With having Neuropathy, what do you do to keep your self busy?
 

I wanted to know from all of you, what can you do to keep your self busy each day? Do you go out and Volunteer some where, do you read a book, do puzzles, etc? I am at a lost and thought this would be a good way to find out from all of you. Thank you, I would love the feed back...

I work here (volunteer) and that keeps me pretty busy.

I have two cats who think they are people. They keep me very busy.

I play Angry Birds a bit on Facebook... the tournament that has been going.

I shop for art supplies on Ebay.
I read a bit of WetCanvas each day.

I am right now tending seedlings for this year's flowers. I have 4 varieties going... Coreopsis Tinctora, tall Shasta daisies, dwarf shastas, and some Black Eyed susans. I am currently moving them up to the first transplant size.

I keep an eye out for my birds... currently some Geese and ducks are in our yard daily.

This week seems to be a big pain attack in my upper right back/shoulder, so I don't plan on doing much because of it.
I want to get out and pick up some pansies, and petunias, but I can't manage that since Friday.

I read at night, watch a bit of CNN (if I can stand it that is), and catch a few shows per week on OnDemand. I like the Artful Detective (Murdoch Mysteries) and will watch one or two reruns sometimes.

I am usually online off and on during the day.

In my case I exercise. It removes my PN symptoms and keeps them at bay for several hours. I also stay busy with my boys at the baseball fields, go hunting and fishing and play golf. I've made a decision I'm not going to let PN slow me down, but I am grateful my PN is not to the point where it actually does slow me down. Prayers to all those who are afflicted.

Hard but good question....depends on the day, pain level etc...too many factors to say this is what I do....yes, when my ankle was broken and I was sedentary, I did puzzles....read....moved, sat outside, weather permitting...and to feel useful....cleared my stuff...you know...one plate set at a time....
What I think you are looking for is what can you do...I think that depends on what you like to do...I mean if you don't like to read but like to do jumbo puzzles then that's what you seek...I also believe that trying something new is like a veggie you may not have liked it when you were a kid but just maybe you taste buds have changed.....:grouphug:

Depends on my days. Lately, I've been stuck in a rut, obsessing about my symptoms.:( I am trying to get out of it by going to the gym and doing very light exercises and stretching (some sauna) on my good days. Otherwise on good days, I try to enjoy time outdoors in good weather (walking, sitting on the balcony reading something) or go places with my husband (shopping, eat, play pool - if it's a good day).

I'm still able to be physically active, so I play golf, hike, kayak and spend a lot of time outside gardening. My SFN symptoms are actually better when I'm active.

My one big indoor hobby is family history/genetic genealogy. It's a borderless jigsaw puzzle as you're never done.

Very cool Janieg. My great great grandpa was a Confederate soldier under Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was killed at the Battle of Brices Crossroads 6/10/1864.

I work 22 hrs a week
I walk the dog
I do some crochet ( limited due to hand pain)
I have just started a blog
And I have started a running program, painful feet are not helping with this though

Best use of time remaining
 

We all know that time is a limited resource so the best use of it is important. I used to dream of filling my days with golf,motorcycle riding and fishing. I guess we all settle into routines that match our capabilities. My bike and golf clubs are rusting in the garage but I have managed to find some places where I can wet a fishing line. Notice I didn't say anything about catching anything,haha. At the worst of my pain binge watching on Netflix was decent escape. Learning the "essentials" of diet and excersise was another. Posting here and learning from the magnates and trying to pass on to others takes up another small slice of the day. Yesterday I found myself bored and alone so I went to Wal-Mart and purposely left my walker in the truck and focusing on every step I went in and picked up some 81mg Aspirin. Checked on availability of 7.62x54 ammunition. Then checked out plumbing supplies that were all plated instead of solid brass. So Newlife 2, as long as you don't take up bad habits, the human capability of adaptation will guide you to seek the best utilization of your time. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.

