Latest news with #painmanagement
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
AFL legend Sam Newman reveals he may be forced to AMPUTATE his foot as 'debilitating' ankle injury has left him unable to walk and relying on pain medication
Sam Newman is facing an impossible decision as he battles to save his foot after years of agony. The AFL legend, 79, is weighing his options - which include amputating his foot - if he cannot revolve the 'debilitating' pain he has lived with for years. Sam underwent surgery to fuse his broken ankle in 2021 after years of wear, tear and injuries. At that time, he had his right ankle bone replaced with metal joint and the operation had been a success. However, in the years since, the former footballer has continued to suffer pain and difficulty walking, leading him to rely on pain medications. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In recent weeks, Sam has had further surgery at a Melbourne hospital to add new screws around the existing metal joint. If that doesn't work, the AFL great says that amputation is an option he is willing to consider as he's not only in constant pain, he's now 'can't walk more than 50 metres'. 'There are not that many alternatives left' Sam told The Herald Sun on Sunday. 'It is not practicable to walk around with the pain as it is, it is not practicable to take pain killers all the rest of your life' he continued. 'The other viable option is to have it removed, amputated.' Sam admitted 'that is a pretty drastic thing' and is waiting to see if his latest operation 'works first.' The television personality has had a total of seven operations on both his ankles - three on one, and four on the other. The latest surgery is a last resort to save his right foot, the football hero admits. Sam had further surgery at a Melbourne hospital to add new screws around his existing metal ankle joint. If that doesn't work, the AFL great says that amputation is an option he is willing to consider as he's not only in constant pain, he's now 'can't walk more than 50 metres' Sam has shared a confronting image of his X-ray back in 2021, with his ankle full of bolts. 'Surgeon William Edwards did this. Fused a broken ankle. Couldn't have done it better myself. Can walk again - three months ahead of all estimates,' he wrote at the time. The one-time athlete, who played 300 games with Geelong Football Club over his illustrious career, suffered serious injuries during his time on the field. Newman had a portion of his kidney removed after a clash during a semi-final against Collingwood in 1967, and has injured his ankles on multiple occasions. He also suffered a head injury off the pitch when a stunt on The Footy Show went wrong. Newman retired from football in 1980 and has become a popular face on television since. Despite his ankle woes, last year the media personality was riding the high seas for charity, raising funds for the Rule Prostate Cancer organisation. He set off from Queenscliff, Victoria and headed for his destination in the Whitsunday Islands on a sailing trip. In the midst of the journey, Sam had to drop anchor and head to Proserpine Hospital in Queensland after being gored by his own drone. In a social media post, Sam revealed his injured foot, which was cut deeply when a gust of wind sent the device careening into him. He destroyed the drone in anger, before heading to hospital where he was treated for cuts, but did not requite stitches. Sam faced another emergency when his boat caught fire when two of the vessel's batteries shorted out. The trip has had ongoing dramas for the television star including 'horrendous weather and huge sea swells of six to seven metres'. 'We had to pull into Jervis Bay for repairs after the waves blew out a porthole and flooded most of the boat' Sam told the Herald Sun. At one stage, Sam had to stop water from leaking into the boat by laying on the bed and keeping the porthole closed with his feet. 'It was like throwing cream puffs at the town hall. It did a fair bit of damage to the electrics and the interior of the boat' he said. Sam added: 'We have had a few other minor problems; a transmission leak, a steering ram hydraulic leak, we have had a couple of burst hoses, we have had a little trouble with the radar, but we have survived.' He was travelling with friend Sue Stanley, and it doesn't come cheap - Sam estimates the journey is costing him $100,000. Sam revealed that he was inspired to make the trip following the tragic deaths of his wife Amanda Brown and his good friend Shane Warne, who died just months apart. It was Sam's first long trip on a sailing boat, and although he has owned a few vessels, this is the first time he's taken them out to sea. 'It does make you reflect and I would say very indirectly that was one of the reasons I decided we may as well pack up and have a crack at this (sailing trip),' he told Neil Mitchell Asks Why podcast. 'What is the point of sitting around back in your apartment in six or seven degrees of warmth down there in Melbourne?' Sam continued. 'Might as well bite the bullet and come up here and do something before you don't have the chance to do it, looking back on those two people'. The football star's wife, Amanda, died suddenly in March 2021, before his friend, cricketer Warne, passed away in March 2022. 'It changed me markedly,' the Geelong Football Club legend told The Herald Sun. 'I became more circumspect and a lot more emotional about people I know and tragedies that beset them or befall them. 'It affected me those two deaths that I experienced. And dear Amanda, it's coming up Sunday the anniversary of her death and that really knocked me around.' He added: 'Shane's death and Amanda's death made me readdress or reassess how I do things. 'I think about both those people actually almost on a daily basis for a whole lot of different reasons.' Warne passed away on March 4, the first day of a Thai holiday on the island of Koh Samui, after suffering a heart attack in his luxury villa aged just 52. Sam and Amanda were an item for 20 years before tying the knot in November 2020.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
People say coke and fries are helping their migraines - but there's a twist
