Re: Some Answers and Info

[Guest guest]

Glad your living more.

The external cathator changed my life to the better also. As I became

furthur disabled

i realize it is no longer a luxery. It is an absolute necessity, and not the

least bit a burde.

Joe

[Guest guest]

Hi . I'm new to this group, but I am so glad you finally responded. Daily

there have been inquiries about you. To the point that I started to worry.

Actually my office partner worried too. I'm just figuring out what a close knit

bunch of people this PLS group is. I can't say that I'm glad to be a part of

it, but if I have to be a part of it, I'm glad it's such a friendly bunch. HAVE

A WONDERFUL DAY AND ENJOY YOUR FAMILY. I too have quit doing things because I

thought I would be a burden on my family. You've given me a lot to think about.

See ya, Jeanne Ann

>>> Covington 07/05 11:49 PM >>>

Hi All,

I have been fighting flu for a week now and only had the energy to lurk

and not reply but thought I had better reply to 's email, so while

I am at it I will catch up on a few other things I have been waiting to

do when I had more energy. My flu abated somewhat about three days ago

and I thought by now I'd be 100% but it just plateaued at that point and

is still hanging around. The last few nights my coughing has been so

bad that my wife has slept in the study!

,

Thanks for your concern. 8-)

One thing my period of depression did was make my wife and I talk much

more than we have for ages (very hard when your speech is as poor as

mine 8-) ) and we both realised that each of us were making assumptions

about the reasons the other was doing certain things. In my case I was

often not joining in activities Jacqui and the kids were doing as I

thought me not going made it easier for them but of course all I was

doing was isolating myself from them which is why I ended up having so

much time to spend on the computer.

In the last few weeks I have tried to spend as much time with my family

as possible eg. going to films with them, watching the kids riding

lessons, going to Pony Club and a horse competition etc. and have made a

conscious effort not to just keep 'running' to the computer. Therefore

I have made a shift to isolate myself more from the computer and less

from my family so with that decision and my flu I have only rarely been

logging on. Harking back to earlier topics one thing which has really

helped has been finding out about and acquiring condom catheters to

negate the dual problems of urinary urgency and decreased mobility which

previously made even the thought of going some places a nightmare.

Dave,

Yep, the World Cup of Cricket win by the Aussies and the manner in which

it was done certainly helped make me feel better. Aussie rules football

must be very confusing to watch for the uninitiated but of course we

think it's a great game. Very tough and fast and surprisingly even

though it looks pretty dangerous serious injuries are rare. There is

occasional concussion but most injuries are typical for a ball game eg.

knees, hamstrings etc.. The main feature which probably sets Aussie

rules apart from other ball games is the marking (catching) which can be

spectacular - guys occasionally jumping so high to catch the ball that

they are virtually standing on their opponent's shoulders to catch a

kick from 60 yards away. Fantastic to see!! I'm not biased of

course........

I am still taking Creatine and it or something is certainly helping. I

do the following exercise only very rarely and only when I am feeling

very good so I am not claiming it is very scientific. As a measure of

my walking ability I occasionally time how long it takes me to walk

(with my frame) twice up and back our hallway. In Nov 97 it took me

1min 20 secs, in Feb 98 it was 1min 15 secs and I know about six months

ago I did it in 1min 10 secs though can't find that entry in my diary.

Such measurements are the reason why I say that I believe all the

antioxidants I am taking are having a positive effect.

About a week and a half ago (before the flu) after I had been on

Creatine for about two months I was feeling really good so tried again

(twice for confirmation). First time, 1 min dead, second time 59

secs!! Something's making a difference - wish my speech would improve

though!!

To All: Amazing New Wheelchair!

I got this from another list I am on and thought some of you would find

it very interesting. To view the video on the site given it seems you

need the latest version of Windows Media Player (with plug-ins). Even

though I already had Media Player the site seened to recognise that it

was not a recent enough version and automatically took me to Microsoft

to download the latest version. The video is worth watching. 8-)

Go to http://www.msnbc.com/news/285231.asp

There is also more info at http://www.indetech.com/index.html

Cheers,

PS There are still a few people I have to catch up with when my flu

finally decides to disappear. I promise...... 8-)

J Lawrence wrote:

>

>

>

> If from Australia is out there, please don't isolate yourself. There

> are a lot of people out here who care about you and miss you. If you're

> reading this, please drop a note. If you want to communicate privately,

> that's ok too. Just contact us or me please. Love EMily

>

> ---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Its good to hear from you . It's hard sometimes to " get away " from the

computer. But quality time with your family can NEVER be replaced. Sorry to

hear you're not feeling well. Tom and I have both been trying to fight off a

bug too. I never get sick, but I haven't felt like myself since getting the

sniffles last week. Maybe lots of rest is what we all need, just finding the

time is not easy, right!

