Nervous energy or the lack thereof

[greatbear]

Having had nerve problems, then surgery, then other problems and meds trying to fix those problems, my nervous system has been playing practical jokes on me on an intermittent basis. Most are benign, like dizzy spells, twitches, feelings of pressure or mild electric shocks in my legs, etc. Some are not so much fun, and seem to be described best as 5-second "power failures." Getting out of the car, shutting the door then trying to turn around and move produces no effect, and I begin to lose my balance.I try to grab hold of the car, but all I end up doing is keying it like crazy because my oversized keyring is in my hand at the time. The "power" gets restored right when it is too late, my feet scramble frantically as I hit the pavement. It was more a bruise to my ego, seeing people staring at me as they continue to walk away, and knowing I have to retouch some hard-to-match dark metallic paint on one Mini Cooper. Not fun, and I still have scars and scrapes from it.

Today was less frustrating after the fact, but more entertaining. I got up out of my captain's chair here at the controls of Starship Mayhem, and started to walk down the hall to the bathroom. Coming out the door I wanted to turn right. Instead I inexplicably continued in the same direction, headed right towards the opposite hallway wall. It was almost in slow motion, and the same feeling when one is in a car and hits a patch of ice in a turn. I see the wall getting closer, I kinda go "aw, shit" as I put my hands up and ever so un-gently walk face-first into the wall, knocking stuff from it and making for crooked pictures. I stand there for a few seconds replaying this one episode in a series of unfortunate events and giggle to myself. These are side effects from the meds coupled with the disconnect problem I've had since the surgery, and seem to be strongest roughly an hour after taking them. The worst is over in about another hour, and I can go about my day. I take the second dose before bedtime so as not to become a loose cannon for a second installment. I gotta discuss more with my doctor why it seems there are problems affecting my feedback circuits and main servos.

An unfortunate side-effect of this whole ordeal has been me sleeping alone in the second bedroom rather than with Jeff. I toss and turn, can't get comfortable, and sometimes have rather violent recoils and twitches both while awake and sleeping. Jeff won't like to admit that he's sleeping better without all the extra mayhem in bed next to him, but we both miss our togetherness. I knew having nerve problems was not going to be fun, but I never expected invisible cattle prods and tasers, unexpected karate moves, and constant skin crawl. It's slowly improving, but at this rate, it will take a year before it's anything resembling normalcy.

Comments

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

Phil, just give it a year then...you gotta be patient.

I do not know wht your situation is like.. but, I know it must be disconcerting, at best.

Walking into walls is funny.. for the Three Stooges, but in your reality, it sucks bigtime.

Just brace yourself for impact, is all I can think to say.

It has to get better in time.. and time is on your side.

*ULTRA-HUGS*!!

[vernnyc.livejournal.com]

Big Hugs!

[budmassey.livejournal.com]

Hugs, Phil. When I find it difficult dealing with something without a short term resolution, I take comfort in small victories in the meantime. The large number of people concerned about you is full of win.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

Holy moley! I've had some weird experiences with meds myself, the latest was blacking out when I would stand up. I would remember nothing from the time I raised up until I found myself on the floor. I started taking the meds that were once/day in the evening that those symptoms pass. The only other experience was with Sustiva, which caused me to become totally disoriented, I would walk into walls, fall down and even hallucinate. Thankfully, I was switched to something else although I was told that the symptoms would eventually pass.

Good luck to you Phil and until you move beyond these side effects, you should clear things out of your regular path and try to avoid situations where you could become seriously hurt. (Don't drive!!)

Hugs and Merry Christmas!

[2stroker.livejournal.com]

Just chill and roll with it buddy.Fighting it makes it that much harder.It takes time for things to heal.I got cut real bad 4 years ago,literally cut my thumb down the middle so it was forked to the bottom of the nail,I could actually look right thru it! It was numb for what seemed like eternity but did come back with use.Now it's about 90%,looks and works 100% but there is still a slight numbness.I did this in 2006.You'll heal just give it time and try to enjoy yourself anyway you can.It will get better!

[beastbriskett.livejournal.com]

You know how things sometimes don't quite work when you put in a new drive, or replace a control board? They should, but these gremlins pop up with no warning and take a while to track down.

Same here, I'd guess. Your wiring got a major overhaul, and the peripherals are still making odd connections and cutting out when they get confused. I see your methodical thinking in noticing the timing of these effects, and it sounds like you're steering yourself toward a path with minimal chance of damage.
Still sucks to scramble to the ground with no warning, and fuck things up on the way down. I once stumbled on the stairs, and dropped a garbage bag. Slo-mo rolling cascade of coffee grinds and gunk, all the way down the carpeted stairs. Argh, dumb ol' leg!

These things will pass, bud, and I appreciate you sharing your feelings about your longer than anticipated recovery. Big hugs!