All posts by It's My Time Now

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About It's My Time Now

I am a retired adult educator. My wife had a stroke in February 2014 and developed mixed dementia. I was her Care Partner until she passed in October 2025. This Blog has told the story of life as a Care Partner and now focuses on the aftermath of dementia.

Managing Neuropathy: My Two-Fold Action Plan

Following conversations with my chiropractor yesterday, I have a new action plan. Neuropathy is a complex matter and it is tempting to just address the pain rather than considering what’s causing the discomfort. The way ahead that I’ve now decided is to take a two-fold attack on the condition.

Firstly I have a number of supplements that I will take that should help to reduce the starvation that my nerves have been experiencing. I will be taking a B12 supplement and a magnesium supplement to give my nerves the nutrients they need. I will also be following a straightforward exercise program to try and get my body back into a reasonable shape. One of the areas I’ll concentrate on is my calves, which are often described as your second heart, and get them to pump my blood back up to my heart so that any nasties in my blood are removed. I also will recommence using my mobility scooter.

One of the things I have been doing lately is walking too far. Obviously I do need to walk but I need to ration how much I might walk otherwise the next day I’m feeling the consequences of overdoing it. I’m going to try this action plan for four weeks until my next appointment with the chiropractor, when we’ll review how things have gone.

Why I Chose Chiropractic Care for My Neuropathy

I have an appointment with my chiropractor at noon today.

This will be my fourth appointment with her since I chose to use a chiropractor rather than a physio to address the problems that I’m having with my body.

My chiropractor offers a holistic approach to reducing and eventually eliminating the problems associated with Peripheral Neuropathy

I have great regard for her and look forward to discussing all the aspects of my neuropathy and deciding the next logical steps to aid my recovery back to full fitness.

I will post the Agreed Action Plan on here tomorrow.

Optimistic Progress in Managing Peripheral Neuropathy

It’s always dangerous with peripheral neuropathy to think that you’re on a winning streak. However I think there is much room for optimism when I look at the situation this morning. There are aspects of the condition that I seem to have made real progress on. Edema and red legs appear to be a thing of the past. My legs are no longer badly swollen and have almost returned to their natural color.

The real problem recently has been my inability to sleep well. However I seem to be making some positive progress on that front now. By using some sleep patches my sleep does seem to be improving. Unfortunately as an 80-year-old my problems of waking up in the night needing to go to the bathroom do interrupt my sleep pattern. However I think if I use a gadget that I’ve got to try and improve my bladder control even progress can be made on that front.

It’s early in August, the sun is shining. I live in a beautiful place, which is known as Costa del Cleethorpes, and there is room for optimism this morning.

Finding Natural Alternatives to Magnesium Glycinate

I have now added Magic Magnesium Glycinate 600 mg to my daily intake.

On reading the box I see that it contains bulking agents.

This is a red flag in terms of natural remedies and I will need to search for an alternative.

Avoiding Nerve Blockers: My Journey with Peripheral Neuropathy

Following My diagnosis of idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, I have been determined to stay away from the standard NHS treatment, which is basically nerve blockers. There is lots of dialogue about this medication giving you brain fog or the symptoms of dementia. Consequently I’ve resisted my doctor’s suggestions to go on gabapentin or the other nerve blockers. My preference has always been to consider natural remedies and they do seem to be having a positive impact.

What I need to do now, is to just check that the remedies that I’m using do not contain fillers and other supplements. I’m going to do a little research on that matter in the next few days. I’m also fortunate to have The Natural Healing Handbook on my bookshelf. to guides me on how to make up my own natural remedies.

How I Alleviated Body Pain Using RICE and TENS Therapy

I spent quite a long time yesterday trying to address the painful areas in my body. I didn’t quite follow the RICE approach with rest, ice, compression, and elevation but I wasn’t far off it,

Following this advice of my chiropractor. I iced the areas that are all giving me cause for concern, which is my back, my knees, and my shoulder.

I also followed it up with using my TENS machine on my knees.

I need to continue with my RICE adaptation I’m ever to be free of pain in my body and walk freely rather than shuffling along.

Finding Peace in the Garden: A Personal Day Off

I have decided to take ‘Gardening Leave’ today. It’s a beautiful day here in Cleethorpes and what better than to spend at least the morning sorting out one or two things in the garden. Yesterday was very emotionally challenging as I reviewed the notes from my stay in that DREADFUL care home, Sussex House. I need a break from the emotional trauma associated with that today so I’m going to spend at least the morning in beautiful sunshine tidying up my back garden.

Relieve Typing Pain with Wispa Flow

Because of Trigger Finger it’s painful for me to type.

I’m just about getting used to using Wispa Flow. It is solving the pain in my fingers that I get when I use the keyboard .

Wispa Flow not only saves me time but it also prevents the pain in my fingers.

I just hold down two keys, talk and Wispa Flow does the rest.

Managing Tendonitis: My Daily Hand Care Routine

The problems with my hands persist. I wake up most mornings with my right hand like a claw. It takes around half an hour before I can straighten my fingers. This is despite sleeping with gloves on both hands.

I use a golf ball to ease my fingers straight, Then I use my squeeze block to stimulate both of my hands. That is followed by 15 minutes of infra red treatment on both hands. Then I’m ready for the day.

I’m optimistic that I have caught the tendonitis in both hands before the issue becomes chronic. I hope my regime will mean that one day my hands will be flexible and free of pain.