Is there a MEDIC in the house?
 

Hello,

Does anyone know any exercises etc that can help relieve pain and symptoms radiating from degenerated cervical discs. This is a real pain (no pun intended) I feel especially like my collar bone is in a vice grip (very sore and pressure) and pain and other weird symptoms go all the way down through my shoulders and arms to hands. My left thumb is useless right now and just won't cooperate with my brains demands to "move now, over" (be quiet Marko :p )

I figure some of you :p in here may deal with this and know some things that help (am already on high doses of antiinflammatories for other stuff so I'm thinking along the lines of little exercises or other things that could help ease things)

Feedback appreciated.

Oh, but it sucks to get old in some ways while in other ways its GREAT :D

Karmen

Re: Is there a doctor in the house?
 

.... fine, have it your way..........I won't tell you the sure fire remedy...... :p

Re: Re: Is there a doctor in the house?
 

Cheeky old thing you :p And I wonder what that sure-fire remedy would be that you have :D

Karmen, Go find a book called "What Your Doctor Doesnt Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You" written by Ray D. Strand, M.D. ISBN:1876825294. Be aware that the average doctors life expectancy is shorter than the rest of us. Why is that?

Could it be because they refuse to go to doctors when ailing because they're scared of the cures? :D (just kidding and being silly here :D )

Thanks for the recommendation for the book Lynn, which I will, again, look up. Nutrition makes sense of course, but once physical problems happen I figure physical intervention or things are the likely approach.

Meanwhile, what I need is something a little more immediate and physical to try releive the pressure on the nerves that are causing glitches and problems in other parts of this wee bittie body. Am on a waiting list for physio and occupational therapy, but if there's something I can be doing now that others know about that may help between now and when I finally start the therapies, I need to try anything I can now.
Thanks :)

Karmen

hi

when i'm in real pain i smear ambesol on the sore area...it is for babies gumbs when teething, basically a novacaine gel. it only lasts for a short while, but when it is working, you don't feel a thing. i would apply it with a swab, or cotton ball, because if you use a bare finger, it will go numb as well. i know this sounds like a crock, but it works. best of luck :smoker:
mike

you are probably wondering how i got onto this.....a friend of mine was getting married...so at his stag party he passed out, and one of the boys pulls out this tube of gumb cream and proceeds to wipe it all over his ankles and feet...five minutes later he screams at the passed out groom, who promptly jumps to his feet....and because they were numb, falls down...well, i guess you had to be there :D

Hi Mike, and, Oh oh, that was nasty :D

As far as I'm concerned, anything that can help numb ongoing pain is worth checking out :D ... but when numbness is part of the problem? I figure the numbness and loss of sensory stuff is due to pressure on the nerves at the cervical discs, and it's the pressure I want to relieve ... maybe some exercises or something (along with the anti-inflammatories to alleviate inflammation, of course)?

I'm assuming that physio, once I'm started, will give me exercises etc to help, but until I see them, I haven't a clue what exercises may help. I was hoping others in here who have been through this could advise on what they've done to help. I know cervical disc degeneration and herniations are pretty common. Bummer to learn what these things actually FEEL like and the mischief they can do in other distant parts of the body ... if you have friends who were toilert trained as kids but now need DEPENDS as grown-ups, ya might want to check out the cervical disc condition? :eek: :D

Lordy, lordy, never get old in body, I swear :rolleyes:

Karmen

Pain relief
 

O.K. then Karmen , for quick pain relief go find your self an Amway distibutor, and get some "Magnablocs" they work real well, because they block the pain signal to the brain. They dont cure anything, but they do give you non invasive pain relief.

Re: Pain relief
 

Did you say AMWAY??? :eek: I thought they were cleaning products! :confused: and didn't know they're still in business.

Meanwhile, maybe I can find some little physio exercises listed online that I can try to get the old thumb alive and working again. This is just SO weird ... and annoying when trying to do things that need my thumb to work LIKE ROLLING A CIGARETTE ... ARGH!!! :D

K.

Well ... from checking a lot of different sites online it seems the wise and practical thing for me to do is to shut up about this and wait til my name comes up on the physio's list and LET THEM figure out what I should be doing, as this IS their area of expertize and what's good for someone else may not be good for me :p

So ... you think it's gonna rain? :D

K.

