Health update - very bad news. :(

[Sessy]

Okay now that I've calmed myself down, I can tell you guys.
(If you want just the short version - scroll down)

To those of you unaware of my health problems: after being told for a half a year I had a sprained ankle and should "move it more" by my doctor, eventually a cast followed for 3 weeks, after which my skating slowly was returning to normal - last november I was doing salchows again without swelling or pain after... However, then I twisted my foot. I was sent to the physical therapist, however, those sessions only rapidly worsened my condition and eventually the PT wrote a letter to my doctor that I should be sent to the hospital. The Dutch health care system is such that you need a note from your doctor to go to a hospital, and also, you can't really change your doctor unless you move (in terms of where you live). Now, after much arguing with my doctor he still refused to send me to the hospital - I could still walk at this point - and sent me to a podotherapist instead. This helped nothing at all, and in july or so, I was basically crying and begging him to send me to the hospital, but he refused to even look at my leg - which was hot and swollen. He suggested I "smear something on it", like "massage cream", and "take something" like "naproxen or ibuprofen". We went home to the Ukraine and there the doctors said it was quite serious and prescribed corticosteroid and non-steroid (diclofenac) anti-inflammatories. Back home, this time on crutches cuz I couldn't walk at all anymore, I went to my physician with my mother, who threw a giant scandal in the office. He did sign the note to send me to the hospital, but NOT to a surgeon like I wanted, he refused to do that. Instead he sent me to the rheuma-specialist - I had to wait for the appointment about three months - and he found nothing wrong with me, and sent me to recovery therapy - I got an appointment in the end of january, this was another 3 months or so.

Meantime, my podotherapist had also conceded that she was powerless to help me and wrote ANOTHER letter to the doctor, suggesting I be sent to a SURGEON in the HOSPITAL. This time, the doctor agreed, reluctantly. I was to the surgeon yesterday.


SHORT VERSION:

He said I have something called post-traumatic dystrophy. A birth trauma to my leg nerve was much worsened by the physiotherapy and the like - I should never even have been sent there, I should have been treated for it immediately!
Best case scenario: it will take years for me to recover. Worst case scenario, I've got "cold" dystrophy for which chances of ever recovering at all are about 10%... MRI scans and the like are still coming up (in 3 weeks) to see if there may be anything else wrong but I'm pretty convinced he's right.

For those of you wondering whether or not I can sue the doctor - in the Netherlands? Nah. Under the Dutch system, doctors are virtually unaccountable for malpractice and even if they are, their licenses are very rarely taken away permanently even in the case of sexual abuse of patients, let alone something like this. More-over, damages for accidentally cutting off the wrong leg are 5000 here as far as I know, and immaterial damages can not be claimed except in some rare cases. So basically it'd make no sense to sue.

So anybody who's got an ear with God or other higher deities - I'd much appreciate if you'd put in a good word for me. I'm gonna need it. :cry:


EDIT:
To clarify my intentions with this post: Here mainly I just wanted to inform the lots of kind people here why I'm not posting in the practice thread, not uploading any new video's. And most of all I guess - make people aware of the existence of such a disease. I'd never heard of it. From what I read on the internet, lots of people read about it on the internet, then asked their doctors about it and that's how they got treatment still on time to prevent permanent damage. With a high-risk sport like skating for trauma, I guess I'm just hoping someone, somewhere might remember this story and then catch this sort of thing early, before it advances. Because in the early stages, it's easily treatable.

[doubletoe]

WOW, Sessy... I don't even know what to say. . . I wish I could just give you a big hug and cry with you. How terribly, terribly frustrating to have to deal with this idiocy! I will be cashing in all of my karma points with the Medical Gods to get your ankle better.

(((((HUG))))

Doubletoe

[Sessy]

Hey Double,
thank you sweetie :)

Yeah I know :( At any rate, I don't believe things will be as bad as they say. I've got my mind set on skating again, and everything I've ever truly set my mind on, I got eventually. Besides, I've beaten worse odds before. When I was sixteen or so, doctors thought I had two weeks to live. Still alive, and kicking. And, read my lips, I'm gonna skate again. :twisted:

Just feeling a little unsettled right now. :??

[SkaterBird]

Okay now that I've calmed myself down, I can tell you guys.
(If you want just the short version - scroll down)

To those of you unaware of my health problems: after being told for a half a year I had a sprained ankle and should "move it more" by my doctor, eventually a cast followed for 3 weeks, after which my skating slowly was returning to normal - last november I was doing salchows again without swelling or pain after... However, then I twisted my foot. I was sent to the physical therapist, however, those sessions only rapidly worsened my condition and eventually the PT wrote a letter to my doctor that I should be sent to the hospital. The Dutch health care system is such that you need a note from your doctor to go to a hospital, and also, you can't really change your doctor unless you move (in terms of where you live). Now, after much arguing with my doctor he still refused to send me to the hospital - I could still walk at this point - and sent me to a podotherapist instead. This helped nothing at all, and in july or so, I was basically crying and begging him to send me to the hospital, but he refused to even look at my leg - which was hot and swollen. He suggested I "smear something on it", like "massage cream", and "take something" like "naproxen or ibuprofen". We went home to the Ukraine and there the doctors said it was quite serious and prescribed corticosteroid and non-steroid (diclofenac) anti-inflammatories. Back home, this time on crutches cuz I couldn't walk at all anymore, I went to my physician with my mother, who threw a giant scandal in the office. He did sign the note to send me to the hospital, but NOT to a surgeon like I wanted, he refused to do that. Instead he sent me to the rheuma-specialist - I had to wait for the appointment about three months - and he found nothing wrong with me, and sent me to recovery therapy - I got an appointment in the end of january, this was another 3 months or so.

Meantime, my podotherapist had also conceded that she was powerless to help me and wrote ANOTHER letter to the doctor, suggesting I be sent to a SURGEON in the HOSPITAL. This time, the doctor agreed, reluctantly. I was to the surgeon yesterday.


SHORT VERSION:

He said I have something called post-traumatic dystrophy. A birth trauma to my leg nerve was much worsened by the physiotherapy and the like - I should never even have been sent there, I should have been treated for it immediately!
Best case scenario: it will take years for me to recover. Worst case scenario, I've got "cold" dystrophy for which chances of ever recovering at all are about 10%... MRI scans and the like are still coming up (in 3 weeks) to see if there may be anything else wrong but I'm pretty convinced he's right.

For those of you wondering whether or not I can sue the doctor - in the Netherlands? Nah. Under the Dutch system, doctors are virtually unaccountable for malpractice and even if they are, their licenses are very rarely taken away permanently even in the case of sexual abuse of patients, let alone something like this. More-over, damages for accidentally cutting off the wrong leg are 5000 here as far as I know, and immaterial damages can not be claimed except in some rare cases. So basically it'd make no sense to sue.

