Hello, Hello, Hello Everyone!!!

As I just told a member here in a Private Msg, its sure as hell been a LONG TIME since I've posted here-let alone even logged on to contribute!! Matter of fact, I just went back to the last thread I started on 1/4/2017 and stated I would link this one back to that one as well. Kinda like bringing all those kind, caring members along for the ride into this thread - which is more or less just to bring those of you up to speed on what Im up to at the moment & ahead:
(What we call a SITREP in the Marine Corps!!)

About To Start Trial Period on Cervical SCS

Going in Tue for another Stellate Ganglion Block which is meant to treat both pain and PTSD (Google it!) to see for yourself. This really isn't a REAL SURGERY per se since they only sedate me a little and not put me all the way under because I need to be awake so I follow his orders to NOT SWALLOW during it since he puts the bigger needle thru my throat all the way to C7 at the bottom of C-SPINE where the large mass of nerves (Ganglion) are. He does it with a fluoroscope so he sees the needle going down toward that mass. Ive had like 4-5 of these already and we decide to do this one instead of a Cervical Epidural, Coolief Radio Frequency Ablation, or anything else.

The BIGGER NEWS IS - After that, my VA counselor and I are finishing up filling out an application to ANOTHER Residential In Patient PTSD Program - this time at the Coatsville, PA VA Medical Center (In 2012 it was Baltimore VAMC - which has subsequently closed and moved elsewhere.
These Programs are more meant for Vets w PTSD from any source / reason. Mostly those w Suicidal Ideations, Nightmares, Triggers, Recurring thoughts of traumatic incidents, etc - I'm presently fighting off all of these and mine are mostly Combat related which this particular program targets (No Pun Intended)

I also wanted to begin to detox myself off the Percocets (Last Opiates Im taking!) too and they came back w an answer of me having to go thru their 3 week Substance Abuse Program first and then move to the PTSD one which is another 4-6 weeks on top of that! YEAH RIGHT. Like I can take 10 weeks off!
I did obtain 160 hours of donated leave time though!) which is super kind of folks! (I work for VA in Wash DC if you folks didnt know or forgot). So once we submit the app and then I need to be interviewed (teleconference) and I will plead my case to only do "maybe" a few days or week of detox, and start taking Suboxone / Bupe - which I already have 6 boxes of from my Pain Doc who wants me off the Percocets all together! He tells me (which I know is BS because Ive been on Suboxone before in 2012) that the Subs / Bupe is a Pain Killer itself so after stopping the Percs my pain will be controlled by the Bupes! (Personally I think this is BS) and the pain Ive endured over all these years is the only thing that scares me since NOTHING else has worked to alleviate the pain. I even tried this new thing with CBD Oil and the cannabis route. I will admit that some of the edibles tasted fantastic too!

So thats whats going on medically at the present time.

Additionally - BIG NEWS = Im now officially rated as 100% per VA?
Though the tax free monthly checks are pretty nice, the huge gains are that Virginia waives any Property Tax obligations (Both on homes & vehicles) for Disabled Vets at 100% .

So Im gonna cut this short now since its a Sunday and my grass is 2 feet high and I better cut it now before the surgery since I wont be able to afterward! Recovery time is not too bad but post pain is. Hoping he can give me some extra pain meds 15mg Oxycodone alone to add to the Percocet. I HOPE.

Well take good care of yourselves everyone!. Hope everyone is feeling well both mentally and physically out there! Again, MANY to all those members for your supportive words via PM and here on threads. I TRULY TRULY appreciate every one of them - all from folks Ive never even met before too.

Gunny Fitz Out..............................


Ps. For those of you who know "Russell", he is doing well but I can see aging in him. Arthritis to his back legs and slower gait while walking hurts ME to see! We have our annual Public Access Test the week after surgery though. Wish me (or him) luck because his commands have slipped a great deal over time! For those who don't know what this PAT is, I just found this super website which explains it ALL in great detail. Despite having done these every year since I've received Russell, I never knew about this site, so its also very helpful to me so maybe we can practice a little more!
Thought I'd attach a few pics of him / us for you all too.

***Anyone considering a Service Dog for PTSD or ANY Trauma is welcome to PM me if you have any questions, or are seeking to obtain one for yourself?
He is without a doubt one of the BEST things to ever happen to me! I have LITERALLY been within eye & ear shot of him since 2012 when he came into my life!

