HI Mel!
That's great that you two get to take a morning a week to spend together and have time for yourselves! I think that's wonderful!! Mike and I try to spend as much time together as we can. We both work school hrs and usually have weekends free so we do things together. We enjoy that.

It must be very difficult not to have a/c with the heat wave going across the US right now.

Gosh that must have been awful for the lady who saw her family die! I can't even imagine! My heart goes out to her and others who go through such horrible things.

I wish I could go back to work. As a matter of fact, once we get Alan's foot cleared up, then I might see about getting some part time job. I still have my skills, I can type 145 words a minute (but who on earth wants to do that, you get carpal tunnel from that), and I know how to use a computer and I do have certain language skills.

But we have to get Alan healthy and doing more stuff, then I can do what I have to do.

But it is indeed nice to get to Dunkin Donuts. And we do this several times a week. It's nice and cool.

Oh, the weather today is absolutely nuts. Yesterday, it was like 100 and today you needed a jacket. The weatherman says we are getting another storm.

Today, when I opened up my Daily News newspaper, there was a photo of a pregnant woman riding in a kayak to get to the hospital. And this was on her street in Queens. Let me tell you, there is no river in Queens.

Yesterday, there was a river and people in kayaks in Queens. Never saw such a thing in all my life.

We had a tornado in Brooklyn and the houses were crushed and 20 cars were crushed.

Good Lord. and they say tonight again. Oh brother!!!!

mel

I understand the 3 "H"'s
 

Hot, Humid & Horrible! We've that here...I'm not sure there's any place in the country [maybe Maine] where it's not ICHHHY.
Now folks, A history lesson about DC....The land was GIVEN to the country because it was unusable swampland....It's been drained a bit, but not much else is different.
95 Plus same humidity...front is trying to come thru now and has lowered the temp to 85, humidity still at 95... Thunderstorms coming thru now...probably for the rest of the nite. Prediction for tomorrow? 95& 95.
I am not living under a rock, but I do feel as if I am a chicken cave dweller.
As long as we have power - well, we are doing OK.
Imagine any life before air conditioning? Before wash and wear? well, you all can take the bit from here!
I plan to hibernate in my cave! - j
Cool thoughts to all [the just rite kind!]!

HI Steff,
As I found out...IVIG is given after MANY tests to find out exactly what the problem is and what caused that problem. With me they found out what it is but not exactly sure what caused it. After the MANY tests then I had one final test......the Nerve/Muscle biopsy. That's how they figured out I had Chronic Axonal Neuropathy....but never have figured out what caused it. So guess they are figuring it's an autoimmune disease.
The dr. who diagnosed me is a Rheumatologist.......he's in Houston and fantastic! I would think most everyone else was diagnosed by a Neurologist.........IS that right guys? Jump in here, Y'all know lots more about this stuff than I do! lol
Everyone on this site is WONDERFUL and VERY knowledgeable about Neuropathy! I'm sure everyone here can help with all the questions you have!
How long have you had Neuropathy, Steff? What state are you in?

Roxie, he must be one in a million you are so lucky to have someone so talented, the best option for any new PN'er is to find a neuro that comes highly recommended as a expert in Neuropathy, normal neuro's are NOT the best choice.
Crikey, the reumo i had at the start of my PN, was a real idiot, i got a 2 minute intiview, another 2 minutes up on the examination table then he opened the door and said " ok, i will send my finding to your gp " i said what finding's, he said " i can't find anything wrong with you ", then i asked are you going to recommend that a see a neuro, seeing its nerve related ? he said no, going by the Nerve conduction test i already had, the neuro quoted that " this man shows no sign of nerve damage " A nerve conduction test can not test for small nerve damage, mind you.

Eventually, i got to see a real PN specialist that come highly recommended by the manager of a Neuropathy association in my state, when he read these reports, he got real angry and said " who wrote this rubbish ", then he seen the names and through the paper accross the desk as it was rubbish, it was.

Sorry, I have been rambling on here, but Steff best shot for you is to find a neuro thats a specialist in Neuropathy.
Roxie, i am glad that the IVIG is helping you..
all the best
Brian :)

Hello
 

I have severe pain my legs and feet from too many surgeries and then I went and had prolotheraphy injections (thinkin they might help) that inflamed my nerves and or muscles all the way up to my waist and I cannot walk without agony. Must use a wheelchair to go anywhere. Docs say I have neuropathic pain, so I dont know if I belong here because I do not have true neuropathy. My nerves are firing and will not calm down.
My pain level is so high I am bed bound.This am I am worse. I want to scream in pain. I keep trying different meds but have reactions to them. i have to go back to work in september. I keep trying to get help but the drugs make me sick.
the new drug they want me to try is cymbalta. i have read nothing but horror stories so i do not know what to do or where to go.
i will see if i can find a neuro who treats just neuropathies, but insurance can be a problem.
have any of you gone to the jack miller p&n center?
I live in California
I am looking for something to help me.
Steff

HI Brian!
How's the weather there?? Sure is hot and humid in Texas! It's almost 100 today with heat index around 110! It's miserable!
I totally agree....I have a great dr.! He's very thorough and very knowlegable about Neuropathy. When I went to him in Feb. I had NO idea why I was in so much pain all the time and he told me it was going to take time to get it figured out but wanted to help end my pain....and By George! He is doing just that! I saw him this morning and he was thrilled to hear the IVIG is working so well for me.
I'm happy to hear that you finally found a good dr. there. I have a friend in Austrialia and she's having a terrible time finding dr.s to help with her pain. Good dr.s are hard to find! Take care Brian and have a good day!

HI Steff,
Wow sounds like you have been through the mill with your health issues. Nerve pain is sooooo painful and so hard to live with.
My dr. tried me on Cymbalta first but I couldn't take it because I have Barrett's Esophagus and it really bothered my esophagus. I've heard though that it really helps with pain. At this point it might be worth giving it a try to see if you can tolerate it. I've tried quite a few other things but couldn't tolerate them either. Have you tried the Fentanyl patch? Lots of people use that for pain.....unfortuantly I didn't tolerate that well either :( Are you seeing a Pain Management dr.? I found a great one in Houston who found meds I could tolerate.
I haven't heard of the clinic you mentioned but maybe others here have. I with you the best and hope you get your pain under control.
Love hearing from you.....PM me if you'd like to chat....or vent.....or whatever.......

Oh, Stef, that sounds so miserable. I don't know what prolotherapy injections are. What kind of work do you do? Why did you have to have so many surgeries? What pain drugs have you tried? I take Cymbalta with no ill effects. It doesn't help with my pain, but it helps me with depression.

Steff, i am sorry that you are in so much pain it must be awfull for you but
number one priority now is to get that pain under control, you really need to see a pain doctor, forget about a PN specialist i misunderstood you, there are many drugs out there that may help, i know myself i couldn't take some drugs they made me feel terribly sick but i did find a good combo that worked for me which was Slow release Tramadol & Endep, but we are all differant,what helps one doesn't always help another, sometimes it takes a while to find the right one or a combination of drugs that works for you.

One thought is have you tried a T.E.N.S machine ? It works by stimulating your body's own natural defense mechanism against pain. The stimulus is provided through pads that are placed over the area of pain, which helps the body to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins. The simulation is also said to 'intercept' to pain signifiers located in the nervous system and their path to the brain, in your case probably at the base of your spine, here some info; http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069069/
I hope you find some relief soon.

Brian :)