So anybody who's got an ear with God or other higher deities - I'd much appreciate if you'd put in a good word for me. I'm gonna need it. :cry:

I'm so sorry, Sessy. I am so very, very sorry. I'll pray whatever prayers I can think of for your ankle to improve so that you can walk without pain and skate with no or at least manageable pain. In the meantime, can you obtain a copy of your medical records and petition whoever your representative is in your government's legislative body to revisit the law to allow for independent second medical opinions? When a patient is injured by a physician's neglect or outright incompetence, the legislature should be made aware of it.This sort of mismanagement typically costs a lot more in medical bills than does a case properly managed in the first place, even with more costly initial treatments.

I will keep you in my thoughts, prayers and heart.

[looplover]

Oh Sessy, so sorry!! Wow, that's horrifying, the care you've received up until this point. What a mess. You have a great, winning attitude so that's a plus. Hoping for great things for you from now on.

[herniated]

Sessy....that is horrible, horrible, horrible. I'm so sorry you are going through this!! I will keep you in my prayers daily.

[mikawendy]

I'm so sorry to hear the news about your ankle. I hope your future medical treatments are better than what was given to you before. Sending {{{hugs}}} and courage.

[Sessy]

Hey. One of my english friends asked why I didn't get the second opinion, I believe somebody above asked something similar so I'm just copy-pasting my answer to him here:

In the Netherlands if you have a health problem, you're to go to your home doctor and that's it (your home doctor is determined by where you live). The easiest second opinion is to go to the emergency home doctor (you can't go to the emergency in the hospital actually, not without a note from the emergency home doctor... Roomie of mine had lung oedema and still needed that note).
If you go to the emergency home doctor for example, you have to get an appointment first - in my home town they don't even make an appointment if they don't think it's urgent. And by urgent I mean if they don't think you'll die within the next couple of hours. So with the leg - well I tried, but it was hopeless. With the neck, with the whiplash earlier this year, I did get a second opinion from the emergency doctor and she's who diagnosed the whiplash and concussion, my own doctor had said I was fine.
And as I've said, other doctors agreed between themselves not to take on patients of other doctors. I tried calling around and they said they didn't take patients that way. Besides my experience with home doctors in the Netherlands generally is that they tend to do everything to keep you from seeing a specialist and that it generally doesn't matter which doctor you have anyway. Not so strange, given that they are on the insurance company's payroll. As for why I didn't get a second opinion from the rheumatologist... I dunno I guess I trusted the guy to know his thing. Although it wasn't actually a doctor, it was a nurse-practitioner because the doctor was overbooked, they said. Anyway. I guess I figured if there was a serious problem they'd have spotted it. With all the blood they took and all.

Anyway yes, it's party my fault. If I had been a little more spoken for myself and a little better at lying (every skater I've talked to said the only way to get taken seriously is to grossly exagerrate your pain, but I can't do that believably or without blushing)... Yes, if I'd been more agressive, it might've played out differently. But if, if. I didn't.

I don't really wanna discuss the Dutch health system, what I think of it, or my own behaviour here. Just wanted to let you know what was going on and stuff basically.

[flo]

Sessy,
I'm so sorry, this must be terribly frustrating! Now that you know what it is, learn all you can about it. Since you've been neglected for so long, is there any way to get priority for your treatment? What do you think about documenting all this and sending it to the government agency in charge?

[Sessy]

Oh, I'm filing a complaint either way. If nothing else, at least the professional organisation needs to be aware of what's going on. (This is different from going to court - for a court you'd go to a judge, this is before a commission of peers).

Firstly, the hospital lost my documents, not once but twice (thrice if you count the time AFTER my treatment). Second of all, this particular home doctor has made a few too many mistakes in my case. First the misdiagnosed whiplash, for which he also refused to send me to the hospital for x-rays until 6 weeks after the neck injury when I finally threw a tantrum in his office because I had balance issues and horrible headaches, then this thing with the leg (actually the leg was first, but it continued after).

It's just not likely to do much good. But I will, believe me. You're usually advised against doing this (by organisations specialising in patients who believe they were mistreated, I checked with them for among others legal advise in the areas in which I have no expertise) because going to a commission against a home doctor in many cases means that no other home doctor will want to take you after that, but for me that's not going to matter because we're moving in a few months anyway. So I'm definitely going to.

What I also did, was file a complaint with my health insurance company. They should be rather interested, given that they're trying to come up with a ranking of home doctors. By my calculations, the doctor's refusal to act originally already cost them over 5000 euro in specialists and tests, and it's likely to grow steeply with the MRI and other treatment coming up.

[Scarlett]

Oh Sessy, I'm so sorry. You are such a fighter though that if anyone can beat this you will. My prayers are with you.

[momsk8er]

Sessy, I'm so sorry - but I know you are a fighter. You'll get back to skating, I'm sure you will.

[dbny]

(((((Sessy))))) So sorry you have had to go through so much! I believe you that you will be back skating!

[jazzpants]

(((((Sessy))))) (I am just speechless... I wouldn't know what to do if I were in that situation myself.) :cry: :cry: :cry:

[sk8lady]

I am so sorry to hear this. I got tears in my eyes just reading your posts. I hope a piano falls on your so-called doctor.

[Query]

As a guy, I can never figure out when a gal wants sympathy, and when she wants the logical rational solutions she is probably capable of finding herself.

Assuming the latter: why not go to another country and pay for the medical treatment yourself? Perhaps the cost is comparable to what you have been paying to skate (ice time, travel, lessons, fees...). At the least, you could get an expert diagnosis, from a sports doctor (cuz they are oriented towards the idea of getting you back into the sport) you've had a good referral for, and decide where to go from there.

BTW I don't know about other countries, but in the US, emergency rooms, and quite often hospitals in general, are very much the wrong way to get service. If you aren't bleeding to death, they are likely to put you in a hospital bed, make you wait a day or two, then charge you several times what it would have cost to do it if you had gone directly to the office of the specialist. Especially if you want a particular specialist.

Anyway, best of luck.

And sympathy too.

[Sessy]

Oh I did go to an other country - in summer, I went to the Ukraine. We couldn't stay there for a long time though and at that point the focus was mainly on getting the inflammation down and preventing it from spreading to my knee tendons (which they did, actually - my knee was no longer swollen after the month in the Ukraine and didn't bother me anymore, either). Also they didn't think of dystrophy there then, they thought it was just your average run of the mill inflammation and were actually quite puzzled why all the anti-inflammatories were having only limited effect.

At any rate, now that they have diagnosed this they fully intend to treat it so it doesn't really make sense to go and flee abroad now, does it?

And it's okay - I'm not a very "gal-ish" gal. I can never figure out when a woman wants company and when constructive advise either. :lol:
Here mainly I just wanted to inform the lots of kind people here why I'm not posting in the practice thread, not uploading any new video's. And most of all I guess - make people aware of the existence of such a disease. I'd never heard of it. From what I read on the internet, lots of people read about it on the internet, then asked their doctors about it and that's how they got treatment still on time to prevent permanent damage. With a high-risk sport like skating for trauma, I guess I'm just hoping someone, somewhere might remember this story and then catch this sort of thing early, before it advances. Because in the early stages, it's easily treatable.

