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  1. #26
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    Jan 2008
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    Why Michigan (UP or upper LP?)? And how did that work out? I had some good times up there--both those places. (Good times in Detroit too, but that was a long time ago).

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    2,740
    yetiman --

    Thanks for an eye opening and amazing OP(x2), and an enlightening thread.
    Sincere Best Wishes building a new life --
    it is Grrreat that you enjoy runnin' the rig . And I appreciate that it is a difficult livelihood to build a healthy life around ... .

    regarding Upper Michigan --
    There Is a subculture of Surfing in Marquette. Much of the year, The Big Lake is plenty cool .

    When there is Real winter , it does not compare, but perhaps might remind you of the PNW . ( 300inches )

    It ain't Southern Illinois - or Kentucky .

    Watch Out for Bambi ...


    ' Sorry about your woman --

    drive On !


    skiJ

  3. #28
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    Oct 2003
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    Holy shit, I missed this the first time around. I had no idea things had gotten so bad for you Yetiman. I don't have much to offer besides vibes and a couch to crash on in SLC if you ever really need it (of which you already have plenty), but good luck. You're a good man and I hope things turn around for you.

  4. #29
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    Nov 2005
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    Mt Baldys shoes
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    2,983
    I missed this the first time around also.Followed your life travels for awhile and wish you a good outcome through it all.Even though this is the internet people do care about what happens to you. I do.
    P.S. Have your testosterone levels checked and talk to a doctor that deals with it. I started to go through depression and let a friend know it who mentioned getting tested.Changed my life for the better.

  5. #30
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    Mar 2005
    Location
    MN
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    4,395
    Man sorry to hear abot your situation. If you can get stable work maybe you could get into SCUBA diving. Of course you would need someone to carry your gear, get it set up, and carry it in the water for you. From there if you can get your gear on it's basically weightless and REALLY cool. Sorry if this is a bad suggestion but I'm in a situation where I can't work and found SCUBA really is relaxing and cool as hell. You would certainly need training and I don't know if they would train you in your condition but it's just an idea I'm throwing out there. SCUBA is my new skiing and there is lots of it in WA by the girlfriend who may want to be your dive partner. You shouldn't carry your gear but if you can get someone to get it in the water it's all weightless from there. Pretty cool seeing the Pacific Giant Octopuses out there -- the biggest in the world. It's neat underwater. Again, just an idea that might be able to replace some of your other fun if you could work it out. If you get on your feet, take a class (they provide your gear for a beginner class), and find you like it, I would certainly either donate some skis for locals here to sell and send the money to you (I don't want to deal with boxing), or maybe a nice rig if I can't SCUBA anymore. I have another rig but I'm not sure it would be good for cold water as I've had a freeflow with it but I don't think the water in the Puget Sound is as cold as deep diving in mines here (35F). Its actually a freally nice fairly new Scubapro (they call them scubaflow around here cause of freeflows) but it is actually listed as a cold water rig on their website. Aocal shop just thinks it just needs some tweeking. I traded quite a bit for it here but I dive solo (really bad idea) so I put ALOT of money into an APEX rig. The rig might work good for you though. Anyway, just putting it out there and if you dive shallow a freeflow is really no big deal. You can always gain confidence with it and then go deeper. I would get it tweeked and dive it cold around here but pretty soon there is only going to be ice diving here -- I've never done ice diving so I have to take the class and don't want to screw a certification up if it did freeflow. I was going to use it for a pony bottle but would rather help you out if you go through the motions and find you like diving. I would actually like to get another APEX rig for it. I'm sure others on the board and myself could get you a free set-up somehow. Let me know (PM me) if you think you might be interested. Take care of your lessons if they let you, and I'm sure we can set you up. I know I will help out. In any case, I hope things work out for you as it sounds like you've been down a hard road.
    Last edited by Crass3000; 11-13-2012 at 03:12 AM.

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    SW Colorado
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    67
    Quote Originally Posted by YetiMan View Post
    thanks everyone.

    I have dealt with my company and am tentatively planning on working a 3 week on/1 week off schedule out of Sumner WA. I have to think about where and how to live for that one week a month, but I mostly want to surf so it's probably going to be setting up a place to crash and leave some stuff in Port Angeles.

    I think writing that post sort of focused my mind on what I need to do.

