← Return to Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Discussion

Living with Neuropathy - Welcome to the group

Neuropathy | Last Active: Oct 27 5:51pm | Replies (6152)
Comment receiving replies
@chawk

Hi Ray--Interesting that you did serious time in theater! As it happens, I've always wanted to act (or at least joke) and for the last year, I've been taking improvisational comedy classes. We perform in a basement theater under a dentist's office and opposite a jiu-jitsu studio a couple of times a month. At 76, I'm a good half-century older than many of my fellow players. Half the time, I can't understand what they're talking about but it all works, sometimes. My odd gait, I like to think, gives me an undeniable credibility when I portray an old man. My wonderful physical therapist came to one of our performances and she was holding her breath every time I came in from the wings, wondering whether my right foot would clear the foot-high step when I mounted the stage. She didn't even know that I'd taken a fall and sprained my ankle 10 minutes before the lights went down. But hey--the show must go on, right?

Thanks for the info on EP-N5. I'm sticking with my Alpha-Lipoic but I'm not expecting miracles. Even so, I just find it's good to have some quasi-remedy in my back pocket. I'd extend that thought into a theological insight if I weren't so tired right now. I accompanied my wife, a first-time novelist, to a book talk she gave today for a women's group called the Colonial Dames of America. Her book is set during the American Revolution, and the Dames appreciated it. Plus, they gave us lunch. I'm done. Hang in there!

Jump to this post

Replies to "Hi Ray--Interesting that you did serious time in theater! As it happens, I've always wanted to..."
Ray Kemble | @ray666 | Oct 3 1:59pm

Hi, Steve

I don't blame you for sticking with the Alpha-Lipoic. If you don't see that Alpha-Lipoic is doing any harm (and may actually be doing some good), why not? I'm taking the same approach to my EB-N5––with my doctor's blessing. However, he does check in with me every so often to ask if I've noticed any positives or negatives. Since the jury is still out, the most I can tell him is, "No trends yet, either way." I see it as a Devil you know vs. a Devil you don't situation.

There are so many "remedies" whizzing around. While I'm not averse to trying something new, for now, at least my Devil, I know the approach is keeping me from going crazy.

What's the title of your wife's book? I'm very much interested. As is my partner. She's a poet. And, when my increasingly unreliable balance led to my seeing the wisdom of retiring from the stage (the adage, "Don't fall over the furniture," had become un-funny), I went back to my old love: writing. Until Covid put the kibosh on our program, Mell and I taught a seniors' writing class at our local library for several years. And we're still part of a writers' group. So, my partner and I are interested in all things literary. (Thank goodness I'm not yet too wobbly to hold on to a book!)

Congrats on taking improvisational comedy classes! I dipped my toe (years ago) into improvisational acting, hoping I'd be good at it, but I wasn't. I fled back into the tedious, lonely world of memorizing lines!

That's so true, Steve, even when it comes to our neuropathy: The show must go on!

Cheers!
Ray

VIEW AND REPLY