Public Access Test for Minimum Service Dog Behavior

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Gunny, thanks for the invite to this thread. I do look forward to your updates, I confess I'm a worrier, even for those I don't personally know. NT does that, you form bonds and relationships with people who are out there in the virtual world within the real world. I hope that makes sense. Anyhow, it's comforting to know you're still with us and things are looking up with respect to treatment.

If you're talking bupranorphine give it a chance, like you the first time I tried it, I thought nope, doesn't do a thing, but over time (significant time) I realised it does help but not in the way opioids did, it doesn't wipe the pain completely; nothing will, well nothing that's good or healthy for us long term. But the Bupranorphine /Temgesic has been considerably helpful to me in previous years adjust from taking OxyContin and MSContin and I suffered less withdrawal as I cold turkeyed off of oxynorm. I'm completely devastated within the last 6 weeks I'm back on all those drugs, well over 140mg a day along with Temgesic 4 times a day. I worked hard to get off of the addictive drugs, suffering withdrawal and whatnot, but hey, needs must, so I'm back on them all and off for major spine surgery again mid September. With luck, the op will work and in time I will once again be able to say I'm drug free or minimally on one 0.200mcg temgesic a day with my SCS? That's if they can get the SCS to work well again and it's not damaged in the forthcoming operation. I did request they remove the SCS unit, but they're going in anteriorally so that's a no go.

I didn't mean to waffle so much on your new thread, a thousand apologies. I'm on the FB SCS thread as well.

Hang in there Gunny. Russel is looking a tad grey, our labs are my babies & my lifeline, even though they are service trained for a completely different purpose in life, they look after me with insistence. Black labs tend to show greyness before blondes. How old is Russel, it's clear he adores you and you he.

HiPamela and THANK YOU for stepping up to ensure my thread here wouldn't become a "No Hitter!" with zero response from anyone! I've been told by more than one person that others tend to refrain from posting anything on my threads because all I do is talk about myself and this turns people off. Hmm. I can see that point in a way, but then again I would think there needs to be some topics to create the dialogue in the first place - right?
Oh well. I won't get into it and **** others off.

To answer your question Pam, Russell is 7 and will be 8 on a December 4th. YES the gray hair seems to change with him more n more as it does w mine as well . Lol.

Good to hear from you Pamela June .

Xoxoxo

My black Lab girl made it to 13. 2 of our goldenseal are 12 & our youngster now 8 lol, he behaves like a 2 year old still. Talk away as much about yourself as you like. It's your thread, it's your journey. Find it hard to believe someone could say or think anything otherwise...

Hey, talk about yourself on your own post as much as you would like. There are plenty of us out there that still enjoy reading of other member's own experiences, especially from those who have been around for a while. We have never talked much that I can remember but I have enjoyed many of your posts.

Anyway, welcome back to NT Gunny!

As you now venture into a return of the help that such a device has a good chance to do its job
And sure there are a those who have been there and it's outcome not work
As for others opinion of your posting
I for one having two failed multiple levels cervical area ACDF AND REPAIR PCDF both made it just so much worse
So
Like I said I write of my experience strength and hope
Why wouldn't I want to hear it from your words to my brain
It is what you have to offer us here who have had it done and it work
Who have had it done and it be a disaster
And who have had it done and wanted it removed as it did not work as well as it did during the trial period
And for the latter I have a personal opinion I won't share now but then there are those who wouldn't go there and that be me
How else is one going to get the feedback needed for people like myself that will wait and see

I have a child who is a epileptic
Had a occipital lobotomy
Permenant eye loss did not get to the very intricate surgery they found where it was coming from just to close to the surrounding lobes
Back to square one only now blind in right eye
Then has what is called a VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulator)
It been a good number of years around six or seven
Not cutting it
She needs to wave a magnet over the VNS implant in the upper right chest where the nerve is that reaches the brain
So when a seizure starts the the wave and it is suppose to reboot the brain
It stops the seaziure from taking the entire brain
This isn't cutting it anymore
Now she is having yet another surgery
Removal of the VNS and have what is for short (S&N or S&F) not sure at the moment
Point
She hasn't given up hope that her seizures will not be in her life
And it's trial and error for many
And all the medications
She posted everything about her experience strength and hope
Your life wit us here is just as important as my daughters and all who have the desire to do so
Do keep it coming
You provide personal knowledge
Priceless
And as for you furry family
I am lover of animals just lost our member it will be a year October 29th of last year
We had our time together for an hour when visiting him as my eldest has him
A Australian Silky Terrier
Gave his life protecting and loving is
I do not trust doctors in the 8 years dealing with them there have been at least 25 doctors in that time
More than half are nuts and just weren't listening
Trial and error
I am I great care as my body is breakingdown quickly but that's my story

You have some awesome love from your furry partner
And am happy to hear you haven't given in or given up
May God bless you in your day and always
Keep up the Spirit of Hope
And never stop sharing when you could be touching that one person who just wants to throw in the towel
Good to hear from you
Me

Gunny,
Always good to get updates from one of our admired vets. You have been through "one hell of a ride". You are a hero who will not give up on any options available to get you through each day. Your an inspiration to all of us.