[Mrs Redboots]

*Hugs* Sessy. Yes, you will skate again - it might take awhile, but you'll be back, I just know it. You ask at our rink - one of the coaches knew someone who skated on two artificial legs, even! Even if you aren't able to jump again, there's still dance, and moves, and even figures!

[Sessy]

Incredible! That is something I've been keeping in the back of my head, actually. What do I do if it's not gonna get better. I decided for myself last summer already (and told mom so, which incredibly upset her for some reason) that if my leg never gets better, I'd rather have an artificial one to replace it and then go on skating, rather than sulk at home with pain - maybe skate artistics with a robot-themed performance which would incorporate the leg in the costume. At least the loop for sure can be done on 1 leg... :lol:
Now that being said, I really don't intend to let it come to that, but your coaches' acquaintance is giving me even more hope that there's just really no way to lose here. Either I'm getting better and I'm skating again, or I'm skating again with an artificial leg... Yeah I know I'm crazy, but that's just me!

(is there any chance you could find out exactly what sort of prosthetic legs she did have?)

[jcookie1982]

I'm sorry that you're going through this. I'll keep you in my prayers.

[Query]

I just did an internet search on "post-traumatic dystrophy", also called CRPS and other names, finding stuff like

http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/MyTreatment/articles/CRPS_Myths.asp

http://www.ritro.com/sections/health/story.bv?storyid=0000000002462

Several articles say that doctors don't really understand what causes it. Maybe the new doctor coudn't figure out what the problem was either, so that's how he labeled it.

Maybe some of the people in this forum who have medical training could guess better, but as best I follow what these links are saying, there are a lot of people with long-term (chronic) pain and inflammation, and there are a lot of different theories on what causes it, how to treat it, and they can't always get rid of it. Some of the drugs and treatments you were given were consistent with treating pain and inflammation or getting rid of some of the known root causes of same. If a doctor honestly does the best he/she can, and follows the current "standard of care" to which he/she was educated, is that malpractice?

Some of the possible treatments involve drugs that might make you fail a drug test, if you are into the serious competitive stuff.

It really sounds awful.

I've known people who had very long-term recovery from surgery, and people who stayed on drugs with major side effects forever. Yuck.


No matter what the doctor says, were I you, I would be tempted to try specialists in the safest, most conservative treatments for pain and inflammation (cold and hot baths, pressure, mild stretches and motion exercises, fun climates, ice cream and your other favorate foods, romance, anything else fun you need an excuse for) first, like certified athletics trainers or PTs who specialize in sports medicine.

[Thin-Ice]

Sessy--

I'm so sorry to hear about your latest tribulations with the medical system. But I do know with your fighting spirit, you will make the best use of your time and energy and options. And I LOVE your signature line. For me, that sums up why this will NOT get the best of you.

HHHUUGGGGGSSSSSSSS!!!

Thin-Ice

[Sessy]

But that's just it, he didn't do it to the best of his knowledge. Even when I was crying with pain his idea of dealing with it was to say I should take some over-the-counter painkillers, and he did NOT send me to the hospital (which the insurance would have to pay for), instead he sent me to physiotherapy, and podotheraphy, which both comes out of my own pocket. And at any rate, as I've said, there's really hardly any way of sueing for malpractice in this country. But I am filing a complaint with the professional organisation.

The thing is, we've been doing all that you're saying I should do. The surgeon in Ukraine said a tendon inflammation would take about 3 months with the diclofenac I was taking. That was 6 months ago, and no serious improvement. And I've not been walking, except for around the house, for a half a year now. It's not from giving it enough rest.

The thing that triggered it with the doctor is that my injured leg is very pale compared to the healthy leg, and also that my injured leg feels very cold to the touch compared to my healthy leg - although a few times a month it's actually red and hot. Also that I'm sensitive even to the touch to the skin on the injured leg, and got some problems with my skin on the injured leg. What he's suggesting is pain treatment, steroid anti-inflammatories (as opposed to the diclofenac I'm on now) and after that, revalidation therapy. I don't really see how that would hurt. I'm not in any serious competitive stuff - I've never been that good and even if I had, after 2 years of this, who could still be? - so I'm safe on that really. Also, we don't do drugs tests around here for jobs or anything like that.

[Query]

Like I said, I'm not a doctor or anything.

But a book I looked at that is aimed at training lower level medical people (ATCs) suggested exactly what they had you do - start with most conservative (non-drug, non-invasive) treatments, progress to mild drugs if that doesn't work, then progress to the more serious drugs if that doesn't work, maybe progress to surgery. That sequence applies to almost everything in medicine.

There are very good reasons for this. Sometimes the mildest possible treatments work. Drugs work by altering the underlying biochemistry of your body, and therefore interfere with it's normal healthy function. All drugs have side effects. Serious drugs, like steroids, have serious long-term side effects. Any other progression might be considered malpractice.

You want a simple solution, and for them to find it immediately. But medicine is not an exact science. It's very empirical, your biochemistry is not my biochemistry, and different treatments work for different people. They have to experiment to learn what works for your individual body, for each type of problem.

They may find a solution that works very well for you.

There are a few doctors who treat long-term problems in precisely the opposite way of the mainstream medical community - they chemically re-inflame the injury, to see if it heals better the second time around. It's called prolotherapy. I've known 2 or 3 skaters who said it worked for them, though the initial treaments hurt even more.

Or you may find your own - don't be afraid to experiment with mild treatments of your own. Try to see if you understand what types of motion, exercise, temperature treatments, foods, etc., tend to create or reduce the inflammation, on your own.

If conventional medicine fails, you could always try traditional medicine (e.g., chinese) treatments - bearing in mind that they are real drugs with real phsyiological effects, that have not been as well tested for safety as the mainstream medical drugs (and the practitioners are unlicensed), as well as chiropractors, Yoga practitioners, etc. I've known different people who said all those techniques worked for them.

A lot of people find dietary changes help - you can be allergic to a food without realizing it, and allergies to substances you have been fine with before often develope, especially if you are exposed to something a lot. I know someone who said her healthiest time was when she went on a wierd diet where she didn't eat the same food twice in a week, so she couldn't build up a high concentration of anything she was allergic to. Unfortunately it proved very time consuming to cook that way, so she went back to prescription drugs which didn't work as well and had major side effects. (But she became a lot better cook, because she had to learn to cook a lot more things.)

Hang in there. May it all go away.

[niupartyangel]

I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal. The only things I can offer are a hug *HUG* and prayers. I have read everyone's posts and I can see that you are a fighter and you will get through this. Keep us updated.

