I have two pieces is that I've continued tapering and am down to 9 mg per day with no serious issues other than floor scraping exhaustion...I've got sleeping mastered. I've been under added stress also. On May 5, I will have a nerve ablation in my back, and from the diagnostic procedures I've already had, I expect good results. The anesthesiologist zeroed in on the problem area two weeks ago, and the pain was gone for about a week and still isn't too bad; I can stand for 20-25 minutes.
My thoughts are preoccupied; my 61-year-old son has open-heart surgery on May 6. Thankfully, he was being monitored for a lung infection when they found an ascending aortic aneurysm that doubled in size in six months. His most recent scan a week ago revealed this. They'll be replacing the valve to the heart as well. My gratitude is the surgery will be done in Chicago at Northwestern University Hospital. My son weighs at least 300 pounds (21.4 stone) and that is such an added worry.
Please keep him in your thoughts.... Hope I'm not 'off piste' but you are my second family.πππ»
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Grammy80
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Good to hear from you. Praying for your son and our 59 year old son. He is being treated by the VA hospital for his bipolar brought on by his tour of duty as a flight nurse in the Air Force. I have a new doctor to help me with my taper, I am at 14 mg now and so the work begins once again. My number 81 is coming up May 10!! We both have to hang in there!!
My heart goes out to you and to your son, Calicojoy. Having had a son in the RAF serving in Afghanistan during the war out there, I can imagine some of the horrors that your son will have seen and have been treating. May God bless you both and bring healing and wholeness. β€οΈπ
My son is being treated at the VA hospital also. He is bi-polar. He served in Iraq. He has trouble with drug withdrawal. Tried to commit suicide and was rescued with our two dogs some years ago. Ongoing treatment. Unresolved. Thank God for the VA. Good luck to your son.
Pray for our sons. PTSD was the trigger. Phil flew the wounded out of Desert Storm and Afghanistan, the Gulf wars. Long flights to Germany and then on home to USA. This Bipolar is horrible, it triggered my PMR , we chased him around for one year. Let's hope we all HEAL, so this stress will be out of our lives. Take care.
I am glad to hear that you are doing steadily well. Then along comes life. Sending you love, blessings and prayers for your dear boy. I am glad that he is in skilled hands and may he sail through this and recover well. After all, he is a chip off a pretty strong block in his mum, that is a great start. Keep us posted about him. Oh sweetie, take care! ππ·π
Hi, Grammy. I'm sorry to hear that you are under a lot of stress right now. It's horrible when those unwanted thoughts keep going round and round in your head. It's not long now until your ablation and that will be one thing thing out of the way. I have to say that your son appears to be in very good hands: everyone involved in his care will be doing the very best for him.
I wish you both well and look forward to hearing positive news.
Of course not off-piste - stress affects our PMR/GCA, so anything stressful is relevant. Probably difficult to find a better place for that sort of fun ...
Iβm so glad to hear your own health is progressing well.
I understand how you must feel about your son, it seems like heβs in good hands though. And I donβt know whether this helps - but Iβve had open heart surgery myself so I know how it feels. To be honest I think I had such good care, my family at home probably suffered at least as much as I didβ¦.
Anyway wishing you all the best. Your boy will be in my thoughts on 6th. Take care dear Grammy xx
Oh dear you ve got alot going on.I will pray for you and your son that all goes well.Its very frightening when it's our child.My daughter had two transplants and I was never so scared in my life.Hugs to youππ
Well done for tapering to 9mgs of pred... however that doesnβt seem to help you to walk.. is it possible youβre on too low a dose to function satisfactorily. Iβm no expert but quality of life is a reasonable expectation I hope. Prayers and blessings are sent for your son - thank goodness they found the problem in time! I wish him a successful procedure and happy outcome. Heβs relatively young for this so hopefully robust and positive. Life is sweet and he deserves more of it.
Thanks, Lolly, so much. I have neuropathy, hip replacement and revision, left, rod in lower right leg and fused ankle. I'm happy getting from point A to B...my graceful days are over. I'm still walking and I'll be hell on wheels if I ever have to have a chair!!!Thanks for the beautiful thoughts about my sonππ»π
It sounds strange, Grammy, but as I see it the lung infection was, in a way, a miracle, leading to the discovery of the anuerysm. I will be thinking of you and your son . With love and prayer, πβ€οΈ
I see it the same way....we never know...if he hadn't been monitored...surely he would have had no chance in another six months. I'm thankful~ππ!!!
So well said...thanks and I feel it. I'm overwhelmed with the warmth. I shouldn't be, I know how incredible this group is and I appreciate it more than you know. I'm scared and praying!xoππ
Very best wishes for you and a good outcome for your son. The worry is probably partly responsible for your fatigue. I know when I am worried about my children I feel it it every cell of my body.
Yes, it is the worst. I call what I feel daily, just pain. When a loved one is in trouble medically or in an accident....that is suffering in my book. xoππ
Offering you my thoughts and prayers too Grammy80, I'm sure things will be fine. Please don't worry, it only brings on stress and doesn't help at all, though I know it's difficult not to.
You seem to be heading in the right direction Grammy. Let us know how the back ablation goes. My OH should be having that but canβt due to his heart condition. Such a worrying time for you with your son. We will certainly be thinking about you both. Seems like a blessing in disguise he was being monitored for something else. Again we will all be waiting to hear how he gets on.Take care πΊ
With thoughtful prayers to Grammy and each of us "older" parents that are suffering with our children/grandchildren. I am 86: my son age 57 had a heart attack 2 months ago: he is doing well in rehab now. oldest daughter age 64 has bone metastasis from breast cancer. I am doing quite well except for balance and problems with walking. see the rheumy in 2 weeks: currently on 6 or 7 mg pred daily. tapered from 20 mg 3 years ago.TRY to smile each day!
Bless you....prayers for your son and daughter. Sounds like you have a great attitude and are strong...I'm tapering slowly as you are. The heart gets heavy...but we keep going forward and you just cannot beat this wonderful~~ incredible caring forum~!!πβ¨π
I understand, sometimes when I'm working extremely hard to be strong...it is because I'm not sure I could deal with it....if I didn't keep my armour on. xoπ
So sorry I missed this Grammy80. My, don't you have a big family here. I'm happy that you are doing ok. yourself and hope your son comes through well. It is good that he was being monitored and they found the aneurism. Sending my best wishes.
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