Speaking My Mind: This is where my three inches went... I think!

Speaking My Mind: This is where my three inches went... I think!:   From December 2023 CT lumbar scan: "L1-L2 level: Severe disc space narrowing with endplate osteophyte formation and sclerosis. Disc ...

This is where my three inches went... I think!

 

From December 2023 CT lumbar scan:

"L1-L2 level: Severe disc space narrowing with endplate osteophyte formation and sclerosis. Disc bulging. Facet hypertrophy. Mild right foraminal stenosis. L2-L3 level: Severe disc space narrowing and endplate osteophyte formation and sclerosis. Posterior disc osteophyte complex asymmetric to the left with facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Mild spinal stenosis with moderate bilateral foraminal stenosis. Additionally there is calcification in the ventral epidural space posterior to L3 which could represent a calcified extruded disc fragment. L3-L4 level: Severe disc space narrowing. Endplate osteophyte formation. Disc bulging with facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Mild to moderate spinal stenosis with mild bilateral foraminal stenosis. L4-L5 level: Severe disc space narrowing. Endplate osteophyte formation. Disc bulging with facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Moderate spinal stenosis with moderate bilateral foraminal stenosis. L5-S1 level: Severe disc space narrowing. Endplate osteophyte formation. Disc bulging. Facet hypertrophy. Mild spinal stenosis. Severe right and moderate left foraminal stenosis. Foraminal stenosis. IMPRESSION: 1. Multilevel spine degenerative changes are identified with levels of stenosis that are estimated above. See above discussion and correlate with clinical exam findings."

*I do not have osteoporosis, I had my last bone density less than two years ago and it was negative for that! I was too active for that!

The breakdown as such: severe disc space narrowing: What Is Severe Spinal Stenosis? (healthcentral.com)

Endplate osteophyte formation: Bone spurs - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Facet hypertrophy: 

• "Facet hypertrophy is an incurable, chronic disease that affects the facet joints in your spine. These joints stabilize your spine when you twist and bend. They are found where two vertebrae come into contact on the back of the vertebrae that form your backbone. Aging, wear and tear, arthritis, and other joint diseases can damage facet joints."

Facet Hypertrophy: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, etc. (verywellhealth.com)

• "Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy is commonly associated with age-related changes, spinal degeneration, and wear and tear. The severity of ligamentum flavum hypertrophy varies from person to person. In some cases, individuals might experience no symptoms at all, while in others, the condition can lead to significant discomfort. Common symptoms include:
• Is Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy Serious? Understanding its Severity and Implications - Spine Info

"Scle·ro·sis

/skləˈrōsəs/

noun

• 1.abnormal hardening of body tissue.
• 2.excessive resistance to change:"the challenge was to avoid institutional sclerosis"

•  That's enough of that... but you must admit interesting!? To only some of us who have these issues.

Let me introduce you to the crew...

Lastly, moving on to who they are, our crew...

3 months, and ...now 6!

   

Aussie, say good day!

I am Aussie, not from Australia, but American-made. 

I will comply because it is fun and say good day!

I am called Aussie because my mom asked a sixteen-year-old girl looking at me in the crate I was in at the adoption site that day what she thought I should be named. Mom asked her age, but not her name... ha! And without hesitation, the teenager had said Aussie! By the way, she was just looking, so my mom did not steal me from her.
We never found out the girl's name; mom liked Aussie too. Since then, we have discovered that it is a ubiquitous name, but it is still just right for me! My parents think that I am uncommon, even say unique! I do like that.
I am an Australian Shepherd, a red Merl. And here is an interesting factoid about me: I was supposed to be a miniature Australian Shepherd, but as you might know, I AM NOT! I am a standard Australian Shepherd! Although I am now six years old, I am the baby, though I am the largest of the fur babies, and due to my breed and being standard, I am just right, ha! 
I was three months old when Mommy and Daddy adopted me. I had been taken- out of a hoarder's home in the Carolinas with my litter. 
Above is my PIC, taken on the birthday I share with my dad, but dad is much older than me!!! I was the first to be adopted, on February 16, 2018, on Dad's brother's birthday.

No tail/tale publishing, circa 2018.

Get it? I was born without a tail, preferable for all Australian Shepherds; only one out of five are born that way!

                                           

Hello, I am Bella, in the picture above, a Maltese Yorkie, a Morkie. I might be ten years old. We are all rescues, so no one knows our ages for sure. I am the middle child, so I am what you would expect, with all those idiosyncrasies accompanying that! Being the only girl has its rewards as well as its difficulties. 
I was turned in by my previous family, stating that I was misbehaving with their elderly dog it had been said that I was driving him crazy! I was the second to be adopted, on 8/18/18 on clear out the shelters' day!
My record called me Belle, so for no known reason, Mom decided I was more of a Bella, beautiful either way!

