auntietawnie

I have Decompression Back Surgery set for the 7th. I am kind of starting to freak out a little bit. A little history on me before I ask the final question. I started having horrible back and leg pain after I had my daughter 5 1/2 years ago. My doctor told me then that it was Sciatica and that it will usually go away now that the baby isn't there pushing on my nerves. As the year went by and we became pregnant with our son. I noticed the pain was getting way worse then before. Still I was told it was sciatica. After 3 years of being told it was sciatica my husband finally convinced me to meet with a spine specialist. I did so for the first time in August of 2009. At the time we didn't know what we were dealing with so he ordered a bunch of x-rays and mri's. All they showed were degenerative disk in my L2 and L3 as well as a cyst on my facet joints. We treated the facet joints with injections and finally after realizing it wasn't working he decided to burn the nerves around the joints. I was pain free for a couple of weeks and was so happy with the results. Then out of no where the pain started back only it was worse and this time my back was killing me as well. I had another MRI that showed a Nerve Sheath Tumor in my L5 S1 area. He ordered a 2nd MRI with contrast to make sure we weren't dealing with any sort of cancer. Thankfully it came back clean. It was just a sheath tumor that had grown into my nerve root. The only course of treatment at the time was injections "He didn't want to jump into surgery right away" The first nerve block worked like a charm. I was pain free for a month!! Then the pain started coming back the 2nd and 3rd injection gave me no relief at all in fact I think I am in more pain now then before. I met back with the doctor last Thursday to figure out what our next move was going to be. His suggestion was decompression surgery in the L5 S1 area. I am ok with having to have surgery if it is going to help, but the way he was talking it wasn't that big of a surgery and I would be back up and around the next day. In fact I would go home the same day. However everything I am finding on line says opposite of what he told me. What is decompression surgery? How major/minor of a surgery is it? And what is the recovery time? Also what could be causing cyst/tumors in my back area?

We have just got finished with our remodel on our home and we have dust covered clothes, dishes, ect. I am wanting to get all the laundry done at 1 time but doing so at home would take a day or two. If I loaded them up in the car and took them to a laundromat how many loads would I be able to fit in a big boy washer? Someone told me it will hold 5-6 loads at 1 time is this true?

My children have 8 hermit crabs, and as I was cleaning out the cage yesterday I let them play with all 8. However when it came time to put the little ones back in the crabitat I noticed the big one was missing. It's now been over 24 hours and I still can't find it. I have peanut butter and water on foil in every room as well as the lights turned off it still isn't coming out of hiding. I have looked EVERYWHERE but have had no luck. What do I do to find this little guy?

My daughter is 4 and is having her 1st real sleep over. I am looking for games/ideas as to how to entertain two 4 year olds. I have lots of games/puzzles so that will be one activity, but what else can I do with them that's age appropriate? Also is it ok if I do a video of her first sleep over or just stick with the pictures?

Some friends of ours just lost there baby boy. He was born at 27 weeks and didn't make it past the c-section. We are attending the funeral on Monday and would like to send the family a potted plant. Something that will be with them for a long time. She has stated that she wants lots and lots of flowers at the funeral for the soul purpose of making it a beautiful funeral, but has also stated that she would like a potted plant. Something that would be a good reminder of the baby. Something she can tend to on a daily basis, and have for many many years. What potted plant would you recommend for the loss of a baby?

My female is 56 days pregnant by counting the days on a calender. She is laying around a lot today, and not really wanting to eat anything. It looks like she is starting to sag in the nipple area I am assuming from the milk filling in. She has a soft pet bed that is for her and our male to sleep in during the day. She has nudged it around and is making circles in the bed and then laying back down. She has done this about 10 times in the past hour. She isn't breathing heavy and her stomach isn't contracting. I have made her a whelping box that she has been sleeping in for the past 2 weeks. She gets very protective over the bed and has jumped on our male dog for getting close to it. Now she has no interest in that bed, just the soft pet bed that's in the living room. I have never been around a dog that is birthing puppies so this will be a new experience. Our male is now fixed so no more little accidents like this happen again. I have the vets number taped to the fridge in case I need to get her in ASAP.. He said when she starts going into labor to call him and he will wait for updates through out the day/night, and will be there ready if we need to bring her in for any emergency that may arise during this whole process. My question for everyone out there.. Is my female going into labor? The vet told me 57-63 days is 56 days to soon? I know for a fact my dogs have only tied once on the 18th of March. It was an accident that was my fault for not locking on up before letting the other outside during there restroom trips.

