Pain, Imbalance, Sciatica, Parkinson's and Cat Scan

        We went to my husband's family reunion in Wisconsin for a few days!
It was really nice but my sciatica bothered me more than usual and usual is an 8- 9 pain  on a good day! There was so much walking and my sciatica was killing me! My husband spent all of his teen years working on his uncle's farm in the summer. His cousins still live there. Dan's mom was from Wisconsin.  On the way to the farm, we stopped at the cemetery where Anne's husband Johnny(Dan's cousin) was buried.  He was buried in a beautiful small cemetery next to an old church.

Bats were in the rafters!!

Lots of fun on the farm!! Adam went for a ride on the ATV and was gone so long!! I wasn't
 worried because he told me that he would take off for long walks when he was a little kid!  After awhile Dan and his cousin went out to find Adam.  The vehicle had stalled and Adam was pushing it back!!

We all had a big picnic in the barn!  There were bats in the rafters of the barn!! I hate bats but don't mind them when they are out in nature! Dan's cousin has two small planes and was planning to give rides to everyone. However, the ground was too wet for him to give rides!
  No one really ever thinks about something as simple as walking can cause so much pain!  My Parkinson's kept me off balance so I think I looked like I was drunk when I walked! I tried to walk upright but I know I was leaning forward.  I kept telling myself to stand up straight but Parkinson's kept me feeling like I was going to fall to the right or to the left.  I took pain meds because the pain from sciatica was overwhelming.  Sometimes walking loosens up my leg but usually it just causes more pain even with pain meds.
      I saw my pain management doc last week and she won't give me another shot until Sept.  I had a few hydrocodone left and took a half tablet everyday but it still wasn't enough.   My speech therapists voice was in my head all week. She told me to keep speaking up with intent and with a loud voice so I tried to do that although my people kept saying "what" to me!! I thought I was loud enough but apparently my perception is also off!!!
  Parkinson's controlled me most of the week. I felt so off balance in the plane we took to Wisconsin.  I am not afraid to fly but I hated the flight because Parkinson's got on the plane with me and just would not stop making me feel off balance!   I wonder if other Parkinson's people feel like that when they fly.  We had a great time. Dan's cousin's wife Anne  planned everything and it was wonderful!!
Jill, Renee, Adam, and Tom

We had a pizza party on Sat and took our "yearly" group
family photo!  We rode to Madison and walked around.  More walking and more pain!  I didn't want anyone to miss out on anything because I  have stupid Parkinson's disease.
      We went to see the stadium at University of Wisconsin and Dan and his  brothers got Wisconsin shirts.  I wanted them to buy shirts for Keith and Tom and Adam but they didn't think they would wear them and Keith confirmed that when we met up and I asked him!!
Dan and his brothers!

    This morning I went for my CAT scan. It is to determine whether or not I have a fracture in one of my back joints. Part of me wants it to be that because then I will know why I have sciatica but most of me doesn't want there to be a fracture!! The only fix /cure is a spinal fusion.  I asked the Cat scan tech if she saw a fracture and she wouldn't tell me. So I hope my doc calls me tomorrow and lets me know.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's Disease

Image
       My Parkinson's symptoms seem to be different almost everyday. Some days I am dog tired and other days I seem to have some energy.  It is difficult to make plans too far in advance because I never know what my Parkinson's will be like on any given day.  My worst Parkinson's symptoms are being off balance and overwhelmingly sleepy!!  I don't know if it is a Parkinson's symptom or  not but I now have such vivid and bizarre dreams! Perhaps it is the liquid medical marijuana that I take at night to help me sleep!! My sciatica,  however, seems to stay the same. It is just pain all of the time unless I take Tylenol or a muscle relaxer. I have spoken to several people who have Parkinson's and many also have sciatica. I asked the doc this morning and he said there is no corelation.   Today I saw a new neurologist at a city hospital.  He diagnosed me with Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's.  He told me that there are two different types of Parkinson's diseas
Read more

Does My Family Really Understand My PD LIMITATIONS??

Image
        I was diagnosed with PD about a year and a half ago but I think I had it for close to a year before that. Once I got on the Carbidopa Leodopa, my life settled back into a "new normal" routine.   My painful Sciatica has always bothered me more than the PD. I don't have tremors, at least not yet. I think that is because I am in the early stages. I have a handicap license plate so I don't have to park as far away from an entrance as I use to have to park.  My husband is always willing to drop me off at the entrance if I don't want to walk as far.  But I try to do the walk so that I stay agile and my muscles don't freeze up too much.   My most noticeable trait is my slow, and shuffling gait.  I can still drive, totally take care of all of my personal needs, go out socially, travel, cook, etc.  I am scared when I have to go up a flight of stairs because I am off balance and I feel like I might fall backwards. I have a death grip on the handrail!  I am not a
Read more

June 2

Image
                June 2 is a very special day in our family.  It was the day that my beloved daughter Amy was born. I was so excited to have a beautiful little girl.  She was my most precious gift and that feeling has never changed.   Amy died at age 18.  After her death, life had no meaning for  us.  We just wen through the motions of living and existing because we still had to finish raising Renee, who was only 13 when Amy died. Dan had told me that friends of his, also bereaved parents, had adopted a little boy from Ukraine. I thought they were absolutely crazy.  Fast forward a few years and that tiny seed grew in my mind. Maybe it was Divine Intervention, I don't know,  but we decided to adopt from Ukraine.  I am so thankful to Ukraine for giving me two of their most precious gifts.  We must have been twice as crazy as his friends because we adopted not once, but TWICE!! We adopted Olivia in March of 2007.  There is so much paperwork to adopt and we had to make several trips
Read more