It's a condition that affects more than 10 million people in the UK. It can change futures, end careers, and shrink worlds. So when a hack comes along that says it can "cure", or at the very least fend off a migraine, people will try it. While there are medical treatments, there is no cure. Prescription medication can be very effective - but it doesn't always work. For many people there is no simple solution. Some discover their own ways of managing the debilitating pain: sitting in a hot bath while wearing an ice pack and drinking a smoothie, blasting the side of their face with a hairdryer. But now a new hack has suddenly gone viral - the McMigraine Meal. A simple offering of a full-fat coke and a portion of salty fries seems to be doing the trick for hundreds who've been extolling its virtues on TikTok. If there is any science behind these hacks - what do they do to the body? Nick Cook from Oxfordshire carries "a wallet full of drugs" around in case of a migraine attack. He will "try anything" to make the pain go away, he says. "When you live with the condition, and you're working a five-day week and you need to carry on, you'll give anything a go." At its worst the pain around Nick's eye socket can feel like his eyeball is getting crushed. He says it's the caffeine and sugar in coke that helps him. "If I catch it soon it enough it can sometimes work, when my vision goes fuzzy and I can feel one coming on." He stresses that drinking coke doesn't replace his amitriptyline tablets - the daily pain medication he takes to try to prevent migraines - but it does sometimes help him "last until the end of the day". For Kayleigh Webster, a 27-year-old who has had chronic migraines all her life, it's the salt on the chips that might slow down a migraine attack. "It can help," she says cautiously, "but it's certainly not a cure. "Migraine is a complex neurological condition - and it can't be cured by a bit of caffeine, salt and sugar in a fast food meal." Kayleigh's tried cocktails of different medications, putting her feet in hot water, a flannel at the back of the head, acupuncture, cupping - but they've had little effect. One of the few treatments that has given her relief is medical Botox - having dozens of injections in her head, face and neck. It's still not clear how Botox works for migraine, but it's believed to block powerful pain signals being released from the nerves. A migraine - which can last days - is very different to a headache, which tend to be short-lived and can be treated more easily with painkillers like paracetamol. Migraines can cause head pain, neck pain, numbness, blurred vision, and even affect speech and movement. Skulls dating back to 3,000 BC show ancient Egyptians even had trouble with migraines - but despite that long history, their exact cause is still unknown. It's thought pain receptors in the blood vessels and nerve tissue around the brain misfire - sending incorrect signals that something is wrong. But we don't know why some people have an oversensitive nervous system - and why it reacts to some things and not others. Experts say there's not enough research into why only some people - around one in seven - are affected, or what can actually help. Dr Kay Kennis, a GP who specialises in migraines, says while there are elements of the McMigraine meal that can help stave off an attack, these aren't innate to "a McDonald's". "The caffeine in the coke can act as a nerve disruptor, it is a substance that affects nerve activity. For some, that disturbance works in a positive way," Dr Kennis says. "There are some painkillers that people take for migraines that have caffeine - and some do respond well to that - but we don't fully know why." But she warns against using caffeinated fizzy drinks like coke as a way of regularly managing migraines. "Too much caffeine can be a trigger too - and you can end up in a worse situation in the long run," Dr Kennis says. Other ingredients in a fast food meal, like the salt on the chips, can affect nerve activity, she explains, but adds the effects of sodium on migraines have not been tested. She also warns that not only is fast food often ultra-processed and not conducive to a healthy diet, it can contain high levels of Tyramine, a natural compound commonly found in many foods, which can actually cause severe migraines. For Eloise Underwood none of the quick fixes on social media work. The chronic migraine sufferer has been looking for a "magic cocktail" for seven years - she's seen people recommend putting feet in scorching water (not recommended by experts and potentially dangerous); drinking hot coffee (caffeine can be a trigger); or various vibrating devices which have had little effect. "There are so many videos online that take advantage of the desperation we all feel," Eloise explains. She's left several jobs - often due to lighting and noise in an office environment triggering migraines. She recently stopped working as an interior designer and has now launched a business pressing and framing wedding flowers from her home. She wears loop ear buds to reduce the sharpness of the sounds around her, and limits her social life. "People think a migraine is just a headache - that's just one symptom of it," Eloise says. "For me, a migraine is a whole body experience… "Migraines have completely made my life smaller." Prof Peter Goadsby, a neurologist at the NIHR-King's Clinical Research Facility, says research is beginning to produce positive results after years of underfunding. His latest study shows medications known as gepants could block a group of pain receptors in the lead-up to a migraine attack, cutting off the pain before it starts. "Any new treatment is a glimmer of hope," Eloise says. "They do say that nothing will work for everyone - but something will work for someone." Lifestyle changes can also make a difference, Prof Goadsby explains. It might be boring, he says, but basically - "be careful of your brain". "You want to have regularity, avoid the highs and lows. If you can feel the warning signs - yawning, sleepiness, mood change, passing more urine and even craving salt and sugar - listen to your body. "Listen to your body - don't listen to TikTok, that's my advice." Nick has been doing exactly that. He might reach for the odd coke and salty fries, but he's moulded his whole life in order to manage his migraines. "I don't drink, I wear sunglasses even if it's cloudy," he says. "I don't go wild. When me and my partner go away, half the stuff we take is to help us manage our migraines. On a recent stag-do weekend, Nick noticed the difference between his and his friends' lives. "They were up all night drinking to the early hours," Nick says. "I turned up with my own pillow, apples, bananas, Weetabix, and any snacks I would need to keep me going, because hunger can be a major trigger. "I'm in bed by midnight - but my mates know me, and that's OK, because this is how I have to live my life." 'I don't know what we'll do' - Vapers panic-buy ahead of disposables ban 'WeightWatchers set me up to fail' - Why diet industry is losing to jabs like Ozempic
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
McMigraine: Does the TikTok "cure" really work?
