 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / April 2007Major Frustration/ Question
How do the rest of you still garden. I have tried everything I can think of. I have a little cart I sit on to weed. But that still does in my neck, upper back, shoulders, hands, arms. Is there a way to keep gardening with this stuff. I want to keep doing it. I only do a small section at a time and that still kills me. Is there any way to keep gardening when you are like this that doesn't make you hurt like this. I don't know if it is the arthritis, fms or cmp that is doing it. Also is there something you can do for major muscle spasms with out muscle relaxors. I don't have medical and don't know how to stop them. They are violent suckers. It actually feels like it is moving bone. I know it can't be but that is what it feels like, It actually deforms me for awhile and then it goes back to place. It is spring and I am having spring fever I think. I want to do things like I used to do, which I know I can't. But I thought If I could just do a small section at a time I could do it again. I am seeing I am wrong about that. My neck is getting really bad and it so affects my arms and hands so much. I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us.  SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one HI Jo.. You know I do gardening too but the weeds are the worst part. I try early in the season to mulch really well. I also use weed paper under the mulch for extra protection from future growing weeds. MOst the time I have a old large pillow that is thick and comfy to sit on. I do not mind getting it dirty because its my garden pillow. Anyways I use thaty to kneel on and pull weeds. I can not do it for long mostly in small amounts but I sometimes enlist help from family. Happy gradening and isnt is wonderful that spring is here? RhondaM > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like > this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. Squirrelly, Set a timer for about 3 minutes the first time. Have everything ready and using a large handled tool, sitting on your cart or a stool work on that section. Stop when the timer goes off and just enjoy what you have done (probably very little but more than you had done the day before.) All weeds go into a small bucket or a cart which SOMEONE else empties. (could be a neighbors kid). Go inside and lie down and do some relaxation exercises and ice if necessary. If that didn't cause too much pain then later in the day you can do another 3 minutes. Repeat the lying down exercise - this is important. Next day if you did not have any undue pain then increase it to 4 minutes. Do not increase to 6 minutes as this is double the amount of time! Again if it works you can do it twice in a day. Keep at it until you can increase with no pain with the exception of maybe a little muscle pain. Always use the timer and respect it. Do not do a lot of cleanup afterwards. Also try for the second session only doing the tall things ie: pruning tall bushes etc. Give that a shot. If that doesn't work I will give some other ideas. Do not give up! Kelly > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like > this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. Answering a few in one. Kelly, Those are great ideas. Well all the ideas are great ones and I will try them and see what happens. I am not sure what will work if anything at this point. It affects my back, neck, knees, arms and hands. I am so a mess. LOL ;-) Jim and I were talking about it this weekend and I think we are going to turn some of the flower beds back into grass so he can just mow more of it. He has knee problems too and he was the one that was doing more of the weeding last year. For some reason I thought, maybe my situation had changed. I was right, it did, but not for the better. The DDD is causing alot of this probem I am sure. But I will try it for smaller amts of time and see what happens. I do use my little (what I call go-cart) cart with the tools in it and a small bucket. It is not a five gal. I think maybe a 2 or something like that. Painting the roundup was a good idea for the other Jo too Kelly, I never used roundup because of being afraid it would destroy what I didn't want destroyed, but with your idea, I might try that. Kate, Not sure what you mean by the upside down tomato pots. Is that for sitting on or to keep the weeds down in the flower bed. I am having fibro fog right now and not sure what you meant. Judy, that was a great idea for Jo with the trumpet vine. I have those in my yard. She is in the same area as I am only further north. I bet those would do Jo. They do draw the hummers too. Mary Margaret, At this point I don't have money to try the raised beds but I am thinking about it when we do get the money if we ever do. ;-) Thank you all this is giving me much to think about and much to try to see if it works. Great ideas all. Thanks again. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > Squirrelly, > Set a timer for about 3 minutes the first time. Have everything ready and [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] >> much. I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone >> like this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. > How do the rest of you still garden. Its like a British actor said about kneeling for the Queen,,, Oh, I can do that, it the getting up after where I need help. > I have tried everything I can think of. I have a little cart I sit on to > weed. But that still does in my neck, upper back, shoulders, hands, arms. > Is there a way to keep gardening with this stuff. I want to keep doing it. > I only do a small section at a time and that still kills me. My F.I.L worked and had a great garden until he was 87 and died at 89. He died from heart failure after being in the hospital for a couple of weeks for his cancer of the lungs and emphysema. It was like people having RA but always die of something else. He would carry a 5 gallon bucket around with him all the time to sit on until he got his wind back or sit on while he used the hoe around his plants and then it was used to get his wind back while trying to get back to the house for supper after being out with his 3 hen houses (used to be 5) and/or working in the garden...... Where there is a will,,,, a person can find a way and he loved his little farm and he liked the peace and quiet of it rather than listening to my MIL go on and on about something,,,, anything,,,,, or nothing amd sometimes all of that. > Is there any way to keep gardening when you are like this that doesn't > make you hurt like this. I don't know if it is the arthritis, fms or cmp > that is doing it. The doing is probably good for you buttttttt just do not over do. We have to get our body in some kind of shape to do these things without doing great damage to ourselves. > Also is there something you can do for major muscle spasms with out muscle > relaxors. I don't have medical and don't know how to stop them. They are > violent suckers. It actually feels like it is moving bone. I know it can't > be but that is what it feels like, It actually deforms me for awhile and > then it goes back to place. You really need a blood test to see what kind of help you need to stop those. > It is spring and I am having spring fever I think. I want to do things > like I used to do, which I know I can't. But I thought If I could just do > a small section at a time I could do it again. I think you should try a little,,,, to see if it is going to hurt you to do this. Now having said that,,,,, and you have a heart attack while doing it,,,,, I guess that makes it my fault for giving you encouragement. I am seeing I am wrong about that. May be so or maybe not. I know you would feel better about doing anything if you knew the cause of your muscle spasms. > My neck is getting really bad and it so affects my arms and hands so much. > I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like > this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. Oooh, I don't know about a miracle. I do not wish for miracles or expect them. Its kind of like giving God a task and I am not going to do that. and we love you too Jo and spring is in our heart even if we can not pull weeds or move dirt around so good anymore. Harv >How do the rest of you still garden. [...] It's simply not possible for me to garden any longer, so I gave it up other than doing things to keep the "garden" neat looking. My finger joints partially dislocate now, and my wrists and ankles have that "tunnel" syndrome problem, and toes are deformed. Not matter how wonderful the tools, I simply can't seriously garden any longer without paying a heavy price. So I'm content to do things that at least neaten things up. I'll trim bushes, and transplant perennial plants to areas where they can reseed themselves. We have wild and domestic columbines that reseed wonderfully, as well as wild roses, and they attract all kinds of butterflies and hummingbirds. The worst part of "gardening" is the problem with the huge old willow trees we have. They're forever shedding old branches, so cleaning them up after a long winter is a chore that will take me a couple of weeks working slowly for a few minutes every day to haul them off. Then keeping on top of the falling dead branches becomes more manageable. Instead of gardening now my hobby has become creating attractive feeding stations for all kinds of birds that pass through during migrations. We especially get a lot of hummingbirds, who put on funny aerial star wars displays as they are extremely territorial. So we put enough feeders out to accommodate them as we can, and still they fight over them. It's a riot, because at times I swear they need an air traffic controller! <grin> There's an old Christmas Tree "plantation" on the property, trees that never sold and were allowed to grow to full height over the past 25 years or so. My SO, when he rides the mower to do the lawns, will make some passes through the plantation. Gradually he has created a "nature trail" among the trees, and that's how I get my exercise, walking along the paths watching for birds and wildlife. For me, I guess the key was in finding some "hobbies" that would replace the ones I used to enjoy so much, and still provide some kind of physical toning to keep my joints from stiffening up. And ones, hobbies and other interests, that would allow for the restrictions caused as the RA and other problems progressed. Everything I can do to beat out the diseases on any level is a huge success and bonus, and keeps me feeling alive. We each of us must find our own ways to live life fully in spite of our medical conditions. -- LadyKitt "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to slide in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming: WOW...WHAT A RIDE!!!" I have to admit that I am going to have to give alot of stuff up that I don't want to, but I am still fighting it at the moment. I think it is the pred. ;-0 I hear you on watching the birds and such. I do that too. Can't do much else. I thought I could but that was my mind thinking something that my body can't do. ;-) The hummers are amazing aren't they. Ours does that too. We have two feeders on one side of the house and two on the other side. They still fight and are very territorial. But they are good for amusement. ;-) I have a few that like to come down and get in my face when I am doing something out in the yard and not paying attention to them. I hate that, that beak scares me when it is in my face that close. ;-) I keep trying to find things I can still do, but then my body says well no, you can't do that either. I hate this getting older and dealing with it. They were right it is not for wimps. I am a wimp. ;-) It would be nice if I could get my mind and body in sinc. (sp) that way then my mind wouldn't think I could still work or play because it would know that this body is 150 yrs old. ;-) I do try to keep as active as I can so that I can keep this body moving. I stiffen up at the least little thing as I am sure most of us do. I am a fighter and I keep trying to fight even if it gets a punch or two in on me. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one >>How do the rest of you still garden. > [...] [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > -- > LadyKitt > How do the rest of you still garden. > > I have tried everything I can think of. I have a little cart I sit on to > weed. But that still does in my neck, upper back, shoulders, hands, arms. > Is there a way to keep gardening with this stuff. I want to keep doing it. > I only do a small section at a time and that still kills me. I keep trying, but there are plenty of days that if I manage to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air for a bit, that is enough. We were doing pretty well until Charlie decided to go and get competitive in the bad knees department. I do manage to do two things in the yard. I make sure everything gets watered often enough, and this year that will be a big job. And I take care of most of the weeds. No I don't pull weeds. I can't. My knees are shot and I don't have any strength left in my hands. But Roundup weed killer will do the job if you don't let them get ahead of you. If you kill any weeds before they are an inch tall, they will shrivel back to nothing and you won't have to pull them. You do have to be careful not to hit any good plants. Sometimes I'll carry a sheet of cardboard to protect the flowers from the spray. Another thing that helps me, if I'm going to do something in the yard like trim the roses, I do it right after I get up in the morning. Before I get a shower. Usually even put on the dirty clothes from the day before. Then when I'm done I'll get cleaned up and dressed for the day. Cause I sure don't have the energy to do it twice. Jo Try painting on the round up - it works well with a small jar and a paintbrush. That way you don't have to worry about the spray on small jobs. Kelly >> How do the rest of you still garden. >> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Jo > Try painting on the round up - it works well with a small jar and a > paintbrush. That way you don't have to worry about the spray on small > jobs. > > Kelly I may be doing that some this year. For one thing we cut down a mimosa tree last fall, and I understand they believe the dead must live again. And we have a bed of dahlia's that get infested with Bermuda grass to where I can't spray. While we are talking about gardening, I just put in a 25ft chain link fence. It will have privacy slats but I would like to grow some sort of vine on it as well. Any suggestions for a hot dry California valley? Jo > I may be doing that some this year. For one thing we cut down a mimosa > tree last fall, and I understand they believe the dead must live again. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Jo HHhhhhm yes,,,, move the valley to Ariz... or New Mexico or West Texas, I do not think there are any valleys there. Harv Trumpet vine (Hummingbird vine) would probably grow, but it might try to take over your yard, too. >> Try painting on the round up - it works well with a small jar and a >> paintbrush. That way you don't have to worry about the spray on small [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Jo Jo and Harv Jo, I know how that goes when Hubby decides to share in with the parts of the body going. Mine is like that too. I will try the roundup, between you and Kelly's suggestion about it, I might be able to do that without killing everything. Good suggestion about doing it first in the morning too. Harv, Whoa, you dad had to be one heck of a man to do that still with what he was dealing with. Yeah I am still trying to get my body in some kind of shape besides round. LOL sorry couldn't resist that one. But no matter what I try to do it seems to not want to get in shape. Everything hurts me no matter what. Yeah I do have to get a blood test as soon as I can afford it to see what is going on with those muscle spasms. They are bad. It feels like it is moving ribs and other body parts to the side. ONce when they xrayed my neck they could see me spasming in the neck. That is a given for my neck but the rib cage is getting worse with the spasms and it is kind of scaring me. I have a rib that has a calcium deposit on it, so it sticks way out there. The other day spasm had that rib feeling like it was two ribs up. If it is moving that sucker, I am wondering how long it will be before something hits the lung or heart. I was doing it Harv, but I guess I was doing too much. That is why I asked the question because I want to do it, but this darn body doesn't want to let me do it. Yeah I would feel better if I knew what the cause of the muscle spasms are. Harv, If I went out and did something and had a heart attack, I know I would not and I am sure my family would not think it was something you told me to encourage me on. It would probably be our first thought that the hydration issues finally got to me. Or the numerous other issues my body has. So don't worry about that. I know you are trying to encourage me to keep going for as long as