This born-and-bred and proud Yankee had some serious adjusting to when researching my dad's family. I descend from two Tennessee Confederate soldiers and a lot of slave-owning families. :eek:

I'm currently in touch with a handful of black cousins I have who show up as DNA matches with myself or my aunts. We're having a grand time trying to figure what the connection is. :o

Thank goodness I'm able to find .308 pretty easy.

I understand. My ancestors certainly were fighting for a wrong cause but still can respect their service. 30% of the male population died in the South.

Hi NewLife2
Thanks for starting this thread - it's interesting to read how others spend their time.

Since my 'normal' life disappeared adapting to what I now call my 'relative normal' life has been a challenge. I've found developing routines has been important. I have memory problems so routines help to remember things like taking meds on time, getting chores done, paying bills etc. By nature I've never been a 'routine' person and my old life was completely different.

Energy to do things is limited - everything takes me about 4x as long as it used to. Much of the day is taken up with chores - laundry, cooking, cleaning, getting firewood in etc. I like to garden - growing my own veges is satisfying and a small plot is manageable but have to get help with the heavy stuff.

Volunteering was always a part of my old life but is now scaled back to helping one or two others on an individual basis where I can. TV, reading, (a lifetime habit but sadly much reduced), and way too much Spider Solitaire (purely distraction) are my main forms of relaxation. Recently taking part on here and researching has kept my brain cells firing.

At present most of my routines are out the window as I'm facing additional problems - hopefully soon if I have some improvement I'll get back to physio at the gym. Regular exercise (3x weekly) gave me better balance, strength and allows me to do more. I never thought I'd say I'd miss the gym but I realize, for me, it's essential.

I hope you find some things to do that are rewarding and keep you going. Maybe picking one thing from each area of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual to focus on, that you find beneficial, might help.
All the best.
bluesfan

Today has been a busy day feeding the birds. All winter I was providing food because of our severe weather. I often take photos thru the 2 windows in this computer room, and today hubby helped me too. (I will use some of them as reference for some drawings and watercolors, later on.

Today we have Geese again... and Mrs. Quack Quack showed up and all 3 of them shared for a while... hubby got a good photo of them on his phone.

The second photo is my seedling tray from last week, just before I starting moving them up to larger quarters. I have only the Coreopsis to do --but I can't today...as my back is killing me.

Those of you who are online alot... may find this red tailed hawk
nest interesting to watch live-- a live cam:

http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channe...-tailed_Hawks/

The first chick just hatched today. Two more eggs remain.

I missed the hatching last spring, but watched it alot later on.
It became rather addicting. :o

Love red tail Hawks. I keep black oil sunflower seed in my hopper feeder. The cow birds start to demolish my feeder around this time so I stop feeding. I keep a peanut butter suet cake going in the winter. Love my woodpeckers. Kinda odd but my favorite visitor are house wrens. Cool birds.

Thank you, new life, for starting this thread! Everyone seems to really step up when someone introduces a topic like this where we can share how PN affects our activities, relationships, etc.
I am one of the ones who has found walking reduces the pain and just makes me happier, so I try to do as much of that as I can. I have had problems with my ankle and a wound on my toe that won't heal so have been off the hiking trails for a while but got permission today to go back to walking- the wound isn't healing and isn't likely to until I get leg braces in a few weeks. Two professionals telling me I am severely knock-kneed in one week was a real ego killer:eek: no more skinny jeans!
I was a serious and accomplished needlewoman, but this has affected my hands, I can do most things but much more slowly and I drop my tools more than I used to. I still knit quite a bit and quilt a little, crochet is very hard on my hands and they cramp up quickly. I used to spend a lot of time looking at supplies but I have learned that I will never use half of what I already have on hand. I miss buying yarn a lot. I have also found that making items to donate to charity makes me feel less useless when I am really down on myself.
I am back to reading 18th and 19th century literature and poetry, most of which is free on the kindle. I have a large vintage needlework pattern and magazine collection which I enjoy going through.
I enjoy watching Hoarders and similar reality schadenfreude, as well as old movies and the BBC mysteries and classics. I love the Ninja Warrior stuff - just imagine having that kind of control over your body!
When I feel really ambitious, not often enough, I order photos printed and make up pages for the albums. I am never caught up but a few days here and there make a big difference.
I am unable to do the heavy housework, I have a friend help me every few weeks with the kitchen and bathrooms, but I do most of the cooking and baking for the five of us.