It's a condition that affects more than 10 million people in the UK. It can change futures, end careers, and shrink worlds. So when a hack comes along that says it can "cure", or at the very least fend off a migraine, people will try there are medical treatments, there is no cure. Prescription medication can be very effective - but it doesn't always work. For many people there is no simple discover their own ways of managing the debilitating pain: sitting in a hot bath while wearing an ice pack and drinking a smoothie, blasting the side of their face with a hairdryer. But now a new hack has suddenly gone viral - the McMigraine Meal. A simple offering of a full-fat coke and a portion of salty fries seems to be doing the trick for hundreds who've been extolling its virtues on there is any science behind these hacks - what do they do to the body? Nick Cook from Oxfordshire carries "a wallet full of drugs" around in case of a migraine attack. He will "try anything" to make the pain go away, he says."When you live with the condition, and you're working a five-day week and you need to carry on, you'll give anything a go."At its worst the pain around Nick's eye socket can feel like his eyeball is getting crushed. He says it's the caffeine and sugar in coke that helps him."If I catch it soon it enough it can sometimes work, when my vision goes fuzzy and I can feel one coming on."He stresses that drinking coke doesn't replace his amitriptyline tablets - the daily pain medication he takes to try to prevent migraines - but it does sometimes help him "last until the end of the day". For Kayleigh Webster, a 27-year-old who has had chronic migraines all her life, it's the salt on the chips that might slow down a migraine attack."It can help," she says cautiously, "but it's certainly not a cure."Migraine is a complex neurological condition - and it can't be cured by a bit of caffeine, salt and sugar in a fast food meal."Kayleigh's tried cocktails of different medications, putting her feet in hot water, a flannel at the back of the head, acupuncture, cupping - but they've had little of the few treatments that has given her relief is medical Botox - having dozens of injections in her head, face and neck. It's still not clear how Botox works for migraine, but it's believed to block powerful pain signals being released from the nerves.A migraine - which can last days - is very different to a headache, which tend to be short-lived and can be treated more easily with painkillers like paracetamol. Migraines can cause head pain, neck pain, numbness, blurred vision, and even affect speech and movement. Skulls dating back to 3,000 BC show ancient Egyptians even had trouble with migraines - but despite that long history, their exact cause is still thought pain receptors in the blood vessels and nerve tissue around the brain misfire - sending incorrect signals that something is wrong. But we don't know why some people have an oversensitive nervous system - and why it reacts to some things and not say there's not enough research into why only some people - around one in seven - are affected, or what can actually Kay Kennis, a GP who specialises in migraines, says while there are elements of the McMigraine meal that can help stave off an attack, these aren't innate to "a McDonald's"."The caffeine in the coke can act as a nerve disruptor, it is a substance that effects nerve activity. For some, that disturbance works in a positive way," Dr Kennis says."There are some painkillers that people take for migraines that have caffeine - and some do respond well to that - but we don't fully know why." But she warns against using caffeinated fizzy drinks like coke as a way of regularly managing migraines."Too much caffeine can be a trigger too - and you can end up in a worse situation in the long run," Dr Kennis ingredients in a fast food meal, like the salt on the chips, can affect nerve activity, she explains, but adds the effects of sodium on migraines have not been also warns that not only is fast food often ultra-processed and not conducive to a healthy diet, it also often contains high levels of Tyramine, a natural compound commonly found in many foods, which can cause severe like many migraine hacks - they can have the opposite effect depending on each person. For Eloise Underwood none of the quick fixes on social media chronic migraine sufferer has been looking for a "magic cocktail" for seven years - she's seen people recommend putting feet in scorching water (not recommended by experts and potentially dangerous); drinking hot coffee (caffeine can be a trigger); or various vibrating devices which have had little effect."There are so many videos online that take advantage of the desperation we all feel," Eloise left several jobs - often due to lighting and noise in an office environment triggering migraines. She recently stopped working as an interior designer and has now launched a business pressing and framing wedding flowers from her wears loop ear buds to reduce the sharpness of the sounds around her, and limits her social life."People think a migraine is just a headache - that's just one symptom of it," Eloise says. "For me, a migraine is a whole body