[wheeliebear75]

Well I used to have a laptop. The video-card in it died and so it is now a very expensive and high tech paperweight. When I had my laptop if I felt like laying down for a bit no problem just have somebody bring my laptop to bed and set it up there & I could play for hours (if I needed to rest for hrs) while I rested & had my legs up. But now those days are gone. I have a desktop HP Pavilion and although I like it & it's got a nice big hard-drive on it..........it's not a laptop. Also between my vision and the fact we live in a mobile home means I can not get the screen nor the CPU as close as I need them to make it possible to move the computer to beside the bed or anything like that. So I am mainly writing this so everyone knows why I was not around for like almost a week or so. But also I wanted to ask/find out......"am I like a wuss or something or are there also others who have to go rest for a bit every so often?" I'm only a para & only a partial at that........so I kinda feel like a "big baby" about needing to take a 30-60min rest after sitting up for 4-6+ hrs but yet I do end up needing to take those little breaks so I can get through the whole day with out trashing myself (if I fight it & don't go lay down for short spells I'm in a lot more pain by the end of the day). I have the pins & needles sensation in my legs and buttocks pretty much about all the time, but that sensation gets worse as the day progresses & so I either go lay down or else the pins & needles sensation continues and gets worse than had I gone and laid down for a bit.

So I'm back but with a desktop & I'm probably going to get the "wuss award". Oh well........I am still interested to hear what everyone has to say.

[E-DOG]

wheeliebear75, on Apr 28 2009, 07:50 PM, said:

I have the pins & needles sensation in my legs and buttocks pretty much about all the time, but that sensation gets worse as the day progresses & so I either go lay down or else the pins & needles sensation continues and gets worse than had I gone and laid down for a bit.

Pins 'n needles?
Shit.
Try .45 caliber hydro-shocks 'n double aught buck!

Laptop?
Shit.
I have a chunk o' granite for a monitor and a pine cone split in half for a mouse. Had to tear a piece of skin off my ass 'n dry it out for a mouse pad.

You Americans. Such sissies.
Just ask yasko. Where he's from ya gotta fight to the death with broken vodka bottles for inkjet printer cartridges. The generic kind.

Buck up there wheeliebear, things are tough all over.

E

[fatdave]

depending on the model type and age of the laptop you might be able to buy a replacement board for it for dirt cheap, although finding someone capable of swapping the boards might be hard.

also their are used laptops out there to be had pretty cheap, and netbooks are an option if you don't have sausage fingers like me. And don't mind tiny screens and no optical drive.

I also know of that constant pins and needles pain, some times it is unbearable and nothing seems to help. Even lying down and putting my feet up. Going through it right now.

This post has been edited by fatdave: 29 April 2009 - 06:22 AM

[greybeard]

No-one living with nerve damage should think of themselves as a "wuss". I have to sit rather than lay down within a few minutes of standing and keep having to change position while sitting. Bloody frustrating it may be, but I don't feel any less of myself because of it. It's just the way it is.

The next step from that pins and needles pain is numbness, and if you don't heed what your body is telling you, the numbness could easily become permanent. If resting is what gets you through the day, then do it.

This post has been edited by greybeard: 29 April 2009 - 08:06 AM

[nomis]

Most days I take a break after lunch (now that I'm not working). It's great to break the day into two active halves rather than slowly peter out as the day draws long. Also allows me to keep going till about 2am which seems to suit me.

Many SCIs experience pins and needles in the butt and feet. Some seem to focus on it more than others. It's hardly a big deal, just something that happens.

[Yasko]

E-DOG, on Apr 28 2009, 10:37 PM, said:

wheeliebear75, on Apr 28 2009, 07:50 PM, said:

I have the pins & needles sensation in my legs and buttocks pretty much about all the time, but that sensation gets worse as the day progresses & so I either go lay down or else the pins & needles sensation continues and gets worse than had I gone and laid down for a bit.

Pins 'n needles?
Shit.
Try .45 caliber hydro-shocks 'n double aught buck!

