Thanks, Alastair! That was a great post. Having a relatively positive frame of mind most of the time it was difficult for me to identify with Patrick's mental state closely enough to formulate any sort of meaningful response to his closed-loop thought process. I guess it takes someone who has been there and come back from "the abyss" to really speak to this issue effectively.
Your response really enlightened me and I hope a lot of the long-time sufferers here manage to read and benefit from it. I can now see the issue isn't really about pain, drugs or weight gain, it's about depression. Would you consider posting your response as an FAQ, titled "Dealing With Your Depression"?
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03/09/26 - Ruptured L5-S1.
Years of pain, discectomy, research into anatomy, hardware, clinical trials, facilities, surgeons, techniques, insurance. Attempts at ProDisc, Activ-L trials. Now, low bone density. D'oh!!!
At 61 years, no longer qualifying for trials due to my age (chronological, not physical or mental).
2009 - Working on improving bone density or getting rich so I can go to Germany, where medicine and insurance have gone beyond the Stone Age.
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