Whiterabbit-uk, I feel sorry for you, let's hope that they can do something in the very near future.
Guard yourself and take your time, all the best wishes :)

Stephen - as a fellow chronic pain sufferer, I sympathize, wish you well, hope for a speedy (and full!) recovery. Your fans are legion and pulling for you in droves, hope that cheers you.

Have no game comment today, just doesn't interest me, based on comments below.
John

Hi, Stephen/Whiterabbit-uk! Very relieved to learn what was happening yesterday directly from you. I won't dare say I can imagine what you went (and go) through continually, but I do admire how you've managed to make it a part of a positive life. Hope you'll be over this 'bump' soon, and I do imagine that reading all the concern and care, here, may help you in that. Good to see that you're also still capable of treating someone, who apparently went off the deep end, in a way that minimizes the 'fallout', to you and others. Thanks, and the best to you, as always.

Whiterabbit-uk, It's so good to hear from you. I am sorry for your chronic pain. I hope they can give you some relief soon. Is it Sciatica? If so perhaps a visit to a chiropractor may help. I suffered from that for nearly 9 months, until I could no longer walk, when I finally went to one, and it was what helped me to be able to walk again.

...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Hi Cherish, the damage to my buttock and coccyx area at the time of the accident did cause some problems with the sciatic nerve, but it's not the reason for the pain I'm in at the moment. I've learned how to control the pain from the sciatic nerve. I use a gel pad when I sit on our dining room chairs and a good memory foam pad on my wheelchair and computer chair. I usually take another gel pad with me (each cost around £140) when I have to go visit doctors, hospitals etc. That helps tremendously. I also tend to sit with less weight on the left hand side becasue that was where significant damage was done when i hit the ground. I'm still numb in that area after 11 years. Thankfully, the use of the gel cushions, my leaning to the right when sitting and the use of gabapentin, which helps nerve pain seems to have stopped sciatica almost totally. The present pain is in my right lower leg (mainly) plus other pain that started before the leg pain in my abdomen. The medics say they are not related so I'm being investigated separately for both.

Whiterabbit-uk,

Glad to hear from you - just take it one step at a time - wishing you all the best and hope some relief will occur.

Hi WR-UK - Stephen. :-)

Glad you're (somewhat) ok!!!

Whiterabbit-uk,

I am sorry to hear about your illness. Have you considered acupuncture as a possibility? It is a long shot but it may help since your pain seems to be muscle/nerve based.

I hope you find relief soon.

Whiterabbit-uk, It is good to see that you are well enough to give us an update. I totally understand about the pain getting to the point where you just don't want to do anything. I have an intrathecal pain medication infusion pump implanted into the area right beside the spine to help with my pain and even with the dilaudid that I get from that, I have to take percocet to help with the pain that the pump isn't taking away. I will be praying for you Stephen. God Bless and I pray that they will figure out what this is and that they will be able to get rid of it.

Whiterabbit-uk, Sorry to hear you're in so much pain; I hope it diminishes very soon!

Whiterabbit-uk, HI Stephen I would have commented yesterday, but you had 100's of get well messages to go through, you have been an integral part of this site for many years, and most people including myself treat you as a friend, we have wished your children all the best in their quests in life, wished you and your family all the best for Christmas and the New Year, ( will do again this year), helped celebrate their birthdays, and loads more. Well now myself and everyone else on this site wish you a speedy and a hopeful pain free recovery. I know how you feel being in pain 24/7, its no fun and I am not going to dwell on it or try and glorify how it affects us. I think you should have a few weeks away from moderating and let us moaning lot argue about whether a game is any good or not, after all Stephen we are the experts and you are just a glorified writer who pops on every now and again, yea right course you ain't, you do a bloody good job mate, but now look after yourself and ignore us for a few weeks, All the very best Mate.

Dan,


Hi Dan, I've been keeping a record of his posts (by screen captures); so, if the owners wish to proceed, I'll sent them all of the evidence. Just realized though that the posts he's made today under Satan's Slut will only appear on his own computer and the Admin panel because the IP he's used for that was blocked by me. I keep forgetting that blocked IP's still show up here, but not to the community; which is lucky because some of his language has been not only appalling, but disgusting.

Whiterabbit-uk, I sincerely hope your pains eases up to nothing. So sorry.

blp,
Hi blp, Since being sent home with a broken back and serious head injuries (the A^E said i'd received bruising and a sprain I've not lived a day without it. Even with the pain meds, which I've been taking now for over 11 years, but apart from this recent episode, which i'm sure is not related to my previous injuries, I seem to have either managed to blank out a lot of the pain that the opiates didn't mask, or I'm so used to it, it's not been as distracting as it used to be. I do play a lot of games, read and watch TV all day to keep my mid off the pain, which does help. It's only when i contemplate that it seems worse. This recent pain has been unbelievably exhausting. Would like to thank you for your understanding. I hope the meds you take are effective enough. I expect you have found your own distraction therapy as well. :) Take care.

Whiterabbit-uk, when my leg got that super intense cramp that would not go away it turned out to be a blood clot in my leg.

...........................................Moderator comment...................................

That's what they are investigating at the moment. I will be going for a scan early this week. They did some tests such as measuring the size of my calf and comparing it with the other, temp changes etc and said they were unsure as the score was indecisive. I was going to be given warfarin as a temporary fix just in case, but i declined. Personally I don't think it's a DVT now, but I was worried that it was at first due in part to having looked after patients while an ICU nurse who sometimes suffered DVT due to not moving their legs much, which I don't. But I'm now convinced it's more like lots of cramps that are damaging the muscles. The pain is very similar to that I had when having bad cramps when I used to be a long distance runner in my youth and 20's (anyone know Steve Ovett a long distance runner from the late 70's who won gold medals at the Olympics., I've ran in the same races as he, but I never got better placement, usually coming in mid field, whereas he usually came in first.

