I am still passing for a blonde....but not long at this rate.

I am having a tendon transfer...it involves using a 'useless' tendon from the arm as a piece of cartilage, for a bone they are removing from the base of the thumb...some chiseling here and there and a pin, maybe a carpal tunnel release, not sure yet.... 4 weeks of cast, 4 weeks of splint......tada...new hand....so they say. Oh, I hear it is quite painful for a week...ya think??

I am endeavoring to prep for this by eating all kinds of exotic ice cream....and sitting.

Ohhh, sounds like a lot going on with that surgery. Poor Cyclelops... Like you don't have enough pain already! Let people fawn over you, put a damp rag on your head... and yes, exotic ice cream and good movies to watch are a must!

Mere

Sorry everyone's feeling so grey...guess I am too. Thought the latest med I'm trying (amitriptyline) was actually helping because I had a few good days in a row, but the pain is back with a vengance today.

And FTB, I'm so sorry about the effect this has had on your family. But I know exactly what you mean about wishing that some people could feel what you feel, just for a little while.

Grey is the color of the season... I'm sorry you are feeling so poorly Joan. My view is that all the meds, careful living and doctors only keep the illness at bay, but it always returns, nonetheless... I guess it has to be enough just to have a few days of relief. Stinks, doesn't it...

Mere

Well Mere, I did realize a good thing: while assessing my recent pain level, I noticed that it hasn't gotten worse for quite a while...and considering how rapidly my PN started and escalated, maybe that's important. And my balance has acutally gotten better...I haven't veered off to the right and crashed into a wall in a very long time. So no more whining from me.

For today.

OK, for this afternoon.

Thank goodness for these small, though not insignificant improvements we see from time to time. Not veering off and crashing into the wall is a good thing!

Mere

When I get up at night and go to the bathroom, my room mate (also ex-husband) says it always sounds like I'm drunk! Banging into doors and walls. He works swing shift and comes home around 1:00am. That's about the time I make my first trip to the potty. He said he used to leave the hall light on because he thought I was having trouble seeing in the dark. Then he realized it wasn't that I could't see, it was just that I couldn't walk!

I'm a little better during the day, I try to stay closer to the walls and doors so I can keep my hand or elbow against them for balance.

It does seem like the right side is the one I always "tip" towards!

This is a very good color for PN.... Gray is the spelling I like best!

My trip to the bathroom sounds pretty much like yours....except now, I have to dismount my bed....so far, it is going OK.

I endeavor to try to keep the floor uncluttered, but, that seems like a lost cause lately.

I bounce of the walls in the middle-of-the-night trips to the W.C., too.
Seems to be worst upon immediate awakening and rising from the bed.
Mornings are about the same, takes a few minutes to 'get my bearings' & balance.

I wonder what the mechanism is behind that....it is so annoying. I know if I just waited to get stable, I would decrease my chances of falling, but I want to go pee and go back to sleep before I wake up too much and then not be able to sleep.