I value the advice of my internist, Dr. Terry Sullivan, immensely. l let him know what I'm doing and value his suggestions and encouragement. Luckily he is not one of those M.D.s who rejects out of hand anything considered "alternative." I appreciate this as I try to work out a rehabilitation plan of sorts on my own, especially since the vaunted "experts" who gave me the Prolia (as well as the folks at Amgen who manufacture Prolia) seem to have no idea about what to do now.
This is important to me. I don't want to spend the rest of my life as an Amgen/Prolia cripple and I want to explore every possible avenue of recovering some semblance of a normal life!
Other helpful professionals have also stepped into this painful void:
Dr. Maunak Rana at the University of Chicago Pain Management Clinic has been the one bright light at the U. of C. I appreciate his help and concern more than I can say. More on this elsewhere.
(Unfortunately another large university pain clinic seemed to have nothing to offer except surgery which I felt had little or no potential to help me and much potential to leave me in ever worse shape.)
I've gotten much help from Dr. Anne Gordon at Chicago Chiropractic and her wonderful team, particularly Physical Therapist Dr. Sanjoy Roy. Dr. Gordon has kept my body going for nearly 25 years and her team, and especially Dr. Roy, are central to my rehabilitation now.
This physical therapist has, among other things, guided me through exercises to help me strengthen my core to achieve more stability, and other exercises to relieve the spinal curvature associated with this Prolia disaster. I appreciate them no end.
I also received much help when pain and inflammation were at their worst from a fine massage therapist, Seyda Tarabus.
All of these have helped me. Of course this improvement, such as it is, could have been due to time alone, and I have no "control" for comparative purposes. But bottom line: I can move around the house, I can get my own food, I can put on clothes and even tie my shoes and go for a short walk and enjoy friends who come over.
All of this was nearly impossible for the first two months of this disaster.
I still cannot do many things I would like to do, such as go out for a meal, or a movie, or even a long walk, or a drive during this all-too-short Chicago summer without a degree of pain. I especially miss the wonderful summer get-togethers with friends that I enjoy so much. I miss these terribly. But I am grateful for what I can do now.