[QUAD-L] plant identification
this is completely off-topic so you can respond personally. if i take a pix can u identify the plant? Eric W Rudd c5sc...@gmail.com
[QUAD-L] severe bladder pain?
I haven't written much lately because I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my bladder. In the last eight weeks I've had two UTIs and this definitely hasn't help the situation. I have been dealing with this issue off and on, mostly on, since September 2010. I've had it least four UTIs since September 2010. I have been into see the doctors a multitude of times and the majority of them think that my catheter (suprapubic) is pistoning into the back of the bladder and causing the enormous discomfort. Most of the time it feels like my bladder is burning like hell, but lately the pain has gotten so bad that any time is a sudden noise which I'm not prepared for my abdomen spasms and causes a terrible amount of pain. Back in October a nurse practitioner prescribed a medication which helps with the burning. It turned my urine orange and if I took two of them, which was what the prescription called for, it looked like I had been bleeding. Anyway, I found that if the pain was intolerable I could take one in order to get it to a more manageable level. Well, two of the doctors I have seen (I see a team of doctors, so I don't always see the same ones) think it's good that I am able to minimize the pain, but this medication (which I can't remember the name for right now, but I will get tomorrow when I have access to my medication) cannot be taken on a regular basis. It's not a narcotic, that much I know. Knowing that it wasn't good to take it on a regular basis, I chose to take it very sparingly and just took the last one of the 30 today which I was prescribed in October. Right now I'm on an antibiotic therapy for a UTI which presented with an almost unprecedented amount of blood in my urine. I bled for three days, but thankfully we were able to stem the flow of the blood with some aggressive irrigation. The only reason I knew how to do this was because this happened to me in October and I ended up having to go in to the clinic because the bleeding wouldn't stop. I'm at a point right now where I am having a hard time leaving my house to do anything other than go see the doctors. In fact, the last couple of days had been so horrific that all I have pretty much done is watch television while tilting back in my wheelchair. One of the doctors came up with the idea of putting some sort of device on my catheter so it would be pulled tight enough not to allow the catheter to rub against the back of the bladder, but not so much that it causes other problems. I've tried two different methods of doing this and unfortunately it really hasn't solved the problem. Whenever I tilt forward to get into a driving position it seems to put more pressure on my bladder and it starts to hurt. I've had people check the tension and they tell me they can get two fingers under the catheter, but it still causes discomfort. The bladder pain seemed to manifest itself more whenever I allow the technicians to install the reclining feature onto my Permobile in August. This is the feature which allows the back of the chair to lean back for pressure relief. In the past I have always used just the tilt mode, but they talked me into it. Now I'm in a Catch-22. When it starts burning I sometimes get relief by slightly reclining back backward in order to take some of the pressure off my bladder. I talked to some of the technicians about taking the motor off my chair which enables this function and reinstalling the manual way to adjust the back of the chair. I'm a little worried that this won't solve the problem now that it has progressed to this point. Usually I try to get the back of the chair in a position where it won't hurt and then I try to avoid reclining at all costs. Unfortunately that's not always easy. It's very simple to accidentally slip in to the reclining mode and accidentally move the back of the chair. If it moves a slight little bit it seems to cause problems. Either I have difficulty driving the chair effectively, it puts an inordinate amount of stress on the inside muscles of my neck or it allows my butt slut little too easily. Just to give you a little bit more information, not that you really need it, but I have really good sensation and I know for a fact that my urine is draining while I am in the chair. Whenever the flow of my urine isn't the best thing that I can tell, so I get it corrected. I used to get some relief in bed, but lately the pain is lingering far into the next day. Today I'm actually considering taking a Tylenol 3 in order to go out and do some of my own shopping. I have an appointment with a urologist on June 6, but unfortunately they didn't let me in with the spinal cord urologist. I'm hoping that these urologist will have a pretty good idea of what we deal with, since the spinal cord population at the hospital where I get all my work done is extremely large. They did do sonograms in September which didn't show any stones in my bladder, but I did have a 9 mm kidney stone which
Re: [QUAD-L] Probing
Good luck Greg Lindaf
Re: [QUAD-L] Anniversary and Thoughts on Walking, Cure, Etc.