Laptop?
Shit.
I have a chunk o' granite for a monitor and a pine cone split in half for a mouse. Had to tear a piece of skin off my ass 'n dry it out for a mouse pad.

You Americans. Such sissies.
Just ask yasko. Where he's from ya gotta fight to the death with broken vodka bottles for inkjet printer cartridges. The generic kind.

Buck up there wheeliebear, things are tough all over.

E

[greybeard]

nomis, on Apr 29 2009, 12:48 PM, said:

Many SCIs experience pins and needles in the butt and feet. Some seem to focus on it more than others. It's hardly a big deal, just something that happens.

Sorry Nomis. I've got to take issue with you about that. What you say may well be true for higher level SCIs who have little or no sensation below their injury site,. but what we are discussing here is L & S level, Cauda Equina stuff.

Everything I've discovered about the condition indicates that these sensations are caused by the nerve roots being starved of their blood supply which in turn leads to reduced motor function or sensation, or both. It is said to be a clear signal to change position in order to restore the affected nerve to its former state. I don't think I misunderstood what I was reading, because I've certainly picked up the same message from a number of sources. Some of these go so far as to say that sudden, severe, and prolonged discomfort of this nature warrants an emergency trip to the nearest Casualty Department. It should not be dismissed lightly by CES patients.

[edlee]

Dave was right about getting an older laptop,, some can be had very reasonably, then used just for browsing and surfing. Memory wouldn't be much of an issue there. Maybe a bit of both worlds (lying and sitting)

As for the pain,,,, yeah, we all have our own,,, some similar, but with different causes and degrees.

From my prospective, the "burning, pinching, squeezing" pain is in places where I have no sensation,,, so numbness is kind of a moot point,, actually something I would rather have. It does give me the incentive to weight shift more often,, even though doing so doesn't relieve it at all.

Maybe I should try lying down in the afternoon, too,,, but ,, I stay up too late as it is, I'd hate to make it any later.

As for anyone who thinks you're a wuss,,, tell'em to kiss your rosey red ass.
ed

[wheeliebear75]

Thank you all.

E-dog.....can always count on you to point out the sunny side. LOL

I have not thrown away my laptop (2005 Sony VIO). We have found out that it is the Sims game I play for hrs on end that ate up the freakin' video card. But I can build houses and stuff with my Sims for hrs & forget all about pins & needles feeling (kinda like focusing on music instead).......so I certainly don't want to give up playing my game. But yes we have been looking into getting a new motherboard and/or videocard for the VIO & see if it can be made to work again.

I have tiny hands actually.........like kid size hands, so playing an X-box controller sucks for me (a friend has it so it wouldn't be worth buying a smaller controller).

Thanks to everyone about the "wuss" comment.

I know there are some of us who have done more as a para or quad than they did as an AB.......& here I am quite the opposite. But yes as (I think) greybeard pointed out the nerve thing can get worse........and I have had my legs go almost completely numb from long car trips because I could not change positions. Dr.s say nerve pain is one of the most tricky types of pain to make go away & one of the most persistent.........I think I'm inclined to agree with that.

Well I'm back now so at least in good weather I'll be on all the time........and we'll just have to see if I can get my laptop fixed or replaced before winter comes. Yes e-dog I am one of those wussy Americans & to make matters worse I'm one of those sissy Californians. But in winter my arthritis & neuropathy act up & so I am in bed more often than not. But that's like 6 months away yet.

Thanks again everyone.

[fatdave]

whats the model number on your Vaio? Some had dedicated cards, others had on board graphics chips. It probably wasn't your Sims game (btw I play sims 2 a bit when bored) it was heat. older sony Vaios had really bad case designs and improper cooling capability. As the fans got older they were less efficient causing a spike in internal temp.

Yes, your playing the game did tax the system making it work harder and causing the temp to rise, but the fans should have compensated for the extra heat.

That my friends is the downfall of laptops, the more powerful they get the more heat is produced and the more heat the less the life of the product.

