Chapter 226 - Pain

Some mornings she needs to use the chair in the shower. That causes her difficulty washing her bottom, especially since recently she decided not to use the bidet to clean herself after a bowel motion. The Caring Physician once told her that the use of a bidet tends to encourage UTI's because water is splashed everywhere. So she relies on washing herself with her hand. She has found that she is unable to take the shower head and effectively spray upwards through the holes in the seat of the shower chair, which in my mind, is nothing more than a crude bidet. One morning a brown stain was left on the shower chair seat so I insisted she sit on the toilet & use the bidet. As mentioned previously, she has difficulty using her right hand to wipe herself. We discussed all this. She asked me what I did. "My bum hole is the last place on earth I wish to touch without several layers of toilet paper between my hand & it!" Do all women wash their bum holes with their hands either in shower or bath tub? We all assume that the rest of the world behave as we individuals ourselves do. She described a nurse at Old Town Emergency donning a glove and wiping her; "I never want you to have to do that" she said to me. The last step in having a sense of self management I suppose.

Our local GP has not called so can we presume she has no UTI? Some nights she goes to the loo 5 or 6 times, at other times only 2.

I have positioned her commode in the bedroom; in a position so that she is able to claw herself erect by grabbing the shelving of the built-in wardrobe. This is simply to minimise the pain in her lower back & legs when she gets out of bed & is hardly able to walk. At times she sobs, tears roll down her face. I have no idea how many Panodol she takes. She does not wish to have any Bowen treatment, saying just that it's not sciatic problems. So what I say.

Last Thursday we saw a neurologist recently moved from Big Smoke to Hot Air City. From the sub-continent. Quite a nice bloke; interested in her problems. The chart of on-off times I asked her to fill in she left at home as she thought it was only for my interest. Damn! Even from her muddled description of the meds & frequency she was taking he determined that she was taking too much Sinemet CR. I don't remember him saying anything about the pain or her urinary frequency; what can one expect when she wanted to compress 20 years of history into 30 minutes, placing a lot of emphasis on that disastrous time in the clinic in Batman City about 5 years ago. He wants to see her again in 3 months; he will write to the GP with his recommendations.

On the way home we called in to see our friends; she has MS. he Alzheimer's (diminishing volume of the frontal lobes he once showed us on a scan he was given). He seems unable to speak multi-syllabled words & nouns. A lot of hand waving to express himself.

After a muddled up start with dosage on Friday last she has settled on the following regimen, although she has added 1/2 Sinemet with the Sinemet CR to provide quicker response. I have made a new chart to track the effects these changes. I have no clear idea of what the neurologist suggested.

She was taking

0600 Sifrol, Sinemet CR, Sinemet, Deralin

1000 Sinemet CR, Sinemet, Deralin

1400 Sinemet CR, Sinemet, Deralin

1800 Sinemet CR, Sinemet, Deralin

2200 Sinemet

2400 1/2 sinemet, Sinemet CR

and is now taking

0600 Sifrol, Sinemet CR

0900 Sinemet, Deralin

1200 Sinemet, Deralin

1500 1/2 Sinemet, Sinemet CR

1800 Sinemet, Deralin

2100 Sinemet

2400 Sinemet CR, Deralin

Today I decided that she will spend 5 minutes each hour on the treadmill, setting the wind up alarm she keeps in the kitchen. She has not been doing any Wii for months, hardly walks anywhere or any stitching for awhile.

I just checked at 11:25 that she was drying herself after a shower & was happy to dress herself. She has been on the treadmill twice already, at 9:30 & 10:30. Time for another. Physio session this afternoon.