ops, starting to walk without fallingover my own feet and have only got a little numbness left in the feet.

then there's that but.....

My RA is flaring and the Humira was running out of it's power by the 8th/9th day, so i'm back on Humira weekly and MTX 15mg by injection weekly as well.

i find it's the tiredness that gets me all the time and taking the morphine slow release tablets work fantasticly well for the pain again the snooze time required is ridiculous.

I have to make a descision soon do I try to go back to work I've now had 12 months off sick, my employers have been great, i no longer get SSP but they pay me my loyalty bonus. I could work from home but thats still daunting i think my mojo has gone flat.

So what will 2012 bring? I want to see my 2 grandchildren more and also my aging father. So it will be better if I have more time at home thats a reason not to work........... but I'll wait till I have seen the surgeons re the spine and the Rheumy now i'm into march it's a busy life being poorly. Lol.

So as I said lets hope all the H's grace us next year.

much love and gentle hugs

Tricia xxx

[sylvi]

To you also,i hope next year brings you good health and happiness.xx

[LavendarLady]

Hi Tricia, lovely to hear from you again and glad the spinal ops went off ok. It sounds as if you are recovering well if slowly.

Hope the Humira and MTX kick in quickly and relieve some of the swelling and discomfort you are suffering.

You are normally such a positive person I think your mojo will return quite quickly. Don't worry about work - your health is more important but it sounds as if your employers are really understanding. Have you thought about part time? or perhaps doing a couple of days in the office and a couple of days at home? Might help in the long run.

I went down to 3 days pw and it was the best idea I had had in the long run. Now do 2 days a week and the rest of the time, work at home so I can sit and rest when it all gets too much.

Take it easy my friend, love and hugs to you as well. LavendarLady x

[Hidden]

Oh dear goodness, Tricia, I must say I greatly sympathize with you, been there, done that, as they say.

I have had 8 spine surgeries, with fusions, plenty of titanium rods, screws and plates. Had 4 of them before I had to go on Disability with Social Security (I'm in US) at age 55. My employer was great also, but I had used up all the sick leave and vacation time I was entitled to, and my surgeon suggested I might want to consider not returning to work.

There was the possibility of loosing more time from work, there were other sites in my spine that might need further surgery. So I retired under Disability. It took me most of two years to come to accept that I was not going to be able to return to work, a career I loved, the people I had worked with for 17 years and who were my friends. Some of them still are. It has been 16 years since I retired.

Now I am glad to be at home, my life is now centered around my family and the Arthritis/Fibromyalgia Education and Support group I started in 1996, sponsored by the National Arthritis Foundation. It's a monthly meeting, with speakers from many of the specialties that deal with patients with arthritis of any kind.

I wish you well, you have to do what is best for you in the years ahead. If you can have a chance to work part time, that might be a good thing, once you get your mojo back. And you will. All the best, Loret

[LavendarLady in reply to Hidden]

Good grief Loret - all those operations. How very brave of you. Hope they did some good as well. My Aunt ended up having to wear a plaster jacket as her spine crumbled away with osteo arthritis - I know it is a different disease but I used to feel so sorry for her as she was in constant pain.

If any of your speakers on arthritis come up with some handy hints, do let us know - we need all the help we can get! Love LavendarLady x

[Hidden in reply to LavendarLady]

That's a great idea, I will do that. We don't schedule a meeting in Jan, since we usually have to cancel because of nasty weather!

I have to write my column for the newspaper this week, and am thinking how I can post it here. Will see what I can do. It's usually news from the AF, and items I pick up from the internet. Just have to get at it. Back to Normal! ?

[Hidden]

Hope 2012 is a bettter year.. v brave Tricia xx

Alison x