Increased Activity

Let's face it. It can get a little chilly up here in the pacific NW. The enjoyable summer is now a distant memory for locals and a steady stream of rainy and cold days has become what seems like the permanent forecast. But we did have some breaks here and there. We finally got outside and hiked around a bit. It felt great to stretch the legs and get some activity outside the house.

Meanwhile, I had something interesting happen after my wife and I shared some intimate time. I began having pain in my "you know what". It started a few hours afterward. Thank goodness it didn't occur while we were together. I hear from some men who experience that. I just can't imagine (and don't want to imagine) how that must be. I'd say this was just about the most significant pain I've had in my Johnson. I remember having twinges and little sensations that came and went, but this was ever present, ever painful and wasn't going away.

I figured it to be some kind of nerve pain. So when I have nerve-like pain, I reach for the Tylenol. I took 1000 mgs and hoped for the best. About an hour later, the pain was gone and hasn't returned. I also haven't had anymore E.J.'s since then. I'll be curious if this is going to be a regular occurrence or just a one time deal. I'm obviously hoping for the one time deal.

Outside of that little experience, things are pretty stable. An ache here and there, but nothing to write home about.

Regarding my big announcement: I've just about got the final touches done. One more little thing to finish and then I'll be able to tell you all what is going on, so stay posted. There will be a nice little companion to the Vasectomy Side Effects blog which I think everyone will enjoy.

Interestingly, some other man on the PVPS forum started a website/blog to help get the word out. So far, he's had quite a few visitors too. It seems like more people are coming out of the closet with their vasectomy pain and side effects. That's good to hear. I think there is a silent minority of people out there who suffer everyday and just don't know where to turn. Now there are several resources available to get your questions answered. I just hope I can help you in some way as well.

Good luck.

Treating the Prostate - Holistic Approach

Having PVPS wreaks havoc with your sex life. There I said it. Part of it is because your wife is afraid to touch you because you're in so much pain. She wonders if she'll make things worse. I can appreciate that fact. I also know that taking things into my own hands is probably not an option. I just don't roll that way... well, not anymore anyway.

So there I am with a prostate that is probably the size of a grapefruit, because of lack of use. It's been a long time since my wife and I have been together, probably two months. I was reading how some men on the forum are taking a prostate formula with saw palmetto to help with the prostate size issue or more specifically, the prostatitis that seems quite rampant in the PVPS group.

I broke down yesterday and bought some Saw Palmetto with Pygeum (some kind of tree bark). This supplement is supposed to help with the prostatitis. Not sure if there is anything to it, but why not make the investment? I took my first prostate pill last night and again today. They say it takes a while before you notice any change.

As it stands now, I have tons of dribbling after I pee. I don't get up out of bed anymore, which is good, but this dribbling has been getting worse since my reversal.

I also have had a lot of nerve pain in the tip of my penis. Yep, it's not very comfortable. This is a very annoying side effect of PVPS. I believe the pain is present because of my prostate. I took some tylenol yesterday, which seemed to help that pain.

I haven't been back to the treadmill since the last fiasco with the racking pain. But I feel this need to get up and walk. Our hiking excursion over the weekend went well, so maybe that's an indication that I should get back on that horse.

I continue to wear an athletic supporter everyday and night. I'm kind of scared not to wear one.

I also continue to thank God for all he does for me. I feel a lot more peace about life these days, and it has a lot to do with my faith in him and Jesus. After 40 years of claiming to be a christian, I think I'm just now getting what it means to be a follow of Christ. I think there's a difference between the two. But this is a walk I'm still on. Have a long way to go to be sure.

I guess that's about it for now. Here's praying your pain resolves. God bless you.

This is Crazy

Well, the last thing I expected to happen (and one of my worst fears), has happened. I went from having congestion pain, to nerve pain, to this new thing that has happened. I hate to even discuss it because it just hurts and is embarrassing.

So this new pain is a sharp pain in the tip of my "johnson". It comes in waves. It hurts in a pulsating way for about an hour until I go to the bathroom. Then it goes away for about an hour and the whole cycle starts over again. Very weird. It's also weird because this pain has started 11 months after my vasectomy reversal. Now why is that? I just don't know.

I'm becoming more and more convinced that you just shouldn't ever mess with your "junk". Too many strange things can happen. Too much sensitive plumbing. Just isn't worth it.

So if you've thought about having a vasectomy, just don't. Too much at risk.