I, like MrsD, love my animals, the birds and growing/planting. However, I do veggies, vs flowers.

My husband has taken over the manual labor for the gardening as I'm not able to it any more, but I do help some to plant and sow, along with weeding and harvesting. We built some table planters (large ones) for growing lettuce, carrots, onions, etc. It's easier to work at table level vs getting on the ground to tend to the plants...so I'm in charge of maintaining these. We grow potatoes (got 180 pounds last year), onions, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini and a few herbs. We have a root cellar for storage and processed over 200 jars of canned products last year (beans, spag sauce, pickles, peppers...the list goes on).

I LOVE bird and wildlife watching and have a couple feeders in view from our screened porch. We have several bears that frequent our property. I've had some close encounters, but we have learned to respect each other's space.

When not gardening or watching the various birds and critters, I'm spending time with my German Shepherd, Dakota and my cat, Mac. Nothing like quality time with the animals to help take your mind off pain and/or other symptoms.

I have help come in for work around the property, but I maintain the inside myself...although sometimes it's really tough and not much gets done. But I do try to accomplish 'something' everyday...even if it's just a few small tasks. It makes me feel productive.

I don't know how I forgot the dogs! Thank you for reminding me en bloc! I have a two year old female german shepherd who is the dearest thing. She is afraid of everything and consequently terrorizes everyone except the family with her "stay away from me " bark, but she is absurdly affectionate and gentle with the grand babies, an 80lb. lap dog. The intention was for me to walk her but my husband has to accompany us as I am not stable enough to manage her leash, clean up bags, and hiking poles. She is my constant companion and will lie in bed with me all day if need be.
We have a 12 year old pug, whose only interests in life have been food and warmth. He was just what we needed when we had a crippled 4 year old just out of a body cast who wanted a dog and needed something sturdy enough to roughhouse but small enough not to knock down a tiny child just learning to walk. He is much loved by our sons but has only begun to act like a dog under the influence of the shepherd who bullies him but seeks his company. The pug has become quite capable of defending his rights to food and comfy spots and they have a fascinating dynamic.

OMG Susanne, how funny that you have a GSD too. Mine is also female (although just under 6 yrs old---but I just rescued her about 7 months ago). Even more ironic is that your dog sounds just like mine. Dakota is the perfect affectionate angel with my husband & I and the weekly yard helper, but NO ONE else can come in or near the house or me. She is very sensitive too.

I got her for companionship and to help me with pain mgmt and to keep me moving. She is nuts about fetch with balls and frisbees so we play 4-5 times a day (very short sessions though). It's great for me to get out with her and walk her. Thankfully she is perfect on the leash so I can manage her walking around our large property.

We have trained her for a couple service jobs. I have a lot of falls and I'm by myself during the day. She can now find and bring me the phone from any room in the house. Of course she doesn't like strangers, so it was pointless to train her to bring me the phone in an emergency if she won't let EMT's in the house to help me. So we have also trained her to go to her crate and pull on a sock attached to a rope that closes the door. We are putting a self locking latch so it will lock. She has mastered the phone but we've only worked on the door closing for about 3 weeks. She's already good at closing the door, but we are mastering the task from different rooms in the house and right after she brings me the phone. She's super smart and my husband is more at ease leaving me home alone now that she's with me.

Thank you to everyone that has responded to my thread!! I really do appreciate every one of you, this will help me out and hopefully help anyone else on this site!!!

