Go slower?

[grandmaD]

Well, that is certainly good to know - and to remember, that our brains continue to heal. It is rather amazing to think that they can cope with what we put them through and the traumatic results of w/d.

We have visitors for a few days and I can tell I am coping better than last time we had them here. I can focus on conversations longer and I am talking more. I could actually sense the improvement this week because of improvement in head issues and feeling more human.

[Sheila]

[grandmaD]

Spent the day in bed again with a headache - however, one day is better than 3 or even 2 as I said before. Still having head pressure issues.

Not sure it is food - I did have bread and the headache came next day, but I have to now evaluate other things because the day before the h/ache I did some watering and that meant bending down to pick up the bottles to carry around to the plants. What normally would take me 3 days we did in 1 day because the visitors helped, so that was great. It is not unusual to have headches every week, either, so it is hard to work out.

Two days later I did some gardening again that required bending and the head pressure went high again. A work in progress...

If it is the bending that makes the head issues worse, what is happening to cause it? I found painkillers don't help. I think lying down and resting does help, but has anyone else any ideas? Is it inflamation?

[Sheila]

It is so hard to figure out what causes what, and sometimes it is just the internal mechanism of neurological healing going on, and doesn’t have to do with any trigger.

But, I could imagine bending down repeatedly to water could cause problems. We are so fragile. Any repeated movement that I was not used to used to cause me a muscle pull. And bending over could be filling your sinuses with fluid. Also, you’re putting strain on your neck and back, which makes those muscles tighten. Any of these things could contribute to headache.

I know it seems silly, but can you do some of the gardening seated on the ground and not bend over?

[grandmaD]

Thanks for your helpful advice, but I do need to bend over to fill the bottles up and then pick them up each time. It sounds right though what you said, because I have noticed the tension in my legs makes them feel like they are tight and also my sinuses - blocked up nose again. I thought it was from just being outside in the wind or something.

Anyway, we will soon find out as we are heading off next week to travel in the van and life will be MUCH EASIER with no gardening and very little housework! I will be able to test foods then, without complicating things. I do have a kneeler that helps me get up and down and that is great help and when I am weedng, I do try and sit and do it, but find it difficult.

[grandmaD]

It is now 5 MONTHS since I tapered and I am surprised that I still have severe buzzing head noise constantly and the ears go back up to the third level of intensity a lot.

The leg aching is still a problem at bedtime, not severe but not good, maybe somewhere in between.

I still get the nerve flashes, on scalp and face and legs from time to time and I have had the itchies real bad which shows the nerves are still on edge. I just find it so hard to believe - the time it takes, and even after 5 months of tapering to still have these problems.

I just had 7 days continual headache, but the more I think about it, the more I think I did something swiming. It is not unusual to have a 3 dayh/a and especially after 5 months, it would be unusual to have a 7 day one, so I'm putting it down to the swimming, which, by the way was not strenuous, just dog paddle, side stroke and breast stroke, etc. I really should have done 10 or 15mins to start off, but doesn't seem worth the hassle of undressing and showering and re-dressing - but now, looking back - to prevent what happened, it would have been the sensible thing to do. Grandma is not sensible!

[Sheila]

OK, yeah, that'll do it. We are so fragile, we have to build up very slowly on our exercise.

Also, you can't really judge your status while you're on a vacation -- too many unusual variables.

[stan]

Grandmad,
i was always medium active, but when i was off, each daily exercise such as dishes, cleaning house, taking a bath, etc, even walking, worsen my state, so i do only try sleep, try eat, try walk a little, and this during years, only now i have slow progress;
weakness, unable to make common tasks, seems frequent ;

[Luc]

I'm very much like, Stan. Need to be extremely careful in that respect, too. Just take it easy, GrandmaD. No pushing things, just listen to your body as much as possible. It will help alleviate the symptoms.

[grandmaD]

I cannot believe that this is SO SLOW PROCESS for me and you guys. I am really thinking age is against us, along with the length of time we took the drug. Still, that doesn't help for now. I really thought that going away would be help, because of very little work to do in a van, no garden, no watering, etc. I didn't even walk very much. It just doesn't make sense. The only sense I can make was the swimming, but eventually I had 2 good days and have had headaches again ever since, so I can't blame that now! I am now blaming the bed! I am right aren't I, in assuming that after 5 months and an average of 2 headaches a week, that it is unusual to be having 4-6 a week suddenly?