We live in the lovely Northeast where the falls are full of bright and brilliant colors that attract people the world over and the winters are white and iconic. I think, however, most of us Northeastern's (I'm actually an expatriate of the South but have found the Yankee inside), are ready for the snow to end for this year. I'm not sure a whole week has gone by since the beginning of the year without some sort of snow/ice/sleet. Last night I was kept awake by huge crashing sounds where the ice that had formed on the windows above us on our high-rise come crashing down and hit our windows on the way down. I ended up having both boys in our room concerned over sounds. It's nice they still need my reassurance.
To the normal person this is an inconvenience but to anyone fighting an illness, you know this spells out pain in big bold letters! For me, I spend most nights sitting up trying to deal with the intense pain of the barometric pressure yo-yoing back and forth all night. Usually it is somewhat better during the day but lately it has been just as painful. I am anxiously looking forward to the spring and was delighted to find out on Gobbler's Knob yesterday, Puxatony Phil's shadow was absent this Groundhog's Day and, prayerfully, that means only two more weeks of winter. I'm not totally convinced a groundhog can actually predict the weather but when you are rocking back and forth in pain, you hold on to all sorts of arbitrary notions!
While I am making light of the pain that comes with pressure drops, my heart goes out to all of you that deal with the same thing. The Lyme Disease has swollen my nerves so I already have severe neuropathy and when the pressure is moving, it causes an already severe problem to be almost unbearable. You can't move away from the pain and it's very difficult to concentrate on anything else.
I have learned a few tricks. A massager sometimes helps my legs deal with drawing-up and tightening of the muscles, bumping my pain meds also can help but since they still don't have a good pain med for neurological pain, you will probably only take the edge off and hot bath can help if you can make it into one. Other than that, I knit. When I am bad, I try to knit something without a pattern and where I don't have to count, something in the round with a stockinette stitch is always the best but you can only make so many hats! Right now I am on the foot of the Two-at-a-Time Socks I'm learning to make so I can enjoy the knitting in the round Stockinette stitch for at least tonight.
We are working with a new therapy now, Microcurrent and Tens machines. I will be making an entry soon all about these. They have been very helpful in reducing my pain as well as extending movement in my legs and hips. They also have been helpful in bringing down the swelling in my feet and legs which is nigh unto a miracle.
For now, I am off for a Gerson Treatment which I must do at least twice a day to stay on the Natural Cancer Therapy we are adhering to for the Breast Cancer. It is a strict therapy but it impressed my surgeon as to how well the cancer responded to the therapy. At my request, she let me go without chemo or radiation on the promise I would stay on the Gerson Therapy, which we have as closely as possible. It is difficult to stay completely on the Gerson Therapy while fighting the Lyme because the two tend to need different approaches at times but we feel we've worked a good compromise to accommodate both diseases. We are still believing for a miracle but until then, we are fighting the good fight.
May God Bless and Keep You in His Grace,
Lynne
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