I have always wanted a GSD and of course after the pug, who took months to housebreak and never responded to his name - I would stand in the yard and call "treat" to get him to come in, or shake the milk bone box - the idea of a really smart dog had great appeal. Now that he is deaf we follow him around and remind him why he is outside.
She learns everything super fast and is beginning to tolerate strangers passing her at the park, especially if there are a lot of people like at the campground. She gets stressed and grumpy but does give up barking. Runners that come at you from nowhere without a greeting, bikers, and most other dogs will elicit a bark and a jump off the trail. She is not a biter, she is too afraid to get close to anyone, so as long as she can escape that isn't a problem. Sometimes GSD people will beg to meet her and if they are those super cool zen masters she will sniff them politely but no petting. If they are the macho I know everything about dogs watch me freak out your fearful GSD we keep away. They all say she isn't aggressive. I picked the puppy under the grill when my husband abruptly changed his mind about "we are just looking not buying a dog today". And yes, I did know better, but she could not be better despite the fearfulness. So if I had been smarter we wouldn't have her and maybe someone who couldn't accommodate as easily to her needs would have her. We took classes, she was the star pupil but never wanted to play with the other dogs. The other GSD didn't really either, they are somewhat aloof socially compared to other breeds so some of this is normal.
Those are amazing things you have taught your girl, en bloc! The phone is a really good idea. I am never home alone, but that could change in a few years as the boys move out. My husband works at home but travels at least once a month.
She will give up barking at the doorbell and visitors if I take out her mat. She even barks when kids come over that she is dying to play with so it is her way of expressing excitement as well as fear.
We do play fetch in the yard and I can take her out for potty breaks, it is in the park that I need help because just navigating the uneven ground is enough of a challenge. She plays with me by bringing the ball and dropping it in my hand or lap, with my 16 year old she expects him to chase her and throw two toys, and with my husband it is a combination of the two. Her desire to have two toys is silly because she gets confused about which to chase but definitely wants them both.
I had heard from so many people what wonderful dogs they are, and of course I have this fantasy self that hikes around the parks with my majestic dog by my side and is planning an Appalachian trail assault. The reality of my slow progress on relatively flat terrain with hiking poles and a neurotic dog manically checking for signs of life within 50 feet is somewhat different, but they are amazing dogs, and her personality is really an awful lot like mine.

I play video games with my daughter, who has taken an interest in super heroes and Star Wars. Organic, I didn't push them!

We also play board games. My son is 3 1/2 so we are trying to get Candyland into the mix. Simple games are often the most fun.

I have always enjoyed games. There are plenty of free or low cost ones out there. I would research before investing time or money, though. Many have the free model that has the option to spend for more/better.

You'd think, "Well, I have time, slow and steady". The thing is the market is hot. As such, it is being flooded. Poor design, intentional or not, leaves bottle necks or straight up stone walls to advancement.

Hearthstone is free. You never have to purchase packs & can earn them. It has strategy and diversity. I played it regular for periods. I have been doing more reading and writing of late.

I enjoy Daredevil on Netflix, GoT on HBO and Faceoff on SyFyfor TV. Oh, and kid shows. Currently Teen Titans, Go and Toy Story 3 get big play. My son loves Nightmare Before Christmas, too.

That's right, he is the Pumpkin King!

My best,

Jon

I am still working, just 2 days a week in case management, so it's an office job instead of killing myself as a nurse at the bedside. Who would have known it was a BAD choice of profession?! I am still raising kids; 2 teenagers.

I too, love animals. We have 2 dogs (a Lab & a Puggle), 2 cats and my younger dtr. has a guinea pig. All rescues, so I keep up with local rescues and try to help anyone who asks me to find a dog or cat. I love sitting outside and watching birds. Meadowlarks are my favorite; I love their song. And I am always on the lookout for great horned owls.

I used to be very big into gardening and moving things around, digging things up. I am transitioning to container gardening due to my limitations. I just love spring time and going to garden centers and just browsing.

One of my previous hobbies was cleaning! Loved to clean! Now I look around and see what I can still do and what I need to hire out. I loved painting rooms and rearranging furniture, shopping for home decor. This is harder now. Maybe tied to this--I love looking at virtual tours for homes that are for sale. I know more about the local real estate market than some realtors!

Netflix! I binge watch some days when I just can't do anything else. I love dark comedies--Breaking Bad is probably the best example of this. And I love all things British, BBC anything, and historical fiction from 16th-early 20th century England. The Cooking Channel and some forensic-file type reality shows.

