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1. No, we don't know why these nerves hurt. Sometimes trauma to an area (even long ago) can make the nerves more prone to getting wildly irritated. Sometimes stress is a factor. If I had back problems, she would suspect trouble at the nerve root that was affecting the ends. I have "vasospasm" in the small blood vessels of the area, and decreasing blood flow to the nerves can make them irritable. This is probably NOT a structural problem or a disease.
2. Yes, there is hope that I will run again. I have to take things very, very slowly though -- not just increasing my movement slowly and gradually, but being very gradual with applying or changing treatments.
I cried when she said there was hope.
3. Inflammation can cause purely mechanical problems. Often when they go in surgically to remove a nerve that's inflamed or has Morton's neuroma, they see that it has an inflamed bursa (sac of fluid, apparently) around it. I thought bursa were around ends of bones, and yeah that's the common understanding associated with the word "bursitis", but they can show up around nerves too. So perhaps inflammation is squeezing/pinching/rubbing the nerves in the area.
4. People's bodies do not, in general, "adjust" to anti-inflammatories like they do to narcotics. The doctor had no explanation for why I'm having rebound pain related to the anti-inflam. One thing we can try eventually is an anti-seizure drug that is frequently used for nerve pain. For now, we're switching me to a different anti-inflammatory and not doing too many things at once.
5. To learn more about a potential system-wide inflammation problem, see a rheumatologist. I told her I understand that I'm not presenting with the classic signs or symptoms of the big autoimmune diseases. She said this would be worth looking into just for peace of mind or for the sake of completeness.
6. Yes, the Myofascial Therapy Center sounds like a good idea. So does another thingy I can get at a physical therapy center in downtown San Jose (sigh): a machine of some kind that is designed to increase blood flow and calm down the "vasospasm".
So now I'm googling:
- An article on vasospasm in the brain, with some more general info. I've had no specific tests for this, but in an extremity like the foot, maybe it's easily observable by a trained physician. My feet ARE almost always cold, even when the rest of me is warm, so a circulatory problem is believable.
- Bursitis - indicates that "bursae" form in various places, not always on bone, and that different people have different numbers of them. This might explain one really really weird thing an ex-boyfriend of mine had on/in his wrist...
- Anti-seizure meds and nerve pain. Neurontin is the one Dr. O mentioned. Sadly, no anti-seizure medication is FAA-approved for pilots -- apparently regardless of whether or not I have seizures -- so trying this could mean I would never fly again.
2. Yes, there is hope that I will run again. I have to take things very, very slowly though -- not just increasing my movement slowly and gradually, but being very gradual with applying or changing treatments.
I cried when she said there was hope.
3. Inflammation can cause purely mechanical problems. Often when they go in surgically to remove a nerve that's inflamed or has Morton's neuroma, they see that it has an inflamed bursa (sac of fluid, apparently) around it. I thought bursa were around ends of bones, and yeah that's the common understanding associated with the word "bursitis", but they can show up around nerves too. So perhaps inflammation is squeezing/pinching/rubbing the nerves in the area.
4. People's bodies do not, in general, "adjust" to anti-inflammatories like they do to narcotics. The doctor had no explanation for why I'm having rebound pain related to the anti-inflam. One thing we can try eventually is an anti-seizure drug that is frequently used for nerve pain. For now, we're switching me to a different anti-inflammatory and not doing too many things at once.
5. To learn more about a potential system-wide inflammation problem, see a rheumatologist. I told her I understand that I'm not presenting with the classic signs or symptoms of the big autoimmune diseases. She said this would be worth looking into just for peace of mind or for the sake of completeness.
6. Yes, the Myofascial Therapy Center sounds like a good idea. So does another thingy I can get at a physical therapy center in downtown San Jose (sigh): a machine of some kind that is designed to increase blood flow and calm down the "vasospasm".
So now I'm googling:
- An article on vasospasm in the brain, with some more general info. I've had no specific tests for this, but in an extremity like the foot, maybe it's easily observable by a trained physician. My feet ARE almost always cold, even when the rest of me is warm, so a circulatory problem is believable.
- Bursitis - indicates that "bursae" form in various places, not always on bone, and that different people have different numbers of them. This might explain one really really weird thing an ex-boyfriend of mine had on/in his wrist...
- Anti-seizure meds and nerve pain. Neurontin is the one Dr. O mentioned. Sadly, no anti-seizure medication is FAA-approved for pilots -- apparently regardless of whether or not I have seizures -- so trying this could mean I would never fly again.
no subject
There are systemic inflammation problems that are not autoimmune diseases. Like the one I have (http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section5/chapter55/55c.jsp).
trying this could mean I would never fly again.
Oh, Ceej ... I hope it doesn't come to that! That's the choice I had to make, so I know how it feels. I tried to just deal with the pain, but I couldn't -- it got to where I couldn't have climbed into the airplane anyway (especially not the Cherokee I was flying!) without the Percocet. So I couldn't fly without it, and I certainly couldn't fly with it. It's been more than 15 years, and I still miss it and think about it sometimes.