    Anyway, strange world being how it is, I wrote that, called the mgr for that territory in my company, then the next day got a call from him about working from WA and went and drove to Paoli, IN in the rain. Paoli is all hills and trees in the hoosier national forest. Passed a little ski hill called Paoli Peaks. When I got to the store in Paoli, the woman managing there had a husband who did all the lift maintenance for that place for like 20 years.



    I can't really describe what that was like, going from being in 95 degree weather in corn fields to cool and rainy in the trees and talking skiing with somebody within hours. It was truly indescribable.

    thanks for all your kind words. One thing I failed to indicate was that I really like driving trucks...Just not so much that I want to do it from before dawn until after dusk 6 days a week for the rest of my life. But there's something pretty compelling about the bottomless pit of torque (as hunter s. thompson put it) and the unsynched trans and the trickiness of fitting that huge truck into tight spaces. I love that shit. Just pay me fairly for it and let me have a life outside of it. That's all I ask.

    Anyway, surfing. There's still surfing and it looks like I have a pathway out of North Kentucky.

    When I have a day off I'll make a list of some of those naturopathics and do some research, thanks for the heads up.
    yeti, sorry about what you have to deal with and i can certainly relate. i also have the stenosis and osteoarthritis of the spine, add severe osteo arth of both hips, the right being the worse and being replaced next week. no trust fund... my doc says i can ski at end of season as far as hip goes. hope i can paddle. if you haven't tried the lower back steroid cocktail shots, DO. it gets rid of 90% of back pain for me which is widespread down leg/butt/back/neck. most of the pain is referred from L1-2. i had a restaurant that i had to close so have no idea what i will do for money.
    anyway, keep posting. i would like to hear of any new options that i may not be aware of now.

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    YetiMan
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    13,370
    OTR driving is a rotten scam. I hit the last straw with that. Politely told the company to pound sand and came home to upper michigan.

    I really like it here and I'm not going to leave unless I absolutely have to. I've been in the water here a little bit, it's going to be a long process of getting back in shape and adjusting to surfing windy choppy conditions. Everything freezes, which is wild, board freezes to the truck, wetsuit zippers freeze shut, gloves freeze to suit... it's really interesting to be in the water when it's like that.

    I think my lessons from all this turmoil are these:
    1) Being around interesting like-minded people is invaluable and irreplaceable.
    2) Winter is important.
    3) There's no place like home.

  8. #33
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    Aug 2005
    Location
    Base of LCC
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    1,619
    Jer

    know you like hockey. get to a pond that has frozen over, lace up you HS skates and put the biscuit in the basket.

    been reading your journey and am glad that you are in a good place. always know that we are here in oootah and are like minded folks.

    happy christmas and merry new year and all that.

    Peace
    CAT

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by YetiMan View Post
    OTR driving is a rotten scam. I hit the last straw with that. Politely told the company to pound sand and came home to upper michigan.

    I really like it here and I'm not going to leave unless I absolutely have to. I've been in the water here a little bit, it's going to be a long process of getting back in shape and adjusting to surfing windy choppy conditions. Everything freezes, which is wild, board freezes to the truck, wetsuit zippers freeze shut, gloves freeze to suit... it's really interesting to be in the water when it's like that.

    I think my lessons from all this turmoil are these:
    1) Being around interesting like-minded people is invaluable and irreplaceable.
    2) Winter is important.
    3) There's no place like home.
    Glad to hear, take care J.

  10. #35
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    Sep 2001
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    The Cone of Uncertainty
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    49,306
    wtf I never saw any of this until right now, I saw you post in the padded room and wondered when you came back and found all this. Give me a call sometime man, my number's the same as it's been for years, the number I have for you doesn't work.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Central Maryland
    Posts
    45
    You aren't alone this is for sure. No need to go into my situation but I certainly relate and as I continue to get older and accumulate disability my options for recreation continue to shrink. I consider the promise of extended lifespan without extended years of ability to be somewhere between a hollow victory and just a cruel joke. This isn't an encouraging post but it is commiseration. Frankly, everyone goes through a variation of this eventually unless you are fortunate enough to meet a spectacular end in an avalanche or some such before you have slid too far from your peak. If you are prone to depression as you and I are, it is a very tough challenge indeed.

