Re: Wiped Out

[Guest guest]

Lyndi, Do you have fybro? I don't but my 35 yr. old daughter in Calif. does.

She has had carpal tunnel, radial arm surgery and her first rib removed because

she had no circulation in her arm. They wondered why she had no blood pressure.

Suprise? Your symtoms sound so similar to hers. Hope you are doing better and

just hop in there and go like a bunny. Donna

Lyndi wrote:

Sure wish I could bounce back from stuff like I did when I was younger.

Now, one day of overdoing it has repercussions that go on for days and

days. Today, I've been hobbling around like a hundred year old grannie.

The soles of my feet feel like I've been trying to learn to be a fire

walker and am not a quick learner :-) The rest of me isn't doing much

better.

Ain't chronic pain grand? It so helpful and useful and .......:-)

[Guest guest]

Donna wrote:

> Lyndi, Do you have fybro? I don't but my 35 yr. old daughter in Calif. does.

She has had carpal tunnel, radial arm surgery and her first rib removed because

she had no circulation in her arm. They wondered why she had no blood pressure.

Suprise? Your symtoms sound so similar to hers. Hope you are doing better and

just hop in there and go like a bunny. Donna

Hi Donna and welcome to the group.

I have a regular litany of things that have gone kaflooey with the old bod.

Fibro is one of them. Over the years, I have been in a few different types of

accidents that helped make an early wreck of me. I've had several major

surgeries for everything from a couple of different cancers to a partially

collapsed spine. I'm in my early 50's now and some of my pain have

been with me for as long as I can remember. I wasn't even old enough to go to

school yet when my migraines, asthma, and fibrostitis problems became blatantly

noticeable to all involved. At that time we rejoiced with those diagnoses,

because our biggest worry back then was that it might be polio.

I was a kid when I was diagnosed with arthritis. It was about that time too

that my eyesight started getting worse and I had to be fitted with thick lens

prism glasses. (when I wanted to flirt with a particular boy, I made darned

sure the glasses weren't on my face:-)

Despite all that, I was a bit of a track star throughout my school years and a

figure skating fiend. I also played a lot of team sports. Had to quit hockey

when I was 15 as I could no longer tolerate the " roughing. " I gave up baseball

when I was 16. Soccer was a no-no, because it wore me out way too fast. When

my children were still at home, I made up for not

being able to play, by coaching instead.

Eventually, I had to give up coaching kids sports because my pain levels and

eyesight problems continued to worsen. I ended up in a wheelchair for a while,

because my lower back and legs gave out all at once. I just woke up one morning

and my legs didn't work right, but they sure had some nasty feelings in them.

Between the pain, burning sensations and the inability

to make it from point A to Point B, it was not a pleasant time. The young

neurosurgeons told me I'd have to learn to live with the pain and the chair, but

a remarkably talented elderly ish orthopaedic surgeon, got me up and on my

feet again. He also got rid of the severe sciatic pain in my legs and dropped my

lower back pain from almost unbearable, to something I

can live with.

Last fall I had eye surgery. My distance vision is now remarkably good.

(likely the best it has been in my entire life), When I retook my driving tests,

I passed everything with flying colours -- the eye test, the written test and

the road test. My distance vision is now 20-20. That was a huge bonus! It was

like a whole new world opened up to me.

However, for doing my office paperwork and computer work, I still have to use a

variety of specialized glasses and my Canadian National Institute for the Blind

magnifying lenses. It slows me down considerably with getting my paper work

done. I also have to use the photocopier to enlarge the print in some

documents, so that I can read all of my paper work.

Well, that's a lot longer answer than actually fits the original question you

asked :-) It's the middle of the night here. My pain got me out of bed and I

haven't been able to go back to sleep yet. Heck, in five more hours I get the

neurotomy done, so likely I will sleep away the rest of the day. A few awake

hours in the middle of the night won't matter one way or

the other.

--

Lyndi

[Guest guest]

Lyndi:

You went from thick lenses to 20/20 distance vision? Wow. I am so happy

for you. I am legally blind, according to USA standards and really for all

standards. I have about 5 to 8 maybe degrees of visual field left and my

central vision is down to only a few inches in front of my face. My central

vision is a blurr all around and for the couple of months my left eye has

been darkening out. It is like it is losing vision but what little I have

seems to come back anywhere from a few minutes to a day or so later. I know

that it will be going for good in the not-so-distant future. I have a guide

dog. Lion is my second dog. He is a cross between a black Labrador and a

reddish blonde Golden Retriever. His father, the Golden, is named Fairway

and he lives with the puppy walker who raised Lion and taught him his

earliest education. She did a wonderful job. My first guide was also a

Goldador (Golden/Lab cross) but she was blonde in color and was a short-hair

too like Lion is. The school doesn't particular like us using that term but

it works and those of us with guide dogs know what a Goldador is.

It is so nice to hear when someone has been able to come back from

blindness. I know I will never get that chance but it sure does my heart

good to hear about others. Please don't ever take what must be beautiful

peepers for granted.

I am beyond the magnifiers, the standard ones anyhow. I have a CCTV reader

that still works for me and I can scan many documents into my computer so I

can enlarge them so I can read them or if need be and I have scanned it

properly, I can get a program to read it to me when I have really bad eye

strain from using what little vision I have left too much.

Were you ever told why your vision was so bad? Was there a reason given?

I'm just curious. I have a hereditary eye disease called retinitis

pigmentosa. I have also been told that the lupus also can cause blindness

and the medication I take to slow the lupus down, an anti-malarial drug, can

also be damaging to the retina. In my case it really doesn't matter because

I am and will continue to lose vision anyhow because of the first disease.

My eye doctor told me that the benefits of taking the anti-malarial drug

outweighed the risks of taking it. It is a known fact that my vision will

continue to deteriorate until it is gone but at least it isn't fatal. Lupus

can be and in many cases is fatal or at least the parts of the body it

affects can be fatal.

Again, I am so happy that you regained your sight. That is the one thing I

miss most is driving. If you happen to be out driving on a beautiful spring

or fall day, spring for the flowers and trees that bloom flowers and fall

for the changing of the leaves, please take in an extra look for me. The

last time I saw the leaves changing, where I could actually see them for

myself, was about 10 years ago. Since then, my vision has deteriorated to

the point of not being able to see that far.

Sam

The trouble with making plans for the future, even when you can see the

future, is that fate has a way of intervening and upsetting the best laid

plans of mice and men.

- Burns 1785

It was about that time too that my eyesight started getting worse and I had

to be fitted with thick lens prism glasses. (when I wanted to flirt with a

particular boy, I made darned sure the glasses weren't on my face:-)

Last fall I had eye surgery. My distance vision is now remarkably good.

(likely the best it has been in my entire life), When I retook my driving

tests, I passed everything with flying colours -- the eye test, the written

test and the road test. My distance vision is now 20-20.

[Guest guest]

Hi Lyndi,

My God, I thought I had problems. It's so great you have such a good attitude

and it seems like you have had some great help too.

I will write more later, Have to take a quick run to the store and MV. to hand

in my handicap papers. Be back soon. Donna