Greetings All,We left home in early May to travel around Australia for 6 months. Unfortunately when we got to Wallaroo in SA. 2 things happened. 1 was the big storms that hit and took all the power out in SA,we were lucky in that the power came back on during the night,but the cyclonic winds continued for 2 days, this necessitated us lowering the top of the van. 2 the continual sitting and stooping in the van brought on a sciatica attack. Walking and driving was a problem,but we made it to a chiropractor in Moonta who sort of eased it a little (eased the pinched nerve) but couldn't reduce the inflammation. After three visits had to give up and get some strong pain killers. Local Dr in Wallaroo prescribed Endone. No effect on the pain,so I didn't use it again, so once the roads opened up we headed for home. It took 4 nights or 5days to get from Adelaide to Melbourne due to my inability to drive for any length of time. Home on Sunday,Dr & Xray on Monday, Physio on Tuesday, Codiene based tabs. I have had some mild relief but it looks like an MRI is required to find out why the pain isn't reducing. I have great sympathy for Pipes in relation to the pain he is suffering, it aint good. Hopefully further investigation will pinpoint the problem and the walking stick will be relegated to the back of the cupboard.
Greetings All,We left home in early May to travel around Australia for 6 months. Unfortunately when we got to Wallaroo in SA. 2 things happened. 1 was the big storms that hit and took all the power out in SA,we were lucky in that the power came back on during the night,but the cyclonic winds continued for 2 days, this necessitated us lowering the top of the van. 2 the continual sitting and stooping in the van brought on a sciatica attack. Walking and driving was a problem,but we made it to a chiropractor in Moonta who sort of eased it a little (eased the pinched nerve) but couldn't reduce the inflammation. After three visits had to give up and get some strong pain killers. Local Dr in Wallaroo prescribed Endone. No effect on the pain,so I didn't use it again, so once the roads opened up we headed for home. It took 4 nights or 5days to get from Adelaide to Melbourne due to my inability to drive for any length of time. Home on Sunday,Dr & Xray on Monday, Physio on Tuesday, Codiene based tabs. I have had some mild relief but it looks like an MRI is required to find out why the pain isn't reducing. I have great sympathy for Pipes in relation to the pain he is suffering, it aint good. Hopefully further investigation will pinpoint the problem and the walking stick will be relegated to the back of the cupboard.
Rant over (blame it on pain)
Peterpan
A little over 5 years ago Eril had two replacement knees fitted. Several months later she developed sciatic pain down one side. Eventually they decided to have a look after scans etc. When surgeon got in there he dicovered a cyst which he removed and said that would accound for the pressure on Eril's sciatic nerve.
Fast forward 5 years and sciatic pain on the opposite side. GP suggested different sitting position and more solid seating. We made a trip to Sydney that was important to Eril and had to stop often for her to walk and strech some. After came home they tried accupunture. Still no improvement so GP says after 3 months it should have improved considerably. He organised a MRI which showed a cyst on the other side from the previous one!!!! A few weeks ago she was operated on again by Damian Tange in Melbourne and has made a full recovery. Apart from when Eril had gallstones 40 years ago, I have never seen her in such pain!!
Aussie Paul.
-- Edited by aussie_paul on Sunday 23rd of October 2016 02:33:46 PM
-- Edited by aussie_paul on Sunday 23rd of October 2016 02:35:19 PM
I was sure that I had a fairly high pain tolerance, now I'm not so sure, as this pain aint nice at all. Today I'm off to have an MRI to try and find out whats what. Hopefully all will be well and the results will be good. It's not until something like this happens that you realise what other people go through with very little sympathy from others. Some say "Oh you've got sciatica, hope you get over it quickly". Others say "Oh you've got sciatica,that's not nice at all,are you coping with the pain?"
I'm glad that Eril was able to be repaired,(I was going to say fixed,but that could have been misconstrued.)
I've been living with sciatica for 35 years. It began when I was running 100km/week in training for running marathons. I ran for an athletic club in the Victorian X-country & marathon championships for quite a few years. The severity of it varies a lot from severe to mild. It sometimes affects my left leg & sometimes my right but it all comes from the lower back. It's a nerve pain down my leg into my foot & results in numb tingling toes. I walk briskly for an hour every morning which definitely helps keep it under control. The worst thing to do is sit for long periods of time as I then ''cease up'' completely. I've learnt to live with it. My daughter is an Osteopath & lectures anatomy at a university, she says that there is no magic cure & what I'm doing is good. We both walk briskly for an hour every morning, it's good to at our age & helps keep us fit, active & the correct weight.
__________________
Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
Trip Reports posted on feathersandphotos.com.au Go to Forums then Trip Reports.
Yes, we have both done walking everyday for years. We think that being stuck in 150k winds in SA and having the pop top down and sitting for 2 days with only quick trips to the ammenities may have caused the flare up. It appears that the S1 nerve root is being aggravated and become inflamed. Drs visit tomorrow for an update on what more can be done.