Thats why my dedicated gaming rig is water cooled

[Yasko]

fatdave, on Apr 29 2009, 08:35 PM, said:

whats the model number on your Vaio? Some had dedicated cards, others had on board graphics chips. It probably wasn't your Sims game (btw I play sims 2 a bit when bored) it was heat. older sony Vaios had really bad case designs and improper cooling capability. As the fans got older they were less efficient causing a spike in internal temp.

Yes, your playing the game did tax the system making it work harder and causing the temp to rise, but the fans should have compensated for the extra heat.

That my friends is the downfall of laptops, the more powerful they get the more heat is produced and the more heat the less the life of the product.

Thats why my dedicated gaming rig is water cooled

Dave,
have you built your gaming rig by yourself? How fast is it? RAM? Video? What Motherboard you have?
Just curious! Thanks bud.

[fatdave]

Hold on tight, its gonna get nerdy here

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black. Thats the 3.0GHz one with 1800MHz front side bus, I know I should have bought the one with the 2000MHz fsb. But it was cheaper. and also shipped with the multiplier unlocked. Overclocked 500MHz

Thermaltake water cooling kit.

MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum ( cheap board, not flashy looking, but solid as a damn rock)

OCZ gold ram 8gb (4x2gb)

2 MSI N250GTS-2D1G's In SLI (1gb each) Takes up a shit load of space running 2 of these monsters.

1000w SLI certified power supply.

I had bought a top of the line Dell XPS right before I was injured, never was happy with it. I bought it instead of building because I was on the road for long up to 7 days a week and just didn't have the time. After I got home from rehab I promptly sold that pile of shit and started building

When I received my tax rebate this year I got the new CPU and 2 new video cards.

[Yasko]

fatdave, on Apr 30 2009, 12:27 PM, said:

Hold on tight, its gonna get nerdy here

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black. Thats the 3.0GHz one with 1800MHz front side bus, I know I should have bought the one with the 2000MHz fsb. But it was cheaper. and also shipped with the multiplier unlocked. Overclocked 500MHz

Thermaltake water cooling kit.

MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum ( cheap board, not flashy looking, but solid as a damn rock)

OCZ gold ram 8gb (4x2gb)

2 MSI N250GTS-2D1G's In SLI (1gb each) Takes up a shit load of space running 2 of these monsters.

1000w SLI certified power supply.

I had bought a top of the line Dell XPS right before I was injured, never was happy with it. I bought it instead of building because I was on the road for long up to 7 days a week and just didn't have the time. After I got home from rehab I promptly sold that pile of shit and started building

When I received my tax rebate this year I got the new CPU and 2 new video cards.

Damn man, that's the nice rig Dave. I bet you can overclock that Black Edition 940 to more than 500Mhz per core! 2X250GTS (SLI) Niceeeee going!
Have you use cyberpower.com to get it? Sorry for

[fatdave]

cyberpowerpc? Great place to buy a gaming rig, although I prefer to build as to buy.

AMD has overclocked this processor to 6GHz. I don't need that kind of grunt, so with a bit of fiddling I got 500MHz out of it and managed to keep it stable and cool.

I am a huge AMD fan, although I dislike ATI (they are owned by AMD, but I prefer nvidia to them)

It is all housed in a full tower case brushed aluminum case. I like things understated, yet overpowered.

Everything was sourced from Newegg and Tigerdirect.

[wheeliebear75]

I'm not that technical but that's OK I'm so used to hearing all that techno Greek. It is up on a shelf now but we already looked it up & the video card was integrated into the mother board. Funny you should mention the heat. I had noticed increased heat......we had one of those USB fans underneath to try & keep it cooler.......guess we see how well that did. I play Sims 2 hrs on end like I said & I have ALL of the Expansion & Stuff Packs EA made for it including Sims Castaway. So the good thing about the desktop will be if I do blow the card again it can be replaced much easier and cheaper & is not nearly as likely to take other components with it to the techno grave. So I will try & stick to using the desktop as much as possible even if & when we get my laptop fixed I'll just use it when in bed & then when I'm sitting up use the desktop. Say if you don't have all of the Expansion packs yet adding those might make playing the game more fun......I know it has for me. And adding custom content is always a bonus for being able to really have fun with the Sims, and a lot of things out there make it easier to play the Sims as they're meant to aid your Sim.