[fsk8r]

Lots of prayers and best wishes from this little corner of England. And just keep positive about that thought of skating again. Just remember in those dark days when life seems too unbearable, that there will be a day when you can skate again (and do all those other walking related activities that you love and are a little too much of a struggle these days).

And I'm pleased to hear that you're putting in the formal complaint about the doctor. He does sound relatively incompetent. But I think from your description of things that the system is relatively similar to the UK system. You might possibly be able to persuade someone else to take you on, now you've made a formal complaint, as you can say that the relationship of trust has fully broken down (or something similarly formal!), or else maybe you'll have to pretend you've moved house. I had a similar problem with a doctor once, and my mother just moved the whole family to another doctor by telling them exactly what had happened and that she couldn't possibly trust him again, they weren't happy taking the family on, but did so because she made so much of a fuss.

And I know exactly what you mean about not exaggerating pain levels and therefore getting what you really need. I think it's the difficulty that some people make out the pain is really bad, when to someone else it's not. It's all relative. The doctors here use a pain scale with 10 being the worst. Well it doesn't matter how bad the pain is, I'm never going to say that the pain is 9 or 10 because I'm really scared the pain might get worse (and I've been in tears with pain before and wonder how its possible to get wose!), but it does take a really good doctor to understand that you are one of these people and give you what you really need, so don't feel bad about lying somewhat to get the painkillers to live your life. If you're in pain it can lead to depression and that won't help you get better.

Anyway, I'll be saying my prayers for you and hope that you start improving soon now that you're getting good treatment.

[Sessy]

Fsk8r, I'm already on Zoloft... :?? Actually you can't take painkillers with the diclofenac, not unless you want an ulcer or something.


Query, while I appreciate your input, trust me, this doctor really is incompetent. You know what he said when I said that it hurt just to stretch my knee or toes through? He said, then don't stretch them through! :frus:I'm sorry but I can think of those kind of brilliant solutions myself, that's not why I'm going to a doctor. Also after the physiotherapist advised to send me to a surgeon and get at least some imaging done, he should've taken a clue from that. A sports-PT is more of a specialist in the this sort of field than he is. I'm not saying he did everything wrong, but for me, that's the breaking point here - he should've sent me to a specialist when the PT advised it, and at that point, I could still walk around and even skate some.

As for allergies - I have extensive allergies but I eat accordingly, it's not that. Also, I have tried lots of alternative treatments already - from acupuncture to electrical currents to ozokerite to herbal remedies to rolling it on an egg and burying the egg (russian folk magic). I also take supplemental vitamins and minerals because my body absorbs them poorly. Ice, heat etc were amongst the first things I tried and they don't work. The only thing that helps some is ehm... I'm not sure what it's called but bees secrete it, and they make creams with that. But that's only of very limited help.
The nerve on this foot was damaged at birth (I sometimes stepped on glass or a pin and only noticed it when I was leaving bloody tracks) and this ankle was much weaker, so as a teenager I sprained it like 10-15 times (several of those were so bad they had to be treated in the hospital) - actually that's why I took up skating, because my ankle was too weak for any sorts of sports-shoes sport - and also, that I have a chronical problem with my immune system (making me very prone to inflammations) isn't helping either.

As I've said - I really do appreciate your input, it's just that you've not really told me much new. Which is probably a good thing, meaning that I've tried everything I should've tried, right?
I didn't hear about the second inflammation thing yet, thanks for that by the way. :) Although I would say I'd consider that a last resort.

[singerskates]

You say that you have immune system problems? Have you tried taking Probiotics? Probiotics build up the immune system which in turn makes it easier for your body to absorb vitamines and minerals that your body needs. Hope this helps if you haven't already tried it.

God Bless you.

[Ewdokia]

Hi Sessy,

I'm barely posting here, but after reading your story, I knew I should. I really feel for you and I mean this, as I can relate to your story partially, as I was diagnosed with CRPS at my left hand almost exactly 1 year ago.

It too was caused by bad medical treatment - I broke two metacarpal bones in my hand at the beginning of January 2008 when slipping on a piece of ice and falling on my hand. Ironically it happened on my way home from skating. I immediately knew my hand was broken, not that it was that painful, but healthy bones simply don't bend that way. Went to the emergency, was told if I can make a fist, it can't be broken and it's just a spain. Went to work, was typwriting for more than one week even without any support for my hand, not even an ace bandage (I can take quite a lot of pain, at least I thought I can grit my teeths without consequences). After that my hand was swollen like a tennisball, was sent to MR by my ortohpedic surgeon. Waited one week for the result, then after three weeks the result was a spiral fracture of MC V and VI (with the letter one being broken in more than one place!).
Again it was weekend, no orthopedic surgeon available, back to that dreadful emergency, where they put a cast on - unfortunately completely wrong (can you believe one can be to stupid to put on a cast? Should not be so complicated one might think). Couldn't stand the pain, cast off a few days later, a new one put on - again not done well (ok, this time it was my orthopedic surgeon) and this was the time when the first signs of CRPS showed: my hand was hot, almost burning at times (CRPS stage I). 4 weeks later the bones were basically healed, but I had already reached stage two of CRPS: my hand was cold, pale, I showed blockage in blood circulation, I barely could move my hand anymore and there was hair growing on the back of my hand.

When I was finally diagnosed with CRPS at the end of February, I was shocked, especially when I did some research on the Internet and learned how hard it is to overcome this and that some people will stay disabled. However, I succeeded in getting rid of CRPS. I was on intensive therapy for almost three months (at some days, I even had two appointments for different therapies), and allthough I was allready at stage II of CRPS half a year later I was basically healthy again. I have almost no pain now, only if I overdo it (e.g. carrying very heavy bags). The only thing I still have to take care of, is that I'm still at that stage of recovery, where I have to avoid any trauma to my hand for about one more year, because otherwise CPRS might come back with full strength.

What I've learned about treatment - you have to give it a mix:
* pain killers (unrelieved pain is acutally the thing that caused this disease), if it doesn't give you relieve, you can even consider nerve blocks
* medicine like calcitonin, which have a positive effect on the metabolism in the affected area,
* lymph drainage (did wonders for me, but it needs to be done carefully, it must not cause you pain)
* ergotherapy instead of "normal" physiotherapy. Ergotherapy is physiotherapy with babymoves, but I guess it's the one thing to get rid of oversensibility.

(As someone here posted mild treatments work better- that's definitely not true for CRPS. It's basically caused by the sympathic nerve system overreacting due to pain that was not treated adequately).

Also try to support yourself psychologically, don't think of yourself as an victim - I know it's hard if it all has been cause by unprofessional medical help, but still you need a believe that you can proactively fight this.
When you are not having therapy, try to do things that deflect you and have a positive influence on you, which lift you up - you can't skate now, do you have other hobbies? For example I had to give up needle work that time, but I skated a lot, even if it was just stroking, as I was scared to do the tricks and to fall on my hand. It was just replacing things I couldn't do with things I could do. Maybe inbetween the therapies you can make little journeys? (Today it's no problem to go anywhere with crutches - I once travelled to Moscow that way).

