Funny you should ask! I just posted this on another message board (for my soap opera ) this morning as someone there asked, too. I know a lot of this y'all already know, but I'm just cutting and pasting it. ******* Thank you so much for asking. The severe pain that I was having is completely gone - this has happened just in the last 1-1/2 to 2 weeks. I have never had anything like that in my life. Childbirth and gall bladder pain don't even compare. It was so severe that I could literally NOT get off of my sofa. Just getting up to use the restroom had me in tears, it hurt so bad. For about 2-3 weeks I was on morphine every 3-4 hours, it was awful. Then it was another 2-3 weeks on Vicodin every 4 hours and the morphine on an occasional basis and even woke me up occasionally. Thankfully it started going away and I only needed the Vicodin occasionally. Slowly over the 6 weeks or so that I was dealing with this I could add a few minutes to my walking and such. I couldn't get through the grocery store or Wal-Mart or anything. The last time I went to the grocery store before it started feeling better I was in one of those little motorized carts. Anyway, through all of this, they still don't know definitively what it was. They *think* that it was a bulging disk in my back that was pinching a nerve that, through my rest and stuff (and of course all of the prayers I was getting!!), it moved back into place somewhat. The spot where I was having the pain still has a little big of a bulge in the disk, but not much. Now I just have my normal day-to-day fibromyalgia pain (I was diagnosed with this at the beginning of the summer) and that's another thing, they think that this possible pinched nerve was exacerbated by the fibro: The pain in the nerve caused all of the muscles around it to spasm causing a domino effect that caused all of the muscles from my ribcage to my pelvic area (front and back) to spasm, knot up, and just hurt - it was awful. Anyway, like I said, just my normal fibro pain which is bearable and just irritating, not incapacitating (most of the time). I'm doing better!! Michelle

Thank you so much for your post, Heather. I will be praying for you as you recover and gain strength. HUGS, Tracy

Heather - Big hugs to you today!!!!!!! You don't sound negative at all - you sound REAL!! I too have had some issues with malnutrition and it's no fun at all. TPN really sucks. You just got to get back in there, keep track of what you eat, get in those vits. and do the best you can!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!! laurie

Sounds like you need to consider changing that name to Former Fat Chick! Way to go girl! Heather

Happy belated B-DAY!