"Seat belt" for a Hunt seat saddle

[Jackie_Cochran]

Today I finally got to see my PCP, who has treated me for a while and knows me.

I told him my tale of woe about the great pain I had in spite of not breaking my hip.

We discussed stuff thoroughly. I introduced him to the Resona Vibe PEMF therapy device and told him how it was helping with my fall induced fibromyalgia. He full agrees with me that the Dronabinol works well for me and that I NEED it to control my MS, but there is nothing he can do about it. The network practice he works for does not give out Medically Necessary Marijuana cards though he brought up the Cherokee dispensary as an alternative. He said it was my neurologist that should give me the card anyway since my neurologist was the one who prescribes my Dronabinol.

For the remaining pain from my fibromyalgia he prescribed a really low dose of Lyrica (pregabalin 75 mg. capsule) for me. He told me to give it at least a week, I said I would though if it made me a lot worse I would stop taking it. He told me about possible side effects, though he is going to start me on a really low dose he was not too worried I would get any side effects, and he said at the low dose I probably could stop it without any problems.

I just want to be able to ride horses safely without great pain.

He also offered me the precription strength Naproxen and told me how much I could take safely of the OTC naproxen. I am going to try the Lyrica because one of the side effects of the naproxen seems to me to be additional and stronger involuntary leg jerks, the last thing I need riding a hunt seat horse since a stronger leg jerk at the wrong time could be interpreted by the horse as a slightly vehement aid to canter.

Being the granddaughter of a doctor I have this hypothesis that there are, in the medical field, “born doctors” as well as highly trained medical technicians (who can save your life, don’t get me wrong.) My PCP is a born doctor though he comes with the disadvantage of being born a male (it seems to be easier for women doctors to be “born doctors” though that is not universal.) This was the first appointment I could get with my PCP since I fell off, around 6 weeks. I was glad to see him and finally get some firm answers.

[RMJacobs]

I have a friend who has done well on Lyrica. I was happy on gabapentin, but I had to cut it way back when my kidneys failed. And it’s the same deal on Lyrica–I can’t take enough to do more than just take the edge off. I really miss my big dose of gabapentin.

I hope the Lyrica helps you.

Rebecca

[Jackie_Cochran]

Update first–I went off the Lyrica, it messed up my balance. Normally I feel unbalanced mainly front-to-back and side-to-side, on the Lyrica I felt unbalanced in every direction 360 degrees around me. Even with the pain abating I HAD TO walk with 2 canes just to keep my balance.

My dronabinol prescription finally came through. I have stopped the Lyrica and the Naproxen because I no longer need them.

I saw my neurologist yesterday. He had put me on top of his list if he got a cancellation because I told the nurse to tell my neurologist that he had never seen me in such a bad state.

So I told my tale of woe, and I told him what I had done to work stuff out. I introduced him to the Resona Vibe PEMF device and told him about my successes with it, mostly success with giving me a little bit of relief, and my BIG success with my 40+ year long neck pain. He had been keeping updated with the uses of magnetism on people and told me that using the Vibe would not harm me.

When I saw him I had been on my full dose of dronabinol for one day since I spent a week going up gradually on my dose. I am still having difficulties with walking though now I can go really short distances without any canes, and most of the time I just use one cane in the house. My balance is slowly recovering from using the Lyrica and I still have to pay full attention to my body when I standup or walk. My walk is speeding up a little bit and I can take bigger steps.

When he offered to prescribe me Physical Therapy I just told him I needed to ride horses again. I went ahead and bought the “Supreme Sure Grip Saddle Seat” from Jeffers and I told him about it and how I hoped it would trigger the upper thigh gripping muscles that refuse to work right now back into action. He said it sounded like it would give me more security in the saddle. I also said I would be starting back riding in a Western type saddle since I cannot ride Forward Seat now.

He watched me walk and he did his neurological “soundness exam”. From my tale of woe he said it was obvious that I was getting better from what could have been a lot more disastrous occurrence (as in that I did not break my hip.) He also did the type of exam to see how my left hip joint was doing, and when he probed deeply it still felt bruised. It took me sleeping last night to get me back to where I was before that particular hip joint exam which caused my left hip to hurt again.

During his neurological exam I noticed that my left arm and leg are weaker now.

So now I have shown my PCP and my neurologist how BAD it is for me not to be taking the dronabinol if I want to live a relatively pain-free life while being able to walk around some.

My neurologist seems interested in what I come up with when I cannot get to the doctors for immediate relief.

My next lesson, weather permitting, is July 24. Until them I will ride my Home Horse at least once a week.

It will take me a long time before my body gets healed enough and my muscles strong enough to ride an effective Forward Seat. Until them I will be riding in a chair seat and letting the horse pick its preferred speed, the normal lesson horse 2 MPH walk with no impulse whatsoever.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I got my “Sure Grip Saddle Seat Cover” in the mail today.

I was able to get it on somewhat on my Pegasus Butterfly saddle though I think it will feel more secure on a Western type of saddle. The velcroed straps going under the flaps are very long and adjustable, as is the strap going behind the cantle.

At least it does not need to be attached to the horn of a Western saddle which is good because I DO NOT LIKE the horns on Western saddles, since I will never get into roping the horn is useless for me and would make me raise my hands higher breaking the line from my elbow to the horse’s mouth.

The seat of this saddle cover is the loop part of the velcro with its backing being a rubbery substance to help prevent sliding from side-to-side. There is velcro on the thigh bands where they attach to the seat of this saddle cover and where one can adjust them to the rider’s thighs.

I sure hope it helps my security in the saddle! On the 24th, weather pemitting, I will get a lesson with Debbie, probably in her endurance saddle and I’ll get to try it out then.

Now I am waiting on my Total Saddle Fit Slim Stability leathers and Squish pad. I hope those help my security in the saddle too. I went ahead and ordered the Western Squish pad because the TSF people told me in an email that the English Squish pad will not work under a Western saddle but that the Western Squish pad will work under an English saddle. These past few months have shown me that I have to be prepared to change the way I ride when my MS acts up badly. I really hope that I can get back into my wonderful, comfortable jumping saddles but I have lost a LOT of muscular fitness in the last two months. I will have to get a lot stronger to ride Forward Seat again.