One other important thing: don't search too much on the internet, this can drive you crazy, because it's mostly people with the bad histories that post on the relevant boards. Once you are healthy, you usually don't post on the net in self-help communities and similar groups. To be honest, it's the first time for me to ever write in public about this, cause I really don't want to remember that time in my life, but I really felt I should do here, as I really want to let you know that CRPS can be cured. - Sessy, if you want any more information, more tips on therapy or medication, feel free to PM me. I wish you all the best, much strength for the next upcoming months and much support from your surrounding.

[Sessy]

You say that you have immune system problems? Have you tried taking Probiotics? Probiotics build up the immune system which in turn makes it easier for your body to absorb vitamines and minerals that your body needs. Hope this helps if you haven't already tried it.

God Bless you.

Tried many different kinds. Didn't help. Well I mean it helped some at first, it significantly decreased my allergies, but it's not helping any further now. On top of it all, I've been told it's dangerous to take the probiotic yoghurts. The doctor who prescribed me the probiotics and such said that tests had revealed that people who particularly indulged in all sorts of probiotic yoghurts after a while only had those super-virulent strains in their guts, where as the natural, but more vulnerable strains of other lactobacteries were extinct. She did recommend a diet that would help promote a good bacterial balance though, but it wasn't anything I wasn't eating already - lots of fresh milk products, nuts, dried fruits, cottage cheese, and lots of fibres from fresh fruits and vegetables, very little pop drinks and chemical stuff like just-add-hot-water-soup, low-fat high-protein meat, fish and poultry when possible and preferably less raffinaded sugar and less chemical sugar replacements.


Ewdokia - thank you SO much for that testimony! I'm afraid this has been going on for two years but I hope that I can make it as well.
BTW, that name - are you Russian? :lol:

As for victim mentality... Well I've always been the type to get my kicks out of doing things people say are impossible. Impossible to get my highschool diploma in a year? Check... "Adults dont learn to jump", said the skateshop guy and "Adults don't learn a biellmann spin," said my first coach - 2 years later, check on both counts. And many more smaller projects - from an "impossible" chess situation to an "impossible" bridge or "impossible" deadlines... I've done a lot of extraordinarily stupid things because people dared me, but the truth is, my ears just perk at the words "impossible" and "bet you can't"
And now there's a doctor essentially saying recovery chances aren't so great. First reaction - Shock. It's actually serious? And then, my most primal reaction: Don't you tell me what I can and can't do, mister!
Actually I feel quite invigorated by this news. Instead of just dragging on and on and on with no clear end in sight, no clear cause and holding me back in everything I do, this is now my new "impossible" pet project, and I get some serious energy out of my impossible projects. Plus, I can't tell you what a giant relief it is to finally have a doctor who does not downplay my symptoms!

Plus, I discovered something funny this morning. I mean I knew a few meditative techniques to slow down my breathing, heartbeat... Nothing spectacular. But... Now I've found I can actually make my sick leg grow warmer compared to my healthy one by focusing very hard on the blood flowing to that leg instead of the other one. I have no clue how that works but I plan to experiment with it further. It's only worked with my toes this morning but I was pretty blown away that it actually worked at all.

[Ewdokia]

. Ewdokia - thank you SO much for that testimony! I'm afraid this has been going on for two years but I hope that I can make it as well.
Glad if I could help you a bit. About the time - I don't think it's that important how long you have CRPS, it's much more important in which stage you are - stage I & II can be treated, though you certainly need a lot of discipline, patience and energy, stage III unfortunately is irrevocably (though it's said that at least the pain then goes away). If you have not reached stage III yet, there is definitely hope for you.

Also people are very different, some need months to develop CPRS and again months to get from stage I to stage II. I was progressing untypically fast. Maybe because until I was diagnosed with CRPS I almost didn't take any pain medication at all for the worst weeks, as I'm usually reacting quite badly to it. :frus:


As for victim mentality... Well I've always been the type to get my kicks out of doing things people say are impossible. Impossible to get my highschool diploma in a year? Check... "Adults dont learn to jump", said the skateshop guy and "Adults don't learn a biellmann spin," said my first coach - 2 years later, check on both counts. And many more smaller projects - from an "impossible" chess situation to an "impossible" bridge or "impossible" deadlines... I've done a lot of extraordinarily stupid things because people dared me, but the truth is, my ears just perk at the words "impossible" and "bet you can't"
Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to say that you have victim mentality, but CRPS can cause this to you. Formerly it was said that people that are mentally a bit unstable, easily scared and so on develop CRPS more easy, but I'm convinced this is changes in the mindset that are caused by CRPS. And this changes don't help you in healing at all - but once you detect it, it's much easier to countersteer.

I'm too was used to be basically a person who always strived for the almost impossible things, being independent, successfull - but I think you are much more likely to develop that disease, as you don't listen to your body, you are exhausting it. After my accident I should have simply stayed at home - even with just a sprain, as it hurt. But I went to work because of that important negotiations, that project that needed to be done. What I've learned now is that there is time to give everyhting, try your best, but there is also time to rest & to relax and also to say no and to ask others for help.


Plus, I can't tell you what a giant relief it is to finally have a doctor who does not downplay my symptoms!
Believe you 100 % in that. I remember times when I already started to think I'm a hypohondriac, as no one could explain to me, why my hand still hurt though the bones had healed.


. BTW, that name - are you Russian? :lol:
No I'm not Russian, I'm Austrian. But I love Russia - the language, the culture and of course the figure skaters. :D

[Sessy]

I'm just asking cuz I am :) Originally. :lol:

Ewdokia is one of those pretty really old names, like Akulina and Demyan. Glafira is another one of those almost extinct names I like. :)

[Ewdokia]

I'm just asking cuz I am :) Originally. :lol:

Ewdokia is one of those pretty really old names, like Akulina and Demyan. Glafira is another one of those almost extinct names I like. :)

I think Ewdokia is originally a Greek name, but I red it once in a book about Russian history of middle ages and loved that name immediately.
But Glafira and Akulina sound well too to me. :)

[Sessy]

Lots of old Russian names are, due to the heavy influence of the greek-orthodox church.

BTW, where in Austria do you live? I went skiing and hiking in some of the places there and of course I've been to Vienna. :) It's a very pretty country. Und dabei, Apfelstrudel ist einfach göttlich! :)

[Petlover]

(((((Sessy)))))))

[phoenix]

Und dabei, Apfelstrudel ist einfach göttlich! :)

Sheesh, Sessy, how many languages do you speak??? :bow::bow:

Very sorry about your bad news, I hope you find someone who will work with you and understand your needs!! We're all pulling for you & please keep us posted.

In fact, what is your status now? On crutches? In a lot of pain? Can you walk at all?