I have 2 little ones a girl that is 4 and a boy that is 2 1/2. The last 2 days they have really been acting out. I tell them to clean up there rooms "normally not a hard task for them to get done" They do just the opposite. I ask them to sit down while I vacuum "again normally not a problem" They run around trip over the cord unplugging it, and then laugh. After about the 3rd time of them unplugging the vacuum I set them in a time out. They sit there an take there time out with no toys, tv., games, etc. When time out is over the behavior is back. It's Truly driving me nuts. My kids aren't the best kids in the world, but at least they would mind and do as they are told/asked. What is making them act out like this? There are no changes in the daily activities, no new baby, no big move. Nothing that would warrant them acting like this. Please Help!!

I have a standard female and male dachshund that tied up 1 time on the 18th of March. She is for sure pregnant "vet confirmed", and has started scratching and bunching up her bedding in the kennel that she shares with our male. I have put together a whelping box, and have moved her into the box last night. When I woke up this morning she was still sleeping in the box, but had the sheet bunched up to one side, and was sleeping on just a single layer. Off and on today she has gone into the box, and started moving the sheet around. I plan to put newspaper in the box when it comes time to deliver to insure the box itself doesn't get to nasty during the whole process. I have my warming box in the garage waiting for the day. That away the puppies stay warm as the mother is whelping, and focusing on the puppy she is about to birth. Is there anything I am forgetting?? This wasn't a planned pregnancy for our female. It was a momentary laps of judgment on my part. I let the male out while trying to get the female in and it happened within seconds of trying. It only happened the one time, and after this there will not be another chance of it happening again. Male is getting fixed in a couple of weeks. Another thing I have increased her food by a half a cup is this to much at this stage of the pregnancy or do I need to add more? She has been switched to the purina puppy chow, and is eating it like crazy. The vet said by the time she is 50-55 days she should be eating double the amount she was eating prior to getting pregnant. That seems like a lot to me, but I will follow the directions given to me. I am looking forward to the puppies arrivals, but worried my female dachshund will have problems. "the vet will be on standby through out the whole delivery" If you have anything to share, or if I am doing something wrong please help me. And please no negative remarks. Spaying is out of the question. After a female dog has become pregnant if you spay they run a higher chance of developing cancer. Hints the reason our male is getting fixed and not our female.. Thanks to ALL in advance...

My mom will be 51 on the 28th of this month. She has had a tubal ligation and has entered the onset of menopause. Last night my dad took her to the hospital because she was throwing up and complaining of her body hurting all over. After the doctors ran blood work to check her white count they ordered an ultrasound to check and see if everything was ok. During the ultrasound they found she was 9 weeks pregnant. The baby has a very strong heartbeat and everything is like it should be for 9 weeks. The baby measured right and everything. My question is after having a healthy 9 week scan what are the chances of miscarriage?

It started about a week ago. I woke up and my hand had a very horrible pain going through it. I rubbed it until it started to tingle and then shook it around for a second to get some feeling back to it. Through out the day it kept going numb and would tingle. I figured I had just slept on it wrong, and went on my way. Over the past week it goes numb and tingly anytime I try to do anything simple "writing, typing, driving" I have never had a problem like this before and figured it was just something I had done to it last week. Well this morning I woke up with the same pain in my hand. I rubbed it for a few minutes and put a heating pad on it. The heat helped but as soon as I took it off the numbness was back and has been present over the past 3 hours. I won't have the money to get to the doctors until Tuesday. Is there anything I can do myself here at home? I can't do simple everyday task because of the numbness and tingling. It's driving me nuts!!

