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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
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. ;-) ;-)