[Query]

Here are some useful links

Order a new body (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22order%20a%20new%20body%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=opera2>Order a new body)

[looplover]

Here are some useful links

Order a new body (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22order%20a%20new%20body%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=opera2>Order a new body)

some of those results are for golf carts and guitar lessons. ?

Sessy, it sounds like you have a great plan of attack - again I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I have such admiration for your attitude, seriously!

[AnnM]

Here are some useful links

Order a new body (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22order%20a%20new%20body%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=opera2>Order a new body)

This seems rather uncalled for. :roll:

[Query]

This seems rather uncalled for. :roll:

I've wanted to do it for some time.

I'd trade mine in for a younger model any day.

Might spec a couple minor changes while I'm at it.

Biology is advancing pretty fast. A few decades down the line, this won't be a joke. Sprain an ankle? Grow a clone, with better genes.

[Sessy]

Lol it's allright, really. My boyfriend and I have had a running gag between the two of us for many, many years now (even before we were an item), about me needing a cloned body or a robot body or something. :lol:

Oh I renamed the thread. I hope the mods don't mind.

[Sessy]

Sheesh, Sessy, how many languages do you speak??? :bow::bow:

Very sorry about your bad news, I hope you find someone who will work with you and understand your needs!! We're all pulling for you & please keep us posted.

In fact, what is your status now? On crutches? In a lot of pain? Can you walk at all?

Ehm... Well officially 4 but I can understand 7, more like 10 if we're talking about reading a text leisurly with a dictionary. All of them European and European-Slavic languages though, so that's not very difficult to do. It's not like I can read Chinese or anything. :lol:
It goes something like this. I'm fluent at Russian, Dutch and English and I'm reasonably fluent at German. I can do a little French (I can read Victor Hugo but I can only speak in very basic sentences) and Ukrainean and I also had Latin in school. Latin + French (+ English + Russian) mean that Spanish and Italian texts are legible to me, Dutch+German mean that Swedish and Norwegian are legible too, German + Russian means I can understand Yiddish freely in written form (I've never tried to speak it but I'm pretty sure I'd only need a week of immersion in the language or so), Ukrainean + Russian + German means I can make out some Polish, Czech and Slovakian. :)
Although I must admit the last time I had any practice with Swedish and Norwegian was on a holiday when I was 16, so I don't tend to count them at all. My Polish is also more at the gas-station level actually (directions, prices and foodstuffs and I suppose I know a few words to be really rude to somebody who annoys you too - you learn that quickly when they try to wash your windows at the stoplight when you don't want them to.) As for slovakian, I only discovered I understood it about a week ago so I'll get back to you about that when I figure out just how similar it is to Czech.

Voila. Europe really is borderless :)

Ehm, well right now I can walk about the house, as long as I don't do much of it (meaning that if I'm to go upstairs, I need to plan ahead what to take with me, because I can't go and get it later, too much stairwalking hurts, as does too much general walking) and I can get out of the house to the car... Anything beyond that, I need my crutches for, because then it starts hurting. And I'm really self-conscious about those, if you know what I mean! The problem really is, the pain doesn't come right away, it comes after I've already overdone it, and then I can't sleep from the pain at night which is very annoying - because then you wake up very tired, and a tired person's ability to handle pain is also worse. ;)

Plus, I'm getting fat. :twisted:

[herniated]

Your knowledge of language is astounding!!! Do you use your knowledge of languages in your career? I feel like a total 'idoit' knowing just one language. :lol:

Sorry again about your condition-sending more prayers.

[looplover]

Holy crap. That's amazing.

I want to learn mandarin - one of these days...

[Sessy]

No, I study law. :twisted:

In the Netherlands, for law school, French, German, Dutch and English are expected. I'd say at least a third of our required reading is in those languages, both books and untranslated verdicts from the highest courts of those countries. Some courses are entirely in English.

Also, if you want to get a master's degree in ANY field here, there is just no way around knowing at least 2 foreign languages. If you wish to take the shortest/fastest route to get a master's degree, you'll need to have 4 languages (3 foreign) in your highschool curriculum.

Besides, all over Europe at least a knowledge of English or German or French (apart from your own language) is expected. We're sort of like 1 country these days - we have money and some police collaboration in common, we have internal laws (some say they make up as much as 70% of the national regulations, some say more like 30%) pertaining to almost every field imaginable, there are no borders inside Europe... So we'd better all learn some languages, right? Else this big Europe thing will never work.

On the other hand, our mathematics curriculum is pretty weak. Our universities complain about the lack of math skills in students and the covered material looks plain laughable when compared to the math curriculum in soviet schools. But hey, personally, I don't like math so I'm fine with that. :twisted:

Back to me, me, ME! I do use it for a hobby of sorts. Once I helped out a panicked airport security in search of a translator at 3 in the morning once, another time I helped a Spanish couple in Russia who had gotten separated from their group and lost, and I do a lot of translations of songs and poetry. :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tL19ySKWtI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKyAtvcjlWU
I'm working on another Russian-English one right now, and there's a German-English one coming up after that (already have the text for 2 songs, but not the video file yet)

[Ewdokia]

BTW, where in Austria do you live? I went skiing and hiking in some of the places there and of course I've been to Vienna. :) It's a very pretty country. Und dabei, Apfelstrudel ist einfach göttlich! :)

I live in Vienna, though I have some relatives in Poland as well. Yes, Apfelstrudel ist tasty, and so is Sachertorte - living here you really have to do some sport, to burn all that calories! :yum:

I'm too very impressed with your languages skills. :bow:

[Sessy]

Yes but you speak at LEAST 2 languages - that I know of - as well. And your English is also marvellous! :bow:

There's another way to lose weight, in Austria. A week prior to my visit to Vienna we had been to the wonderfull village of Parthenen, Austria. My mother picked some mushrooms and she and my grandmother were fine, but I had a mushroom poisoning. I prayed to the Porcelain Pot God for about a week, I think I lost 5 kilo's or so. :lol: My pants were very baggy.
If you want, I can ask my mother what mushrooms she picked. :twisted:

[sk8joyful]

Hi Sessy,

You have allergies, bad digestion, depression, & dystrophy?
that's no fun!
I also read - drs. at 1 point only gave you 2-weeks to live? -- hmph!
Shows you what they know, eh? ;)

They wanted to bury me in 1982, of "leukemia" :roll: Ha!, I showed them!!
I just, in 2008, for the 1st. time, became a grandma, lol, and I LOVE to skate... my most FAVORITE activity!
and
Thanks so much, for helping... me in my thread :)

Hey, we are strong! you bet!! :) plus I can attest, well, to the fact that when you make-up your mind, to do something, you CAN do it!!! :D

Go, sessy, GO!.......... :D

[Sessy]

Your thread? Where's your thread? Did I miss it? 8O

As for the depression, no I don't really have it. I was just at some point getting really depressed about my leg, basically. As for my digestion, that's just fine actually. :) I used to have inflammations all over my internal organs (and it was in my blood too, that's why they thought I'd die), so they gave me so much antibiotics that at some point they just killed all my "good" bacteria, so those had to be sort of re-introduced to the body. And some days it seems like everybody has allergies these days, I think it's something in our environment. To be honest, the only time my allergies are even a problem is when eating out - they tend to like to put wine in all sorts of sauces and then not mention it, or use yeast dough and claim it's made without yeast.

