Gem, most of your forward bending takes place by bending from the hip joints, not from bending your back. We have been told for years to pick up things by bending our knees and keeping our backs straight. I can bend over and touch the ground. The back doesn't have to bend. Try it. Keep your back straight and bend from the hips. The next time you need something from a lower cabinet, bend your knees a little instead of bending your back a lot. It's the same when working in your garden, keep that back straight as much as possible. Sit down on a stool to weed. I found that Naproxen is much more effective for that type of pain than Ibuprofen. It seems to be easier on the stomach too. Take it will a glass of water at mealtime. Yes, I do garden a little. It's never been one of my favorite pastimes. It's been over 13 years since my surgery. The problems that I have now are age related. And yes, the back was done all at once. I had a couple of herniated discs, but the main problem was scoliosis. I had become so crooked that any movement was painful. I was very fortunate in that my bones were very strong and I had no problem with the fusions knitting as they should. The bone grafts were taken from my pelvis. The grafts for my neck were cadaver bone. I also have two long titanium rods reinforcing the fusions. Lots of nuts, bolts, brackets and screws. Weird looking things on Xrays, but no one sees any unnatural movement in me. If you ever do decide to have the surgery, keep in mind that the successful outcome is going to depend a lot on your doing what you are supposed to while you heal. Don't rush things. If you do, you will pay for it!!!! I'm not advising you to have the surgery unless you need it. Sometimes just changing what you do is enough to avoid it. It's rough and there are always surgical risks. But when pain gets to a point where it interfers with a normal life, then it's time to think seriously about it. Excuse me for being so wordy. I just wanted you to know that back surgery is not always a terrible thing. It can be a blessing. Just be sure that your surgeon has done many. If he's good, he won't mind your talking to previous patients about the outcome.

I'll do that, Sushipup. I'm old enough to remember the name, and so was the friend I went with. But neither of us could remember what it was all about--even though I'm sure it dominated the news for awhile back then.

Hi hoppy Diane, Sorry to hear of this extra load. As it showed up in church ... do you figure that it might be the evil coming out? One would be rid of it, if so. For the present. I hope that the healing goes well for both of the problems, and that you're back to your regular spritely self soon. ole joyful

BeeOhio said, "If you worked under & qualify for both Social Security & a government pension, your SS monthly benefit is probably going to be reduced. Very unlikely you would draw the full amount of both. It is called the Windfall Elimination Provision (see SS.gov for further explanation)." No need to unnecessarily frighten anyone. Here is a direct quote (cut and paste) from the Windfall Elimination Provision information on the Social Security Administration web site (which, by the way is www.ssa.gov): "The Windfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement or disability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work where Social Security taxes were not taken out of your pay." Also from the same publication: "The Windfall Elimination Provision primarily affects you if you earned a pension in any job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit." My first year with earnings (all $892) was 1968. I had five years with no payment into Social Security. My last year of earnings with payment into Social Security was 2013 (significantly more than $892!). I worked for the State of California from January 2, 1990, through December 30, 2013 (December 31, 2013, was my first day of retirement). The first 8 months of my state service was for the Legislature, and Social Security tax was not withheld. Nonetheless, I had enough quarters/years of paying into Social Security that even though I am collecting a monthly retirement benefit from the state as well as a monthly social security retirement benefit, my SS benefits are not affected. The SSA web site has a worksheet/calculator so you can figure out whether or not the Windfall Elimination Provision will affect your SS benefits. Just because you worked for the government doesn't automatically mean the WEP will affect you. This post was edited by Lindsey_CA on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 3:06