weird moment

[Moonmark]

I was at an outdoor concert last night (Soulive, great show) and I went to get two burgers at a food stand. I went to put ketchup and mustard on them out of those little packets. But, try as I might, I couldn't open the packets. not the mustard, ketchup, or even the mayo. Hmmmmmmmm.... A guy standing next to me asked me if I needed help! small potatoes, I know. but weird moment for me. and makes me worry about what is to come with this hand, arm, and now right shoulder weakness that is getting worse.

just venting--

Sandra

 

[olly]

hi sandra.
its ok,we all understand.
i too have problems with opening things,my pet hate at the moment are capped bottles like shampoo or shower gel.
i really loose it sometimes and curse the people who make them...........its not my problem that i can't open there dumb caps:wink::lol:
dont even start me on the tv remote,i press as hard as i can sometimes but" its not playing cricket " as we brits say. it works for my son so i think its doing it on a purpose.
they are not wierd moments ..........just everything else playing funny buggers:lol:

 

[Al]

Wait until you can't open the zip loc bags. Darn you man from glad. LOL. All part of the fun.

AL.

 

[GlenBrittle]

Oh ya ...

actual scenario

Im at work
I am getting headache
open the drawer of my desk
pull out the zip lock bag of dwugs from home.
Ahhh that little red one should do nicely.
just pull apart the bag and drop it on the floor.
Try picking it back up with left hand
try again (left hand is damn near useless or possessed by Satan)
spin chair around and pick it up with right hand
I am starting the mutter curses
back to trying to open that effin bag
this bag isnt getting the best of me ... no effin way.
my friend, my boss, offers to help.
I hand her the bag. defeated.

I take two Extra strength Tylenol ... headache has gotten worse for some reason.

Sandra , as you can see we all get to have that experience.



Glen

 

[halfin]

I had to fly to Texas the day after my diagnosis. I brought my own food because I'm eating gluten free in case that is what I have instead of ALS, but bought a water bottle from a sandwich shop. I tried and tried but could not get that bottle open, the lid was so tight. Finally I took it back to the counter and the lady there gave it a whack against the edge of the counter and then cranked it open, no problem.

Then a few days later I was flying home, and bought another water bottle, same airport, different area. I'd forgotten about the first time, and didn't try to open it until I was on the plane. I could not get the thing open, very frustrating. When we landed I tried the lady's trick, whacking it against a shelf, but it didn't work, I still couldn't get it open. This guy walking by stopped and stared - he said that he'd seen people open beer bottles that way, but never a water bottle. I was embarrassed and tried to explain about what had worked before, and he offered to try it himself. He was able to twist it open with no problem.

That was the first time I wasn't able to do something and had to ask for help.

Since then my right hand has gotten somewhat weaker, and I'm asking my wife to open more things now. I'm still kind of in denial on the whole ALS thing but it is hard to understand what is happening with my hand.

 

[GlenBrittle]

You can stop the gluten free diet. It has no relevance. In fact , eat my friend EAT !

Glen

 

[Moonmark]

Well, I hope this finger weakness does not mean I definitely have ALS, but it does give me pause. Among other things. some may know I had a clean EMG on one of those hands/arms in June and I have been holding on to that test result for dear life. I do not want to let it go, under any circumstances! Al, I am already struggling a wee bit with ziploc bags, which stinks, because a lot of the toddler snacks that my daughter eats come in these re-sealable ziploc bags. In fact, I think I may bring some ketchup packets and ziploc bags with me to the second opinion at Mass General Hospital in a few weeks and attempt to open them in front of the neurologist. sounds like a good test for assessing clinical weakness. :razz:

Glen, I had to laugh at your story, sad though it is. I could not open an Advil bottle the other day, either, and thought-- maybe I should transfer these to A ZIPLOC BAG? ;-)

Halfin, I was sorry to read about your diagnosis. Hopefully you will continue to progress slowly. Go ahead and eat some pasta!

Sandra

 

[hopingforcure]

You know this post as crappy as the reason made me think of what one of my girlfriend's told me the other day. Her daughter suffer's with Rhetts syndrome(sp), and she is fourteen, it reminds me very much physically of Muscular dystrophy, so you can understand how debilitating it is, well she told me that helping her daughter allows other people who may not be god, to be good. It made me smile and really gave me some deep thought. It really is an amazing way to look at things.

 

[BethU]

I now carry pliers to the ATM. I can't pull the money out fast enough ... after a few seconds, the machine starts pulling it back, and then I'm in a tug-of-war with the damn machine! Then, of course, I can't get my card out again, even with two hands.

It was a tip from Moderator Al about using pliers to pull parking stubs out of the machines that showed me the wisdom of having pliers with you at all times.

Are we having fun yet?

 

[shelleynshaggy]

We noticed Jim has the same problem with water bottles. He claims he can't open them because his hands are wet. We also noticed this with pop-can tabs. He hasn't really been able to do those since about last summer - just never put 2 and 2 together until my mom pointed it out. I opened the fridge last week and found 3 pop cans with partially opened tabs - apparently he had tried to open them when I am at work. He is now drinking canned iced tea when I am not home - I can open them ahead of time and they don't go flat!

 

[BarryG]

You just have to make sure that there is some air in the ziplock bag and then you can pop it :shock: but this technique can be messy depending on the contents. The other day I was trying to get a package of frozen fruit open that had a ziplock type seal on it and there was no way short of going to the toolbox that the ziplock was going to open for me. I resisted the urge to pop it because something about blueberries all over the kitchen gets my wife a little annoyed. Suffice to say the ziplock closure was surgically removed and replaced with a twist tie. I think that I will have to start carrying my Leatherman pliers everywhere with me and maybe I can use them to get my wallet out of my back pocket. Really, I'm not that tight with my money, I jast cant seem to get my wallet out. Wouldn't that be a interesting conversation starter in the bank?

That reminds me of the time I went to the bank without my talker, it's a good thing they know me cause it is a little strange when you pass a note to a bank teller. :lol::lol:

 

[tdamess]

wish i could get my son on this site but he is not ready yet , his is left handed and it is his left arm and hand he is having the trouble with ...he ate lunch here the other day and got upset because .... he said look i am useing my right hand to eat,then put the folk into his left hand and made sure it stayed there . i was hopeing it would saty in his left arm but, my husband could see the right arm twittching today, so i guess i will have to accept that it is what it is and you all know how it hurts but, can look at it with a good attitude ... my daughter showed me a helmet she was getting him for x-mas and i said to her you dont know if he be able to ride his motorcycle next year and she said so what it will be in my sidecar for him. i dont know why i cant think like her (by the way she has to go get her licence for this)and she is very close to him so it cant be because of the love ,she loves him as much as i do... he is her idol

 

[GlenBrittle]

Wanda found some zip-lock bags with a locking mechanism ... just pull the tab across . Works for now.

Glen

 

[Zaphoon]

I put my pants on wierd (but I can still do it... for now)!

I take them off wierd, too!

PZ

 

[peter57]

I too have issues with zip lock bags and have been using the ones with the plastic sliding thingy on them (i guess the same as Glen uses)

my other issue is with Glad Wrap (Cling Wrap) can never find the start of it, end up just ripping it apart, sometimes with the destruction of the contents.

As to small items eg coins, nuts and bolts, picking them up well we wont go there

cheers

Peter