11 Month Post Vasectomy Reversal Status Update

It was 11 months ago that I had my vasectomy reversal for congestive epididymitis related to my vasectomy 6-7 years ago. Prior to my reversal, I had what amounted to a third testicle from August to December. It was very uncomfortable and fairly painful. Then I had my reversal, because there seemed to be a 75% chance I would get better. During the surgery, my urologist told me that sperm filled liquid oozed out of my right vas deference for about 15 minutes during the surgery. That tells you how much congestion I had prior to the surgery.

Since my reversal, I haven't had congestion. But, I started getting nerve pain. The best guess is that scar tissue is rubbing against some nerves causing pain. The other idea is that my anatomy is different in the scrotum which also rubs against nerves and causes pain. The last idea is the doctor damaged my nerves during the surgery.

My nerve pain has improved every month since then. Now, I have intermittent pain that seldom requires any tylenol. Interestingly, tylenol helps a lot, but ibuprofen doesn't. I usually have 1 bad day a week. The biggest problem is the fear I get when I do have pain. My mind starts racing, thinking the congestion is coming back. But so far so good.

My faith has surprisingly been strengthened as a result of this vasectomy challenge. I wished my faith could have been stronger and I could have simply foregone the pain and congestion.

Next month will be my 1 year anniversary. I hope the pain is even less of an issue then. Lord willing, I'll continue to improve.

So there's the status update. As far as this week goes, I've had a little nerve pain on the left side, but nothing too difficult. My sleeping has been poor, but that could be because I've had a cold. I hope to get a gym membeship tomorrow so I can start walking regularly again on the treadmill (the cold has made it difficult to go outside to walk).

Getting Over a Cold

As if nerve pain, lower back pain, chest palpitations wasn't enough, now I've still got this cold. I've been so tired and my activity level has been in the pits. Today though, I'm doing better. Still tired, but no constant coughing, sniffling, nose blowing, etc. It seems like my body tries to give me a break and only allows one set of symptoms at a time.

For example, this weekend, my cold dominated and I didn't really have nerve pain. My lower back was pretty good too. Now today, my cold is better, but my left inguinal nerve pain has made its presence felt a couple of times. On Sunday, my cold was getting a little better, but to compensate, I started having nerve pain in my "johnson". It was very disturbing. I hate that pain a lot. Luckily, it doesn't last very long and isn't too severe, but disturbing, none-the-less. Interesting, I had a nocturnal emission last night (although I don't remember, which is unusual, because I always remember). I'll be curious to see what happens to my symptoms because of it.

So, here I am, a shambles of a man, but joyful. Joyful, I still have my God watching over me. Joyful that he continues to bless me. Joyful that he helps me with my pain. Read the story of Job sometime. I could never identify with that story before this whole post vasectomy symptoms started. Now, I kind of get it. No matter what happens, we need to trust God. For only the good and perfect gifts we receive come from him. I'm not saying our faith won't be tested from time to time, but we must remain steadfast in our faith and understand that he loves us no matter what.

That gives me comfort and peace, that is, when I actually stop to think about it. The problem is, I don't stop to think about it as much as I should. There's a lesson in there somewhere for all of us.

Tips for Dealing With Vasectomy Nerve Pain

A lot of the people who read the forum/support group, all struggle with the same thing...what to do about their post vasectomy pain symptoms. Do they have a reversal, do they just try to manage, do they have their nerves deadened, do they have injections for the pain. These are all difficult decisions because so little is known about PVPS.

Experienced urologists may come across 1 or 2 patients in their lifetime who present with PVPS. This places those of us who suffer in a minority, where the patient typically knows more than the physician. But that is of little comfort in this case, because we can't just run out there and start doing research.

So we're left to fumble in the dark, looking for answers that we hope will come, but too often do not. Mistakes are sometimes compounded and pain is made worse. Sometimes your decision leads to a great success. We all hope for those successes.

But again, it doesn't really help us except to cause more confusion. Again, these patient reported results are too informal and wouldn't be considered medical science. So there we are, just groping for answers that will fit our unique situation. It also doesn't help having no clue why you have the pain in the first place. You assume there was nerve damage during surgery, but the doc doesn't think there was. So you try to trace down answers that are just not there. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot. I guess you get the idea.

I am here struggling with what to do next. Paralyzed with the prospect of further surgery and just sitting idly by doing nothing. I would imagine a lot of people get this way when their health problems turn chronic and you're busy looking for answers.

Here is a list of things I've started in hopes of helping my situation.

