So we moved!!! We are in a beautiful home and we deserve it. YEAH!!! During the move I also got off ALL MY MEDICATION!!! Yep that's right, ALL of it. However, I have since gone back on my depression medication. I hurt like the dickens and do minor things. Otherwise I am extremely grateful for my family and friends who helped push me through to the next moment.

We are not quite settled yet, so I don't know how soon I will be back on. Let me at least give this synopsis of my life since my injury, treatments and medications:

12/2/06 - Injured

12/3/06 - Emergency Room (Prescribed Vicodin)

12/8/06 - Primary Care

12/14/06 - Physical Therapy - only 3 sessions

1/1/07 - Emergency Room - My knee collapsed and hurt more than EXTREMELY (X-ray, nothing found)

1/2007 - Back to primary - referred to Ortho and for MRI

2/2007 - MRI (nothing found)

2/2007 - Orthopedic (informed me he would like to have my knees, really upset me cause I hurt so badly)

3/2007 - Physical Medicine - prescribed Cymbalta for nerve pain

3/2007 - Water therapy - here I learned about RSD, went home and did LOTS of research (keep in mind, in January I was online frantically looking up why my knee could hurt so badly - I found condromalacia, I found patella problems, I found ripped tendons, EVERYTHING BUT RSD - guess putting into google EXTREME KNEE PAIN wasn't enough)

3/2007 - Requested referral to pain management - I wanted to get in quickly so that I could get my problem turned around - to keep it from becoming chronic

3/2007 - Still in water therapy - Hurt like hell - but I could also feel that my muscles were responding well - The water was good for them (then I got a bill for $400.00 out of the blue and couldn't afford to finish or do more (I would love to go back to this, and will one day)

4/2007 - Pain management doctor - GREAT DOCTOR he listed to what I had to say, he asked questions that properly follow process of elimination, etc.

5/23/2007 - Nerve block done - PM called it a diagnostic tool - The relief lasted about 2 days - They were GLORIOUS 2 days

7/2007 - Fitted with Trial Stimulator - it was wonderful, until Friday when I wiped my butt and the lead moved, so I had to turn it off

8/20/2007 - Fitted with permanent stimulator - I started moving around doing things to try and make me stronger - well I moved too much and my Sept/Oct my lead had popped out of place

11/2007 - Saw psychologist and psychiatrist - put on depression medicine

01/08/2008 - Lead revision done to fix lead in spine

1/20/2008 - Scar on upper incision got infected went to Emergency room

From then until now, 5/7/08, I have made great strides in my life. I cannot remember the order of all my medications, nor can I remember the dosages of each and everyone, but here is an attempt to give you my trials:

Vicodin 5/500 // Ibprofen 800 // Nortriptyline 10mg (Flipped out on my son, went mental, got off, got better) // Cymbalta // Gabapentin (Caused amnesia after 2-3 months on it) // Zoloft // Trazadone // Zanaflex // Lyrica (caused my left eye to go blurry and my right eye muscle to droop - better as soon as I got off) // Morphine Sulphate 15mg am/pm // Vicodin 10/325

I am still in pain. I think though because I am not masking it with medications I can learn to live with SOME of the pain and will NEVER be 100% - I try acupuncture here in about 10 days - I am hoping that it will give me that extra push to walk across the street or ride my bike without all the pain each of those cause me now.

I hope and pray that you can take from my experience and use it to your benefit. I will continue blogging, but soon I hope it will be about what I am getting up to go and do, not "I was stuck in bed again today" - I pray I will one day be past that - I still spend a bit of time in bed or sitting reclining position, but I really am trying to get the strength I need from my stimulator (which has helped tremendously) and make it through just today!!!

I may have missed some stuff above, but you get the idea - If I remember more I will post it. But for now this is me and this is what I have been through in the last year and a half learning to live life with an incurable condition.

Love, Me