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    auburn
    Posts
    188
    Go to a different back specialist. Get on medicare and use the system. It will take time and have a bunch of hoops to be jumped through. Our taxes should help you instead of some thug that makes babies he cant take care of. Move to California and get to the UC Davis Spinal Center through whatever means necessary. They fused several vertibrae and realigned my L4-L5 . I now have almost no pain in my life. I send them video every year that makes them mad with joy of me skiing. My doc said no skiing, and I said I need the suicide hotline number. Almost 4 years now. Good luck.

  13. #38
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    Nov 2004
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    YetiMan
    Posts
    13,370
    long term update:

    I have benefitted a great deal from cycling, walking, swimming and weight loss.
    I think this diagnosis was lazy insomuch as a comprehensive program of diet and low impact exercise that I did myself was ultimately more successful in managing this than the sedentary lifestyle prescribed by the original doc whose point of view was, in a nutshell, basically "you're too broken to be active".

    My new GP (who, interestingly, was my GP as a small child) is a hockey dad in a hockey town and knows my mom well, and respects my ability to assimilate a complex plan. He recommended walking, weight loss, and a round of PT as a starting point....and here we are...

    PT was interesting, I either have no left ACL or it's very very loose. She explained how that is why my spine sucked over sideways and ground my facet joints down and made my hip flexors on that side vulnerable to numerous tears over the years.

  14. #39
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    Jan 2008
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    I've had spinal stenosis--lumbar spine only as far as I know. My 4th and 5 toes are permanently numb and if I land hard or move the wrong way I get electric shocks in my butt. My doc--who is a PMR (physical medicine and rehab) allows me to do what I can that doesn't hurt too much and tells me to watch out if I have urinary or bowel problems (like I would ignore something like that). I probably should give up golf--it seems to aggravate my spine, in fact it aggravates me in general). He's mentioned spinal fusion; if it gets to the point that I can't ski I would consider it. The interesting thing is--this thing is worse in the morning. I feel like if I could find the right mattress or right position to sleep in things would be a lot better. Exercise like hiking and skiing actually seems to make it better, at least until the tylenol and naprosyn wear off. My hiking times have increased so I probably have some leg and glute weakness but I can still hike more than the average 66 year old so I can't complain. I've got some belly I could lose--judging by the fact that carrying even 10 pounds gives me some pain if I hold it in front of me, losing 10 pounds would help a lot. I've had the facet RFA you were once planning to do--can't say they helped and the effect is temporary. Epidural steroids didn't help at all. Funny thing is some days I have almost no pain and other days I can barely walk, and I can't predict it based on what I've been doing. The other thing is that the symptoms came on suddenly a couple of years ago. All I was doing was nailing up some wire stucco lath around the foundation of my house--working on my knees but with my back arched back. No heavy lifting or other big stress. My back would probably do better if I cut out the skiing and lifting stuff, and if my wife would stop finding lifting jobs for me to do. But given my family history and other medical issues I don't figure to live to 90 or anywhere close so I'm just going to enjoy what I can while I can and let the chips fall where they may. When I was first diagnosed I was given exercises to do--mainly to strengthen the abs but frankly they were so easy I could do them all day--weak abs aren't the problem for me. My doc didn't think a PT could do anything for me that I couldn't do on my own but I may give it a try.

    Sounds like you're doing all the right things at this point. Glad you got away from the sedentary lifestyle (and your original sedentary doc). I don't think that makes anything better. It is interesting that you can swim; swimming is painful for me because it extends my back, but we're all different of course.
    There are worse places to be than the UP.

  15. #40
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    Nov 2003
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    318 Powder Lane
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    3,647
    Rehab may be helpful, if only to learn a few more exercises to help you maintain what you have and to see what deficits in strength and flexibility you might have so you can dial in your excercise routine a little.

  16. #41
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    Oct 2005
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    2,740
    Quote Originally Posted by ill-advised strategy View Post
    long term update:

    I have benefitted a great deal from cycling, walking, swimming and weight loss.
    I think this diagnosis was lazy insomuch as a comprehensive program of diet and low impact exercise that I did myself was ultimately more successful in managing this than the sedentary lifestyle prescribed by the original doc whose point of view was, in a nutshell, basically "you're too broken to be active".

    My new GP (who, interestingly, was my GP as a small child) is a hockey dad in a hockey town and knows my mom well, and respects my ability to assimilate a complex plan. He recommended walking, weight loss, and a round of PT as a starting point....and here we are...