OK well my energy bar needs some filling up gotta go (LMAO Sim reference) I'm just tired.

[Yasko]

fatdave, on Apr 30 2009, 10:00 PM, said:

cyberpowerpc? Great place to buy a gaming rig, although I prefer to build as to buy.

AMD has overclocked this processor to 6GHz. I don't need that kind of grunt, so with a bit of fiddling I got 500MHz out of it and managed to keep it stable and cool.

I am a huge AMD fan, although I dislike ATI (they are owned by AMD, but I prefer nvidia to them)

It is all housed in a full tower case brushed aluminum case. I like things understated, yet overpowered.

Everything was sourced from Newegg and Tigerdirect.

Thanks Dave. Yeah, Cyberpowerpc.com. I was lazy to build it and I order it from CyberPower. I like AMD as well and also own Phenom II 4X 910 and NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB (EVGA). This PC I don't use for gaming (though, I could use it for it as well). I just use it for regular PC staff; browsing and media! For gaming I use my PS3 which I highly recommend. Cheers bro'

This post has been edited by Yasko: 01 May 2009 - 03:11 PM

[not4ever]

If you can build a desktop then you can get the MB out of your laptop w/o much difficulty. I'm a C6 w/o functioning fingers and I can take a laptop apart and reassemble it w/o too much difficulty. There are lots of online tutorials available. As a hobby I've bought a couple off ebay cheap as fixers with MB issues. One was a Compaq R3000 with a 3 ghz processor that was in excellent condition but the integrated video card was bad. I took it apart and sent the MB to this place in FL:
http://stores.ebay.com/compu-genie (main homepage http://www.compu-genie.com/)
They replaced the video card and checked everything else for $110.00 - with a 90 day warranty (looks like they've dropped their price to $100 now). That's quite a bit cheaper than a new MB. You DON'T need to go through ebay, just call them to get an order #. I've sent other MBs to them and have been happy with their work and service. If you don't want to tear it apart they can for $60.00 extra fee.
Good luck with it.

[E-DOG]

GREAT!
So we got a bunch o' computer geek-a-zoids here. La dee dah dee dah.

Can any of ya'll slug down a gallon of mezcal in 20 minutes, that's right an entire gallon, then take a Rolex Datona completely apart AND put it back together again without any o' them little teeny screw drivers IN THE DARK?
HMM?

That's what I thought, all you little mister smarty pants geeky dudes 'n stuff.

e

[fatdave]

no but I once drank a gallon of orange koolaide and managed to load linux onto an original xbox.

[greybeard]

You two crack me up.

This post has been edited by greybeard: 03 May 2009 - 07:38 AM

[Jax]

greybeard, on Apr 29 2009, 03:04 AM, said:

No-one living with nerve damage should think of themselves as a "wuss". I have to sit rather than lay down within a few minutes of standing and keep having to change position while sitting. Bloody frustrating it may be, but I don't feel any less of myself because of it. It's just the way it is.

The next step from that pins and needles pain is numbness, and if you don't heed what your body is telling you, the numbness could easily become permanent. If resting is what gets you through the day, then do it.

GB, that's spot on. Couldn't have said it better.


And Dave...Linux on an Xbox?? Are you freaking serious??

[not4ever]

E-DOG, on May 2 2009, 11:25 PM, said:

GREAT!
So we got a bunch o' computer geek-a-zoids here. La dee dah dee dah.

Can any of ya'll slug down a gallon of mezcal in 20 minutes, that's right an entire gallon, then take a Rolex Datona completely apart AND put it back together again without any o' them little teeny screw drivers IN THE DARK?
HMM?

That's what I thought, all you little mister smarty pants geeky dudes 'n stuff.

e

No, but I can pee into gale force winds and not get wet.

[greybeard]

Jax, on May 3 2009, 11:12 AM, said:

GB, that's spot on. Couldn't have said it better.

No, but I bet you'd have used more words.