Exercise in the form of focused PT and stretching is now taking up a good chunk of time. I'd hate to see what shape I'd be in if I didn't do this. Walking, usually with dogs. So, alot of start and stop walking! :p

Thanks for sharing, I'm getting new ideas! It's so important to keep our minds occupied on other things besides PN.

addendum
 

I forgot my saving grace- music.

Work, insomnia, what have you, it helps me.

I would recommend not overdoing you more dour or contemplative selections too often. For me it is like a rabbit hole at times.

The problem for me is it is so much pain in my hands and fingers. my hands and fingers get so bad that if I just pick up a fork to try to eat or use a pen to write my fingers and hands go totally numb and that I get all that pressure buld up and then it starts to throb, even if I don't use them it is a constant numbness and pain... With my feet I am seeing that when I do walk my toes get so numb that they feel like there going to pop and the more I do walk the worse it gets, then it shoots up my leg with sharp stinging pain. I am so frustrated with this pain that goes on all day long every day and I know all of you understand what I am talking about... most of the time I just want to cry..

Are you wearing carpal tunnel braces? At least at night?

When my hands were so bad I wore them all day long. (during pregnancy).

But if you wear them at least at night, then the nerves in the wrist get some protection and the lessened compression helps to reduce symptoms.

I'd ask the doctor about them. I got my first pair at the office of the rehab doctor who diagnosed me and gave me my first EMG.
(they are called physiatrists now.)

I did have one on each hand for six months, but they never did anything for me, it got to the point where it made it worse.. Thanks mrsD!

Last time I wore them was last month..

If they are too tight, they make matters worse.

Fitted properly, they can really take the pressure off that carpal tunnel.

newlife2, There does come a time when surgery is necessary. A good site:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/c...pal_tunnel.htm

Carpal tunnel can return. I know several people who have had it done - one just today. Some of the others turned out fine and some did not. It depends.

See a doctor and find out if you do have carpal tunnel or something else and find out what you should do.

Hi newlife2,

I tried learning guitar until I was robbed of that by arthritis in my hands and referred pain and numbness in my arms. The thing is, there is plenty of other more mind-expanding subjects you can learn about for free all over the Net as a distraction. Perhaps an old school/college class you were weak at? Or one you enjoyed you want to expand on.

Tv is an easy distraction, especially if you keep it Light occasionally. Jon, I'm glad I'm not the only Teen Titans fan. Add in TMNT, Adventure Time and Regular Show and my Grandson and I are set. Good Documentaries and sheer Escapism shows are also great - anything thought-provoking.

Jenng, for a BBC historical Gem watch out for the remake of Poldark.

Dave.

Dave
Watching the Poldark remake on TV here in NZ at present - also watch a few UK documentary series - 'Coast' is one I particularly enjoyed.

Poldark on PBS Masterpiece June 2015. I'm the opposite when it comes to most Dramas/Comedies - I stick to US shows. As well as being better written/produced in the main (although we can put out some crackers), they are not filled with the lazy foul language some of our writers rely on for effect. I'm no prude, I just don't want to hear it outside of South Park , where it 'fits'.

As for other ideas one can utilise to occupy the mind with mobility and hand problems, might I suggest a Zen Garden for relaxation - unless you have a cat - and Bonsai as a long-term project.

Dave.

Hi Kitt. Thanks for your suggestion about carpal tunnel. I did check about seeing if I have carpal tunnel through 3 different Doctors and been told that the symptoms are related to Neuropathy..

newlife2, do you know what is causing the neuropathy? Carpal tunnel is ruled out so that is good to know. Thank you.

Except for the last two years, my numbers were from 400 to 600 on a daily basis, because of not having good insurance that would not allow me to give the amount of insulin per day, I would have to make sure I not to give my insulin

I would have to use my insulin to spread out for a for fully month at a time...

Thanks newlife2. I reread some of your posts and now realize you have diabetes. It must be pretty bad. Take care.