Hello to my fellow farmgal... actually, I'd consider myself a "country girl," not quite a farm gal, but close enough, right?

I just got done writing a great response to you, and by the time I sent it, I was signed out and had to sign back in, and then I think it obliterated my response. So, here I go again...

And I'm hurting so bad right now, I have no idea why I'm still typing.

I just wanted to say something like this: I, too, am a victim of "being more stressed and making TOS worse." But, to be truthful, if we really think about it, it's more like, "I'm more busy, and that's taking away from me being able to take care of myself, so I am not keeping my TOS under control." Right? I mean, come on... If we all did all of our exercises and spent our whole lives devoted to posture and cardio, and keeping TOS under control, we'd probably do halfway okay. But, that's totally unrealistic, right? Who the heck has time for that!

And, to be frank, it really is completely unrealistic to think that any of us could devote our entire life to it, anyway. And, we can just breathe the wrong way one day and set this thing off, so it's not like it's really our fault. We really can't avoid it, even if we try.

You're doing everything right. You're making all of the right decisions. You're being cautious with your care. You're asking all the right questions.

By all means, do not let "just anybody" cut you open and attempt to fix this little beast. Read through just a handful of surgical posts on here, and you'll know that it's a terrible idea. (But I think you know that already.)

Anyway, welcome here. Vent away. I came down with this when I was 19 years old - rolled over in bed and went paralyzed. Got dx'd a few years later. I've been on these boards for years, although I took quite a vacation recently. It's informative here, and the people are great supporters, so stick around and stay in touch!

~ jenny