Whiterabbit-uk, I think the Pest has been in - Comment by Adaliz Addie , number #6. Sounds like that kind of idiot, anyway.

...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Yes, I think so too. I've screen captured the post and added it to the rest. I think that's the third or fourth name he's used so far. I had a very similar situation like this many years ago when a friend and I used to run a site dedicated to a certain America's Army Clan. We had a new recruit, who at first seemed okay, but as we got to know him his behavior became very erratic. Basically he was asked to stop certain behaviors while we played other clans, which he didn't, after admonishing him a couple of times, we were forced to ban him from the clan, but he still had access to the clan site
He kept changing his name and re registering. We ignored his posts, just deleting them, but after about 6 months we felt it was affecting the rest of the clan as some of the posts often remained for several hours as we both worked so couldn't keep our eyes open all of the time. We eventually got so sick of his posts we just up sticks and moved to a new site, where we never heard from him again.

Whiterabbit-uk, I hope you are feeling better soon, constant pain can wear you down, you do such a wonderful job of reviewing the games, we can always depend on you, you are a very kind & good person. Take care.

Whiterabbit-uk, agreeing with all the well wishes. Take it easy my friend, we will miss the reviews but I am sure most of us can decide if we like the game after install :)

Stephen, yes of course I remember Steve Ovett! Lord Coe's big rival at the time ... and as I (vaguely!) recall, Steve Cram was also part of GB success at that time ...

I am pleased to read you are back; and ashamed to say I got taken in by the "archery story" possted earlier here (though it being posted in French should have been a clue!). All my best wishes for your tests, and let's hope they find out what's wrong and can do something about it.

...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks Cad. Yes Coe was his rival. Steve Cram was a couple of years younger and basically replaced both Ovett and Coe later in their careers. While they were at their best (for two of the late 70's and early 80's Olympics Peter Elliott and Cram were number three and four respectively, but Cram obviously became our number one later in the mid 80's. Peter Elliott has never really been recognized, even though he won silver and was one of our best middle distance runners. Seb coe is the one who came out of that period with everything, but I think that was partly his political affiliations at the time. I was always a firm supporter of Steve Ovett, much preferring him to Seb, (but that could have been partly his politics and partly the fact that I'd met Steve and ran against him in several races (I never ever imagined beating him, which was probably why I never made it in athletics, I wasn't competitive enough).

Whiterabbit-uk,
Hi, so sorry Stephen to hear You found Yourself in latest grip of unimaginable suffering:(( I'm sure You already did, but natural remedies (...) are also worth considering when all else is failing? Wishing You All the Best!!

Whiterabbit-uk, oh sh*t, sounds horrible! I hope you'll get well soon!

All the best,
Michael.

Glad you found it. Pests like that one - well, I'd better not say what ought to happen to them!

Whiterabbit-uk,

What you've described sounds a lot like my experience. Although pain originally manifested itself in my hip, I quickly developed numbness in my left foot and outer ankle. After some neurological tests it was determined that I had a compressed disc in the L-5 region of my back, wherein the vertibrae were pinching the nerves to my left leg. I underwent surgery to enlarge the openings in the spine where nerves emerge, and that halted the advance of the increase in pain. However, the pain did not go away - it just didn't get any worse. Because I also have a degree of arthritis, I elected to undergo spinal fusion to ensure that further deterioration of my vertibrae did not cause a recurrence of the situation.

Sorry for the long-winded rant about MY condition, but your experience appears from my vantage point to be very similar. It took doctors several months to determine that the problem was in my back and not in my hip or lower leg. During that period I was unable to sleep in bed, but only in an upright position, and often once I fell asleep I would slump out of that position and a searing pain would interrupt the 5 minutes of sleep I enjoyed. I hope you're able to find a satisfactory solution to your issues, and that this comment helps you in some way.

One thing is for sure - "Old age ain't for sissies!" All the best to you for a swift recovery!

Whiterabbit-uk, Make sure they do an ultrasound for a blood clot! I had one in my leg that made it hurt so much I couldn't move it or put any pressure on it and it was constant and they found a blood clot. Once it was gone, so was the pain. I'm sure you're in good hands but I just wanted to be sure they do that for you as it can be fatal (depending on where the clot is, if you have one). I do hope you feel better very soon!

jbdean,

Hi,

I did go to the hospital following a telephone discussion with our NHS111 on Saturday 15th, which is a telephone service used if you can't see a doctor right away. The doctor, who incidentally was having a tea break while he was examining me, cleared me of a possible blood clot, after doing some measurements of my leg and other visible signs. The radiology/scan department was closed, but he deemed that I didn't have a DVT.

The pain had become almost unbearable by Monday morning, so I phoned my GP practice who gave me a telephone triage. The doctor gave me an appointment later that morning. When he saw my leg he immediately phoned the hospital and booked a Doppler, which showed that there was actually a very large blood clot at the back of my knee, which he thinks (becasue of the size of the clot) may have originated from a flight I took several weeks previously. (I remember being very uncomfortable and had not moved from my seat throughout the flight). I'm now on Xarelto, a fairly new blood thinner; at least for 3 to 6 months. I've been taking the tablets since Monday evening and for the first time this morning things seem to be easing a little. The pain is still excruciating, but gets easier as the day passes. Hopefully the pain will start to ease off more over the coming days.

I sure hope they have some answers and relief for you soon. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Let us know when you know anything else, or just let us know how you're feeling.