Re: Is there a doctor in the house?
 

Hey Karman. I have pain in both the cervical and lumbar areas of my spine also. I guess 20+ years of playing Rugby and 35+ years of skiing, dirt biking, hunting, and everything else has taken a toll. A neighbour of mine had one of the "Inverter" beds and used it often. I found that anything that took the weight off my spine provided instant relief. Lacking one of the inverter beds, maybe try making a harness of some sort to hold your head, tie it to a bed post or something similar and then slowly slide away until a little tension is relieved from your neck. I'll bet it'll help.

I appreciate your last comment about getting old. Yes, at times it does suck but when I look at the huge handicap the inexperience of youth is, especially of the youth of today, I wouldn't trade life experience for youth...not at all!

Re: Re: Is there a doctor in the house?
 

Hello Sapper-Man ;) Soooo ... I should go hang myself then and that will put me out of my misery for sure? :D

I've been reading about how various kinds of "traction" and cervical collars are often used and before reading that I've been thinking some sort of collar to keep my neck stable might help ... so it sounds like I'm on the right track as to what things might help ;) I also read often how cervical problems can heal/right themselves with time and taking care (unless there's damage right where the nerves all run through the spine) In my case there's encroachment on the nerves which causes all sorts of weird things to happen in limbs and body which can be a little freaky at times :eek:. Don't know if there's permanant damage though. Guess I'll find out soon enough. The longstanding arthritis has certainly had wide-reaching impact ... but, like you, bottom line, I wouldn't trade my life experience for youth either, which in my case I'd only want to have the able-bodied-ness of youth at THIS time of my life ;)

We is what we is, eh?

Karmen :dh:

Whu yes my dear !!
 

His name is Doctor Quackenbush.But he's a vet,not veteran but a veterninarian:
Doctor upon arriving at the river flooded out talking to Chico
"I've got a sick horse on the other side.Guess I'll have to ford the river"!!
Chico:"Why do you have to ford the river?If I were you I'd chevy the river"!!
Badaboom :smoker:
Seriously,I feel for you.I have this throbbing pain from my upper right arm right down to my pinky finger.With all the rain we had here in the east lately,sometimes I can't even raise my arm.I broke my hand twenty years ago playing baseball on the outside just above the pinky finger.What I do is lay on my back on the den couch,stretch my arm out,and lift it up and down.So,stretching,however you do it to ease the pain,does have some effect. :salute:
Stay away from soothers,you may feel better for a while but the pain comes back tenfold. :fry:

Re: Whu yes my dear !!
 

Hi Garry ... lotsa fun, hey? :rolleyes: I often can't raise my arms to even shoulder height, and like you, get VERY deep achey pain in the upper arm (hard to describe but it's awful) Geoff knows the problems I had around the house, as well as how impossible it was for me to sleep because of discomfort and pain. NO position was comfortable ... I've found that my muscles are extremely sensitive to temperature and a little bit "cool" especially damp/humid, can cause a lot of aches and pains, and restrict range of motion A LOT. What often helps is simple, a very hot bath, which warms and soothes/stretches the muscles, and doing little range of motion movements under water. Of course getting out of the bath into cool air it's not long before I'm back to square one again, but it makes you think ... warmth! Keep the house temp warm enough (a drag with utilities costs these days) I think that anything that can strengthen and tone the muscles goes a long way to cutting down on the degrees of pain and range of motion problems. I dream of owning a jacuzzi or a hottub :D Don't they have a water therapy called "hydrotherapy". What a warm and nice way to start to stretch, strengthen and tone muscles. That would be heaven to me :)

Funny how under hot water I can turn my left arm/hand all the way face up palms (had to slowly work on that to get that much more movement though) ... but out of it I can't (which means I can't drive any more ether because of that, but that's not currently a problem as I don't have a CMP :p )

Maybe a little hot water would go a long way for your arm as well ... especially when the weather is aggravating it? Just a thought :D


Oldtimey Whiney Yappy

By the way, thumb still numb, collar bone still majorly sore at the base of my throat. Yukky.

Cervical traction anyone?
 