1. Walking program
2. Sitting less at the computer
3. No stretching of my core muscles
4. No twisting in my torso
5. Sleeping with a pillow between and under my knees
6. Taking a multi-vitamin
7. Cut down on sugar - started this one today
8. Found a mentor to help my mental outlook
9. Started praying much more
10. Limit squatting and bending

There are probably other modifications to my lifestyle I've made, but these are the major ones I can think of quickly.

Later in the Day...

Okay, well the other foot finally dropped today. I said in my post this morning that I wasn't going to wait for the bad cycle (I'm paraphrasing). It turns out I didn't have to wait, it came and found me a couple hours ago. Lots of right sided inguinal nerve pain. Having difficulty driving, sitting, etc. Walking is okay, but twisting and leaning is out of the question.

I took some tylenol and that seems to be helping a bit. Will see how the rest of the night goes. Just thought you'd want an update from earlier this morning.

Good to Talk With the Wife

My wife and I had a nice little talk about where I am these days, last night. It was just one of those nice talks that you get with your wife every so often that reconnects you. Even though I wasn't enjoying the subject matter, vasectomy reversal pain, it was nice to know she is interested in how I feel. So check mark last night as a good night.

I'm still waiting for the other foot to drop, but it hasn't yet. So, I will stop waiting for the nasty monster to come out of the closet. Instead, I'm going to just keep living life and if the bad cycle comes, then so be it. I don't want to appear cavalier or over-confident. Rather, I think you just can't live your life thinking something bad is going to happen, because guess what, it probably will. But if it doesn't, then you've wasted all that time worrying. These are tough lessons for me, because I am by my very nature, a worry-wart. I'm not proud of it, mind you.

So, I'm going to go buy some camping gear and plan our camping trip, regardless of where the pain is. Then if it comes, I can deal with it then, otherwise, I'll just try to enjoy the good days I have.

Regarding pain, I had some dull right inguinal nerve pain when I woke up this morning. Nothing painful yet, it feels more like a pulled muscle. I also just had a wave of pain in my left teste, that was like a racking sensation. It hurt, but only for a second. Again, might just be the power of suggestion as I think about pain. Or it could be this dad-blamed computer chair. Even with an extra pillow on it, I can't stay seated in it for very long.

Steep Hike Was Rough

I just had something clarified yesterday. Walking good, steep hiking bad! Just when I thought my walking program was helping me to get in shape, I had an experience which humbled me quite a bit. My wife and I went fishing yesterday, but couldn't find a private spot, so we decided to go hiking instead. We wanted to take advantage of her day off from work and the weather was gorgeous, mid 60's with lots of sunshine.

We found a trail that had the right distance (2 miles) but was a little steep (20%), er make that a lot steep. We got about 12 minutes into the hike and I was huffing and puffing, my heartrate was somewhere around 120. Meanwhile my wife, who works out all the time, is yawning as we walk up the steep trail. What a contrast. I finally had to tell her, with wounded pride, that I couldn't go up any more and that it was time to turn back.

There were two reasons I needed to turn around. The first was my pitiful physical shape. That is directly related to the pain I've had related to my reversal. I haven't been able to be very (aerobically) active because of my previously described nerve pain. My aerobic threshold is still pretty low, despite the increased activity recently. I can tell I have a long way yet to go. Lord willing, I'll be able to get to the point where I can tolerate these kind of hikes in the future.

The second reason I was struggling on the hike was due to the groin pain I was experiencing with every climbing step. I remember when I started an exercise program in June with my kids, that squats seemed to cause me a lot of nerve pain. Well, picture this climb so steep that every step was like a semi squat. It felt great to use my leg muscles, but my groin was not enjoying itself.

I'm just glad I didn't let my pride get the best of me. I probably could have pushed through and then I'm sure I would have been in tremendous pain today. If this hike had occurred last year, then I know I would have let my pride hang me out to dry. So I think I'm make progress with my pride, thanks to God. He has really been showing me that pride is at the root of so many bad decisions.

So as it turns out, I had just a little left inguinal nerve pain last night when I laid on my left side. Then today, when I sat down, my left inguinal area experienced some more nerve pain. So lesson learned. I'm going to stick to flat surface walking/hiking for the time being. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to get my heart in shape, and by then, perhaps, my inguinal area will be less sensitive to such experiences.

An Oldie but a Goodie

Well, well, well. An old friend returned to my rental house yesterday evening. I wasn't sure who it was exactly last night, but this morning, the blur became more clear. The old friend is of course not an old friend, but an old symptom that I haven't seen for a while. That would be the dreaded "racking pain" in my left testicle. What made it appear out of thin air? Your guess is as good as mine.

