I'm sorry I didn't make it clear, Linda. I can see where someone who is concerned with an injury to a different area might not understand exactly what I was saying.The injury was to the disc and the sciatic nerve which was and is still severly pinched. The nerve runs the length of the leg and fires off impulses all along the nerve. Without the meds it is like the leg is on fire. With the meds the pain is damped down to an endurable level. This is on top of Fibro. The frustration is I can't do anything. Just try to carry a cup of coffee when you are on crutches or get the groceries into the house, or hang up clothes from the dryer. And that doesn't include the pain involved. I can get the dishes into the dishwasher but I can't empty it. If something is on the floor I can't pick it up. Forget about running the vacumn cleaner. The floors are filthy. The plants I brought into the house before the injury are mostly still sitting where they were put 'temporarily'. The ones that went into the basement where I have lights set up I haven't seen since October 13 since I can't manage the stairs. Thank goodness we don't have a two story house. I did manage to attach an indoor hose (1/4 inch)to the kitchen faucet to keep things watered upstairs but it is an embarrassment to have it running across the livingroom floor because I can't roll it up when it's not in use. I have so many ceramic pots in the yard that will be destroyed by the weather since I can't get them in. It makes me sick. How do you find someone to just pick things up and put them away? If I knew how to find them I would be glad to pay them but the closest I have come was to pay $12 an hour to get the leaves collected and bagged and that seems a bit excessive. I know housekeepers are expensive so maybe I am expecting too much. Is that the norm? If it is, I'll shut up. I have managed to get to the store a few times and I bless the ones that provide electric carts. They are amazing. Whatever did people do before they were invented. It still takes forever and I am exhaused when I get home but it is a real lift to the spirits when you can get out and accomplish something. I found a heavy duty cart at Harbor Freight that works to get the groceries from the car to the kitchen. It is strong enough to support me and big enough to carry most of the groceries in one trip. I park it by the door and DH complains it is in the way. What else can I do to make things easier? Sandy

wrong forum?

We do still use silver- impregnated dressings for some wounds. Aquacel Ag for an example. If your MIL has breaks in her skin, ulcers or wounds, it is reasonable to use a silver dressing, but you can get pre-made, sterile dressing or ointment to use instead of concocting your own. If the skin is intact, then no need to apply silver I believe. The goal now is to keep the skin intact. Cellulitis is not a surface infection, it is in the tissue below the skin surface. Breaks in the skin allow it to get in (and the bacteria can migrate to that area from other parts of the body too). Keep the skin moisturized and supple with a good lubricant (like lanolin) but not sitting in wet; if she has chronic swelling, ask her doctor about good support hose. There are chronic skin changes that occur with peripheral vascular disease, the skin can become chronically red or purple, rough, scaley, even hard and corrugated, and the lower legs swollen. And, yes, these changes can be in the entire lower leg, not just the feet. It can often look like cellulitis when there is actually not an infection (one clue -- if the redness and warmth decrease or go away when the legs are elevated about the heart, it might not be cellulitis). People who have PVD, who have had cellulitis before, or who are obese are prone to have cellulitis in the legs over & over. I am wondering about the pain, Konrad, does she have it always even when her legs seem to be okay? or do her legs always look like cellulitis? PVD will cause chronic pain, and believe it or not walking is recommended, if she can, but it takes a while to have positive effect. A specialist in PVD (not just any cardiologist or vascular surgeon) is a good idea.

I forgot to mention that my knee pain is from a damaged nerve and would be classed as neuropathy. (I am still a little "drunk.") I am taking 75mg; if it were 150mg, I don't think I could function. :) It has caused me to dream a lot, but I can't remember any of them when I wake up. I noticed that dizziness is the second on a long list of side effects, tiredness being first. I have not been dizzy; just off balance, literally. RC, with your situation, I don't blame you for being extra cautious. Suicide is 'way beyond a side effect, I think. Never heard of Alpha Lipoic Acid; I googled and found Alpha Lipotic Acid. Guess it is the same thing, or a typo. I appreciate all your replies. Since it doesn't make me sick at my stomach, I can handle the drunk feeling which has gotten less each day, although I've had more pain today than in quite a while. BTW, I am a tee-totaler, so I am assuming what drunk feels like. LOL Sue