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Medical Advice

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22:29 / 20.06.06

xk:

Thanks for the photos. Fascinating. Your cat was not fucking around, huh?

Nice tattoos, by the way.

paranoidwriter waves hello

16:35 / 03.09.06

This is a really tough one to explain; so please bear with me:

I have an odd sensation in the my lower right leg. If you were actually facing me, within the left hand, outer section of my shin there's a kind of vertical strip of surface skin/flesh/muscle near my tibia that feels...well... odd. It's almost numb (although not as numb as the numbness you get before "pins and needles" sets in), as though the outer layers are almost no longer part of my body / nervous system.

And it gets odder. For the past two days or so, whenever I've walked a fair distance (say, to the shops and back), when I move my right leg forward and kind of flip my cnemis up and down, just before my right foot hits the ground, I get a slight feeling that my muscles won't be quite strong enough to bear my weight, as though they're almost not really there. As a result, I appear to be fanning my ankle out and turning the front part of my foot inwards slightly, and then dragging my left leg a bit as I walk, even though I'm trying really hard not to.

I don't have a doctor, and I'm more curious than alarmed by this. If it gets worse, of course, I'll seek professional help; but I figure it's nothing too major. Also, I've not been sitting in a position for too long or anything like that, like I sometimes do, and the feeling has been there for two days, no matter what activity I'm involved in and without any sign of 'pins and needles' developing. There's no discolouration or swelling either.

Any ideas?

*

17:21 / 03.09.06

pinched nerve?

paranoidwriter waves hello

17:31 / 03.09.06

Ahh...could be... Good theory. I do often sit with my legs crossed; which I've been trying to correct. I'd always though pinched nerves were supposed to be painful? Off to the wiki, to find out more.

Cheers, id. I admit, part of me was thinking: "This is a sign, like that footballer from the 70's you saw a documentary about years ago. The one who held his hand ever so slightly oddly when he played, a position that seemed to become less slight over time, and which turned out to be an initial sign of some kind of motor-neurone ailment..."

Yup, I have to work real hard to the hypochondriac in me quiet.

19:15 / 03.09.06

I'm with Entity: you've likely crushed a nerve slightly, and no, this isn't necessarily painful. More commonly, there's an area of sensory loss or an 'electrical' feeling. My recall of the innervation of the lower leg is ropey at best, but looking at this diagram

I'm thinking the superficial peroneal or lateral cutaneous nerve.

Nothing terribly serious, I wouldn't have thought, although it can take a while for normal sensation to return.

paranoidwriter waves hello

19:21 / 03.09.06

Ganesh. Bang on, as usual. It must be my lateral cutaneous nerve. I'd just spent ages getting lost in Grey's Anatomy (no, not the Telly program). Seriously, I wish you my Doctor sometimes. Cheers, comrade. And again, thanks also to you, id.

I feel far less confused about it now, and faaaar more fascinated. Nice one!

19:45 / 03.09.06

Seriously, I wish you my Doctor sometimes.

[Churchill Insurance bulldog] Steady, now. [/Churchill Insurance bulldog]

paranoidwriter waves hello

19:55 / 03.09.06

[Father Ted/] "Down with that sort of thing..."[/Father Ted]

Don't worry, G, I didn't mean it that seriously. 'Twas a complement, really. In any other sense, it would be a little weird and uncomfortable, like getting a new friend to help give me an enema.

03:08 / 04.09.06

I always get colds and the flu. I eat garlic, i take vitamin C, i live in frigging Brisbane (which is never cold enough to warrant a serious cold) and yet, i spend six months of the year all snuffly. Any thoughts?

04:33 / 04.09.06

you sure the 'all snuffly' symptoms aren't hayfever? I just read today that "this year is shaping as the worst hay fever season in a decade" in australia...

08:26 / 04.09.06

yeah, i do get hayfever too, but there's definite flu stuff going on....

10:12 / 04.09.06

Paranoidwriter - have you been doing anything high-impact lately? Roadrunning and the like?

If so, could be Shin Splints. More aggravating than painful, I gather and treated with ice and anti-inflammatories. No fun but not degenerative or anything to fret about too much either.

paranoidwriter waves hello

15:15 / 14.09.06

In case anyone either of you were wondering or even worrying....