Our female dog was in heat, but not letting the male around her at all. They did tie up 1 time, but after that the male was no longer interested in her. Now he is treating her different "giving her his treats, and letting her eat before he gets close to the food. Is this a sign she is pregnant or just a sign that he has decided to be nice to her by spoiling her? I have dachshunds, and please none of the don't breed them think of all the dogs that are at the shelters blah blah blah. It's already happened and there is nothing I can do to change it. Besides its not my fault people get dogs and decide they no longer want the dog, or people breed dogs with the hopes to sale them and make money. I have homes lined up for any puppies we have, and do not plan to sale them. I just need help knowing how to tell if she is pregnant.

We are taking our children "2 & 4" to the Zoo tomorrow for my daughter 4th birthday. We took them last year as well, but our son was still at an age where he would ride in the stroller and we had a diaper bag with us full of all the stuff we would need. Now that he is older and refuses to ride in a stroller I'm not to sure about what to bring. I don't want to under-pack and end up needing something I forgot, and I don't want to over pack for the simple reason I will be the one lugging the bag around all day. We have the little back packs for the kids so they can walk on there own with out running off. Each bag holds a few small things. If you were in my situation what would you bring with you? Keep in mind I don't want a back that weighs 20 lbs.

I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old, and for the last 3 days they have done nothing but push my buttons. I am usually the calm one with a sense of they are just kids. Out of nowhere they just started doing things that are driving me crazy. I was putting away laundry today just to walk into the living room 5 minutes later to a disaster. They had gotten into my junk drawer and had stuff strung everywhere. My 4 year old had a piece of foam in her hands breaking it into little pieces and throwing it everywhere. My son had crayons and lets just say my wall has a new color to it. I don't know what to do. I have tried time out, and I have tried taking toys away nothing is helping. In fact my daughter has hit me on 2 occasion and yelled at me on many occasions. Her behavior is having an affect on her younger brother. I am up for any suggestions. I do not spank my children I believe that hitting them gives them the impression it is ok to hit. What can I do to get this behavior under control?

My sister just had a hysterectomy today "the same procedure I had done a year ago" She called me last night and was asking me questions as to what to do to prepare herself for the weeks to come. I told her my experience with everything and gave what help I could. Well today I called my dad to ask him a question about something and asked him how my sister was doing and checking to see if she had come out of surgery. He then told me that my mom was going up there after she got off work to sit and wait for her to come out of surgery and wake up. I instantly got mad and started crying. I live 9 hours away from my parents she lives 2 hours away so yes I understand it's a lot closer, but never once did I get a phone call from them or a visit while I was at the hospital not even after I woke up. I went home the next day and still no call or visit. I feel jealous over the fact that my sister has our mom there for her for the same surgery I had a year ago. I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I can't help it. I haven't seen my parents in a year and a half. I want these feelings to go away. I want to call my sister and not be angry with the fact she has the one thing I didn't have the support of my parents there by her side. What's wrong with me?

I have had a pork roast cooking in the crock-pot for the past 5 hours. I have carrots and potato's that I am adding to the crock-pot an hour before I am ready to serve dinner "4:30-5" I just added my celery and my onions went in when I started cooking along with the Lipton's onion and and brown gravy mix. It is smelling so good, but now I am stuck as to what to cook with it. Should I make some biscuits to finish the meal off or what? I know what I have going is plenty enough for anyone, but I have 2 small children that have to eat this as well, and they are pretty picky when it comes to there food. What would you or do you cook with your pork roast?

I have an open house for a friend coming up and we are suppose to bring a gift that starts with our last name. Mine starts with a W and I cannot for the life of me think of anything other then a washing machine that starts with a W. Any help would be appriciated..