I did walk kind of briskly yesterday and felt a muscle kind of pull in my right groin. But that is the other side from where the racking pain is. So, there you go. Just when I told a family member that I feel like I have a handle on this post vasectomy pain syndrome, I'm left to eat my words. Never fails, does it? Just when you think it is all figured out, life throws you a curve ball.

Now if I remember correctly, ibuprofen helped with the racking pain. So, if it doesn't go away here in a bit, I'll take 400 mgs of advil and see what happens.

In the meantime, I slept ok last night. Was a little "uneasy" down there while in the shower and have had a couple stabs of sharp knifing nerve pain. Basically, a frustrating morning all told. But, thanks to my friend from my old church, I feel like I can cope with days like this better. I still thank God that he put John in my life. He's been a huge help for me.

Lord God, thank you for helping me learn how to cope with this syndrome. Thank you for easing the pain and the symptoms. Please continue to be with all of us who hurt and suffer from pain and disease. Remind us that you are in control and make your presence felt in our lives. Help us to see how you work and to understand how you are using this for your good. Bring us healing and give us strength. Be with John and his family as they deal with his chronic pain. May you be honored and glorified by our response. In Jesus name, Amen.

No Sitting is Rewarded

I didn't sleep that great last night. I felt like I was going to have a lot of pain when I first got out of bed. But then I took a hot shower and started getting ready for the day. Two hours later we were headed out the door to go fishing at a local river. From that point forward, I didn't have any pain at all. In fact, the first pain I've had today, came at the kitchen table about an hour ago when I was eating dinner. Now that I'm typing here at the computer, the nerves are starting to jump around a bit.

Sitting really does mess with post vasectomy pain syndrome. Some how, it traps the nerves. The physiology of why that would hurt so badly escapes me. Maybe having the innards pushing downward, in some way pushes something against something that irritates the nerves.

This is one reason why I feel nobody should have a vasectomy. Not only can you have granulomas or spermatoceles or epididymitis, but this nerve stuff is outrageous. One little slip of the knife and it's a lifetime of pain. I know it doesn't happen to a lot of men, but if the statistics are correct, than roughly 20% are dissatisfied with their vasectomies. If the majority of them are unhappy because of pain, then it just doesn't seem worth it.

Food for thought.

Spasm of Vas Deference

I wonder if some of the pain I experience isn't caused by a spasm on my vas deference. The burning sensation I had and other sensations I've had inside my scrotum on the right side are linear, like they're running the length of my vas. I wonder if it isn't a spasm. I think that would explain a lot.

Some people, for instance, state their pain is less intense after taking a xanax, or after they do pelvic relaxation exercises or after taking an alpha blocker like rapaflo. It seems like those things might prevent or some how affect the state of the vas.

There is a precedent for this idea, as people with asthma have bronchoconstriction of their airways or a spasm of their smooth muscle inside their airways. So our bodies can react in that manner. Now, perhaps the upset nerves are causing the spasm, like a short circuited wire, intermittently sending the signal or not sending the appropriate signal, whichever the case may be.

Anyway, just a thought. Regarding yesterday, I did not have any real significant pain in my groin after my E.J. I'm not sure if it's because of it or just a coincidence. I've thought about doing it again today, but I'm still conflicted about the idea. I told my wife what I did yesterday in the shower and she just apologized for not taking care of that for me. So, I'm not really sure what to do. Maybe I'll try to take a hot shower/bath. Nobody has run the hot water yet today, so there might be enough hot water to work.

One thing I know, sitting at this computer does not make my "boo boo area" (as we call it around the house) feel any better. I've got to get a different computer chair.

Tough Couple of Days

So today I woke up in tremendous pain in my scrotum. I've had intermittent nerve pain on my left and right inguinal sides. I feel like my scrotum is about to explode and there's nothing that can be done about it. I think I'm just going to have to handle up on my own business because there is a real part of me that feels this is all congestion related symptoms.

I'd like to be patient and wait for my wife, and let that area of things progress naturally. But in talking with her, it doesn't look like she's much in the mood these days - as she's stressed out because she started a new job that is not entirely in her specialty or rather, comfort zone. So as much as I'd like to be with her or have her help me out, I don't think it's going to happen for another couple of weeks. So in the shower I go, I suppose.

