Joan Bondira
Forum Replies Created
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Sorry that you have the same, Debi. And yeah, we are left to find a lot of our own solutions, aren’t we? Anything touching my feet causes pain, so as I write this, I’m sitting barefoot, with my legs propped up on a footstool with soft foam cushioning on top and a mini-fan gently blowing on them.
BTW, all of this is going on under my desk at work in an IT office. (It’s on the down-low, so don’t tell anyone–I’m just a contractor here, and they might kick me out for being a freak!)
Next week, I’ll tell you how bed time works, unless that’s TMI.
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Hi Debi, I have the type of pain most commonly associated with diabetes (I am not diabetic)–the old burning and stabbing in my feet. I’m on several meds for it, and those make it sort of tolerable. But it’s still by far my most debilitating MS symptom. Sometimes a soak in cool water soothes it a bit, but that’s not a practical solution for when you’re at work or trying to sleep, is it?
It’s a problem that needs some better answers, that’s for sure, especially now that the opioid epidemic has made getting adequate pain medication pretty awful.
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Yes, but only if the kindness is given as it s own reward; it can’t be transactional, as in “I’ll be nice to you so you’ll be nice to me.”
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Debi, most people need to get retreated about every six months. That’s not so bad, hunh? And the experience wasn’t that bad, either. I’ll describe it if anyone wants to know, but otherwise will leave it to your imagination.
LOL, Jiljeen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help with frown lines. Would it help to know that I’ve been smiling a lot more since I don’t have to worry about accidents and don’t have a scratchy pad riding up my butt? Seems like a good deal to me!
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I’m so glad this has come up! I really, really wanted to talk about this with someone who would understand. I’ve been dealing with this for several years and have gone through multiple medications that worked at first, and then didn’t. I finally found that I’d pretty much been through them all, and was shocked to find, when copays kicked in for the new year, that I had a copay of $300+ for a 90 day Rx of Enablex, my current medication that doesn’t work–having to wear pads anyway.
Time to try another solution! So now I’m a week into my first Botox treatment, and it’s already amazing. Not just that I have complete control back, but that I don’t have to hurry to the bathroom at least once an hour at work. I can finally concentrate, and you know, get work done! And I have been going around with no pads since Saturday with zero accidents.
I’m wondering if anyone else has had this treatment and wants to compare notes, or is curious about it. I’d be happy to answer any questions and to update on how it’s going. (Or not…see what I did there?)
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Hi Janelle, so sorry that I somehow missed your post before. I don’t know for sure because I’m not on Medicare yet, but I believe that most insurers get a lot of their rules for stuff like this from CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid) because it’s easier to copy and paste (and then make up their own ideas about what it means). So what I’m trying to say is that if my insurer paid for it, then there’s a good chance that Medicare would pay for it as well. Hope you can get this, or whatever is best for you to get out and about!
Maybe someone who is better informed will come along to give you a better answer…
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Hi Jilleen. Maybe you should give it more thought if you’re feeling housebound, I mean, if you’re unhappy about it. There’s nothing wrong with being a homebody. But I was really unhappy and tired of not going to the farmers’ market, museums, concerts, protests, and all the other stuff I used to enjoy.
So one day I decided to get over the wheelchair aversion that most of us have, and said “Let’s roll!” It doesn’t mean I’m not going to walk a little, especially in my house, which is not really accessible anyway. But now I can go almost anywhere I want. That chair doesn’t make me more disabled, it puts me back in the game!
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Hi John – It’s a Quickie Q7. Don’t know if we’re allowed to post links here, but I found one site that gives the specs up front, so here goes:Â Â https://www.1800wheelchair.com/product/quickie-q7-adjustable-ultralight-wheelchair/
If the link didn’t go through, just Google “Q7 wheelchair” and look for the 1800wheelchair site. You probably want to know what the weight is, so the next generation aluminum is about 14lbs. I think my older one is a little heavier, but not by much.
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I can walk a little bit with two canes or a rollator, and I do. But if I want to get through a store all in one day, I use an ultra lightweight wheelchair with a small, detachable assist motor (12.5 lbs). I love this combination because I can get the chair in my little Fiat 500 by myself, and it gets me up steep hills (I live in Pittsburgh, PA), which I would never be able to climb with arm power alone.
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Yes, I have had two. I didn’t think either was too bad. I know it sounds horrible, and you think “you want to do what to my what?!?” but if anyone reading this is facing one, you will get through it, honest. If you’ve ever had anything like an injection in your hip or knee or neck, it’s not really much worse. And like Jilleen said, if you’re really scared, some medication to calm you could help.