Physical Therapy Continues
I am shocked at how weak my right side has become. And a little scared, too, as I can see that I’m going to be in need of care giving a lot sooner than I had imagined, if I cannot regain at least a reasonable amount of my muscle strength. The PT has been very kind this week, and has allowed me to take the time to do the leg exercises on both sides, even though the “prescription” from the doctor only addresses the right knee. Actually, I don’t really think the knee is the problem, only the result. The real problem, which is definitely the case on both sides, but more so on the right, is that my hip muscles are extremely compromised. That’s causing the unnatural gait and putting the extra strain on the knee. The right one just complained more because of the stress shifting Daddy in the bed caused.
My shoulder is definitely improving, so that’s something to be pleased with, anyway. She didn’t even work on it yesterday, except for the electrical stimulation and moist heat therapy at the end of the session. I spent two hours there yesterday, just working on my legs and hips. Plus, we walked yesterday morning, and I did 3/4 of a mile, with the cane.
She wants me to cut back on the walking every few days to one or two laps to give my muscles a chance to recuperate, so I’ll just sit and watch DH finish his laps on those days. She tells me that the Peripheral Neuropathy causes my muscles to fatigue faster than normal and bounce back more slowly, so I have to be careful to not overdo each set of exercises and rest longer between them than other people would need to.
We chatted while I worked, and it seems that she has another patient right now with idiopathic PN, too. Idiopathic just means the doctors don’t know what’s causing it, which is true for me, too. Anyway, I gave her the address for this blog to pass along to her, and I hope she does stop by. I know it helps me to chat with people with similar problems, and it’s very hard to find much on the Internet about Peripheral Neuropathy that’s not caused by diabetes.
My hip sockets and upper thighs ached the rest of the day yesterday, so I ended up taking a Lortab to get to sleep last night. I do feel better this morning, though, and we won’t go to the track today, since it’s our Date Day. That will help my muscles rest and rebuild. She wants to see me two times next week, again to allow more time for the muscles to rest before the therapy sessions. Of course, I have my list of home exercises to continue, so I’ll still be getting therapy.
Oh, another thing I did yesterday was to stop and buy new bottles of my Centrum Silver and vitamin C+D. I found out at the eye doctor’s office the other day that not everyone can dissolve the wax that’s used to turn medicines into pills. That means some people pass the pills straight through their body without even getting any benefit at all. I had heard that before, that sometimes when septic tanks are cleaned out they are full of pills! So,to get maximum benefit, he told me to change to capsules or gels. Centrum doesn’t seem to come that way, so I got the chewable ones instead, and I found the C+D in gells. She also said I was not taking enough of the C for my Osteopenia (loss of bone mass that is not as bad as Osteoporosis), so now I’ll be taking those twice a day. She warned me not to try to just take one huge dose, though. She says the body can’t absorb more than about 500 units at a time.
Sorry to sound so depressing today, but this has really slammed home to me how much function I’ve already lost, with no way of knowing if I can regain it. I can only do my best to follow the PT’s directions and hope for the best.
Rosemary, while you are down today I think you have every right to feel the loss. I hope writing about it helps. It always helps me with whatever problem I’m having. I have no idea what you are facing, but it isn’t depressing to read about and I think you will help others understand because of your attitude which I have to say is a whole lot better than mine would be.
Hope the Date Day is fun.
I’m with Sheila…I am constantly in awe of how you deal with PN and Parkinson’s and how you educate me about the medications, symptoms and just good knowledge that you have gained. I would be whining, which is never the case with you!
Your ability to accept shines through your posts, even when you feel down. Have a Happy Date Day!
We did have a great Date Day, Shelia and Marion. We didn’t buy much, but we had fun and got to poke around in a really interesting house that had been shut up just as the owners left it several years ago. That was creepy, but neat, too, as they were obviously very creative and interesting people. I would have loved to have known the story behind why the house was just abandoned like that, but my guess is that it was stuck in Probate.
I’m glad I don’t sound as dreary to you as I do to me. It does help to get the feelings down on “paper”, plus I like to share what I’ve learned.
Sorry to hear about the physical problems you are having at the moment but glad to see that you always have such a positive attitude.
Thanks. You are right about echinacia. The general feeling is that it is bad for MS due to it boosting the immune system which is not good for MS. I have added a warning to my posting on my blog.
I’m always careful to tell the doctors which vitamins I’m taking, but I never thought to mention the teas I was drinking. Thanks for checking on this for me, Jackie.