Here's a few good old cures for that old discs problem :smoker:

http://www.sofmmoo.com/grand-public/.../tractions.htm

Ma Yappy

Hydrotherapy
 

Karmen,
After they took the cast off my hand,using a small rotating cutter,I passed out right there in the chair at the hospital.So I went to hydro twice a week for a year.By the way.my friend Harry the Mohawk has had cronic back problems for years(I think one of his discs.The therapist had a device where he would hang Harry from a door,literally !! I always tell Harry,"What if I walked in the therapist's office and slammed the door?Would that help??"Another time they injected a colored dye into his spine in order to X-ray .I drove him home with Harry laying face down on the back seat of my car.I was told to make his trip home VERY smooth.Did't I hit every pothole in Montreal ??
At least I still have my scalp. :salute:
Gotta go now.Playing at a funeral parlor with me piper at 8:00 PM

Back pain
 

An elderley Woman I used to work with suffered from pain in back, kneck & sholders. Within 12 months of starting a new diet her health improved dramaticaly. She ate at least one serving of fish per day sometimes two or three but importantly she ate the bones!
So by all means give it a try but don't choke.
She used to put the lot through a blender

Re: Back pain
 

Ah, you bring to mind memories that kind of stick in the throat for me (pun intended :D ) My Mom used to make a sort of fish soup, Boiled Sunfish, onions, potatoes, etc, and I swear EVERY time I had it, I got a bone stuck in my throat! :eek: I think she was trying to kill me :D

So, SO FAR, Marko is being awfully quiet about what his surefire remedy for me is, but you other guys have me hanging and choking to cure me. Nice guys :p

I hear that certain fish oil is excellent for joints ... fish is also very tastey, but I'm sorry, no bones for this kid.

Re: Hydrotherapy
 

I'm glad Mohawk Harry let you keep your scalp and your ability to perform at these important ceremonies. Knowing it's done by someoine who understands the full signifigance of everything adds a lot more to them. A wonderful sendoff :salute:

Karmen.

:smoker: Physio finally called and I've an appointment for D-Day (afternoon June 6th :D )

I don't yet know if the community is having any D-Day Anniversary ceremonies that day but am trying to find out. If so, hopefully I'll be able to go and will take some photos that I can post in MLU.

Karmen

Hi.

I just want to say, again, thank you to all of you who helped with ideas on how to deal with some of my "problems" ;)

Finally started physio twice a week and its helping some. One works on my neck/shoulders/hands and another will be starting my feet next session. There are no quick fixes, or even fixes at all for some things, by now. Unfortunately 2nd-ary osteoarthritis is widespread now as well, including in the cervical spine, hence the cervical problems (a result of the longstanding rheumatoid arthritis which also happens to be flaring extra now causing more "new" joints to go) Physio tells me my central nervous system is totally whacked/shot (spinal cord impacts) which explains all sorts of weird things that have been happening ... including my thumb going weird. Its still numb and only partial movement. I may recover some movement. May not. It sure gets in the way but thank goodness its my left hand and am right handed :rolleyes: Wrists quite fused from the arthritis, and ankles going the same way. The ankles make for interesting outings ... People look at me weird when they see me walking (gait problems) until they get close enough to me to realize I'm not totally drunk or stoned. Most people are great ... the worst is when crossing a street and an impatient driver gets peed off at me for my "slowness" ... they'll sometimes even rev their motors in angry ways ... sure wish I had some frying pans to toss at them types because I'd get them right in the noggin!!!!!!!! :eek:

Oh well, and what the hell, I think :teach: the cure can only be to reformat my brain and start a whole new programming ... or just shoot me :D

Meanwhile ... isn't today the first day of SUMMER???

Oh, I wasn't able to get out into the community to search for any D-Day anniversary events as that was the day I started physio sessions and I couldn't handle another outing after that.

:cheers:

Unhappy Yappy

Just a little note here about my left thumb and my right baby finger, when both abruptly went disobedient, wonky, and weird, on me. Those digits have NOT recovered yet, after all this time, and OT lady today is convinced by now that the problem IS ruptured tendons after all. Only surgery can fix that apparently. Charming.

I really did enjoy the physio hot pool today though. Splish splash havin' a gas :D

Ma Yappy.