Today, the tylenol helped quite a bit. It brought the pain down to tolerable levels. Thank God, the tylenol works for me. Some guys have to take major prescription kind of drugs just to get through. So I'll take that blessing any day of the week. I also used a heating pad, as I haven't been able to take hot baths like I did before. This rental house has a very small water heater, so the water doesn't get hot or deep enough to do the job. I did get some relief from the heating pad though. I was surprised. That or maybe the tylenol had kicked in. One or the other.

Anyway, this is the first I've sat down - which has probably also helped. I hope to have a good night's sleep with no straining. Tomorrow will be a new day and I pray it will be a good one...for us all. God Bless.

About As Expected

The hiking yesterday went as expected. I wore a jock just in case and took the tylenol just to be safe. By around 1 or 2, the tylenol had worn off and the nerve pain was back. I took off the jock and changed into some gym shorts from my jeans. I felt a little better afterwards, but not much. My wife had to drive us home.

Last night, I woke up around 2 a.m. having significant nerve pain on my left inguinal side. Today, my right side just kind of aches and my left side seems ok. I'm not sure what to do. Maybe a hot bath, maybe my wife and I need to be together more frequently (or should I take things into my "own hands" sort of speak?).

I'm kind of at a lost. Perhaps there is nothing I can do. Maybe it's just a cycle that I need to go through. The storm before the calm. Kind of backwards, I know, but that's all I got.

Not Much Improvement and a Prayer

Today I woke up with the reminding ache and pain in my groin. Quickly, I realized the nerve pain was going to be with me today. It is a little bit better than yesterday, but still hurts when I drive, walk, stand, sit - all too long.

I tried a hot bath last night, but the water wouldn't get hot enough - just one of the challenges we face in this new rental house. I'll try again tonite. In the meantime, I'm trying not to get too bummed out. Easier said than done.

Part of dealing with chronic pain is not letting yourself get too high or too low. My buddy from church taught me that. However, I had so many good days in a row, I have to admit that I'm kind of reeling with this new cycle of pain. I did think of something that might have triggered the pain though. I have been throwing the football in the backyard with my son and punting it in the air. Perhaps that isn't a good combo. The straining of my torso with throwing a football could be aggravating my inguinal area and the kicking motion with my right leg might be doing the same thing. I'll stop those for a while and see what happens.

This pain has brought me to a point of realizing I'm not completely well yet. Strange how your mind works. No pain for a week and you suddenly feel like all is well and you can go live a normal life. The pain has a way of bringing you back to earth pretty quickly. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I am very grateful for every day I live and breathe, etc. The good Lord has always blessed me with good friends, family and so on. So when I was feeling so good, I kind of began to take all his blessings for granted again. Not a wise thing to do, I've noticed.

Once more, thank you Lord God for all you do in my life. I just don't know what I would do without you leading and guiding me. Thank you most of all for your son, Jesus. Thank you that I have forgiveness and life in him. I am ever dependent on you and Jesus to get me through this present life. I know I am nothing without you.

Thanks for helping me get through this PVPS thing. Thanks for using it as a blessing for other people and I pray for healing for those other men who suffer from the same pain. For rabbit, Michael, Aston, and everyone else on the support group who are in pain, seeking guidance and reaching out to help so many men like myself. They have been a blessing to so many and have been used by you to minister to me. Thank you God for being such a good God. Help them with their pain and situations. Amen.

It Was Inevitable

Last weekend I had that burning sensation and now today I am having just flat out regular old fashioned right inguinal nerve pain. This time though, I can't pinpoint any one thing that might have irritated my nerves. Maybe it's just a cyclic thing. I know I saw some kind of a cycle in the early summer, but I was hopeful to have put that behind me.

Interestingly, I woke up this morning with nerve pain on my left inguinal area. However, it stopped pretty quickly. Then this right sided pain started around 10 am or so and then got progressively worse. I haven't had a hot bath in a while, maybe I'll try those again. I'll keep you posted.

Irritating Burning Sensation

I've talked about this burning sensation I get behind my scrotum on the right side. It still persists and comes and goes with seemingly no reason. It is very disconcerting because it makes me wonder if something is not quite right. I've only had this sensation for a few months so I worry about it, even more than the nerve pain. However, it could just be a different kind of nerve pain. I don't know.

My wife and I were able to get together last night after a 3 week lay off. Not the ideal situation, I know, but our intimacy times have never been what you'd call very regular. Kind of comes in waves with regular breaks. But I do feel a little bit better, because that full feeling tends to go away after I have an E.J.