Congratulations on beating leukemia! That's really scary. :?? And congratulations on being a Grandmother I'd Like To Skate With! (as opposed to a MILF - google it if you don't know the meaning ;) )

[sk8joyful]

Congratulations on beating leukemia! That's really scary.

I was scared, only because I worked as a nurse for about 30 yrs.!! -
beyond that tho, I just told those oncologists: "I have you know,
GOD & me constitutes a majority ;) and in-Christ, I can do all things!!!- so
get OUT of my way, and let me do them already!!" :D and
3 months later, I proved, by them running all the tests again, I was/am healthy :D And hey, since I can do it, so can you!!! :D


And congratulations on being a Grandmother I'd Like To Skate With!

Awww, you're so Nice! THANKS!! - but you'd be bored :roll: silly, in a fast hurry, as I am slow :roll:
but
I am determined that I will get my Ice-goals, and you can too!! :D


Your thread? Where's your thread? Did I miss it? 8O

You already posted in it, twice: "Encouragement, for beginners..." - and
maybe (for my challenges, 3 I've mentioned), you would like to continue making suggestions... IF you have the time, and Interest.

I will definitely pray do you! Sessy :)

[Morgail]

Oh, Sessy, I am SO sorry to hear this. You have such a good attitude though, and that can really go a long way in recovering. I'm glad you finally know what's really wrong. At least now you can plan and fight it.

Med mal cases in the US are extremely difficult (and extremely expensive) to win. One of the partners in my firm jokes (sarcastically) that you have to be dead in order to win a med mal case because of the highly prevalent "tort reform" mentality in jurors. Costs to prosecute the case can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, which is too much for regular people to pay, but hardly anything for a defendant hospital/doctor (backed by an insurance company) to pay.

So, while I haven't been there myself, I've seen lots of people in situations similar to yours, where there's no real recourse available. It's sad and very frustrating.

[sk8lady]

No, I study law. :twisted:

In the Netherlands, for law school, French, German, Dutch and English are expected. I'd say at least a third of our required reading is in those languages, both books and untranslated verdicts from the highest courts of those countries. Some courses are entirely in English.



Wow--I'm a lawyer in the U.S. and they're pretty happy here if your English and legalese are good!
Although I can say, "Where is the bathroom?" in at least 4 languages, and a lot of really useful stuff like, "The cow is standing under the traffic light!" in Hebrew. Don't ask.

[sk8joyful]

Ehm... Well officially 4
but I can understand 7, more like 10 if we're talking about reading a text leisurly with a dictionary. All of them European and European-Slavic languages though, so that's not very difficult to do. It's not like I can read Chinese or anything. :lol:
It goes something like this. I'm fluent at Russian, Dutch and English and I'm reasonably fluent at German. I can do a little French (I can read Victor Hugo but I can only speak in very basic sentences) and Ukrainean and I also had Latin in school. Latin + French (+ English + Russian) mean that Spanish and Italian texts are legible to me, Dutch+German mean that Swedish and Norwegian are legible too, German + Russian means I can understand Yiddish freely in written form (I've never tried to speak it but I'm pretty sure I'd only need a week of immersion in the language or so), Ukrainean + Russian + German means I can make out some Polish, Czech and Slovakian. :)

Hi Sessy,

I've studied German (native-language), Russian, English, French, Latin, Medical (yes, that is its own language, lol), and 2 others like it; but
you have a more varied command. Good for you!!! :)

[sk8joyful]

Lots of old Russian names are, due to the heavy influence of the greek-orthodox church.

BTW, where in Austria do you live? I went skiing and hiking in some of the places there and of course I've been to Vienna. :) It's a very pretty country. Und dabei, Apfelstrudel ist einfach göttlich! :)

in Deutschland, essen wir *Stollen*. Hast du es einmal gegessen, Sessy? Es schmeckt sehr gut! :D -
ja, und Apfelstrudel, und Kaesekuchen (yum) und Torte auch!! :D :D

[sk8joyful]

The thing that triggered it with the doctor is that my injured leg is very pale compared to the healthy leg, and also that my injured leg feels very cold to the touch compared to my healthy leg - although a few times a month it's actually red and hot.
Also that I'm sensitive even to the touch to the skin on the injured leg, and got some problems with my skin on the injured leg.
What he's suggesting is pain treatment, steroid anti-inflammatories (as opposed to the diclofenac I'm on now) and after that, revalidation therapy.

Hi Sessy,
What does he mean by "REvalidation" therapy, do you know?
also,
you posted about your injured-leg, being alternately cold, & sensitive to touch, there's some clues right there. Can you talk about what you have found out about that?

Also, somewhere you posted about "meta-physics", so I am wondering if you have checked-into more un-conventional but more often successful kinds of healing-methods?, like (the more benign form of ME), and EFT, and especially hypnotherapy :)

[sk8joyful]

As I've said - I really do appreciate your input, it's just that you've not really told me much new.
Which is probably a good thing, meaning that I've tried everything I should've tried, right?

Hi Sessy,
You also posted that you do not accept, or buy-into 'im'possible. -- This is very good as far as happiness, & exceptional-Health; meaning possibly you have yet to explore, do you agree?, some (more harmless), yet truly helpful means, for achieving your "Desired-outcomes", yes? :) - I wish you ALL the best! :D

[Sessy]

Sk8lady - Now you HAVE to explain! :twisted:

Sk8joyful -
Ja Stollen habe ich natürlich auch gegessen. Und Marmerkuchen usw. Aber das alles ist nicht nur Deutsch, sondern auch ein bischen Holländisch, und die Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte und Apfelstrudel sind ja wirklich Deutsch. Dabei, ich habe es immer gegessen als wir in die Ferien in Österreich oder in die Schweiz gefahren sind. Im Urlaub schmeckt alles besser, ne?! :lol:


I'd like to try them (alternative means, not the cake therapy - although I'd certainly *like* to try the cake therapy, lol!), but I'd like to go with whatever this doctor advises as conventional treatment first and only go unconventional if that doesn't work. Also I've been on Naproxen (it's over-the-counter here) and off the diclofenac ever since Ewdokia mentioned it may be pain-induced and I've got to say, naproxen seems to be working better than diclofenac - at least in the mornings right after waking up I don't feel like such a total wreck like I did before (I'm taking that as a measuring point because I'm assuming most the naproxen is out of my system by the morning). As for revalidation therapy, I'm not sure if I even translated it into English quite right, es heisst "Rehabilitation" auf Deutsch.