Hey, wait! Please don't forget me! I am Chance, pictured above, a Bichon Frise! I am 12-ish years old, so they think, and the eldest, and I like getting up early with mom and Aussie. Bella sleeps late with Dad, till after seven most days, even later sometimes! 

I enjoy a good tug-a-war on the ropes Dad had twisted for Aussie and me, and sometimes even Bella plays, too! I was the last to be adopted on January 23, 2020. 

I had been wandering the neighborhood for days, and then I saw Aussie and Bella in their living room window, so I hung out there... 

The animal control lady had been called and came out to see if I had a chip I.D. with her machine, and Dad told her that he wanted to name me Chance. His reason is that if no one claimed me, "I want to give him a second chance!" So that is how I got the name Chance!

The Animal Welfare League checked me out and kept me for sixteen

days until I was allowed to be adopted. Good evening.

Easy as Aussie, Bella, and Chance, now you got it! In order of adoption!

Speaking My Mind: Sorry for a repeat of missing here...

Speaking My Mind: Sorry for a repeat of missing here...:     It was time for another hospital visit...NOT! Me again...same symptoms of the week before but this time on Thursday but since I already ...

Sorry for a repeat of missing here...

 

 

It was time for another hospital visit...NOT!

Me again...same symptoms of the week before but this time on Thursday but since I already had had the clot-busting medicine all they could do was have me stay overnight for observation.

Whatever was going on possibly another TIA, was short-lived and I was fine before leaving the ER. Although I had made the visit, they decided to keep me overnight to ensure all was well in a low-care room. No ICU was necessary this time!

I came home Friday morning, showered, weighed myself as always, and was back to 100 lbs. I had been nearly 102 before I left, they had fed me two meals while there. I came home after breakfast there. This morning I was back in the shower and weighed myself as always after being home and eating everything in sight yesterday including a homemade burger and fries and I was down to 99 lbs.!

Well, I am BACK NOW, hopefully forever!

So far I have eaten a banana with fat-free Greek yogurt, dry Kashi honey flax cereal, and a protein drink, so my usual breakfast.

And lunch will more than likely be just as extravagant!

Let me introduce you to the crew...

Lastly, moving on to who they are, our crew...

3 months, and ...now 6!

   

Aussie, say good day!

I am Aussie, not from Australia, but American-made. 

I will comply because it is fun and say good day!

I am called Aussie because my mom asked a sixteen-year-old girl looking at me in the crate I was in at the adoption site that day what she thought I should be named. Mom asked her age, but not her name... ha! And without hesitation, the teenager had said Aussie! By the way, she was just looking, so my mom did not steal me from her.
We never found out the girl's name; mom liked Aussie too. Since then, we have discovered that it is a ubiquitous name, but it is still just right for me! My parents think that I am uncommon, even say unique! I do like that.
I am an Australian Shepherd, a red Merl. And here is an interesting factoid about me: I was supposed to be a miniature Australian Shepherd, but as you might know, I AM NOT! I am a standard Australian Shepherd! Although I am now six years old, I am the baby, though I am the largest of the fur babies, and due to my breed and being standard, I am just right, ha! 
I was three months old when Mommy and Daddy adopted me. I had been taken- out of a hoarder's home in the Carolinas with my litter. 
Above is my PIC, taken on the birthday I share with my dad, but dad is much older than me!!! I was the first to be adopted, on February 16, 2018, on Dad's brother's birthday.

No tail/tale publishing, circa 2018.

Get it? I was born without a tail, preferable for all Australian Shepherds; only one out of five are born that way!

                                           

Hello, I am Bella, in the picture above, a Maltese Yorkie, a Morkie. I might be ten years old. We are all rescues, so no one knows our ages for sure. I am the middle child, so I am what you would expect, with all those idiosyncrasies accompanying that! Being the only girl has its rewards as well as its difficulties. 
I was turned in by my previous family, stating that I was misbehaving with their elderly dog it had been said that I was driving him crazy! I was the second to be adopted, on 8/18/18 on clear out the shelters' day!
My record called me Belle, so for no known reason, Mom decided I was more of a Bella, beautiful either way!

Hey, wait! Please don't forget me! I am Chance, pictured above, a Bichon Frise! I am 12-ish years old, so they think, and the eldest, and I like getting up early with mom and Aussie. Bella sleeps late with Dad, till after seven most days, even later sometimes! 

I enjoy a good tug-a-war on the ropes Dad had twisted for Aussie and me, and sometimes even Bella plays, too! I was the last to be adopted on January 23, 2020. 

I had been wandering the neighborhood for days, and then I saw Aussie and Bella in their living room window, so I hung out there... 

The animal control lady had been called and came out to see if I had a chip I.D. with her machine, and Dad told her that he wanted to name me Chance. His reason is that if no one claimed me, "I want to give him a second chance!" So that is how I got the name Chance!

The Animal Welfare League checked me out and kept me for sixteen

days until I was allowed to be adopted. Good evening.

Easy as Aussie, Bella, and Chance, now you got it! In order of adoption!