I have a Saunders Lumbar Stretching machine. It is a device which looks like a suitcase about 650 mm square. Open it up and it is in 2 halves - part A and part B. There are straps on each half and you lay on the floor and strap yourself in. There are 2 pneumatic cylinders - one each side. There is a small bicycle pump and you lay there and pump away. Part A stays still and part B is pushed away. It is a sort of medieval torture rack except that you have total control over it and it doesn't hurt. A gauge is calibrated in pounds force. You are supposed to pump up to a certain point, hold it there for a few minutes, let it go, and repeat the cycle about 10 times. My problem is that when I actually get into the device and pump it up, I drop off to sleep almost immediately and don't wake up till nearly an hour later. The local Physio lady put me onto this device. It works for me.
I rarely use it these days. I have found that taking Glucosamine and Chondritin capsules each day keeps my sciatica at bay most of the time. I did go to Canberra to a specialist who injected stuff into my back (I have 4 lower joints badly affected and he couldn't tell which one was causing the pains). That worked for a while but it eventually came back. Finally he offered to insert an electronic device which blocks the pain signal higher up my back. Apart from the cost (which frankly I don't care about - just fix the pain), I didn't feel happy with someone inserting things like that into my spine, so I went onto double doses of Glucosamine & Chondritin and that seems to have scared the pain away for now.
Something more to think about, Dr. referred me to a neurologist to get his opinion. It's like a bloomin' merrygo round. She obviously didn't like the Physio's suggestion, so off to someone else.Another week of waiting and pain. When asked how to get relief was told," Here's a letter, when it gets too bad go to this major hospital casualty department and their neuro people will be able to help." Not happy Jan!!!
Try doing some stretching like touching your toes in repetitions of 100 without over-stretching this helps with flexibility. Some types of sciatica are caused by a muscle imbalance. Too strong a back vs too soft a stomach muscles. Basically you're bent like a backward facing banana. Sit-ups will help tighten the stomach muscles. Walking at a fast pace for an hour every day will help enormously. Give the pain killers & doctors the flick & manage/monitor your own health. That's what has worked for me over the past 35 years of dealing with sciatic pain.
__________________
Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
Trip Reports posted on feathersandphotos.com.au Go to Forums then Trip Reports.
Yes,have been doing the stretching exercises, and the walking. We have always walked a lot every day anyway.
Neurosurgeon inspected me and said that a tiny chip had come off the disk and was rubbing on some nerves.He also said an operation was not on as it would become to complicated and would require screwing things back into place. So I'm on cortisone tablets for 10 days and so far they are giving relief so that I can walk fairly freely without too much pain,which is good. Stretching exercises have helped as 1 nerve is impacting on the foot and toes causing drop foot ( only small amount of drop though.) Good thing is I am improving and that horrible pain has diminished to a great degree. SWMBO is having a tumour removed in the near future from her upper leg. Biopsy has been done, has yet to be identified as to type and they believe it is benign. So once the report comes in we'll know what it is and when it will be removed. This last part of the year has not been our finest but we will return to our travels as soon as we possibly can.
I've had a course of cortizone tablets followed up with a spinal nerve block,(fancy name for an epidural.) I am now improving daily.
I am not the major concern Mrs Peterpan has been diagnosed with non Hodgkin lymphoma, in the top of the right leg. We see the oncologist on Wednesday to find out what he intends to do with it. Apparently it is low grade and that has a number of avenues to follow.
1. Watch and wait with monitoring.
2. Radiation treatment.
3.Chemotherapy.
It's a bit of a worry as we are in limbo at present. My ailments are insignificant at this time. She is my prime concern now.
SWMBO has seen the Oncologist and has been given a favourable prognosis,and it has a name,we called it Bob but it is actually a Fellicular Lymphoma low grade. She has to have blood tests (done) and a pet scan to see if it is there by itself. If it is then Radio Therapy is the go. The Oncologist says it will probably remove the lump. Great relief for both of us.
Pet scan on Monday, Oncologist on Thursday for the report and assessment. Then the wait to get into the Hospital. Then it's all systems go from there on.
SWMBO Has had a Pet scan and a review by the Oncologist, it wasn't quite the result that we wanted. The Pet scan showed that the lymphoma has moved to other spots,so radiation treatment is off the plan and Chemotherapy is on, and she starts treatment on Thursday 22nd December, and will have possibly 6 - 8 treatments. We are feeling quite positive that all will be well. The staff at the Oncology dept. are really friendly and supportive,so that's great.
My best wishes go out to you. Hope the treatment is a success & the side effects are minimal. Not a good way to spend the Christmas period but hopefully Santa will include some magic dust in one of your pressies. Regards from Alice
Oncologist has advised that there should be no hair loss or nausea. Hil said if I lose it will it come back red and curly. ( note, she is grey.) He looked at her and asked why, she said her mum, her sister, grandmother and ggrandmother, all had red curly hair. She was hoping to change from her current colour. He said unfortunately it didn't work that way,but liked her way of thinking. Gotta have a sense of humour.
A few weeks ago she was operated on again by Damian Tange in Melbourne and has made a full recovery. Apart from when Eril had gallstones 40 years ago, I have never seen her in such pain!!
