Weekly Check-In Nov 18-24, 2007 Welcome New Community Members

[stevem53]

Hi Everyone, and welcome to our new community membes!

Thanksgiving week!..I can hardly wait to eat..:D

I didnt do much fishing this week due to rain and windy conditions..All I did was pull my bait traps, and fill my freezers untill the weather calms down..Its starting to get cold, and my fuel oil bill was $3.12 per gallon!..So I swallowed my pride and made an appiontment for fuel assistance..As much as I hate to do it, I dont see as I have any choice this winter

I went to my APDA board meeting on Tuesday, and formally anounced that I had resignerd from PAN..Im now on the website committee, and suggested that we add links to online support networks, so that folks, especially new dx's can have a place to ask questions and seek support..Neurotalk will be one of those links, if my suggestion is approved at the next board meeting

Ive been having some problems with dystonia in my right leg..It started out with toe curling, then ankle curling inward, and now my whole right leg wants to curve inward, and my achillies tendon in the ankle area is occasionally painful..As this has progressed the toe curling has been less frequent..Other than that I feel pretty good..Any suggestions?


How was your week?

[maryfrances]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

[MKane]

Steve,

How much Sinemet are you taking? If your dose is too high it may be causing your problem.

Mary

[jcitron]

Happy Thanksgiving, Steve. The leg dystonia is painful. :( Have you tried relaxing? I have found that when I am really stressed the dystonia likes to flare up. You might also need a medication increase or decrease now. I found that with the increased meds, in my case, the dystonia went away.

Anyway, this has been a pretty good week for me. I'm on vacation from work! :D Life is good when you have to use up almost 3 weeks to use up before the end of the year. I also came out of my algebra class unscathed with a B- so I'll never have to do that bloody thing again. YES!!! :D I don't start my next class until December 4th so there's a bit of a break from school too. I can get used to this pretty easily.

The thing that's bugging me is I still can't play the piano well even with the increased Sinemet. I can't coordinate certain movements properly. All this time off, but I can't accomplish what I want.

Take care,

John

[vertigo]

Hello Steven-
Have you tried to dance? I dance and try to let the movements come from the center of my body, not the feet or the fingers, - the movements ends in the distal part of the body .
Yesterday I had big problems with the , cha-cha cha-, it goes: one, two ,cha-cha -cha; with chachacha, only the stomach and the hips are moving.
After some exercise, the stiffness was softer and I had progress.
Looking in the mirror I had to laugh, strange dancing ,but it was my dance !
Hope you find your own way of moving, music is in our brain, let it out - -.

[stevem53]

To answer the above questions..I am taking 2x50/200 Sinamet daily

I do relax during everyday..I havent tried dancing

Happy Thanksgiving!

[MKane]

Steve,

I've never taken that big of a dose at once. Do ou notice that you have problems shortly after taking your meds. If so, I'd talk to your MDS about spreading out the Sinemet.

Good luck,
Mary

[stevem53]

Steve,

I've never taken that big of a dose at once. Do ou notice that you have problems shortly after taking your meds. If so, I'd talk to your MDS about spreading out the Sinemet.

Good luck,
Mary

Ive been taking that dose for a while before going to work, but not the CR..The problem is usually late afternoon and at night..No problem in the morning after first meds

[Evon]

Hello Steve Sorry to hear that you are dealing with dystonia. I have dealt with this since before dxs in 2003. Of course it was much less severe then. In the last couple of months it suddenly got worse to the point that it was so painful I couldn't sit for long, I'd have to get up and pace and it wouldn't let go . I tried massage, exercise, Baclofen, hot baths etc. I made a desperate call to my MDS in Toronto and managed to get in to see her the next day, it had become unbearable. She increased my Levodopa/Carbidopa from 1 every 4 hrs to 1 1/2 every four hours, and if necessary 1during the night if I wake up, along with my usual 12 mgs. of Requip. I was quite concerned about increasing from 4 to 6 a day but I was at the point that I would do anything for some relief. Hope you find something that helps, let us know how you make out.