I'll PM you about the alternative methods, okay? But you can start by explaining ME and EFT - I've never heard of those! What are they?

[fsk8r]

[QUOTE=Sessy;385132]
I'd like to try them (alternative means, not the cake therapy - although I'd certainly *like* to try the cake therapy, lol!), but I'd like to go with whatever this doctor advises as conventional treatment first and only go unconventional if that doesn't work. Also I've been on Naproxen (it's over-the-counter here) and off the diclofenac ever since Ewdokia mentioned it may be pain-induced and I've got to say, naproxen seems to be working better than diclofenac - at least in the mornings right after waking up I don't feel like such a total wreck like I did before (I'm taking that as a measuring point because I'm assuming most the naproxen is out of my system by the morning). As for revalidation therapy, I'm not sure if I even translated it into English quite right, es heisst "Rehabilitation" auf Deutsch.
QUOTE]

I think cake therapy might be a wonderful idea! (At least it might make you feel good whilst you're eating the cake!).
As for the painkillers, diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory painkiller, so if there's inflamation it will help you, otherwise it won't. I'd also be careful how long you're on that and other stuff like ibuprofen and aspirin because they can cause stomach ulcers. With my recent whiplash, I started out on diclofenac and low dose codeine (with paracetomol /Advil). I didn't think the diclofenac did much for the pain but took it for the anti-inflammatory part of things. I found that for me codeine and the other opiates are better at killing severe pain. However, you've got to be careful about how you react to them. I tried one painkiller and felt really ill with it, although it sorted out the pain, so switched back to codiene. I now have different strengths of codiene which I take when I need.
The one thing I'd emphasise is to not be in pain with it. Pain really screws with your head (depression) and if it's a cause of your condition, then not being in pain will probably help.
Good luck with working out what helps your condition. I'm sure the doctors will have you sorted. And stay positive. Lots of little improvements will lead to big improvements.

[Mrs Redboots]

(is there any chance you could find out exactly what sort of prosthetic legs she did have?)I have no idea, and as it was probably nearly forty years ago, I expect they have made huge advances in prosthetic therapy since then. I do know he kept his legs in his skates in a locker, and would arrive on his motorcycle, change legs, and be on the ice before anybody else had opened their skate bags!

Some of the possible treatments involve drugs that might make you fail a drug test, if you are into the serious competitive stuff.

As I understand it, there are permissible exceptions if you can prove you really need these drugs and have been prescribed them by your doctor; you can get forms that you and your doctors have to fill in, and then you can compete. It's if you try to compete without declaring them that you have problems!

[Sessy]

I know, I'm on omeprazol though and I'm conscious of the symptoms of digestive tract bleeds so I think I'll be fine.
Also the reason I picked naproxen is because I have the least stomach problems with it and respond to it the best of all the over-the-counter medicines. Anyway the MRI is next week, I'll see the doctor the week after that and I'll make sure to ask for a prescription - personally I have a preference for injections anyway, I find they work faster and with less digestive tract side-effects and I only have to think about placing an injection once, instead of forgetting to take my pills on time etc. If he'd give me codeine, I'd be all for it - I had great experiences with it in the past.

Ok, and anyone bored may wanna check out my newest 2 creative projects, german-english song translations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVISw-TqVxE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydXkJhuU0Y0

[Mrs Redboots]

If he'd give me codeine, I'd be all for it - I had great experiences with it in the past.

Can you not buy codeine OTC in the Netherlands? You certainly can over here (maybe you need to do a quick dash to London by train and stock up - the best brand is called Solpadeine), and I think you can in France, too. It might well be worth going and having a chat with your local pharmacist (Apoteke, isn't it, in Dutch?) to see what they can recommend for you.

[LilJen]

Sessy, I'm sorry to hear of all your troubles. I hope you can get to the bottom of it all and then start healing!

Ich glaube, wir allen habe eine "Suess-Zahn"!! (there's my bad German) Mm, cheesecake, apple strudel, Sachertorte!

[Sessy]

Apotheek. :)

No, you can't. At least I've never seen it - or actually, I have once but there were really only like 5 mg of it to a pill of like 500 mg of paracetamol, and paracetamol is heavy on the stomach for me. I've heard the name sophadeine, but I think that may've been in Belgium or Germany (I've lived off and on in both countries for a few months).

But again, as I've said, I'm seeing the doctor in 2 weeks. I've waited 2 years I can wait 2 weeks :) and I'm pretty sure at this point I can get just about any prescription from doctors cuz they're a little jittery around the crutches. If I'd known crutches had such an effect on making doctors accomodating - I'd have gotten them muuuuch sooner!
It's not like the pain is unbearable or anything as long as I'm at home - and I don't have anything to do outside the home right now anyway, not much anyway - so I'm really more worried about the long term events.

[fsk8r]

Apotheek. :)

No, you can't. At least I've never seen it - or actually, I have once but there were really only like 5 mg of it to a pill of like 500 mg of paracetamol, and paracetamol is heavy on the stomach for me. I've heard the name sophadeine, but I think that may've been in Belgium or Germany (I've lived off and on in both countries for a few months).

But again, as I've said, I'm seeing the doctor in 2 weeks. I've waited 2 years I can wait 2 weeks :) and I'm pretty sure at this point I can get just about any prescription from doctors cuz they're a little jittery around the crutches. If I'd known crutches had such an effect on making doctors accomodating - I'd have gotten them muuuuch sooner!
It's not like the pain is unbearable or anything as long as I'm at home - and I don't have anything to do outside the home right now anyway, not much anyway - so I'm really more worried about the long term events.

If you are chatting with the doctors about prescriptions and are thinking about the codeine there are two ways they make it (that I've found). They do it mixed in with paracetamol (as like the 5mg over counter type) and I've had it in doses from 10mg, 20mg and 30mg (they might do stronger). And they also do it without the paracetamol (similar strengths and even stronger still). I found that with the whiplash I was getting to the point where I was terrified of overdosing on paracetamol despite being within codeine dosing levels. I finally got a doctor who prescribed it without the paracetamol and it's a lot easier to keep track of what I've taken now, as I only worry about my painkilling dose and not the random added extra of paracetamol. Oh and be aware if you go onto the codeine it does strange things to your insides, so its best to start a diet of figs otherwise you'll end up feeling even worse whilst your body adapts to it.

(And I think you're right about not buying any codeine over the counter. I wanted to get some when I was living in Germany and they didn't sell it there and when I asked at the Dutch pharmacy - I was living close to the border - they sold me caffeine instead!).

I hope the MRI goes well.

[Sessy]

Thanks for the tips!

Yeah it's a weird country. You're free to smoke pot and grow (up to 4 plants) marijuana plants, you can even get it medicinally prescribed, you can get your xtc tested for cleanness by police at all sorts of parties... But codeine, or even something like penicillin-group for that gazillionth bladder infection or an anti-spasm medicine like nospa or something, that you can't get. *rolleyes*