My 4 year old daughter is complaining her neck is hurting. She had gotten in trouble and sent to her room for a time out after hitting her 2 year old brother. When she came out of her room "4 minutes of screaming and crying" to apologize she told me her neck was hurting. She has no fever, and has showed no sign of being sick. Could it just be pain caused by the crying and screaming or should I take her to the doctor? She has not complained of any pain at all today, just after she came out of her room from time out. I get really nervous when children complain of neck pain because of our church loosing a 5 year old from Meningitis. He complained of his neck hurting, and that night passed away. With no other symptoms besides the neck pain. She seems to be feeling better now, and says her neck still hurts but not as bad. What would you as a parent do?

I have made up my mind, and have decided to meet with a surgeon for a consultation on the lap band, but now I'm kind of leaning more towards the gastric bypass. My insurance covers both so I am not to worried about cost "we pay at most 3,500 out of pocket anything over that the insurance covers 100%" I know the difference between the two, and am ready and willing to push myself to the fullest to get a positive result. I just don't know which one I am really wanting to choose. I want this weight off, but I don't want to loose it so quickly I am left with saggy skin, but I don't want it to take me 5 years to get the weight off I need to loose. What was your decision based on? I know I still have a lot of prep work to do before getting to the stage of being ready for surgery. I just want to figure out what it is I really want. I am doing my research as best and as fast as I can. It's just overwhelming knowing that my life will be changed forever with the choice I make. Just for those of you that want numbers before giving an answer. I am 25 years old I stand 5'4 and weigh in at 252 my BMI is at a big fat 43.3 I have been caring this weight with me since the birth of my daughter in March of 06. I have tried diets, exercise even the magic weight loss shot with quick results that last a total of maybe a month, and the weight is back with a few extra pounds to boot. I don't know what else is left for me to do for myself. I want to be here for my kids as they grow up. I want to see them graduate high school/college, and I want to live to see them become parents. All in All I want to be the happy outgoing person I was when my husband and I met.

I have been suffering from back and leg pain nonstop for the last 1 1/2 years. I met with a spine specialist that did the x-rays needed and found a cyst on my L2-L3 normally these type of cyst are not found in someone my age, but do to the amount of degeneration around my disc the cyst are a common side effect. I had an injection done in November that gave relief for a day and the pain cam back just as bad. The 2nd injection was on December 31st. This injection gave me relief for about a month, and I was so happy to not have to deal with the pain during that time. Now the pain is back with a vengeance and it's not letting up. I met back with the specialist yesterday that said all he was looking for from the injections was relief. And now knowing that I had the relief he was comfortable moving ahead with the next step. Radio Frequency Ablation he described it as burning the nerves that are surrounding the facet joints where the cyst is located along with another series of injections straight into the Joint itself. He said if this is a success the pain relief could last a couple of months or it could give relief for the rest of my life. Really hoping its the 2nd one, but I am willing to go through with it even if the relief is short term. My question is does this really work? And will I have to be awake during the procedure or will I be asleep. Does anyone have experience with this and if so what's your advice? I want no slash that I need relief from this pain. It is driving me insane, and nothing I try gives relief..

I went in for my yearly exam this past Wednesday with the thought I would go with Contacts this time around. I have 2 small children that love glasses so that to me would be a better choice. The doctor said my eyes are good but I do have a small astigmatism and I am a little farsighted. I talked to him about contacts and he told me that if I wanted to try them then it would be fine. I went for my fitting and found out they do not have the exact Lens need, but they did have the Toric Contact to treat the astigmatism. The exact ones are on order and will be here in a week. So far the contact have been good. It's rather weird feeling in my eyes. So I called the office back today to see if I needed to come back in. She explained to me that because it is a toric Lens it may take longer to adjust to, and my eyes will have to do so everyday until it finds the right spot on my eye. Its not bothersome, but I am ready for the exact Lens to come in so I can try a different pair out to see if they are better. Has anyone else had such trouble with contacts? I have heard so many good things about them, and at the same time people that didn't like them at all. Just curious am I the only one that is having trouble with the contacts like this in my first few days?