Please continue the updates.

Gerry

Hey there!

Yoooo's guys are WAYYY too kind to me, and I sure do appreciate the words!
However- PLEASE let me correct this one, which comes up often in what people say all over the place, on forums, Facebook, etc, etc etc. NOTHING meant toward any of you personally here, and not "******" I just wish to clarify something.

By no means am I (Gunny) a "Hero" my friends. Nothing I have EVER done would rate me as a "Hero" nor do I accept that term all that well ok my dear buddies?I say this due to some very close friends who were KIA over there in both shitty wars! I believe I told you about my best buddy SgtMaj Robert Cottle? (If you don't recall, or didnt hear it. These links portray some of him, and I attached a few pics of us together too. We met in 1988 while on Embassy Duty in Munich Germany. It was still when the wall was up! (LOL- You'll see a pic of us dressed in Skiing Attire up in Austria looking like 2 teenagers with 80s clothes on!! Hahaha)

http://w

ww.arlingtoncemetery.net/rjcottle.htm

Its guys like that, and others who died "Over There" as we say. Oh trust me, I was reckless at the end of my year there. Id walk out in the open when mortar rounds would be landing, when people would be shooting at us from buildings that were higher, etc. I guess that plays a part of who I am today - almost like I just didnt care if something happened to me-which I still don't. lol.

OK- BTW-- The Application was submitted for this PTSD Program at a VA Hospital up in the Northeast. Don't think I wish to say which one in case someone here lives in the immediate area? Ya know?? LMAO >Id kinda be ashamed getting a visit from a Forum Member who really doesnt even know me. Either way.......I will check back in here to let all know Im heading out (I sure hope I remember to let you guys know!!)

TTYL my friends!!
Stay safe & Stealthy out there!!!

Gunny out..............................

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Dude, people say you're a Hero because you stepped up and served. I completely understand what you're saying and where you're coming from though. So it's not like I don't get it, but just want to share with you;
My nephew was blown up in a humvee, twice; he was 21 the first time, he hurt his elbow and hit his head badly but didn't want to complain, bit of a stigma going on over there. Blown up again a 2nd time at 23 & hung upside down for a few hrs alongside his best Makka who was killed. He's got brain damage now along with PTSD. Been treated pretty shabbily by the UK military until his Da stepped in & got some people involved. Pension, payout & whatnot sorted now but it took a long time. He'll never work again, tried to, but is triggered by so many things, he like you would say he's not a hero, he also did as you did, didn't care if he died or not. It's a part of the numbing & guilt process he was told. (Survivors guilt) now he's not a hero by any means in this life now, but he was, he stepped up & signed up at 17, he like you has suffered & will continue to suffer for the rest of his life. My dad died 6 years ago due to his WW11 injury, I never thought of him as a hero, just my dad, until the DVA & RSL turned up at his funeral, played the post, folded the flag. Bought it real close to my mind, anyone who steps up and signs up is heroic. My dad saw things so bad he never spoke of them, but we found them written down after he was gone. Life is what it is as we make our way through it, there are many who choose not to sign up to defend ours or other countries, that's their right, and their choice, but those that do, or did. No matter what or how you look at it, their action there & then to sign up is selfless & heroic. It's that which makes you a hero Gunny, you stepped up, you served & you've suffered for your choice. You were selfless at one time in your life & heroic no doubt in many times of your life. You may not feel it now, but you were once. It may not sit easy with you, I get that, but people will always say those who sign up & step up are heroic. It's just the way it is. I'm afraid it's a mantle your stuck with for now. But there will come a time as the world turns and you age, just like my dad did & people will forget. So take it for now, sit easy with it if you can. Sorry long winded but it got me thinking...

Your faithful companion caught my eye. I lost my girl 2 weeks ago (on Monday) and my son lost his the following Friday. So it pulls at the heart strings. Best of luck with your procedure!
~Kirsti