    PT was interesting, I either have no left ACL or it's very very loose. She explained how that is why my spine sucked over sideways and ground my facet joints down and made my hip flexors on that side vulnerable to numerous tears over the years.
    Yeti...

    Thank you for this --
    I had to go back and reread your OP to (remember) much of what you have been through...
    ( I have been following your posts in 'Lake Superior Stoke' , and (I) understand you are able to surf The lake... That's Grrreat ! !! )

    Thank you for your update -- I empathize with,,, the challenge...
    maybe I can get to Marquette in February for a day(,) and we can cruise around the 'mountain' for a couple hours...

    You seem to have peace. I admire and I respect that --


    skiJ
    " ... I will do anything to go Skiing ... There Is no pride ... " (Miriam , 2005-2006 epic)

    Dec21, 2016. LittleBigLost :
    " I think about it everyday. It is my reminder to live life to the fullest. I get up early, go to bed late, 'cuz I got shit to do. Like I said, I'm 61. Not going to wait till I'm 81 to do stuff, ...

    Get out there and do stuff!

    Enjoy life to the fullest!!

    See you on the slopes! "

  17. #42
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    Jan 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vinman View Post
    Rehab may be helpful, if only to learn a few more exercises to help you maintain what you have and to see what deficits in strength and flexibility you might have so you can dial in your excercise routine a little.
    My flexibility is surprisingly good considering what my spine looks and feels like. I can easily touch my toes. I can easily do a full turn and more when I play golf--which I probably need to quit doing. I'm working on ab strength and maintaining a posterior pelvic tilt. As far as strength, uphill climbing and cycling. It's the downhill hiking that's hard--trekking poles to let my weight down gently help a lot.

  18. #43
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    Feb 2015
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    MA
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    Spinal Stenosis, Severe Osteoarthritis: Doc Advice: permanent lifestyle modification

    Checking in: got a new MRI for the first time in a few years and it shows the same height loss and desiccation at L5-S1 as last time around, but it’s also showing bulging at L4-L5 and osteoarthritis of the spine. I’m 35. Similar symptoms to Old Goat (comes and goes, often with no rhyme or reason, finding the right balance of physical activity seems to get me in the best place) but the condition tends to manifest in sciatica without numbness he experiences. The issues began in 2012 and I hit a 4-5y low with my condition over the past couple months, I haven’t felt this bad in a while. Seeing a physiatrist (physical rehab and medicine) at MGH. I’ll probably post more when I get more information.
    Last edited by Self Jupiter; 01-01-2022 at 08:16 AM.

  19. #44
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    Jan 2008
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    truckee
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    After 7 years, 5 epidural steroid injections, easing off on lifting, not a whole lot of self-PT I am mostly free of sciatica, free of pain meds, able to do what I want. Still weak butt, numb toes. I have some low back pain higher than the original--I am guessing possible compression fracture. I have several of those already. That pain usually goes away once I get loose after I wake up.

  20. #45
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    Jul 2005
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    3,230
    ^^^jesus dude. How long has all this been and how old are you?

    I’m kinda just checking in here with sciatica and an epidural scheduled in a few weeks.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by mtnwriter View Post
    ^^^jesus dude. How long has all this been and how old are you?

    I’m kinda just checking in here with sciatica and an epidural scheduled in a few weeks.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    7 years, like I said. 71. Off to ski.

  22. #47
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    Looking like I’ll be getting my third injection in the next few weeks

  23. #48
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    Jul 2005
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    Spinal Stenosis, Severe Osteoarthritis: Doc Advice: permanent lifestyle modification

    Quote Originally Posted by old goat View Post
    7 years, like I said. 71. Off to ski.
    Way to carry on. You are old and a goat…or maybe a mule.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  24. #49
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    Feb 2015
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    ^X2

  25. #50
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    truckee
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    Are you saying I'm an ass?

    I think I had five injections, not counting an RFA of the medial branches (they tried to destroy the nerves to the spine itself, not the nerves to my legs. Supposed to help the back pain. Didn't.) Each one worked better and lasted longer than the last. The last one lasted 2 years before even mild pain returned. Could have been the injections, could have been the protruding disc shrinking.

    Important for skiing with sciatica (and for skiing without sciatica)--tuck that butt. (ie posterior pelvic rotation--not a good posture for the general public but it relieves pressure on the nerve roots.)

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