[stevem53]

Hello Steve Sorry to hear that you are dealing with dystonia. I have dealt with this since before dxs in 2003. Of course it was much less severe then. In the last couple of months it suddenly got worse to the point that it was so painful I couldn't sit for long, I'd have to get up and pace and it wouldn't let go . I tried massage, exercise, Baclofen, hot baths etc. I made a desperate call to my MDS in Toronto and managed to get in to see her the next day, it had become unbearable. She increased my Levodopa/Carbidopa from 1 every 4 hrs to 1 1/2 every four hours, and if necessary 1during the night if I wake up, along with my usual 12 mgs. of Requip. I was quite concerned about increasing from 4 to 6 a day but I was at the point that I would do anything for some relief. Hope you find something that helps, let us know how you make out.

Hi Eve,

I ended up trying something different by accident tonight..Mary suggested that too much Sinamet would cause dystonia..So when I went out tonight it hit my that I forgot to take my meds before I left..(Sinemet CR 50/200)..Actually I was over 2 hours late..So I took a regular Sinemet 25/100 which I had in my truck..No dystonia, or pain in my achilles tendon tonight..So Im gonna change my med schedule for a week or two, and see what happens

[Stitcher]

Hi...you know me...long winded!!

Four weeks and counted without son-contact...bummer!

1910 what a week. I was so sick by Monday I had to visit the doc...1906...mild bronchitis and sinnusitus...ugh!! So, my goal was to return to the land of well by Friday.

Friday my PA daughter and her family and I drove to NYS to my NY daughter's home for early T-Day...normally a four and a half hour drive, but with little people on the trip it becomes a five hour drive...what can you do.

Sounds like a nice dinner...okay! We had 23 people in the house for dinner yesterday...11 of them were under the age of 11 years...yikes! My daughter's mother in law had crafts planned for them to do and gift bags for them to all take home...what a grandmother she can be.

Yep, all the adults survived the day, and my daughter got her wish to have everyone as the "same" table. Actually, four long tables put together in a rectagle. The fun part was when it was time to serve the food, all the respective parents rose and began searching for the right food items to serve the little ones, so we all ended up doing the same...the only food items that got passed were the dinner rolls. No one realized what was happening with the non-passing of the food items until the kids were all served, their meat was cut, etc., until the adults continued to serve food in the fashion...then we said, oh well, this is more fun anyway.

Today we visited the Corning Glass Museum (http://www.cmog.org/). If you have never been there you are missing a awesome place to visit.

Oh yes, and it snowed one inch overnight at my daughter home, which is at 1,000 feet elevation. And it snowed all the way over the Applicachian Moutains and all the way down to Williamsport. PA...then icy/rain to Lewisburg, PA...then rain all the way home...ugh again.

Oh yes, and in true PWP form, I had to meet them one hour into the drive. When I left the museum to drive home I was so exhausted that I should have asked one of them to drive my car home (they has a Saturn, so I can't ride with them...too small), but I didn't...that stubborn streak in me. Just as I should have stopped yesterday when attempted to wash so many dishes before someone asked me the third time. Talk about exhausted. So, I met my PA family one hour into the trip today and my daughter drove my car the rest of the way. I tried to explain to her about not wanting to give up and give in, but she had a few words of advice for me...as you can well imagine!1907

TO ALL THOSE IN THE USA

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

[1909

The History of USA Thanksgiving (The History Channel)
Ever wonder what the pilgrims and their Native American guests really ate at the first feast?
The truth may surprise you. Contrary to popular belief, they didn't sit down to a meal featuring turkey, corn, cranberries, and pumpkin pie
(in fact, they didn't even have forks!).

Travel back to Plymouth and discover some of the humble origins of Thanksgiving traditions we celebrate today and what the original celebration was actually like!

