Fear

[cjsmith]

Today I am facing my fear that the surgery won't help.

It might do very little. Of the problems visible with MRI, only one will be corrected by surgery.

The way I face fear is by making plans. If the surgery doesn't help I will, in this order:

1. Ice a lot. Continue this while trying other steps.
2. Try a heavy dose of anti-inflammatories for a brief period to see what happens.
3. Ask Dr. O about causes/recommendations for the tendon and ligament problems (actual question probably asked earlier, at surgery time). Try injected corticosteroid if offered. Try physical therapy tailored to this problem if offered.
4. Try acupuncture.
5. Stop the ice and try prolotherapy.
6. Go to a pain clinic. This step is the end of the line for me, so the next step is...
7. Accept the problem as permanent and learn to love being a physically inactive person.

Comments

list making, other options

[moriamerri.livejournal.com]

I didn't mention it before, but list making is totally normal to me also. Not weird, a normal and useful strategy. I just read this list, and it is especially good. #7 is great, although if it were my list it would be amended to include "while looking for / evaluating other options". (Yes, someday I get too tired to do that, but hopefully that day is just prior to death. For me. Not because I can't love life some limited way, but because I am hopeful for new things.) I haven't read enough about your feet issues to say anything "informed" here, but I suspect trying ozonated oil or ozone gas with the application method called "bagging" would be a good thing to add to your list. Do NOT expect any of your doctors to be informed about this. I didn't mention it sooner because you sounded on a clear path for surgery. Again, ask for info if you want, I can talk about this for a loooooong time too.

Re: list making, other options

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

More info on the ozone thing is welcome. The surgery will only fix one problem -- it is a known problem and will definitely be fixed, but it may be only a small portion of the trouble -- so the rest will likely still need some work.