Well that's me off my bike for a while

[Katherine]

I think you need to avoid all falls if possible to prevent set backs and pain etc.

Suggest a one off big clean by a company that will send a couple of cleaners together to go through and do the stuff you can't do.

Suggest one of those grabbers for picking things up and reaching stuff, I think they're called helping hands.

Suggest that a physio or occupational therapist could teach you how to turn around safely.

Apologies if you've tried those things!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Back to the bed issue. When I did mine in way back when, the surgeon advised me that having a solid firm base is the key part and not the mattress. Best is something like a platform divan, futon or mattress on floor, although latter not practical with a bad back

Our bed in our home is firm, very firm because we are both used to sleeping on crash mats from years and years of camping, so I will stay sleeping in our home at night. Daytime is more of a problem and I may well resort to taking on of the inflatable mats over tomorrow and moving a few small table out of the way to rig up the same solution we have been using downstairs for me to watch TV in the evening. It's not as comfortable as the bedroom solution but much better than her sofa! One to work on.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I think you need to avoid all falls if possible to prevent set backs and pain etc.

Suggest a one off big clean by a company that will send a couple of cleaners together to go through and do the stuff you can't do.

Suggest one of those grabbers for picking things up and reaching stuff, I think they're called helping hands.

Suggest that a physio or occupational therapist could teach you how to turn around safely.

Apologies if you've tried those things!

The cleaners could be an option after the new kitchen goes in.. That starts in 2 weeks time.
The grabber is something I have considered.
Falls are err well an issue: the problem is that the leg can hold me for x many steps and then give way on x+1. Sadly I have not yet worked out what x is and I suspect it is variable! Seriously though it just gives way of its own accord and there is nothing there for me to stop it doing it, it's hard to explain but I was balance on the leg holding my weight through the bone structure but if I go slightly off to the right there is physically nothing I can do to stop me falling, there is no muscle control available to me in that situation despite me being able to move the leg to walk. The problem is that the slight paralysis down the left side that I have had for 20 odd years also complicated matters. I'm working on it!

 

[vickster]

Where practical, can you use a walking frame if you need to go more than a couple of paces? Again discuss with the physio/OT/surgeon

 

[summerdays]

it's hard to explain but I was balance on the leg holding my weight through the bone structure but if I go slightly off to the right there is physically nothing I can do to stop me falling, there is no muscle control available to me in that situation despite me being able to move the leg to walk.

That makes sense to me, the pilates teacher is often trying to get us to support ourselves using muscles rather than just weight through the bones. I'm very bad at that bit!

 

[gavgav]

All the best @SatNavSaysStraightOn .

 

[summerdays]

[QUOTE 3490515, member: 9609"]I would guess there is a muscle group somewhere not firing up properly, possibly due to nerve impingement / damage.

I changed my Pilates teacher last year to one who is also a physiotherapist, and at great expense I done many one on one sessions with her in a bid to try and resolve some of the longer standing issues that I have from my spinal injury 6 years ago. She identified something possibly similar with myself (that I was not aware of) If I stand feet hip width apart, she can push me from one side and I can resist, but from the other side I can offer no resistance whatsoever, she reckons this is all down to my Gluteous medious not working. And this in turn is apparently causing my hamstring to be over tight which in turn is pulling my spine out of shape which may be causing some sort of vicious circle.

Weirdly she has some muscle activation techniques (MAT) that can get the muscle to fire up for a little while, (half hour) and when its fired up after the MAT I can resist equally in the sideways push test, it also transforms my ability to do certain pilates exercises - all a little bizarre, pity is there is no explanation to why it won't stay fired up.[/QUOTE]
Weirdly one of my friends was told at a sports massage that one of her gluts wasn't firing up last week, I'd never heard that before.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Well, I'm just back. Hurting like hell right now but there is good news and bad news. Mostly good mind you

There is next to nothing left of the disk itself and the gristly noise I can hear when I move around is vertebrae on vertebrae, however a new MRI showed no fragments had been missed during the op, so I don't need another op from that point of view. She doesn't want to do the fusing of the vertebrae and would only do a full disk replacement further down the line if other measures and time don't settle things down.

She is still concerned about the amount of pain meds I'm on especially the pregabalin given the issue I'm still having with the calf muscle cramping up and lack of strength and control in the left leg, plus the inability to take my weight onto the right leg when standing on tip toe (I can't stay on tip toe and my calf muscle cramps up badly).

So if she can get me on to the list for next week as a day case she will do an epidural with steroid injection into the base of the spine to assist with pain relief and then review in 6 weeks.

I'm tocarry on with the physio exercises I am doing and try to walk as much as possible, so I may try to get a 3rd daily walk in if I feel up to it. She was also keen for me to get cycling again so I may consider getting a cheap turbo trainer to rig up my mountain bike to (lower cross bar and gears) or alternatively something like @raleighnut put up as a temporary measure until I can sit for longer periods to establish if I need a trike long term or recumbent trike... We will see.

I will find out in the next few days if she is able to get me in next week (technically her list is full but she said she would try to get me in...)

 

[ColinJ]

Yikes - I'm amazed that having no disk is an option!

Still, overall you sound pleased with developments and that is good news.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yikes - I'm amazed that having no disk is an option!

Still, overall you sound pleased with developments and that is good news.

Cautious is probably a better word. It does seem that next to no disk is an option. It wasn't in my view but hence why I specifically asked about disk replacement. My sister in-law had had 2 partial disk replacements done from the back, but apparently full disk replacements which is what I would need are done from the front and are considered major surgery and hence only done if absolutely necessary. not sure where that leaves me long term but if the day case thingy gets me over the worst of the pain and I can start exercising again I should see some more improvement but there is probably long term/permanent loss of use the right leg. How much remains to be seen and only time will tell now.

 

[hopless500]

Surely if you have two vertebrae grinding together that can't be good?

 

[vickster]

Yikes - I'm amazed that having no disk is an option!

Still, overall you sound pleased with developments and that is good news.

I believe there is still fluid between the two vertebrae providing some level of lubrication as in any joint space. I had a lumbar discectomy 20 odd years ago and I've not had back issues since, well until recently but I believe that's an SIJ issue rather than lumbar spine

Glad to hear some positive came out of the appointment and hopefully the epidural can be done next week

 

[Scoosh]

Sounds more than .

 

[ColinJ]

Amazing things, bodies! Even the battered ones that many of us have ...

 

[Katherine]

Well done, good to hear that and fingers crossed for next week.