Hi everybody: Been a long time since I was around you all. The great doctors at DUKE decided that I needed to have a new battery of tests. It seems the medication they were giving me for the CORE pain was causing all kinds of reactions on me. Along with that, since DUKE is a research and teaching hospital some of the doctors have very poor patient care skills. I had to go into the hospital for ten days of detox from one med be for they could start a new one. Once I was on that new one it did not work so they backed me off and brought in an EXPERT ON PAIN MED :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: His education looked great but when I had a major reaction after only three doses it took me sixty hours to get a call back. You heard me sixty hours the he said "I guess we will have to try something else. DO you think so????? On we went with a new med but a close cousin to the one I was just on. It too gave me problems and after twenty four hours I went to administrators, department chair,and patient advocates and it was still two days till he called and wanted Me to stay on the med and see if things would get better or worse:uhm: :uhm: :uhm: :uhm: I said NO and YOU ARE FIRED So I am off all pain meads and am just working thought it. I am so fed up with the lack of caring buy some of the medical staff and all the recordings to leave messages and then no call back in a timely manor. After all this I spent nine hours having a test to measure my cognitive ability which I failed to a degree and then a four hour test to see if I have ear problems that were causing me to fall. I passed that one my hearing and ear structure is just fine so it is the dead brain cells that get screwed up and I fall. You would think that with all the great minds looking and all the testing being done the health system could help us who have had strokes get some relief from our pain, depression ,and the feeling of loss that I believe we all or at least some of use have. It keeps us home and out of sight as people do not under stand us. Our CAREGIVERS GOD BLESS THEM DO but it is a great pressure on them also. Enough of my feeling sorry How are all of you doing I will try to get back to chat room soon I, have missed you all and pray some of you are making forward movement I seem to be at a stand still for right know but the fight is not over. And as I say THE GOOD LORD DOESN'T WANT ME YET AND THE DEVIL:devil: WONT HAVE ME BACK SOON Ken 1950