Saturday, July 21, 2012

Much Overdue Update; My New Equipment

Remember the $6 Million Dollar Man?  I feel like him today with all my new prosthesis and what not.


This is my CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure) machine.  It forces air down through my nose to keep my airways open, used to help reduce sleep apnea.  My neurologist believe my difficulty sleeping is the cause of my exhaustion.  

I am still learning how to use it, it's pretty uncomfortable to wear.


Yay!  New Ankle-Foot Orthotics.  My pain doctor believes that the my pain is caused by the way I walk.  She sent me back to physical therapy and prescribed new orthotics and a TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) machine.  These new AFOs are hinged at the ankle, allowing me to move my foot like the TABs.  That flexibility in the ankle is pretty weird, I am having to relearn how to walk.  Aside from the new aches from unused muscles, I am taking to them pretty fast.  


The TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) machine applies electric stimulation to my nerves in pain spots.  I don't know why it works, but it does.  The electric shocks take a bit of getting used to, but using an hour a day has caused the pain in my hips to practically disappear.

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