Danny, I had similar difficulties when I reached the 10 year mark myself. I was suffering from bowel discomfort which is obviously quite a bit different than the problems you are having. I have unfortunately had to become increasingly dependent on caffeine whenever I am at home to function effectively during the days. After suffering with the bowel problems for 10 months and not getting any relief from the doctors or the hospital I decided to go see a psychologist in order to put my mind into the right frame once again. Interestingly enough he discovered that I wasn't depressed and the majority of my problems seemed to be resulting from my bowel issues. He did some troubleshooting and suggested I keep a food blog as well as contact my local dietitian. Eventually we got everything worked out and I felt considerably better. I haven't been back to see him in a couple years, but I have recently been suffering from similar bowel problems over the last 2 1/2 months.
This time I have been diligently searching to see if I can find what is causing the problem and possibly get a remedy myself. These bowel problems were also causing me to feel a little sluggish. I spoke to my doctor about these problems when I was in having my colonoscopy last month and he put me on a probiotic called Lacto basillies (spelling is really incorrect). He decided on this probiotic because I have a lactose intolerance. Once I left the hospital I went to my local GNC and found a similar tablet. After taking it for about a week I have noticed a prodigious change which has made me feel better psychologically in addition to physically. John has some good points and I definitely think if you aren't able to resolve these problems rather quickly you might want to seek help from a psychologist or psychiatrist, if it's possible. Depression can sneak up rather quickly. I know drinking caffeine is not good, but without it I am unable to function well at all. The majority of my sluggishness is the result of the spasticity medication I am forced to take in order to be functional . I am sadly unable to function without it. Nevertheless, I have been able to reduce my level of medication this year, but it could be because it has been so damn hot that my spasms are not reacting the same as normal. BTW, I forgot to mention that strangely enough I started getting quite a bit of feeling back in my 10th year post-SCI. In fact, a large portion of the problems I am having now are the result of getting more feeling back in my body. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I have been able to notice some discomfort in my rear end at times and thereby have eliminate any breakdown, but anytime my bladder or bowels have any difficulty whatsoever I definitely suffer. Hopefully this might help out a little. Quadius On 8/21/07, Danny Hearn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hello everyone, I have been a quad now for post 10 years...for the last > few months I have been feeling really weak and exhausted and don't seem to > hardly have the energy to just sit in my chair all day. I know for one thing > I deal with alot of pain and never sleep as well as I did the 1st 8 years > or so of quad life....Anyhow I was wanting to know if any of you ever feel > this way??? Or got any suggestions ? Thanks Dan H.-- c-6 -10 years > post.
