Thanks Sue:

Wow, you get to see Hot Air Balloons. I think they are the most beautiful thing when they fly them up in the air and they have all those great ballloons in different shapes and sizes.

I love them.

bye for now.

Melody

This is a Great post!

How clever! and how nice of you to share.

I don't understand though what "compressed" toes are... The first picture looks like I thought all toes looked.

What am I not seeing?

I know that when I went to the podiatrist when I was falling so much when I was living in the hydrogen sulfide... back then I would spend hours while watching telly trying to move my toes, to wiggle them.... the podiatrist told me that my toes were curling because... darn it, I forget, but I think because of the nerve damage.

It was the podiatrist who told me that if I kept moving less and less because of how unsteady I was on my feet, that I'd lose more and more mobility, so that's when I ordered my Gazelle because I could see that I could hold on when I used it.

But recently I discovered that even though it's very sturdy and heavy, if I lose balance on it, because I'm so tall, I can tip it. So it's not perfect. But it has been excellent over all.

Coffee time.

Actually, I came up with the name "compressed toes", because Alan's toes are all squished together (especially the one with the tailor bunions).

Now in comparison, my toes look nothing like Alan's toes, my toes are not curved (like his pinky toes) and that's where he has the neuropathy.

And when we do the spongy thingees, well it gives him a lot of relief.

But.... and this is very telling, if he sits in the chair for a long period, lets' say over 3 hours, then he starts to get the burning between the toes. But it's much much better, and initially, when he puts the sponges in, he is just fine. And when he puts on his propets (the sponges are in his toes), well, he walks just fine, (he walks slowly because he doesn't want to get the ulcer back).

But the one thing I do not understand is what happened when he went to bed last night.

He got up off the living room chair, (sponges still on), he came to bed at 11:30 (I was sleeping). I get up at 2 a.m. to do my thing, and I notice the air condition is on in the bedroom. It was not on when I went to sleep.

This morning when we woke up, I said "when did you put the air conditioning on"? He said "I couldn't sleep when I laid down, my toes hurt, but once I put the air conditioning on, all the pain went away". He is fine today.

So can someone explain how spongy thingees between the toes work when he is going to sit for a spell, when he walks, but when he lies down, and it's hot in our room, he can't sleep because of the PN pain, but once the room gets cooler, he was just fine and drifted off.

This I just don't get (and probably you could explain sensory stuff to me, and the barometer and it will still go over my head).

This part of the PN (where you have to change the environment settings of the room, well, it's a mystery to me). It used to be that when we had a hard rain (I mean a big thunderstorm) and the ions changed in the weather, he would sigh and go, "oh, it must be raining, my feel feel great"

Someone explained the ion thing to me and I think I understood it but what's with having to turn on the air conditioning last night?

Thanks to anyone who has a clue.

Melody

Melody,
I'm guessing. But the airconditioner makes my skin shrink up. It takes all the moisture out of my skin. My fingertips actually wrinkle up. Maybe when the airconditioner runs, it draws moisture and perhaps swelling out of the skin and tissues that surround the nerves. And when it does this, it takes pressure off the nerve.

My best guess.
Billye

Oh thank you Billye:

See, this is why you guys are geniuses!!!!!

I never, in all my life, would have thought of that explanation!!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU!!!

Melody

I think the heat makes my PN feel worse. I perfer having the a/c on.......not cold but cool. The cold a/c.....like in the grocery store, makes my Arthritis hurt like crazy. I can't seem to win! lol I need to find an island with 78 degree temps all the time! lol

Oh, I know all about arthritis. I got degenerative joint disease when I was 40. I was also almost 300 lbs at the time. Didn't help my knees. You should have seen the emergency room guy when I limped in. I had not been able to walk anywhere for a week and I finally told Alan, "get me to the ER".

So we go there, a doctor comes over, examines me and says "what on earth do you think is the matter with you?? You are severely overweight, and all this damage is occurring to your knees, don't you know that??" I gave him a look. He said "You have arthritis, you are wearing out your knees"

Unfortunately, at the time I was not ready to go on any kind of diet.

Didn't do my body any good, believe this. But I got my act together, thank god for that.

I can run a marathon if it's over 100 degrees. I take my water bottles and fast walk for hours.

Everybody else is croaking but not me. That's the only time I have no pain.

Right now, my back is killing me. It was 60 degrees last night, it was over 80 today and it will drop down tonight. That kills me.

But at least I can walk. So no complaining over here.

Melody

Roxie,
When you find that island, I'm going too!!!!!!!!!!

I am either freezing or sweating. No in between. The Physical Therapy I'm doing right now is in the water. They told me that it would feel just like my bathtub. .......Obviously no one at the therapy place has any hot water at their house!! I don't like the cold but I don't like the heat either. I'm packing my bags for that island Roxie.

Melody, you are welcome. Just a guess, nothing more, it just made sense to me.

Billye

Mel:

I was wondering if you could use the little things they put in between toes in nail salons for Alan's toes... They look kind of like fingers and hold the toes separate, so if you are getting a pedicure, your toenail doesn't bump the wet one next door... Not that Alan is going to be wearing polish...

Well, I mean, he can if he wants to, but I didn't think he probably would...

Cathie

I agree with an earlier post that said the toes look normal. Even the little toe looks normal. Most people have that toe curved.

I have numb toes and they feel uncomfortable. I saw "Yoga Toes" in a health food store. That does the dsame thing as the sponges, except there is a gell in the separator.