I went gliding yesterday after a gap of two months. Sydney’s hottest April day on record – 35 degrees in the city and about 38 at Camden. The lift was marginal, but Julian and I managed a 1hr 12 min flight in the two-seat DG1000. I have a medical problem that has been affecting my flying and gliding so I went flying with another pilot just to check out my skills. They seemed OK.
My peripheral neuropathy has been gradually worsening. It started about nine months ago with pins and needles in my hands and feet and loss of touch sensation. It also is making me tired. My doctor and a specialist thought it might just go away, but it hasn’t. It progressed to a mild burning sensation mainly in my feet, but spreading all over, followed by pains in my fingers and toes. Loss of touch and heat/cold sensation in fingers has left me with some slight clumsiness, but I can still type ok.
With Julian in the DG1000
A second specialist diagnosed small-fibre neuropathy which affects sensations of pain and touch but not motor skills or muscles. This followed a torture session, called a nerve conduction test, that involved placing electrodes on my skin and then administering electric shocks! It really hurt, but the specialist told me to stop being such a baby and put up with it (not quite in those words). Those tests were normal, showing my motor nerves were ok and there was no likelihood of another bout of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome I had in my 20s.
The usual cause of small-fibre neuropathy is diabetes – but I don’t have that or any of the other strange ailments that cause it. Therefore my neuropathy is idiopathic, meaning they can’t find a cause. There doesn’t seem to be a cure, just pain management. The specialist recommended taking a nerve painkiller – Lyrica – and giving up alcohol for three months (One week to go!)
Above Camden Airport
I started the Lyrica two months ago. Lyrica side effects include sleepiness and dizziness. That was a problem at first – I was feeling spaced out – but I seem to be getting used to it now. The drug is on the civil aviation authority’s list of “medications which are hazardous in aviation. They must not be used without express clearance by CASA or your DAME (aviation doctor).”
So I grounded myself for power flying, no more glider towing for me. I decided that I shouldn’t be flying solo in gliders but I would carry on flying with an instructor or someone else as P1 – pilot in charge. Lyrica helps with the pain but not the loss of sensation. It is working well and the side effects are not so bad, so I am carrying on as normal with driving and the rest of my life.
After the flight yesterday, I think I’ll be fine to carry on solo gliding as well. As to the longer term – only time will tell.
Very good news about the solo gliding!