I can. That is what I want to do. I am tired of just watching the world go by without me on it. ;-) SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one >> How do the rest of you still garden. >> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Jo Hi You might try this forum.Read the past posts,seems to be some good ideas.Good luck. Ebb http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/accessible/ You could try having someone make raised flower beds for you. you could sit in a chair and only reach as far as you can from that position. The trick is making the beds no wider than what you can comfortable reach from one side. My FIL is wanting to make raised beds so my MIL can get out and do a bit of gardening. Mary Margaret > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like > this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. Jo, check out my post on container gardening. It is very do-able and smaller scale. Pots/containers can be set at heights you don't have to bend down to work with. GaryZ >> How do the rest of you still garden. >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> a small section at a time I could do it again. I am seeing I am wrong >> about that. Gary and Ebb, I went to the site Ebb posted and am still reading there, great ideas too. Gary, I saw your post about the container gardening and have it saved. I can't afford that right now but it is something for me to think about in the near future if we get some money. I am going to be looking thru that site this week though. I am loving all these ideas and suggestions. Something has to work somehow. ;-) Rhonda, Thanks for the suggestion about the weed paper and such. I had never heard of weed paper till you mentioned it and am reading about it on the site that Ebb sent. Also the idea about the pillow might work too. But Jim did bring up an interesting point to that one is how am I going to get up from there. I saw a suggestion on the Site Ebb sent so it might work out. Have to try and see, that is the only way I will find out. Heck I was stuck out there for 1/2 hour the other day because of my knee and I couldn't get up from the cart. so what would the difference be. LOL ;-) Not sure it is wonderful about spring for me anyways with the allergies. But yeah new birth is always wonderful. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > Jo, check out my post on container gardening. It is very do-able and > smaller scale. > Pots/containers can be set at heights you don't have to bend down to work > with. > GaryZ > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Love and Hugs to all > Jo the squirrely one Jo I use raised flower beds and container gardens. Have you tried the upside down tomato pots? i use a 5 gallon bucket and it works great. Gots tons of tomatoes off 4 buckets last year. Kate >> How do the rest of you still garden. >> [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > upside down tomato pots? i use a 5 gallon bucket and it works great. > Gots tons of tomatoes off 4 buckets last year. Kate Glad to hear that works. Charlie is bound and determined to try that for tomatoes. He bought a kit last year but didn't get around to starting it in time. I grow one tomato plant a year. That is all I can handle the maintenance on. I can carry water to one, even if Kayla eats all the hoses. Stupid dog thinks she's an otter. Jo Firey SNIP > Jo I use raised flower beds and container gardens. Have you tried the > upside down tomato pots? i use a 5 gallon bucket and it works great. > Gots tons of tomatoes off 4 buckets last year. Kate This triggered another thought. My husband tried growing a tomato plant out of the BOTTOM of a hanging 5 gal. bucket. It did work. You have to drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket. Then, put the bucket on its side while you hold the plant in place and fill the bucket with dirt. Hang it up by the handle where you can easily reach the plant to pinch the suckers and pick the tomatoes. If you don't want to deal with watering, hang it where the rain can get to it. You don't have to worry about any weeds growing on top of the soil as they don't interfere with the plant growing out of the bottom! Mary Margaret > How do the rest of you still garden. stubborness and stupidity? ;-) More realisticaly, in bits and pieces and with help. Also, I really pay for it at times. Everything here except the vegetable garden is perennials. I weed in bits and pieces. Today, I walked over to buy the paper before I collasped for a nap. Pulled up 3 weeds on the way over, 2 coming back, that's it for today. I also buy lots of cheap small garden tools so I can leave them in convenient places. That makes itt easier to just weed for a couple of minutes here and there. I've had helped from assorted people in getting all the gardens in place initially as there was no way I could handle preparing the ground myself. Now I only have to deal with possibly expanding them which cn be done very slowly. One key is to realize that anything you plan to do will take at least 10 times longer than you'd like! The flower garden I added last year was dug up over about 6 months - 3 in the fall and three in the spring. And some of the stuff I first bought died before I got it in the ground. Should have been more patient about buying! Some weed control ground covers might help also. Around here, they are totally eaten up by the wind unless you thoroughly cover them with soil or mulch so I've given up. > Also is there something you can do for major muscle spasms with out muscle > relaxors. tough one. When I get into spasms I really go for the meds. Pull out all the stops on prevention first. Make sure you're getting your trace minerals and vitamin D