But hmm ... I almost never take Percocet any more -- I just assumed tramadol (Ultram) was on the FAA's shitlist as well. Do you know if it is or not? (I don't go to aviation-related sites when I can help it -- it still makes me feel bad.) I'm pretty sure nothing else I take would be verboten. Not that I can afford to fly any more anyway (thanks to George Bush
no subject
That's the choice I had to make, so I know how it feels.
Oh Sunny, I never knew that! I never knew why you didn't fly any more! I could just cry. That is heartbreaking. I wish no one would ever have to make a decision like that. And that you tried to just deal with the pain in order to keep flying, until it got so bad you couldn't get in the plane... That's just brutal.
I can look up Ultram if you like. It might be close enough to narcotics that it would be troublesome, but I have no idea. Can't look 'til I get home though. If you feel like shipping me the rest of the laundry list I can look at those while I'm at it. My name at livejournal works.
no subject
But it wasn't going well for several reasons. One is that he was a terrible misogynist, and instead of bolstering my confidence as a pilot, he actually sapped it. I was a well-trained, licensed pilot, and I could fly VFR just fine, thankyouverymuch. But every time we came back from a lesson, as I was landing the airplane, he'd grab it somewhere between 10 feet and 40 feet, say "I've got the airplane" in a faintly disapproving voice, and complete the touchdown and rollout.
At first I thought, "Well, I'm out of practice, I haven't flown for a year and a half." Then I thought, "Well, maybe I'm just tired from the effort of learning instrument flight, it's so tiring." But as it happened lesson after lesson, I started feeling uncomfortable about flying solo, since I hadn't actually landed an airplane in quite awhile. But I finally figured out what was going on from other remarks he made about women. He simply didn't believe a woman could actually pilot an airplane, at least not without supervision and help.
He also said something that made me furious. We ran into each other in the parking lot and he saw me getting out of my car, noticed the handicap symbol on the plates and said in a slightly dirisive tone, "Whose crip tags?" It took me a minute to even figure out what he meant! Finally I realized and told him, "They're mine!" "They're yours? What do you need crip tags for?" I don't remember what I said -- I was too angry by then. I swallowed my irritation and didn't say anything about it, but I deeply resented the derogatory attitude. I have an acquaintance who is much more handicapped that I am, and she refers to her license plates as "crip tags" -- and that's fine. But his use of the word was like a white person using the word "nigger" -- African Americans can call each other that and it's fine, but it's not taken kindly if someone outside the group uses it.
So eventually I realized I was going to have to find another instrument instructor. Meanwhile it was getting harder and harder to do the preflight, climb into and out of the airplane, and then tie it down at the end of the flight. The hood was getting heavier and heavier. I'd park in the closest handicrap spot I could get, and sometimes I'd have to rest in the terminal for a little while just to be able to walk back to the car. I had a prescription for Percocet, but I didn't take it within 8 hours of a flight (I didn't take it if I had to even drive somewhere, although I allowed a shorter interval.)
If I'd had a good instructor I might have been able to continue a little longer, but I don't think I would have been able to finish my instrument rating even with the best instructor in the world. Now I'm in much better shape, thanks to the introduction of Ultram and Ambien (neither of which was out yet), acupuncture, and the exercise and weight loss that the meds and acupuncture made possible. I'd still have trouble getting in and out of a low-wing airplane, but I could do it -- provided I'd taken my Ultram. I doubt Ambien is allowed either, even though it makes me more awake and alert the next morning because I got a decent night's sleep. Catch-22.
no subject
Oh, I am so ticked off on your behalf. He was bilking you out of your instruction fees, *and* insulting your intelligence and capabilities, *and* wasting your time. And since it's about sexism instead of fraud he won't go to jail for it. After all, it's okay to cheat people as long as it's based on bigotry instead of outright dishonesty.
Gah. Humans are sometimes pretty scummy, huh? I suppose I shall have to declare that they are not always worthy of sharing the planet with my exalted self. ;-) ;-)
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no subject
I don't see how I could get a waiver. Just because I've been taking it for 7 or 8 years and found that it not only doesn't diminish my energy and concentration, it improves it, doesn't mean an AME would accept that just because I said so. =sigh= Thanks for checking for me, though. I have wondered about it, and it's nice to at least know for sure.
no subject
The AME (or the two overworked guys in Kansas City) might accept that the doctor who's been prescribing it to you and monitoring your case for some time would have a good idea of what it does to you. But still, the appeals process for a no-fly drug is probably prohibitive. (Gee, I sure do feel safe with all those RULES looking out for me.)
You mentioned Ambien. "Those pilots taking Ambien (zolpidem), another prescription medication, must wait 24-48 hours after the last dose before flying." Hrm. Seems to negate the point of it, but if you're not taking it daily then that one wouldn't be a showstopper.