Hello,
My husband,Vic was diagnosed wIth ALS last April having had symptoms since the summer of 2003. It started in his right leg and has progressed to the point where he is in a wheelchair and is losing the use of his arms and hands.
He is on many medications, some to help with the spasms. We hope they will eventually make a difference. They include Baclofen, Gabapentin, Effexor, Oxycontin and Zanaflex.
He contends with a great deal of discomfort every waking hour due to the spasms and the pain they cause. Sleep is very broken usually no more than an hour at a time and totalling about 6 hours at night. He is able to fall back to sleep after I massage his feet and legs. He is very tired during the day. He also contends with persistent constipation.
I realize this sounds like one big whine but I want to ask a rather naive question: is this amount of discomfort par for the course or is this somewhat excessive? I would be interested in hearing the 'discomfort' experience of other PALS and how they cope with it..
I get a lot of encouragement and info from reading the forums and am continually amazed and heartened by the spirit and humor contained in so many of the posts. Thank you. I read them first thing in the am.
Wishing you all a happy Mothers Day tomorrow.
Jessie
My husband,Vic was diagnosed wIth ALS last April having had symptoms since the summer of 2003. It started in his right leg and has progressed to the point where he is in a wheelchair and is losing the use of his arms and hands.
He is on many medications, some to help with the spasms. We hope they will eventually make a difference. They include Baclofen, Gabapentin, Effexor, Oxycontin and Zanaflex.
He contends with a great deal of discomfort every waking hour due to the spasms and the pain they cause. Sleep is very broken usually no more than an hour at a time and totalling about 6 hours at night. He is able to fall back to sleep after I massage his feet and legs. He is very tired during the day. He also contends with persistent constipation.
I realize this sounds like one big whine but I want to ask a rather naive question: is this amount of discomfort par for the course or is this somewhat excessive? I would be interested in hearing the 'discomfort' experience of other PALS and how they cope with it..
I get a lot of encouragement and info from reading the forums and am continually amazed and heartened by the spirit and humor contained in so many of the posts. Thank you. I read them first thing in the am.
Wishing you all a happy Mothers Day tomorrow.
Jessie