Very well put Steve, I had my 23rd back in January of this year. I to was told about the cure in 10 years, but I choose to go on with life and not wait for it because I'm not going to be a giny pig for something that may not help me. Don c5/6 incomplete back inOn May 22, 2011, at 15:15, "Steve Oldaker" wrote: > Today marks my 23rd year as a member of the quad fraternity. Some days it > seems longer, other days much shorter. All in all, there have been plenty of > bumps along the road, but the journey has been and remains worth taking. > > > > I remember clearly being advised by various sources while in rehab nearly 23 > years ago that we were likely just 5-10 years away from a cure when I would > walk again, as though walking in and of itself defines a cure. Lo and behold > 23 years later, in spite of a number of advances, the projection remains the > same. And while they are remarkable, noteworthy accomplishments, I don't > consider "walking" by means of electrical implants, exoskeletons or other > recent non-biochemical achievements any kind of real cure or even > substantially beneficial in their current state, though I suppose if someone > is highly invested (ie. physically, emotionally, financially, etc.) in > "walking" by any means, any form of walking may be considered substantial. > > > > For whatever reason, I have not shared the overwhelming desire if not > obsession with walking that Christopher Reeve and some of my other SCI > friends and associates seem to have (or had in Reeve's case). As a C4 quad, > even paraplegia would be a remarkable improvement to me. There are a number > of incremental cures that I would prioritize over walking including > substantial pain reduction and full return of bladder, bowel, and sexual > function, to name a few. > > > > Don't get me wrong. I would love to walk again, and I hope, pray, and > contribute financially regularly to cure research. And while I support cure > efforts as the ultimate goal, I do not subscribe to the notion of CURE not > care. I believe strongly that we need to work for both if we want to lead > long, healthy, productive lives in spite of our conditions. > > > > Every morning when I wake up I try to move, and when I find once again that I > am unable to do so, I go about the business of living as good and as > productive of a life as I can. This has served me well these 23 years. It > allowed me to accomplish much post injury including obtaining computer > training shortly afterward, a 17 year career with the federal government, and > a comfortable early disability retirement a few years ago which frees me up > for more of my personal interests and community activities. > > > > A cure would be wonderful and I don't think anyone should give up hope, but I > also think it is in one's best interest to live and move forward as best they > can given the likelihood that a cure is at best several years and most likely > many years away. > > > > I am grateful for all of the assistance and support I have received from my > family, friends, coworkers, hired caregivers, and medical professionals over > the years. I hope to have many more good years like Glenn Henry, Arizona > Dave, and others who have shared their experiences, knowledge, and opinions > on this list. Cheers to all of you! > > > > Steve - C4, 23 years
RE: [QUAD-L] Thought Provoking
Amen, Bob and Don, amen... Steve - C4, 23 years From: Don Price [mailto:donpric...@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 9:42 PM To: quad-list@eskimo.com Cc: Quadius; quad-list Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Thought Provoking Bob, I'm in complete agreement with you. If the quote below is accurate, this guy really has nothing in common with those of us living with SCI, and probably cannot fathom that us quads could go out in public, unashamed--proud even--of how far we've come. About two weeks ago there was a major story about a paraplegic who was going to 'walk' across the stage to collect his Cal-Berkeley diploma using an 'exo-skeleton' designed by the engineering department. While I agree the engineering students deserve kudos, the story played up the mellowdrama of this kid triumphing over his paralysis by marching across the stage. He can't have been the only wheelchair user earning a degree that day. Were those who rolled across the stage "less than?" It's a perpetuation of the storyline that no wheelchair user could really be happy. Could they?! Nevermind that his wheelchair gave him the freedom to get to class every day of his student life. I don't wish the young graduate any ill will. As a chair-user of 28 years, and someone who rolled across the stage to collect two college degrees, these stories just tweek me a bit. Thanks for entertaining my rant. Don c5-6 Tempe, AZ From: Bob Vogel To: Paul Jacobson Cc: Quadius ; quad-list Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:57 AM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Thought Provoking Hi again, Upon re-reading the article below, I see that Summers is already entertaining the idea of turning his story into a movie. Oh GREAT! Another sappy story of "A man facing his biggest challenge yet "To Walk" complete with all the Sommers quote, “You don’t see a lot of paralyzed people in the world because you’re ashamed or embarrassed,” Summers said. “I know I was. And this has given me back my confidence.” Bob V On May 22, 2011, at 8:58 AM, Paul Jacobson wrote: Hello, We have seen some progress in functionality in individuals with an Incomplete SCI but this is the first I have seen in improvement with someone with a Complete SCI. http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/ap/may/248041/Paralyzed-man-freely-moves-after-getting-implant?cid=rss Paul c5/6 complete