as those can be a factor in spasms starting. And stretch constantly, but GENTLY. I'm stretching every time I get up during the day and generally get up at least every 15 minutes to move around to avoid the cramps and spasms. Do you have any kind of massager you can use on the muscles? Or even some tennis balls in a sock you can use? It'll be more painful to use on spasming muscles than on cramps or just stiff muscles, but might relieve things enough to be worth it. Where do you have the spasms? If in you back, do you have access to one of those massage chairs at a nearby mall? They aren't great, but for $5 you get a decent 15 minutes of work on the back that I find really helps. Circumstances have kept me from professional massage lately so I've been hitting the chair at the mall every time I go into town. It's not often enough, but it does help. I don't have medical and don't know how to stop them. They are > violent suckers. If you have to go to the doctor for something else, you might try to get some muscle relaxer that is on WalMart's new $4 generic list (I'm assuming there is one, I haven't looked). > My neck is getting really bad and it so affects my arms and hands so much. I've been doing a lot of tennis ball massage on my neck lately. It eases things some. Do you have any trigger point therapy books? I finally gave up and got a couple this winter. I intended to compare them and return the less helpful, but they have enough differing info that I've kept both. The books have really helped me do some treatment myself though I'm finding my back is so full of trigger pooints, I can only do a bit myself at home. I've helped my neck some though. I really wish you two could get some decent income and health insurance again. Oh and that reminds me, the massager showerhead that was in this house (that only worked on one setting) started leaking out the side recently so I went to the store and asked for one with some real force behind it. Turns out those are the cheaper ones these days! For less than $10 I got one with some force and a quite warm shower beating on me really helps relax the muscles. Not as good a solution for leg cramps or spasms though...... SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Nann, I have a cart that has tool space in it. So I use that. If I can't lift it to move it around to where I want it, it has wheels on it, so I just kick it and it goes there. ;-) I was reading on the site Ebb sent about ground cover and I am giving it some thought. Also we might have to change some of the flower beds back into grass so that Jim can just mow it. Easier for both of us. ;-0 I haven't thought about Vit D so good idea. I do take magnesium. I also get plenty of potassium and calcium in my pedialyte. A friend and I were talking about how some of this could be my electrolyte imbalance stuff. But shoot I already drink 2 1/2 bottles of the pedialyte. That surely should be enough. Dah. I am so sick of that stuff. I do stretches too. I have a tiny wooden massager that Jim uses on my back for me. I also do have the tennis balls and they have become my best friends. LOL ;-) Although I need to get new ones. I almost have them flattened from leaning back on them so much. LOL I might try that massage chairs if I ever see one. Not sure if that would work though because my one son had brought me a seat massager thingy that had heat with it too. I couldn't use it. It started the CMP up so bad it was spreading it up into the arms and legs. It did great on the back if I could have tolerated the legs and arms. ;-) I could try that with the drs and a muscle relaxer because I think I might have to go back in. He didn't give me enough pred, which I told him I would need double the dose because it always takes me longer than the normal person to get rid of this stuff. But he didn't believe me. Well I am down to 10 mg a day and tomorrow 5 and I am getting it all back again. I was feeling better on the 40, 30 and 20 dose. No I don't have any trigger point books but I do have a couple of charts from someone on AMF that I have kept. Those trigger points are something. Yeah I wish we did have income and health insurance too Nann. I am not sure we ever will. That is not me negative thinking either. I am being realistic about it. I am not sure Jim can work anymore. Something happened to him and I am not sure what but he is not right. Not right at all. He is not the Jim I knew a few years back. It is like he has no brain anymore. It scares me. Have you tried any of Michael B's suggestions on AMF for the leg cramps and spasms. I am not sure they work, but they sounded like good advice. I usually don't have that issue. The ones I don't like is like a charlie horse thingy on the top of my feet. Those suckers really do me in. I don't know what to do for them. It is not like the ones that you get under the foot, those you can walk off. These don't walk off. ;-) SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > >> How do the rest of you still garden. [quoted text clipped - 91 lines] > the > muscles. Not as good a solution for leg cramps or spasms though...... > I haven't thought about Vit D so good idea. I've been reading a lot lately, even in the popular press, about how many of us don't get enough D, so I figure it's worth a shot. I more than doubled my intake of it, but the weather's been so nuts and has affected me so much that I don't really know if it's helped yet! I haven't been cramping anywhere but my back, so maybe it is. > I do stretches too. I have a tiny wooden massager that Jim uses on my back > for me. I also do have the tennis balls and they have become my best > friends. LOL ;-) > Although I need to get new ones. I almost have them flattened from leaning > back on them so much. LOL heehee, I think *one* of the tennis balls in my double ball sock is getting weak but I haven't pulle them out to check more carefully. The last couple of days haven't been good ones for undoing knots in old socks! <chuckle> > I might try that massage chairs if I ever see one. I was forgetting about hte DDD, so that makes me more hesitant to suggest it. The kind of chair we have in our mall here though is like an easy chair and it only massages the back. When I have places that are too tender for a heavier massage, I sit forward a bit so I get less pressure on that part. What might really help with the spasms would be some professional massage - it finally eased up my leg cramps for me. The problem is we know that costs money.... :-( > I could try that with the drs and a muscle relaxer because I think I might > have to go back in. I typed before looking at the walmart list. There don't seem to be any muscle relaxers on their $4 list. Maybe he'd know about some that are inexpensive as generics though. Of course, that's if you do have to see him again afor something else. > No I don't have any trigger point books but I do have a couple of charts > from someone on AMF that I have kept. Those trigger points are something. There's one on the way to you - the one that focuses more on how to do self massage on the trigger point that can be causing certain symptoms. (I'm afraid you'd hurt yourself more with some of the unusual stretches in the other book! LOL) Maybe some of what's in there can help at least with cutting off the spasms when they start up and maybe a bit with your overall pain. With all you have going on, you deserve whatever you can get that might ease things. > Yeah I wish we did have income and health insurance too Nann. I am not sure > we ever will. That is not me negative thinking either. I am being realistic > about it. I am not sure Jim can work anymore. Something happened to him and > I am not sure what but he is not right. Not right at all. He is not the Jim > I knew a few years back. It is like he has no brain anymore. It scares me. I wonder if he's depressed. It would certainly make sense after all you two have been through and that really affects the brain functioning. Of course, I could be wrong, but that just popped into my mind when you said that about no brain. That's certainly true of Mike and I when we're depressed. > Have you tried any of Michael B's suggestions on AMF for the leg cramps and > spasms. I am not sure they work, but they sounded like good advice. actually, no. I don't read him too much. Also, I grew up dancing under some really good teachers and already know a lot about stretching as a result. My problem is that with hypermobility, it takes a lot to stretch out well! Now with the fibro, the stretches don't last nearly as long as they used to. (pout, pout) I > usually don't have that issue. The ones I don't like is like a charlie horse > thingy on the top of my feet. Those suckers really do me in. I don't know > what to do for them. It is not like the ones that you get under the foot, > those you can walk off. These don't walk off. ;-) Yowza! I've had some that seemed to be under the foot, but couldn't be walked off. Couldn't even stand with them. I can only ease them by twisting and holding stuff with my hand - always for at least twice as long as I think it should need! It really sucks to have it happen in bed, especially in cold weather. Hopefully those will improve some when I finally get my bunions fixed up. Can't do that until late October though because I've got too much stuff coming up that I need my feet for, can't be still recovering. SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Going to add my two cents worth to this very informative post and reply. I take Vit. D and Magnesium for this only not often enough. Harv >> I haven't thought about Vit D so good idea. > [quoted text clipped - 109 lines] > much > stuff coming up that I need my feet for, can't be still recovering. Yeah it is amazing that we don't get enough Vit D, but then with all the pollution in the air etc, how can we get the full use of the suns rays. I told Jim I need a new tennis ball but so far he hasn't gotten me one. ;-) Good idea about sitting forward to get less pressure. I am not sure it would still work for me, I think with the DDD, it hits the lower back and then sends it down legs and the neck and sends it down arms. I am such a mess. But then aren't most of us here. Yeah I will mention it to the dr. I have a feeling I will be seeing him soon. I really don't have the money, but the pred didn't work. It stopped my coughing and congestion while on it. But since I am off it again, this stuff is back with a vengence. I can barely talk, you should hear me. I think it is all the allergy stuff doing me in. This year has been so bad. The numbers are up around 10 and have not moved at all. that is the highest I have seen them. Oh Nann, you didn't have to do that, but thank you. I didn't want to take one of your books. I am now having stomach spasms from working out in the yard too. Every thing has to be a production for me. ;-) Yeah Jim could be depressed.Well I know he is. But not sure that is all that is going on with him. I have been wondering because he had double vison one night coming home from work months and months ago and then I noticed him getting worse with the thinking and doing. He seems so changed. I have been wondering if he had a mini stroke. But hey you can't get this man to the drs. I had a heck of a time when he had his heart attack back in 96. Oh sorry to hear you have to put off the bunion surgery. I hope you can make it till then. I am going to have to look up bunions. I have this weird growth right along the bone area of the foot behind the little toe. It is hard and feels callused but at times I get some kind of something coming out of it. It kind of feels like small pieces of bone. So in the center of the callused area is a hole that opens up at times. I am not familiar with alot of foot stuff yet, but I guess I should get info on those things. I know when I hurt myself, and thought I broke that foot, is when this all started. Then the dr said yeah you have promient arthritis in your feet. I started laughing. He looked at me like I was crazy. I said well why not, we don't want the feet to feel left out. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > I've been reading a lot lately, even in the popular press, about how many > of [quoted text clipped - 107 lines] > much > stuff coming up that I need my feet for, can't be still recovering. Squirrely, I really can't get down and dirty with gardening, mowing, or any other yard work. Too much pain! For the past few years, my hubby does all the yard work, and I get to water the rose bushes - standing up ;-) Nanny > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like > this. I wish there were a miracle for all of us. You are doing better than me Nanny, I can't even water. The hose and I do not get alone and neither do lifting anything with water in it. So Jim has to do that too. Poor man. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > Squirrely, I really can't get down and dirty with gardening, mowing, or > any other yard work. Too much pain! For the past few years, my hubby > does all the yard work, and I get to water the rose bushes - standing up > ;-) Nanny I really think I have the perfect solution for you Squirrely; I've lost sleep over this, but it may just work. Take one of those squirrely friends of yours, feed it growth hormone, slip in a little Pred, watch it grow, and bingo - you've got a big, strong squirrel to pull you in a wagon wherever you want to go! IF ALL ELSE FAILS, I'll do my dang dardnest to locate Chip and Dale to help you. LOL! Nanny > You are doing better than me Nanny, I can't even water. The hose and I do > not get alone and neither do lifting anything with water in it. So Jim has [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> does all the yard work, and I get to water the rose bushes - standing up >> ;-) Nanny Can anyone explain what a mattock is. I was reading a post on that garden group and it mentioned it. I am trying to picture it. It says a tool with a small hoelike cutter on one side and prongs on the other. Jim has alot of garden tools. He just might have one, but I am not sure. Thank you all for suggestions and ideas. I am really giving this some thought and will try out some of them that I think I might be able to do. I appreciate it all. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > Can anyone explain what a mattock is. I was reading a post on that garden > group and it mentioned it. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > thought and will try out some of them that I think I might be able to do. I > appreciate it all. I have a hoe like this. Here's the first picture I could find on-line: <http://www.uniontools.com/product.asp?Cid=3&Cat=16&Brand=&Query=&Page=3> Scroll down to where it says "2 prong weeding hoe". SignatureAF "Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team." --artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball Thanks Alice, Jim does have two of those, so I guess I should use those. Dah. I like learning something new each day and today it is this. ;-) SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > >> Can anyone explain what a mattock is. I was reading a post on that garden [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > <http://www.uniontools.com/product.asp?Cid=3&Cat=16&Brand=&Query=&Page=3> > Scroll down to where it says "2 prong weeding hoe". > Thanks Alice, > > Jim does have two of those, so I guess I should use those. Dah. > > I like learning something new each day and today it is this. ;-) You're welcome! I was in Agway this afternoon buying onion sets (so I can plant scallions on the back deck), and I noticed that they had short tools like this (with a hoe side and a claw side) that would be much easier to use sitting or kneeling, and I thought of you. SignatureAF "Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team." --artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball Thanks for thinking of me. Jim has the smaller ones. So I can do it from the sitting position. I forgot he had those too till I saw the picture. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one >> Thanks Alice, >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > like this (with a hoe side and a claw side) that would be much easier to > use sitting or kneeling, and I thought of you. > In article <46117f78$0$14137$742ec...@news.sonic.net>, > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > "Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team." > --artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball Squirrely, I do a pretty fair amount of container gardening with giant plastic pots from Wal-Mart & Lowe's. I figure out where I want them, since the pots aren't heavy when empty, then I use my rolling cart to get the potting soil to the pots. I sit in a folding chair & scoop the dirt into the pot using a smaller pot or a scooping trowel (not really sure what the real name of this kind of trowel is, but it looks like a giant coffee scoop). I take lots of breaks. To help my hands, I try to use garden tools with squishy handles, ergonomic ones, if I can afford/find them - I do a lot of shopping for garden tools in the fall, so I will have them the next spring. If I am going to plant stuff in the ground, I use long handled garden tools, so I don't have to bend over too much. HTH. Plantmistress (Shannon) Thank you plantmistress. I will see if some of this helps. