David,
I must have been one of the first to read this initial post, as there were no other comments at the time - and I thought "What a great post!"
But I also thought that many others would chime in saying the same, so I neglected to reaspond with a trite four word exclamation........... I should have.
David, your expertise and experience in having found alternative means to control pain
is a great example to many of those who are having difficulty finding relief.
It also is a shining example of how we can, if we wish, try to get off the meds we are enslaved upon. Not everyone can do it.
I don't know if I can- but your knowledge is needed around here.
Don't fly off to the dentist or be upset. Just take a step back, breathe, and realize that we all are going thru various stages of our ability to deal with this problem. And some of us are coping in different ways. Please don't take any individual criticism too harshly. It may not seem the way it was meant.
Someone posted that if the same words that were written, were spoken aloud - they would have a totally different impact and/or meaning. It is difficult to try to emphasize what is said, without ridiculous smileys and stupid qattempts to make the keyboard an artist's palette [;-(>].
Please don't let this thread push you away. You've been missed, and are needed here.