Hugs and hope today goes good. I am right there with you on the back as from my post and what you know. It is so confusing because who knows wthat the connections to other issues are or if it is just seperate issues. I am interested in the magnets too.

Was wondering how things were going for you....

Folks gotta 'call in sick' when you are gone for a while...makes other folks nervous.

I have herniated desicated discs at T8 and T9....I can't tell you the agony that has caused me, so I truly feel for any one with problems like this. It is one more layer added onto the PN, and it stinks.

Be very careful with your chiropractic treatments....I assume they did an MRI? Be very wary of any surgical options right now!!

I have some hemangioma on T4, which they tell me happens as we age....hmm. My C spine got nailed in my car accident 20 some years ago and my neck crunches when I turn my head and I have noticed that my range of motion is not as good as it used to be. We do develop osteophytes as we age, and man, those hurt too. Perhaps some PT will help?

Sleeping sitting up is tough...I would think they can do something to assist you to assume a normal sleeping position.

Glad to hear your port is working. That is good news.:)

Brian can you tell me about the Magnets? How do they help? Where do you buy them? I've been to an acupuncturist a few yrs back for my injured wrist and she did help....the only problem is my insurance doesn't cover acupuncture
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Roxie, as I understand it they help by increasing the blood flow to the affected area, with increased blood flow brings oxygen & other purities along with it, magnetic therapy is said to have soothing effect on the cells, tissues and nerves, when applied to an affected part and cause to lessen the pain, stiffness, soreness or swelling, it’s certainly not new therapy, magnetic therapy has been around for thousands of years, I have been using them for about 20 years with great success, even using them on acupuncture points have been successful but there is a lot of magnetic gimmicks out there, I personally wouldn’t touch them with a forty foot pole, I have only used magnets directly onto the area of concern, they are not recommended for people who use pacemakers or any other similar devices or nor should you put them any were near your throat..

The magnet type I like to use are the Neodymium magnets or sometimes called rare earth magnets, as they are reasonably cheap and very strong, usually about $5 - $7 for one, about 5,000 gauge reading are good and very powerful, but be very careful when handling them, place them well apart, as opposite polls attract and they can slam together with an almighty force and hurt your fingers and are tricky to pull apart if your not use to them.

I found it best to use a strong water proof adhesive tape to hold them on, so when you have a shower or sweat, they don't fall off you and also its important to get some moleskin and cut a small circular pieces, the same size as the magnet and place it on the skin first before the magnet to any prevent magnetic burn [ your skin can go a red color without the protection but only were the magnet has been placed.]
I usually like to leave them on for a max of 4 days then take them off wash the area and put them back on a couple of hours later if need be, sometimes they can work within 4 hours but sometimes it may take over night or even a bit longer to really get the full benefit from them, with my problem I usually find a lot of relief over night.

If you only use one magnet they are easy to handle, I always feel around for the place that is the most painful area, usually with my thumb by pressing in until I hit the spot and that’s exactly were I put the magnet, doesn’t matter what side of the magnet goes to the skin, I have found when only using only one magnetic, it doesn’t seem to make any difference to me if the north or south pole goes towards the skin, some say it does, but I really don’t think it matters..

It’s a lot different if using more than one magnet though, if the area of concern is more than say 4 inches then using another will help more, but before placing them on yourself, its best to line them up first on a table, place one down & the other place down near the other one [ not to close ] hold them both and “ slowly “ move one near to the other, if they start to attract to each other STOP and turn one of them over to the other side, then they should push away from each other, that’s great, that is the way you place them on your body, you don't want them to attract to each other, so please be careful
The distance away from each other when they just start to push away from each other has to be the same distance apart when placing them on to your affected area, they seem to work better in my experience with them.

More than likely one very strong magnet placed on the centre of the sore spot possibly might do the trick, if not then another one should be helpful.

You should be able to buy them online, if you can find a website that sells them in your country i will check it out for you.

I hope this helps
Brian :)