I haven't made it to a Doc yet, but it turns out that Dr Ganesh was right about which nerve I've pinched. Indeed, it seems I have what's colloquially known as "Foot Drop". I've told friends what it's called and they laughed warmly and all but suggested it should become my new nickname. They have a point. A good one. Bless 'em. Indeed, think my next screen-name incarnation will be "paranoid "drop foot" writer".

I've been having to sit at my screen a lot these past few months. And when I do, I usually sit in lazy, often bad, but nevertheless comfortable positions, for looong periods. I also haven't done as much walking and dancing as I usually do, and getting enough nutrients and vitamins in my diet...etc...

So, I've modified my chair, did LOADS of dancing all week as I did my domestic chores, had an hour walk today and have another hour and a half walk for this evening. It's already starting to get better (I think), although it isn't anywhere near healed yet: I felt a touch of pins and needles a few times, and can now feel the skin above the pinched nerve a bit more.

I also bought a walking stick for £2.50 today from a charity shop, and I'm learning how to use it for emergency "my ankle might not do it properly" moments (e.g curbs). It also makes me feel safer on the streets at night. i.e. I look like an easy target.

It's also been an amazing experience seeing how strangers have treated me on the streets, as they've seen me limp near them concentrating on walking, with stick in hand and ready for a slip; the odd, momentary grimace on my face, but always smiling and apologising when necessary. Some people are ace; some are ignorant, moody, selfish shit-bags... That's what I've re-learnt today.

Anyhoo,... Waffling.... Again...., So....

Many thanks, again, to Ganesh and id entity.

Oh... And also to Jodrell Bankheist: I only just saw your post (cheers, comrade). I've been having baths (etc), but yours is a very good idea. Nice one. I'd all but forgotten, but I'll do the ice and heat thingymy as well from now on. Should help the muscles around the nerve to heal (etc), eh? Thanks, mate.

13:12 / 15.09.06

Alright, a propos de this crazy business, I am having odd joint problems in the form of constant clicking/cracking/popping of elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles, whenever they move. And I mean constant. I expect that it will not prove fatal, but is there anything I can do to Make it Stop?

17:03 / 15.09.06

I am having odd joint problems in the form of constant clicking/cracking/popping of elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles, whenever they move. And I mean constant. I expect that it will not prove fatal, but is there anything I can do to Make it Stop?

Anything I know about health care comes from dog care... so my first thought is - glucosamine supplements?

I have my own wacky medical complaint. I've had this for about two years I'd say, and when it first started I went to the doc who diagnosed "pulled muscle." You be the judge. It's a pain in my right side just at the base of, and sort of slightly under, my ribcage. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like suddenly I have one too many ribs and the little short one at the bottom is poking into something else. When it first started it was very painful, I guess not unlike a pulled muscle, worse in the morning. It then faded to a very slight discomfort that seems to come and go. I recently found that if I push into my abdomen and sort of nudge the bottom rib outward it makes a sharper pain (though still not intense). Thoughts?

17:30 / 15.09.06

doozy: did it just start or was it gradual?

ibis: does stretching lessen or increase the pain? Did this pain arrive in relation to any injury or new activity?

You may want to visit a chiropractor as ribs can do many odd things. I've had great relief when my ribs have been nudged back into place especially after impacts. My chiropractors have used what looks like a giant syringe type object with a padded tip to separate the ribs along my spine.

Or if chiropractors weird you out I'd suggest consulting a physical therapist/massage therapist.

17:38 / 15.09.06

I started taking some painkillers that contain an amount of codeine. Can I expect a nasty withdrawl? Is there anything that can take the edge off it if there is? Honestly I feel good right now. Just a little bit too good is all. I would really appreciate some advice or to hear from anyone who has had experiences with these kinds of drugs and what I can expect.

17:58 / 15.09.06

ibis: does stretching lessen or increase the pain? Did this pain arrive in relation to any injury or new activity?

Stretching doesn't increase the pain, scrunching down or bending down does. The only thing I can remember doing that was physically out of the ordinary before the pain started was I'd been traveling (by bus) and carried a heavy duffel around on one shoulder a lot for a couple of days. ...You know I never even thought of seeing a chiropractor nor a massage therapist. Thanks for the ideas.

18:20 / 15.09.06

xk: I've always had click-prone knees and elbows when kneeling down and stretching and such, but when I'm in the gym (a new activity) they and hitherto silent joints just pop every time I move. It's disconcerting rather than painful or anything, but I keep hearing my mother's voice praising the virtues of cod liver oil and I wonder if they need something extra that's missing from my diet to help them get over the shock of exercise? (my joints, that is, not the voices of my mother.....)

