May 19th

Yep...May 19th...just 4 days since my last post...
So...the reason for this update today...I had an appointment at the VA with my doc there.
He really doesn't do too much of anything for the treatment of my TM symptoms..but since I am enrolled at the VA I use it. No telling when I might truly need to use the facility and the doctors.
I went there today just as a 6 month update...and like I told my doc, everything is pretty much status quo...
But, there was one thing I did need to go over with my doc there...
Ever since I had my EGD and Colonoscopy and it was determined that the irritation in my stomach was the cause of those episodes I was having...My gastro doc told me to increase my daily liquid intake along with the Nexium that he prescribed to me.
So, I have been increasing my daily liquid intake and of course, that is making me go pee more often which in turn, I am using more catheters daily.
I have come extremely close to running out of catheters a couple of times since...so I asked my doc today if I could have my catheter quantity increased...which he gladly did.
That is a load off, because I was sweating it a couple of times...actually getting down to my very last catheter and being on the verge of having to boil them to reuse them....and my catheter order came.
I am extremely diligent in making sure that I allow myself plenty of time ahead of schedule when I order my catheters but for whatever reason....I have had those couple of issues of things getting just a little too close for comfort...
So....I am happy now...I'll not have to worry about the catheters situation again...

Other than that....doc had me do some labs...just typical stuff....and also peed in the cup to make sure things were okay...
I don't forsee any issues with any of that...

and for a little music...
Something rather tasty from Alvin Lee and Ten Years After...
I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes... a great tune written by the legendary Al Kooper


So..
Till Next Time......

Just had my three year anniversary

Well, yesterday was my three year anniversary of when TM reared it's ugly head into my and my wife's life.
I have to include my wife because it has affected her almost as much as it's affected me....not necessarily in the same ways but it has affected her nonetheless...

Anyway, yesterday came and went without any melancholy or depressive thoughts. This was a good thing because even last year, I still had a very melancholy day....
I suppose that things are now just getting to be "old hat" so to speak...
I will never, ever forget how my onset was...the unbearable pain and spasms and the paralysis and numbness....and the unknowing what was going on...and I'll never forget all the tests in the hospital...
I'll not forget my year of physical therapy....and I'll not forget all the effort to relearn how to walk...
but fortunately, it seems that I am forgetting all the surrounding depression and negativity that was so abundant in my earlier days.
Now, don't get me wrong...I still have days that are SOB's and I would still give anything to be my old self again....but at least mentally, I feel better.
That is a good thing.

Now....for a little music...
Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit.....singing Basically Frightened.


Till Next Time......

Hello, Hello, Hello

Hi to everyone out there in cyber land....
It's time to do a quick update on here.

So, to bring you up to date...Yesterday I had my 3 month appointment with my pain doc.
As I had mentioned to him at my last appointment, I was having some issues with my pain meds in that they just weren't doing too much anymore. Especially on bad days with rainy, cool weather and the old legs and my back side would just ping with the tingling and burn like they were on fire.
We had discussed the possibility of changing my meds since my body was probably too used to what I was taking.

Well, it just so happens that yesterday was a cool, rainy day and I was having fits..The doc asked me what was wrong when he walked in the room...I told him what was up and he said that he could see it in my face.
My blood pressure was up too...usually a good indicator that the pain level is up there.
The doc also mentioned to me that most of his other patients were complaining of pain too (this doc is also a neurologist besides specializing in pain) so most of his patients deal with neuropothy pain.

So we chatted a few more minutes about the pain and the pain meds and then he told me that he wanted to try me on Oxy-Contin...My first thought when he said that was about all the bad press that Oxy-Contin gets with people being addicted to it and people getting busted for it for selling it and so on....I asked doc about the chances of getting addicted to it and he tells me that Oxy is really not that much different than the MS Contin I am currently taking...
He tells me that Oxy is pretty much the same type of drug, just different formulations....
So I decided to go with his recommendation....At first I thought about telling him about a couple of other TM people I know that are taking Tramadol with pretty good success but then I figured I'll not say anything and if it turns out that the Oxy doesn't work so well,then I'll bring up the Tramadol to him and see what he says.

While I was there at the appointment, I also got on the subject of the terrible leg cramps that I get...and he recommended that I take a Valium when one of the real bad cramps starts...
So...I got my prescriptions filled on the way home...
and strangely enough...last night I had one of those cramps hit me....just as I was sliding into bed, my left leg started cramping really bad. Every time I tried to stretch it out it would hurt more and more. After a couple of minutes the cramp was still there and it still hurt bad...so I went ahead and took one of the valium and within about 3 minutes, the crap started to subside...
I was like...WOW...this really works. Thank goodness...!!!

Now, on the other hand...the Oxy-Contin. I took one before bed last night and I still woke up about 4:00AM with my legs killing me.
So...strike one
Today so far, my legs don't feel too bad...but I can still tell that the pain is there...but with that aside, I could still tell the pain was there even taking the MS Contin.
I truly don't think those meds really take the pain away...I think they just kind of dull my senses so that I'm not as aware of the pain.
Well, I'll give this a few more days and see what happens...

Otherwise....status quo. One thing though...I just am not getting the same old feeling of happiness and the feeling that my legs are working better now that the warmer weather is coming...
Last year once the warmer weather started coming in, I was feeling a bit better and the legs were working better..
I'm just not getting that right now...and I can't figure out why...
Again, we'll give it a few more weeks and see what happens with this.

Okay, I'll close for now...I'm nodding off while I'm writing this...

My 3 year TM anniversary is coming up in 10 days...May 14th......
maybe I'll update again on that date.

So now that brings me to this....my music post..
Something from the bluesman...Walter Trout..
a little tune called "Satisfied"
I hope you enjoy...


Till Next Time......