Better yet

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 5:04 pm

With the exception of a few cases of the chills and the shakes, I’m no longer dependent on Oxycontin. I’ve been able to drive w/o much issue for the last 5 or so days.

I have regained the mastery of each of the six (6) strings of my guitars, and can once again whip out a nasty rendition of the theme to Super Mario Brothers. Rock.

I begin working from home next week (28 Mar 2006). The plan is to then be back in the office on 05 Apr 2006. I have just realized that the withdrawal symptoms that I am experiencing may actually be due to the lack of SLMA and not due to the lack of an opiate in my system.

Until next time-

Big Matt

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Back from Chi-Town

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 8:47 pm

Well, I’ve actually been back for about a week, now. I just finally posted the pix from that excursion (available at http://ddayinc.com/stymie [new window]). I didn’t get any shots from the shady parts of the train ride. There are some nice shots of Chicago’s Union Station in there, though. That place puts Indy’s shanty-of-a-trainstation to shame.

Had some pretty good times. Hung out, ate well (the Omega in Des Plaines is a breakfast favorite), and lost a little cash playing Black Jack on a riverboat in Elgin, IL. Then, caught a ride back to Fishers w/ a friend (my buddy’s dad), after setting up their new iMac for them.

Pretty good trip, overall. Didn’t have any narcoleptic episodes — the drug dosage levels continue to drop. Might be heading back to work somewhat soon. That’ll be the end of the exciting train rides for a while…

That’s it for now

Big Matt

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Traveling

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 1:55 am

Well, I recently received an invitation to hang out in Chi-Town for a short while. The issue: getting there without driving. The solution: ride a train. If you’ve not been in the Indianapolis train station, get there. Especially early morning — breath-taking.

I then [eventually] boarded the train in the pre-dawn darkness and with very little on-board light. I found my seat and was completely comfortable with my safety, though I could not see the person seated next to me. About five (5) hours later, I was [finally] safely in the Windy City. Whew. I do not know if it was the meds, but I came close to hoarking in the spacious latrine on the smooth-riding train. Maybe it was just the constant jostling…

So, here I am, both chilling and kicking it. Fewer meds as I go (skipping doses and such). Barely any withdrawal symptoms (just the chilling). There are a few pix of the train stuff that I will probably get posted, eventually. I know that people are on the edge of their seat in anticipation…

Big Matt — out

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Not much exciting

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 7:50 pm

Things have been moving along about the same. Still trying to cut back on the dosages without bringing on the pain. The lumpy back is kind of smoothing out. I can almost lie on my back without feeling like a teeter-totter.

I got a ride out to the sticks again, and worked on a wood-working project a bit (some 6″ salt and pepper shakers). I believe that it is a good idea to be operating a sander while looped out on narcotics.

I’m guessing that people are quite tired of taxiing my silly ass all around the country side. Soon, I’ll be able to burn up the asphalt like I once did… soon. That’s it for now, I guess.

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Picture Proof

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 7:08 am

After a non-tedious, not-extremely-involved, barely-any-work-involved evening, I finally posted some pix. The gallery goes from the night before surgery to the start of February.

Warning: if you are faint of heart, weak in constitution, pregnant or expecting to be, overly nervous, or are the proud owner/user of a pacemaker, you might not want to see all of the pictures.

Naw, it’s not that bad. There are some gnarly shots in there, though. Do not say that you were not warned. For those unaccustomed to galleries — they contain albums and such. You click on them to see more pictures. You can also click on the desired picture to see a larger version of it. What a great, interactive way to share… See the albums at:
Back Surgery ‘06

Enjoy, and let me know which one weakens your stomach the most.

Big Matt

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Changes

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 2:47 am

Prescription after prescription — for swelling, for back pain, for muscle tightness/spasms, for sciatica. I spend approximately one-third (1/3) of my waking hours trying to determine which meds to take when. Whew.

Well, I am trying to ease off some of the meds. The resultant withdrawal symptoms are not fun. I’ve had a hangover before, but withdrawal just plain sucks.

Oh, my sleep/awake schedule has been thrown askew, as well. Five (5) or six (6) in the A.M. have been typical bedtimes. That is something else that I probably need to remedy.

Aside from that stuff, everything is going great! I get to do laundry; I have used my dishwasher for about the third (3rd) time since I’ve lived here; I got to put in a renter’s insurance claim — the ceiling in my living room pulled a Chinese water torture trick on one of my rear surround speakers, and on a subwoofer and amplifier from my old Jeep. Hot diggity!

Well, still no pictures posted, but I did manage to get Wojtak’s Taco Bell record posted (link opens in new window). Until the next episode…

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Same

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 4:41 am

Still full o’ meds. Can sneak in some driving time before the medications take effect. It’s not very long lived, though.

Working on getting some pix up. Got a couple of cool post-op X-Rays… Still need to work on staying awake when trying to concentrate on something. Seems to draw out the process of getting anything done. Zzzz.

Also received a report of a new record from Wojtak — a Taco Bell taco eat-off.  Trying to get that into the record book (requires some modifications to the book, as the submitted description is so flippin’ long).  Anyway, look for that in the semi-near future…

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Look out

Posted in: Matt's Status — D-Day @ 12:03 am

I’ve graduated to driving.  As long as I don’t take any of my medication, I can drive all I want (while in excruciating pain).  Ahh, the joy of driving.

So, I’ll probably not do too much driving, unless it is something really important…  medications win out for now…

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