It has been a number of months since my last post as I simply did not want to address many of the things that were going with me and people I care about.
The sudden death of my Best Friends wife was without a doubt one of the most horrible experiences of my life. Cancer reached out and took a sweet and wonderful person who, after giving so much was on the brink of enjoying a retired life in the home of her dreams. As a friend I felt powerless to take away the pain my friend and his daughter (my god child) endured and are enduring now. Even today it seems surreal and so unfair.
In addition to watching the struggles of several friends with Cancer another has been diagnosed with ALS. With cancer you may have a fighting chance, with ALS you simply waste away over time.
As for me, well, I guess things may be turning around a bit. After sixteen months of running with foot pain my sweet wife (the google queen) found a video showing three foot exercises I had never seen before. Three weeks after starting them I began to run pain free, you just cannot imagine how I felt that first time I realized there ways no pain during or after a five mile run.
Now the "Battle" is to get back in shape. I have to admit that my lack of running was compensated for by a beer consumption routine that added twenty unsightly pounds to my frame. The good news is that it's down to fifteen pounds, the bad .... at sixty-three those pounds seem more stubborn! I will finish the year out without completing an ultra run. I did manage a couple 25K's and a half marathon but that's it. Hopefully 2017 will see a slimmer me and a couple of Ultras.
I also am to the point where I am guessing the chemo induced neuropathy may not get much better. I believe it is better than what it was a couple years ago but it just won't go away. Concerned about my continued use of Hydrocodone I tried some alternatives, First, Gabapentin... this did not work well in the past but I decided to give it another go at a slightly higher dose. About a week after stating it I broke out in a horrible rash, I quite using it and the rash went away after a week. Not convinced that the "Gabbys" caused the rash I tried again. After just an hour after taking a half dose my wife asked me, "What's wrong with your face". Now some mean spirited people might make a snide comment at this point but the truth was I started breaking out again.
Attempt two was to try Lyrica. Like the "Gabbys" the Lyrica didn't seem to work as well as Hydrocodone but it did work. Two weeks into taking it I started having very disturbing dreams, after a few days of this I dumped the remainder of the prescription down the toilet (We have a septic tank) and the dreams went away. I felt terribly guilty as the Lyrica cost the insurance company an obscene amount of money.
So it appears my choice for now will be to stick with the Opiate. I will try to stay at my 5mg dosage but after five years I have built up a tolerance so that sometimes I need 7.5 mg to get relief. (I can generally tell when the extra will be needed) This has meant this month that I have run out a few days short of the end of the month. I don't seem to suffer withdrawal effects but I cannot sleep, I have had eight hours in the past three days with four of those hours coming last night in two, two hour sessions. I sleep with my feet outside of the covers but even that isn't enough. I can get up and walk on our cool floors which works for a while. I have some lotion I'll rub on my hands and that also gives some temporary relief. I will tell you this is far better then fours years ago when I use to stand barefoot in the snow to quell the fire.
I started this off by talking about my family and friends for they are my strength. As I get older my body may weaken but my appreciation for those I love and care about only intensifies. I am a lucky man.
Mike
Sue, Joe and I in California