experience…"Migraines have completely made my life smaller." Prof Peter Goadsby, a neurologist at the NIHR-King's Clinical Research Facility, says research is beginning to produce positive results after years of latest study shows the medications known as gepants, could block a group of pain receptors in the lead-up to a migraine attack, cutting off the pain before it starts."Any new treatment is a glimmer of hope," Eloise says. "They do say that nothing will work for everyone - but something will work for someone."Lifestyle changes can also make a difference, Prof Goadsby explains. It might be boring, he says, but basically - "be careful of your brain"."You want to have regularity, avoid the highs and lows. If you can feel the warning signs - yawning, sleepiness, mood change, passing more urine and even craving salt and sugar - listen to your body."Listen to your body - don't listen to TikTok, that's my advice." Nick has been doing exactly that. He might reach for the odd coke and salty fries, but he's moulded his whole life in order to manage his migraines."I don't drink, I wear sunglasses even if it's cloudy," he says. "I don't go wild. When me and my partner go away, half the stuff we take is to help us manage our migraines."Nick noticed a real difference between his life and his friends' lives a couple of weeks ago when he went on a stag-do a recent stag-do weekend, Nick noticed the difference between his and his friends' lives."They were up all night drinking to the early hours," Nick says. "I turned up with my own pillow, apples, bananas, Weetabix, and any snacks I would need to keep me going, because hunger can be a major trigger."I'm in bed by midnight - but my mates know me, and that's OK, because this is how I have to live my life."
The Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Sun
I'm suffering from neuralgia in my head after having shingles for seven or eight weeks – help!
Q) I AM suffering from neuralgia in my head after having shingles for seven or eight weeks. Do you have a cure for the pain, which is now in the left hand side of my face, affecting my eye and my tongue? My head is sore from the nape of my neck to the top of my head. A) Postherpetic neuralgia is the most common complication of shingles. It's a long-lasting pain that affects areas where shingles rashes were present, including the eye and potentially the tongue. It usually gets better eventually, but can vary from a few months to over a year. Different types of painkiller medications may need to be tried. Paracetamol or paracetamol with codeine helps some people. Medicines to treat nerve pain would usually be tried next, such as amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin or pregabalin. These may not work straight away – the dose is usually increased gradually over weeks until it becomes effective. It's important to be aware of the potential side-effects before starting them. Plasters containing lidocaine (a local anaesthetic) can help some people manage pain of the skin, but not the eye or tongue. Others benefit more from CBT talking therapy, which can be particularly useful if the pain is impacting your daily activities. Live fat jab Q&A Are you curious about side- effects, whether they could be right for you, or how to best eat while on them? Send me your questions for a Live Q&A on the hot topic. No question is too big, small or silly. Send your questions to the address below.
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
BMO Capital Markets Reiterates ‘Buy' Rating on Eli Lilly Stock (LLY)
BMO Capital Markets (BMO) has reiterated its Buy-equivalent outperform rating on Eli Lilly (LLY) stock with a $900 price target on the shares. Confident Investing Starts Here: Analyst Evan Seigerman reaffirmed his strong outlook for LLY stock after the U.S. pharmaceutical giant announced its plans to acquire privately held SiteOne Therapeutics for $1 billion in a deal that will give Eli Lilly greater access to non-opioid pain medication. Seigerman says the purchase of SiteOne is a smart strategic move on the part of Eli Lilly that will bolster its portfolio of pain management medications, positioning it to better compete with companies such as Vertex (VRTX). SiteOne's leading pain drug is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Committed to Pain Management 'Lilly is expanding its presence in pain and looking to compete with the likes of Vertex with this announced deal to acquire privately held SiteOne therapeutics for as much as $1B,' wrote Seigerman in a note to clients about Eli Lilly. BMO Capital Markets adds that the deal to buy SiteOne underscores Eli Lilly's commitment to the pain treatment market, where it has long had a presence. By integrating SiteOne's products into its own line-up, Eli Lilly should gain a competitive edge in the pain management space, said Seigerman. Is LLY Stock a Buy? The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation among 18 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 16 Buy, one Hold, and one Sell recommendations issued in the last 12 months. The average LLY price target of $1,003.14 implies 34.82% upside from current levels. Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
