This is going to take some getting used to

from JoeUser Forums

This is the back brace that I'm going to be wearing for 3 months:

Yes, that's a look of discomfort on my face in the first picture.  This thing has to be tight; so tight that it's difficult to take a deep breath.  It does what it's designed to do, I can't twist or bend in it, and sitting is...interesting, to say the least.  I'm supposed to wear it over my clothes, and I already learned that low-rise pants aren't a good idea to wear with it....the bit of belly between the bottom of the brace and the top of the pants gets pinched - ouch! 

I've had it on for about half an hour, and I've had enough already - but I still have to walk to the end of the street and back and practice getting in and out of the car.  The nurse said that if I figured out how to walk, lay and sit with it on before the surgery that it would make the initial recovery period a a little less stressful.  So, I'm going to be a good patient and do as I'm told for once (did you hear that, D?  I'm doing as I'm told.  Amazing, huh?!)

*sigh*.....off to the end of the street I go.....

 

7,231 views 21 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Good, best to practice now. Believe it or not, you'll get used to it.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Is the incredible bionic dharma. And I thought corsets had gone out of style.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

Good, best to practice now. Believe it or not, you'll get used to it.

Yes, it is best to practice now, that way it won't be so much of a shock....and i'll have the hang of moving with it on.

Hang in there Karen....no pain...no gain

Exactly.

Is the incredible bionic dharma. And I thought corsets had gone out of style.

Yes, I'm going to be bionic.  Like I said, you can just call me 'Three of Eleven'. As for corsets....hehe.....I can understand why women used to complain about them, it sucks to not be able to breathe properly!

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh man, I feel for ya. That looks uncomfortable without factoring in the surgery.

Best wishes.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Okay. Now. ~ahem~ REMOVE the brace and strike those VERY SAME POSES please....



Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

Okay. Now. ~ahem~ REMOVE the brace and strike those VERY SAME POSES please....


Hehe...you know, as soon as I had posted the 'rear' view one I thought 'Hmm...Shovel will prolly like that one'......

...my god, my ass looks big!
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hi Dharma Boy, your back brace is almost identical to the one I wore after the laminectomy.
Only you look better in yours!!
Seriously, I think you'll be glad to have it on afterwards, mine provided a feeling of security, almost like
a cage!
I wished afterwards I had practiced wearing mine.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top

Hey Trudy.....

I'm thinking that the brace is going to be a good thing afterwards too.  It'll give me som support and protection, and I probably won't want to take it off!!

Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hah, that brace reminds me of the one I had to wear after my ACL surgery... except it was on my knee.

It's a bitch, but it's worth every moment of it. You definitely need it if you are going to have the surgery.

Just hang in there. We're rooting for you.

Peace,

Beebes
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hey, you wear it well...and no, your behind does not look big in your pic...lol. Hope it becomes less Uncomfortable for you.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
Ouch. And I thought my knee brace sucked..............
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

It's a bitch, but it's worth every moment of it. You definitely need it if you are going to have the surgery.

Oh yeah.  What I'm having done is the equivalent of breaking my back, and the brace is the equivalent of a cast.  I'm thinking that I'm going to be loving it after a week or so.  I have to have it on for 3 months all the time, and then I get weaned off of it slowly.....so in all reality I'll probably still be wearing it for short periods of time until November.

Hope it becomes less Uncomfortable for you.

It is.  Each time I wear it it gets a little easier to deal with.  The only thing that bothers me is that it's going to be pressing on my incision.  I'm having an anterior fusion done, so I'll have a nice vertical cut below my belly button and this brace will squeeze on that.....and that sounds painful.

And I thought my knee brace sucked..............

Hehe....this isn't so bad, really.  Now that I'm getting used to it....

Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'd just pretend it's a corset and you're Marie Antoinette (just stay the hell away from the peasants and you'll be fine, dear...hehehe).
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top

I'd just pretend it's a corset and you're Marie Antoinette

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" - mistakenly attributed to Marie Antoinette.  Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote this when MA was only 10 years old and still living in Austria, so it's highly unlikely that she said it.  Also, 'brioche' isn't cake, it's kind of a bread - the word for cake is 'gateau'.

Anyhoo, that's my history lesson for today......

Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top

That doesn't look like a lot of fun.

As a side note, your plastic bracelets look like a pair that I have.  The green one has peace signs on it and the pink says "peace".  Mine crack me up because they are preppy colored peace bracelets (kind of ironic.....)

Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
disclaimer: moderateman did NOT TYPE THIS, he was ummm hijacked by aliens.

could ya model dat thingie with no shirt on so I can ummmmmmm get a better idea how it fits?

yeh, how it fits.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top

That doesn't look like a lot of fun.

It's not....

Mine crack me up because they are preppy colored peace bracelets (kind of ironic.....)

Hehe...that IS funny....!  Mine say 'balance and harmony' and 'love and hope'.  The pink one broke yesterday, so I'm on the lookout for another one...

 

could ya model dat thingie with no shirt on so I can ummmmmmm get a better idea how it fits?

yeh, how it fits

Umm...no, I can't.  I'm not allowed to.  The doctor said I'm supposed to have clothes on under it at all times.  I can't even wear it with just a bra or bikini top underneath, I have to have a shirt on....

...sorry to disappoint you! *wicked grin* 

Maybe I'm confused, Dharma.. and don't be offended, but I think its a nice ass, indeed?

Aww, Helix!  Thank you, that's a very nice thing to say!

Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
Whoa, that looks complicated! Three months of wearing that uh? Well, I hope you get used to it real quickly. Think of how you will feel three months from now - that's something to look forward to!
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top

Think of how you will feel three months from now - that's something to look forward to!

Yes, it is....and I can't wait to get it all over and done with!