Hi!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the incredibly thoughtful replies. I'm a bit slow with getting back to things right now because its my finals period, but the advice was very helpful and its just nice to not feel alone in this.

Definitely been reading through the supplement thread. We're waiting on bloodwork before adding anything beyond the multivitamin. He's going to try THC/CBD tonight to see how that helps. Melatonin didn't seem to work, but I think we're gonna try valerian root tea to see how that works. Also, we both got tens units- super helpful. It gives him some relief in the short term, enough to get a nap in and that makes a huge difference since sleep isnt really happening much.

Things are still pretty rough. He had a really good week last week, was walking around the house a bit (the standing pain had gone) and even went to a holiday party with my family. But now, the pain is back with a venegence and he had a pretty bad panic attack because he thought it meant he was getting worse. From my perspective, there is so much improvement since November and since I first posted here- but I think its really hard to see on a day to day for him. I think biggest hurdle for him is the emotional toll this is taking- he feels like a stranger in his own body. I'm trying to let him have space to grieve and be angry at all this while reminding him that the pain is going to fluctate and its all part of the process and to hold on hope.

Also, thank you for the tip about the foot balm- his feet have been really dry and I'm worried the skin will start cracking so its another good reason to use it.