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one > Squirrely, > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Plantmistress (Shannon) >How do the rest of you still garden. > >I have tried everything I can think of. Hi Squirrely, Have you thought of vitamin D? >I have a little cart I sit on to >weed. But that still does in my neck, upper back, shoulders, hands, arms. Is [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >you hurt like this. I don't know if it is the arthritis, fms or cmp that is >doing it. I take it that fms is fibro-myalgia syndrome. I will get to that later. What do you mean by cmp? >Also is there something you can do for major muscle spasms with out muscle >relaxors. Here is a link to the Merck Manual which refers to muscle spasms as a result of vitamin D deficiency: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch154/ch154c.html See the section on: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Are your muscle spasms seasonal in nature? Do you live in a northern latitude? Do you use sunscreen when gardening? Do you spend an adequate amount of time in the garden with skin exposed to make enough vitamin D? If you are not sure, here are some more links for you on vitamin D: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_2_71/ai_n9486477 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_252/ai_n6110593 I take 2,500IU/day of vitamin D, just in case. >I don't have medical and don't know how to stop them. Does that mean that you are not being treated by a physician?! Yikes! Sincerely, BlackHawk >They are >violent suckers. It actually feels like it is moving bone. I know it can't [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >know there are others here worse off than me. I feel for anyone like this. I >wish there were a miracle for all of us. Cmp, chronic myofascial syndrome. muscle spasms all the time not seasonal in calif. am out in the sun each day for awhile yes I mean no treatment by dr. I have no money to do so right now and no medical insurance. will check out the urls. SignatureLove and Hugs to all Jo the squirrely one >>How do the rest of you still garden. >> [quoted text clipped - 64 lines] >>I >>wish there were a miracle for all of us. wish i could say i had an answer, but susie and i made the decision this past winter that i just wasn't able to do it any more, no matter how much i have enjoyed grubbing in the dirt all these years, it has reached the point where it was taking too much of a toll...so last season was it. may try a few pots right outside the door, but that's going to have to be it. and no, i not at all happy about it, but there you have it. probably was too stubborn this past summer > How do the rest of you still garden. > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Love and Hugs to all > Jo the squirrely one > wish i could say i had an answer, but susie and i made the decision this > past winter that i just wasn't able to do it any more, no matter how [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > and no, i not at all happy about it, but there you have it. probably was > too stubborn this past summer What is it about grubbing around in the dirt as you put it that we fight so hard not to give up? Years ago we had a neighbor on a small farm next door. I know he was in his eighties. And could just barely get around with a walker. But darn near every morning he took the walker from the house out to his garden that must have been darn near an eighth of a acre. Parked the walker at the edge and crawled into his garden to work. He managed that way and even managed to have a pretty decent garden for several years. Charlie and I remind each other of him on the days we really don't feel like going on. Jo > What is it about grubbing around in the dirt as you put it that we fight so > hard not to give up? I think it gives us hope. We are helping to bring new life, beauty and sustenence into the world. That's why we don't want to give it up! For me, it reminds me of my grandparents - my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother loved to garden. They taught me how to make anything grow, from rose bushes to tomatoes. They both passed away quite some time ago, but their love of gardening still lives on in me. Poppy gardened in his tiny back yard in Jersey City, New Jersey. He grew tomatoes, roses, cucumbers, and flowers of all kinds - he taught me that you could do so much with so little. Grannie had grown up on a farm, but had moved to town - she never could get the gardening bug out of her system. We had friends who lived in the country, so we helped them with their vegetable garden. >From the time I was big enough to know ripe from not ripe, I picked tomatoes, corn, green beans, strawberries - whatever we were growing on our friends' farm. At our house, Grannie had tons of pots of flowers - she was older, and had arthritis (not sure what variety), so she needed someone strong and young to help her. That was me. I carried dirt, pots & flats of plants for her. I 'toted' water in the hot part of summer, and I helped move the plants inside in the fall. These memories are why I still love to get my hands down in the cool dirt - why I don't care if my back hurts a little, as long as I can eat a fresh tomato, still warm from the sun. I suspect that all the gardeners here can tell similar stories. Keep puttering in the yard for as long as you can - its good for your soul. Plantmistress (Shannon) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.