Knee Surgery - your experience?
I had arthroscopic knee surgery in 2002. Pain lasted a year after; recovery was long and hard. The pain prior to the surgery was worse, however. The scope prevented loss of motion and the inflammation from increasing. Get active as soon as possible after the scoping. Do not--under any circumstances--do something that requires a lot of impact, such as walking, running etc. Bike riding is great--so is swimming. The more short-range motion you do the more scar-cartilage will form and cushion the knee area. This is a good thing. Do your excercises faithfully. They help a lot. I carried a cane for a year, too--I found that despite feeling like an elderly person, the cane actually lent me some stability when I needed it. It's best to look like a old fart for a short while than to risk re-injuring it out of pride. Make sure you use your ice, too. Do what you have to. Take your anti-inflammatories. The knee hurts like a sumbitch when it's sick, so keep it happy.
Ingrown toenail surgery and experience?
Hello there, I had that surgery done on both my big toes. A few days after the surgery you won't be able to walk much. A week or two after the surgery you are fine. It has been almost two years since I had the surgery and I have no problems. Now with the surgery, They spray your toe with some cold spray to numb it a little. The worst part of the whole surgery is the numbing. The lady was putting needles in my toes to numb the nerves there. She had to do it 4 times per toe and it hurt so bad I wanted to cry. She has to go under the toe nail and find those nerves. After that worst part your toes numb and you don't feel much at all. You can feel tugging and hear them clipping the nail but other than that there is no pain until it wears off. A good doctor will put acid on the toe so the nail does not grow back ever again. I had part of my big toe nails removed so it does not look that bad. After the surgery you have to soak your feet in vinegar and Epsom salt so it does not get infected. Then they give you pain medicine and antibotics. The best advice I can give you is to soak your feet no matter what, and keep it clean. After I was done soaking my toes I would bandage them up. If you are home laying in bed let them air dry a little. Just keep it clean so it does not get infected. Overall I am happy I got the surgery done. My toes were bad and my doctor said if I would have let it go for three more months the infection would have gone down to the bone then I would have needed an amputation. Like I said the worst part is the numbing needles and the most important part is keeping it clean. Good luck and I am sure you will be happy with the results.
What was your experience with spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis?
I underwent a spinal fusion in June 2017 starting at T2 and ending at L2. I had a 52° curvature in the thoracic spine when I was 17.Immediately after the operation, I had unbelievable pain. I was in the hospital for five days, in part due to constipation (gotta love morphine!). The worst pain I experienced in the hospital was breathing due to the fact that my curvature was affecting my lungs. The severe pain stayed for about two months, and then it began to subside quite quickly.The biggest problem I have experienced since my operation is shoulder pain, and random shooting pains that last for 1–3 minutes. My surgeon explained to me that the shoulder pain is from the muscle becoming used to the hardware, and the random bouts of shooting pain is from the nerves healing. He also explained that the shoulder pain would last one to two years.Now, I’m over a year removed from my operation, and I experience very little pain from the fusion. I only experience pain if I lift too much weight the previous day. Most days, I do not even feel the hardware unless I am touching my spine, and most of the numbness has left.
What are your experiences with pool cues?
Quality wise, McDermott and Viking are pretty much the same. Both even have warranties against warpage, which is nice in that price range. I personally prefer the feel of McDermott between the two, but to each his own. The only Lucasi I ever had much experience with wasn't put together particularly well, and didn't have a hit I liked. It may have just been that one, but it was enough to sour me on the brand. Meucci has had quite a reputation as having gone down in quality over the last 10 years or so. Take it for what it's worth, but this is from the mouth of professional cuemakers I know, not just players. Plus, just about everything that comes out of Bob Meucci's mouth is hogwash. Somehow he rigged his machine and/or data that he uses to proclaim his shafts are the best, despite the fact that pretty much everyone else who has tested his cues totally contradicts him. That alone is enough for me to never even consider a Meucci. I would also consider Joss in that type of price range. I'd put them a notch about Viking and McDermott in quality, but they are a bit more expensive. If you're serious about keep your cue for a very long time, I'd suggest you consider upping your budget a bit and looking into custom cues. There are a lot of great cuemakers out there, and you can probably find something in the $300-400 range that will last practically a lifetime, will be unique and of much higher quality than just about any off the rack cue out there. If you're having a hard time finding something, email me and I'll try and point you in the right direction. I don't know why Loriann would recommend LePro tips. They are inferior to just about any name brand tip out there. They put then on everything because they're cheap. I know If you want a one piece leather tip, Sumo is 100 times better than LePro. Moori is a great tip, but the most expensive one out there. If you don't mind spending the money, you'll probably like them, but there are other layered tips that are much cheaper and are as good, or nearly as good as Moori. I use Hercules tips and they work very well and last forever.