This is fascinating information glenn. You spoke about showing more symptoms in the cauda equina. I sometimes get burning in the upper inner creases of my legs and I worry about that. Could that part be my spine? I just don't know.

I hope they are going to figure out Alan's problem soon...

This is very interesting, Mel. I hope you're on to something that could spell R-E-L-I-E-F for your dear husband.

MIGHT JUST BE ONTO SOMETHING!!!

Here's what happened today. I had my appointment with my podiatrist. He happens to be Alan's podiatrist also. I told him that Alan's foot ulcer was healing just fine and that I happened to bring a copy of his last MRI and would he look at it.

He said "sure" and made himself a copy to put in Alan's file.

As he perused the MRI report, he said: "oh, wow, all these bulges, and compressions, want to know what I've found out?" I said 'yeah, what have you found out?"

He said: "It's been my finding that when a person is not diabetic and has neuropathy, much of the time, it can be traced to something with the back, like nerve impingements".

I looked at him and when I said "When Alan gets off of Dr. Theirl's table, and after Dr. Theirl uses his G5 machine on his back, my husband is a new man". He said 'really!!!"

And when I said "And when I give Alan a full back massage and I punch his back and I knead his back and I go up and down his back, he says "all the pain goes away in my feet", Dr. B said "now that's fascinating, I really think something is going on with his back".

I said 'well, he is going to get fitted for new shoes on Tuesday, and he'll see the back guy soon, but I wonder what else he can do".

So he says "why not get him one of those things that they sell in the medical supply store". and he got his catalogue and he showed me a little thing called Pro-stretch. I had seen it in the Physical Therapist when Alan went for Therapy on his foot after his calf surgery.

I said "Oh, I know what this is for, it stretches the whole foot and calf muslce, etc.".

He said "this would be good for Alan, but if you can't get this then put a rolling pin, or a ball on the floor while he is sitting at the computer and let him roll it back and forth (not touching the ulcer), and if he is not rolling it back and forth, (the ball I mean), he can bend his foot forward, and bend it back.

So the lightbulb went off in my head. After finishing up, I went to Modells and I went to their exercise equipment department and they all kinds of little balls. Some were $19.99 and they were called anti-stress balls that you hold in your hands and squeeze. Very gentle little balls.

I found one called "Boddie Ball" and it was $6.99. I bought it, marched back into my podiatrist's office, had the girl go back and show the doctor what I had just purchased and if it would be good for Alan to use while he sits at the computer??

she did and came back and said "He says this is fine'.

So I just got home, unpacked the little bal and placed it under Alan's foot. No shoes by the way, just his socked foot on top of the ball, and he rolls it back and forth or he stretches back and forth on it.

The doctor had explained that by doing this, he's working the nerves up his leg and into his back.

Can't hurt!!!!

I have to yell at him from time to time, saying

START ROLLING!!!

So we shall see.

Hey, if this little ball gives anyone else thie same idea (to roll and stretch), let's see if this helps anyone else.

CAN'T HURT, MIGHT HELP

That's my new motto.

lol

Melody

P.S. AND THISIS FOR GLENN



I had printed out your post, and showed it to the doctor. He made of copy of that too. You should have heard him when I said 'Double Crush Hypothesis" and I showed it to him. He said "FASCINATING!!"
I love our podiatrist.

Wow! Never saw that coming! I'll be interested to hear how this goes...

http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=39083

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3275922

http://www.searchmedica.com/xmlresou...f250d&t=pubmed

http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/reprint/72/1/85

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/j...TRY=1&SRETRY=0


And one can get a lot more through sources such as Google Scholar.

Glen:

One of the articles mentioned the following:

"Since double crush may include two or more entrapments, careful investigation is paramount to successful treatment. It has been my experience, as well as that of Mariano et al., that double crush syndrome can and does respond to chiropractic management that includes: spine and extraspinal manipulation, myofascial release adjunctive physiotherapies and rehabilitative exercises. Many times peripheral entrapments may occur within the myofascial planes of certain muscles ( i.e., pronator teres syndrome), and responds well to myofascial release technique as described by Eahey et al."

As I said before, when Alan leaves Dr. Theirl's office after his manipulations, Alan can move mountains.

I shall read all the other articles and I bless you for this.

Melody

P.S. For those who don't know what a G5 machine that chiros use, looks like, I just googled it.

Here's a link.

http://www.g5.com/products/gk-3/

I have a hemangioma of T4.

I was told they are benign and a common finding as we age.

I was also told that thoracic discs don't herniate....for about 15 years, then I finally got a doc to do an MRI...he told me it would be normal. It was not....and T spine lesions do hurt.

However, it unless the hemangioma is messing with the spine, it is likely going to be classified as a benign intervertebral lesion of aging.

Aging stinks.

Well, a few things come to mind....some type of hyperostosis, basically out of control bone growth....mostly I am thinking of his foot....another thing,
cherry angiomas, well, they do occur as we age...(there is that word again), however, if he has had them for a long time, and given his sister has them, has he been tested for Fabrys?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dif...stosis/DS00740

http://www.fabrycommunity.com/patien...abry-signs.asp

Just a thought, you can check these sites out and see if anything rings a bell.

So, will they continue the IVIG?

Hi there Cyclelops:

I checked out both sites. VERY INTERESTING. But he doesn't have any of the symptoms (thank goodness). But who knows. We discover new things every day. His sister has morton's neuroma and gets trigger point injections but they really don't help her. She told me yesterday that she puts a Poland Springs water bottle in the freezer and rolls it back and forth under her feet. Never knew this.

As far as IVIG, they are going to wean him off. So We shall see.

BUT I HAVE NEW NEWS!!!!!

We just came back from Dr. Fred.

In February Alan's PSA was 4.38. Of course we got scared, he went to urologist who wanted to do a biopsy we we went back to Dr. Fred and he said "take it easy, let's wait and see" and we did.

Well, I've been SPROUTING ALAN TO DEATH. I grow my own broccoli sprouts in my kitchen and we eat them EVERY DAY. So Alan's been eating my sprout patties (with tomato sauce),

We got his latest PSA result today.

3.11

WE ARE STILL SPROUTING!!!!

He's still going to eat tomato sauce on his food..

I told Dr. Fred. Next time Alan comes in, his PSA will be .2.5

He replied, I BELIEVE YOU, WITH YOUR SPROUTING.

So we shall continue to cross our fingers and toes. Hope you are good.

lol

Melody

That is great Mel, about the PSA levels coming down.

The back? Well, if it is not progressing, then I wouldn't do anything. I am very conservative that way.

I went to a pain conference yesterday, and the speakers were all in agreement about another spine problem, called Arnold Chiari malformation. They said that the increase in surgical fixes for this congenital malformation lead to increased pain and headache for many of the patients. The doctors yesterday said that they felt this procedure was not necessary in many of the patients that undergo it. (ie. rush to surgery does not always fix things).