Neuropathy & Exercise

Going to add... a side effect from medical marijuana for me is eye burning. Some days worse than others. Cant figure it out. Anyone else?

Now that our lifestyles have been altered by the pandemic, I was wondering what creative ways you all have found to get in your exercise. Normally I participate in water aerobics but now that my gym is closed, I have begun to walk on the treadmill and switch on YouTube videos that provide me with a non-weighted upper body cardio workout from a seated position. This works great as I sit her working from home. Of course my dog is enjoying the more frequent walks she has been getting as well.

I'll bet @artscaping may have some information or suggestions for you @rwinney. Here's some information but I'm not sure if it affects everyone the same - https://www.green-flower.com/articles/science-research/how-cannabis-affects-the-eyes

My problem is bad genes. My father, grandfather, uncles and six of my male cousins died from heart attacks. I have always been thin, active and I eat a low fat diet. So there’s nothing that I can do to change my medical history. I take a statin, but nothing helps. My sister never exercised a minute of her life, ate a horrible high fat diet, was morbidly obese and did not have any cardiac problems. It just wasn’t fair. She got the good genes.

Without spending a lot of money, and now confined to home , because of current pandemic, and at age 89, I have purchased a 2nd hand stationary bike, and I have a couple of dumbels, I can really get my cardio working. The secret is to start slowly, ride every 2nd day, and slowly increase your time, until you are puffing. Riding the bike places nil stress on, feet,knees, ankles,hips or back. Check with your doctor for his approval. THE dumbels are great for both sexes, and for woman helps guard against osteoporosis in the shoulders. I paid only $50 (Australian ) for the bike and it is almost brand new. Dumbels, of course vary in weight, but 2nd hand, are as cheap as chips. Don't let your condition get you down, remember , the reward will get you smiling, as you acheive. Best wishes from Australia.

Jane, my best friend and her parents and siblings also have serious heart problems and all have had surgeries. Her hubby, otoh, who is now 83 eats a deplorable diet, try coke and choc chip cookie for fav. breakfast, bologna sands...and does not take a single med...neither otc nor prescribed. Best friend is highly conscious of and adheres to her strict diet. Hubby has the best bp in the county, is strong as an ox and in the 20+ years I've known him was hospitalized once for kidney stones...we know about kidney diets but.....

@artscaping Good morning. My eyes were bad last night and I could not re-create. I stupidly exited the post by accident after reveiving a stressful phone call. I also tend to get wordy (we are very similar) so I will try to streamline.

My opiod use of 5 mg hydrocodone did not keep up with my increasing pain. I take 1 pill every 3 hours and after 2 am getting desperate for relief again. The relief is felt with a half hour. I've been on it 3 years and naturally losing effectiveness is the nature of the opiod beast however, my neuropathy has progressed as well. Im comfortable on hydrocodone and have no negative side effects. It is an upper and wakes me up but not in a bad way. I feel exhausted from SFN, pain and Lyrica so, it is a welcomed feeling that allows me to feel alive, like my old self, while battling pain. My PCP had been hesitant to increase mg and I frankly did not want that either.

I knew 5 mg hydro wasn't enough in itself. As you know, I tried lidocaine infusions to supplement the pain but was unsuccessful. I did not want to experiment with different opiods and all the other basic neuropathy treatments. Been there, done that.
I feel fortunate to receive opiod therapy during these times and realize not everyone is as lucky.

I landed on medical marijuana as my supplement. It took alot experimenting. The pharmacist at the dispensary lined me up with products based on my current pain relief which at the time was lyrica, cymbalta and hydro. I take a 20:1 ratio (heavy THC) so, I had to be careful when cruising up the dosing chart. THC is the component that will get you high if not properly used. I found out quickly what I could not handle when I was unable to function and my mind was in a fog. Did not like that.

Now I've found my groove and think I'm getting balanced pain relief...as much as possible anyhow while restoring my cognitive functions. I'm not a fan of oil and tinctures or vaping so, I chose a capsule of 5 mg (20:1 ratio) during the day rotated around hydro, and double the strength at night to 10 mg in a chewable tablet. The chewable allows for faster entry to the blood stream. Side effects that I experience is a calming through my body and possibly tired. I make sure to not take on an empty stomach.

So, the opioid lifts me and hit my sharp pains that make me not be able to walk. The medical marijuana calms me and settles burning, aching and pain. Some days (and we all have them) pain is simply unstoppable no matter what. Together they seem to be best for me and with that, I'm still debilitated and use my body wisely but can be at better peace.

So much for keeping it brief! Eyes are shot yet again. Will end here. Happy day everyone.
Rachel

@rwinney. Forever grateful Rachel. That was super duper! "Balanced pain relief" a collaboration between medical cannabis and an opioid. You're right.....that must have taken a lot of experimenting. Variables would include medication, distribution type, time of day, and dosage amount if you were varying the dosage depending on the time of day. I knew you would "find your groove". You toughed it out in a successful effort to improve your quality of life as in "Pain be gone--I will not be your hostess".

I hadn't thought much about the progression of your SFN as another variable. That is hard to measure and yet it happens to all of us as more and more of our nerves take an early out. That is no time to blame the medication, the clinician, the medical system. We own this.
It's "too bad Charlie" about the tinctures. Took me a while. Now my go to's. You probably want it to taste like Champagne, I'll take Single Barrel JD.

Do I have this wrong? Dry eye is a result of SFN. Or, at least that is one of the reasons I had to wait for cataract surgery. The other was living on a dry mountain with the humidity running about 10%. Took two years to get them ready. What are you using for your eyes? Do you relax under a moist compress or eye pillow? Have you had a picture taken of your lacrimal glands underneath your lower eyelid to find out if any are drying out?
I have more: have you had the fluid in your eye tested for consistency?
and the last one: have you ever had plugs inserted in your tear ducts to prevent moisture from escaping?

Be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Thank you @johnbishop for the article. I have researched eyes and medical marijuana. Mainly for my Dad as he is diabetic, blind in one eye and just had a stent put in the other to keep his pressure down. I hoped cannabis might help his glaucoma. He and I share the same corneal disease also. As far as me, I just cant put my finger on the burning. Cant find evidence that marijuana might not work for implants such as my cataract lenses or cornea implants. Perhaps allergy. Just hope there is no harm. I use Systane drops when I cant handle it.