* Home (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1083)
* First Thanksgiving (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=872&display_order=1&mini_id=1083)
* Mayflower Myths (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=874&display_order=2&mini_id=1083)
* Pilgrim's Echo (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=871&display_order=3&mini_id=1083)
* Proclamation (http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=875&display_order=4&mini_id=1083)
* Video: History of Thanksgiving
(http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=50493&display_order=5&mini_id=1083)(sorry you have to indulge the Overstock.com commercial first)

[Todd]

Just a short note to check in and wish everyone (in the US at least) a Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been dealing with fatigue and serious sleep issues but I'm determined to find a solution, so I keep plowing forward...as slowly as that may be! :D

My first semester as a "Professor" is coming to a close. It's been a ton of work, and some students are really challenging my patience, but overall it's been a great experience. Wish I was healthy enough to do this full time. I really have enjoyed it.

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a good week...

I asked God how much time I have left. He said, "Enough to make a difference."

[paula_w]

Hello Steven-
Have you tried to dance? I dance and try to let the movements come from the center of my body, not the feet or the fingers, - the movements ends in the distal part of the body .
Yesterday I had big problems with the , cha-cha cha-, it goes: one, two ,cha-cha -cha; with chachacha, only the stomach and the hips are moving.
After some exercise, the stiffness was softer and I had progress.
Looking in the mirror I had to laugh, strange dancing ,but it was my dance !
Hope you find your own way of moving, music is in our brain, let it out - -.

Vertigo,

We are In sync. I dance all the time - my ipod is like a tranquilizer. i love my latin dancing video and it is quite a work out!

:) paula

[ol'cs]

others like Carolyn may have had a worse week, but ol'cs had his crosses to bear to. I did a dumb thing a week or so ago. I went "Walking" in my favorite quarry and fell badly on a rock pile. I am alll bruised and scraped, but that's no big deal compared to what happened to my side. I thought that i had a ruptured spleen, but was lucky to get an emergency CAT scan to disprove this. The pain doesn't stop and it's sooo hard to be nice when you are in bad pain. I'm sure that you PWP all know what i'm talking about:(.
Then i had the flu shot, and proceded to have a bad reaction to it. If this is what the flu shot brings, I wonder what it's going to feel like this season if a REAL flu epidemic breaks out:eek:
Not as bad as the other two, but right up there on the pain scale was a root canal. I've had a few , but never quite so bad. I shudder just thinking about it.
Wife in usual bad mood, She hates me. At least only two of my kids hate me, the youngest one still manages to give me a smile here and there:), but i'm the guy who feeds him:D. Is too much McDonalds really that bad for you?:D
Carry on crew, and if you are not posting whatsamattafoyou? We miss the names that we know are out there, and think about y'all. cs

[therese]

cs...despite all those nasty things that you've been suffering (including those who HATE you...your wife in her usual bad mood, etc., etc., ), your description of it all really gave me a much-needed laugh! As I read your post, I thought...well, cs seemed to have a lot to be grumpy about...but...he managed to relate what had been going on in his life in a way that not too many grumpy people would be able to do...so, cs...though I know that what you said is NOT really funny, I found it to be very funny the way you managed to describe it. Yes, sure, you're probably thinking...maybe if it were YOU, you wouldn't think it was so funny!!!! Sorry, cs...I'm still laughing!!!
Actually, you should feel very good about that...to have given someone else cause to laugh.

Therese

[ol'cs]

WE have had many a thread about humor being a great thing for us PWP. I guess sometimes it can get pretty serious around here, and we mustn't make light that some people are in a crisis state when they log on, but to be a "good blogger", i think that one should not take themselves all that seriously, and be self-deprecating at times. I am glad that you had a good laugh! You should have seen me growling and shaking my fist at the dentist, when he yanked the nerve out my tooth (i DID warn hm beforehand that I might react this way:D).
WE should always remember the feelings and sensitivities of ALL people who are here, because what is meant to be a joke to some could be offensive to others, no matter if the poster meant no ill feelings in what was said.

[Stitcher]

cs...sorry to hear life continues to challenge you at home.

You are special and so articulate!

Keep on keeping on...that is all we can do...right!

[Curious]

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