18:22 / 15.09.06

eirdandfracar, I have codeine in the painkillers I use for arthritis and I don't have nasty withdrawal. Although I suppose taking them quite often could possibly mean I have no idea if I do have nasty withdrawal or not.

That's crap advice. Sorry.

22:09 / 15.09.06

Any advice for how to treat a healing abrasion? It's closed up nicely but is still pink around the edges and getting itchy.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

22:18 / 15.09.06

I've lost pretty much all sensation in my right big toe. It feels really weird.

22:40 / 15.09.06

Fred: Sounds like it is healing nicely. Leave it alone.

22:48 / 15.09.06

I'm giving it a little hand lotion every so often to keep it from getting too dry.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:53 / 15.09.06

Mordant- I get that quite a lot. I have no idea what it signifies. It usually just lasts long enough for me to notice it, then the next day it occurs to me that it's not happening anymore. And I forget about it.

Christ. Now you've got me thinking about it. I hope for both our sakes it's nothing too scary.

10:51 / 16.09.06

I hope your arthritis gets better Oulabelle. Don't worry about your advice, it's reasurring to hear that someone else has taken the stuff and not become an opium fiend. I've started staggering the doses with paracetamol and the world is returning to its usual web of nascent possiblies and mundanity. A wise friend observed that pain should sometimes be embraced. And I've seen a window open to another world, a very beautiful world.

Whisky Priestess

15:05 / 17.09.06

Don't know if I've mentioned the sore rash thing underneath my left eye, but it's back, dry and bright red. Could be stress, could be allergy to cosmetics, but every time I try to put any sort of soothing cream on it (cleansing lotion, cocoa butter, anything really) it burns and doesn't help - sometimes inflames the skin further.

Is a steroid cream or something like E45 my answer? I don't want to make it worse but it really is unsightly.

15:17 / 17.09.06

Whisky: It's best not to put steroid cream near your eyes, unless it's a cream specifically prescribed for the eye area (you can permanently damage your vision over time with topical steroids). I have a similar rash, from allergies. I use Elidel (a safe-for-around-eyes topical), although I find that Vaseline, twice a day, also really helps. Skin around the eyes is very seneitive, so most lotions, aloe, cocoa butter, etc, just make the area itchier and sorer. I'd try the Vaseline, and maybe some allergy eyedrops (could be you're rubbing your eye in your sleep, and that's what's causing the rash).

Whisky Priestess

09:32 / 18.09.06

Thanks Cailin. Boots here I come. I'm sick of looking like a battered wife, and not the kind you get with chips.

All Acting Regiment

09:44 / 18.09.06

My eyes keep hurting and don't seem to be able to stand up to smoke or dirty glasses without watering, which is obviously quite fucking embarassing a la nitespot, and people end up asking me what's wrong, and so on, and then going through this whole rigmarole of "No, see, I'm not actually crying, I'm just drunk and my eyes hurt"/"Come on, out with it, you can tell me"/"No seriously"/"Oh what, you're rejecting us now? Your best friends?" and I can really do without it.

What can I do about sensitive eyes?

pointless & uncalled for

09:53 / 18.09.06

I've lost pretty much all sensation in my right big toe. It feels really weird.

Poorly fitting/poorly supporting/old shoes are the likely problem here.

19:41 / 18.09.06

Without prejudice to the above, I was wondering if…well…you see, new guidelines mean that altruistic organ donation is no longer frowned upon in the UK. I have to go to the hospital tomorrow because there’s been a bit of a downturn in the function of my singular acquired kidney. This is a bit of a worry, and I’m hoping that it’s all a lot of fuss about nothing. I mean…the beastie’s been pumping away for six years, now, and it was a pretty crap match to start with so it’s done really well…I was just thinking that maybe, maybe if I put my cross-match details on here I might get…

…no. That’s rude of me. Just an idea. A+ive, that’s a start, isn’t it? It’ll rule a lot of you out, so you needn’t worry. Sorry…no. Just…thinking.

19:53 / 18.09.06

Crikey, Toes - good luck with all that. Altruistic donation was frowned on? But.. for why?

19:54 / 18.09.06

oh, and that's a sincere 'good luck', not the sarky version it reads like..

20:02 / 18.09.06

Fred, use Vitamin E oil. Vitamin E is brilliant for getting rid of scars if used rigorously and it also stops the itching and dryness.

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