Take care-

Tom and Trish

[Guest guest]

G'day Jeanne,

Welcome to the group - as you say the joining requirements are not what

most people would like to have to have but it's a great bunch of people.

Glad my recent experiences can possibly be of help! They were pretty

terrible so some good needs to come from them. 8-)

Jeanne Ann Neff wrote:

>

>

>

> Hi . I'm new to this group, but I am so glad you finally responded.

Daily there have been inquiries about you. To the point that I started to

worry. Actually my office partner worried too. I'm just figuring out what a

close knit bunch of people this PLS group is. I can't say that I'm glad to be a

part of it, but if I have to be a part of it, I'm glad it's such a friendly

bunch. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY AND ENJOY YOUR FAMILY. I too have quit doing

things because I thought I would be a bur

>

--

,-._|\ Covington

/ Oz \

\_,--.x/

v

[Guest guest]

/Joe

On the subject of 'urgency' - do you not take Oxybutynin?

Barbara

[Guest guest]

Answer from Joe I take no medicine Barb; I don't have any problems worrying

about P

Imagine the effort without-I can't stand, I can't get up , I can't get into

my own pants. I laugh. excuse me but can you imagine trying to go needing

total assistance. Been there done that! Graciously and appreciatively I

accept your suggestion for medecine,jovially . I say WHY what at my stage

what could it change?

No question is dumb except the ones that are never asked. Thanks for asking.

I think I could give you 8 progressions (at least) that I've gone thru

regarding P, but I don't think you want to or need to hear the details. I can

say I've just gone with flow or rode the waves and survived by doing what

you've had to do when you had to do it. I consider myself very adaptive,

creative and intelligent and I'm proud of the way I've accepted my

limitations and adapted and will continue to do. I'm happy with the every

challenge I face as time passes by. By my attitude I hope I can inspire just

one PLS friend minimum to cope and I dream by my example I can help many.

This gives me a purpose in life.

[sincerely Joe Alberstadt (done that-been there:)

[Guest guest]

For anybody that wants to know about Oxybutynin,

you can read about it at the following site:

http://www.healthgate.com/drugs/drug317.shtml

Best wishes,

Barbara Keenan wrote:

>

>

>

> /Joe

>

> On the subject of 'urgency' - do you not take Oxybutynin?

>

> Barbara

>

> ---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Barbara:

Probably as I am trying to steer away from non-natural drugs and also

because previously I had drifted into the habit of staying home by

myself rather than going out, I had not really pursued this type of

avenue. Two or three months ago I started investigating condom

catheters and at that time a few people mentioned things like Oxybutymin

and when I checked them out they seemed to have potentially quite a few

side effects. After having tried condom catheters I decided that was

the way to go for me as I could not see drugs totally removing my panic

at the thought of being caught short in a film or something.

However, since then I must admit that the anti-depressant I am using

does work quite well for urinary urgency, though I still wouldn't like

to have to rely on it and feel much more comfortable going out to places

where getting to a toilet in a hurry may be a problem if I have on a

catheter. (Mind you, as I am reluctant to use 'drugs' I didn't get the

anti-depressants for a fortnight or so after I really should have which

was a bit silly.)

If anyone is interested the anti-depressant has a brand name of

Prothiaden (25mg) and its active ingredient is Dothiepin. As I have

mentioned previously, not only is it helping with my depression it is

also helping me sleep much better (but no drugged feeling at all) and

helps with the urinary urgency.

Tom, Trish, (hopefully I didn't miss anyone):

Thanks for your thoughts. 8-) , you'd better stop taking the

Creatine or you'll have to join the Pro Tour soon at that rate of

improvement! 8-)

Cheers,

Barbara Keenan wrote:

>

>

>

> /Joe

>

> On the subject of 'urgency' - do you not take Oxybutynin?

>

> Barbara

>

> ---------------------------