But this burning sensation is still around. It doesn't seem dependent on intimacy or exercise or activity or anything. I can't say it really hurts a lot. I'd put it at a 1 or 2 on a pain scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being the worst imaginable pain possible. I am hopeful it's just a nerve-like pain rather than a sign that something is wrong.

I guess that's it for now.

Aleve Didn't Help the Nerve Pain

As the day went on yesterday, I developed more and more right sided inguinal nerve pain. My cardiologist suggested I take Aleve - I think because it is supposed to be better for the heart, but not sure. Anyway, I tried it and had no real substantial pain relief. So I took an ibuprofen and woke up this morning feeling better.

Coincidentally, I also had a "nocturnal emission" last night. Haven't had one of those in years. I am grateful for it though, because it has been quite some time since my wife and I have been together. I'm not sure if it was the ibuprofen or the nightime event that made my right side feel better?

To add to this, I haven't been able to take hot baths since I got back from my cross country trek. I really think those hot baths help in some way. Either it kills the sperm in my scrotum or gets everything kind of loose inside there, so maybe the scar tissue doesn't get trapped in an area it shouldn't be. Whatever the case, I'm looking forward to having normal relations with my wife and getting a good hot soak. Living out of a suitcase has never been my favorite thing to do. But we have 2 more weeks of it before we arrive in our northwest home.

2500 Miles

Well, I've arrived in the pacific NW. After driving in a 6 x 4 foot cell (aka: moving truck cab), 12 hours a day for the last 4 days, I have to say I'm in pain. The knifing nerve pain was very present throughout the entire road trip. I tried taking tylenol and ibuprofen, I tried sitting on my special cushion, I tried sitting on a memory foam pillow and I still had pain.

I guess I'm not overly amazed by the pain. I was just hoping I wouldn't have any. I know that having hope sets me up for disappointment sometimes, but hope is all I have.

I am looking forward to taking the next week or so off before I make the road trip again, this time with my family. It will be a little slower paced as we'll take 6 days to travel the 2500 miles rather than the 3.5 my buddy and I did this time. I'll also be in a minivan, instead of a 26 foot moving truck with car in tow.

I just thank God that we arrived safely and the pain wasn't any worse. So thank you God for helping me get here! I obviously, couldn't have done it without You.

I fly back in a couple of days so I'll post something then. Until next time, may the Lord Jesus grant you peace.

Sudden Pain in Left Testicle and Needing a Prayer

Last night when I went to bed, I had a burning like pain inside my left testicle. I changed sleeping positions and the pain eventually went away. This morning, my left testicle had a pretty good little itch toward the back of it. After a little scratch here and there, it was fine.

Then today, several hours after the itch/scratch, I had this terrible pain on my left side. I wasn't doing anything but just standing. No heavy physical activity, just standing. It felt like pliars were twisting something in my left groin, between my left testicle and my inguinal area. The pain came on suddenly and was extremely painful. This, after several weeks of hardly any pain at all. I tried everything to make the pain go away. I sat on the commode and let the boys hang, hoping that might help. I tried cupping them in my hands, thinking that a little support might be helpful. Then I "shook" my inguinal area on the left, why, I don't really know, it just seemed like something to do. Well, that seemed to help, as the pain then disappeared.

All told, the pain lasted about 20 minutes and I'd rate it at about a 5 or 6 on a 1-10 pain scale. This is particularly upsetting given the lack of pain I've had for the last several weeks. Add to this, the fact that I'll be driving a Pensky truck half way across the country tomorrow. I'm not real excited about the prospects of being pain free during the drive. Hopefully, my buddy will be able to drive a lot for me.

Although the pain is gone, the remnant ache remains. I'll probably get some ibuprofen at dinner time in hopes of calming it down. We'll see.

Anyway, that's my tale. I felt like I was really getting better until about a few hours ago. But, I guess I should look at it with a "cup is half full" mentality, rather than my usual negative way. I just pray the reversal worked and these pains are just random things, rather than a symptom of something going wrong.

Lord, Please continue to be with me as I travel across country. Give me a safe trip and keep me from having nerve pain. I pray for your continued mercy and your favor as I drive. You know it won't be comfortable for me and you know the chance of pain is pretty high, but please give me peace and pain-free days. Lord, I can't get there without you. I need you everyday to help me and to comfort me and to heal me.

I pray you'll be merciful and send your comforter to be with me. May your Holy Spirit rest upon me and give me a good trip to Washington. Please Lord, I need you so much - more and more with each passing day. May you be glorified by our move and may people know of your grace.

In Jesus name, Amen.