WTF-Beta

@Rontuner said:

I also have that phenomenon that I didn't know was "a thing"- when I close my eyes, I don't see black - more a reddish static)

Oh wow, I didn't know that was thing. I see a dark reddish brown static too. Huh. I don't really think about it much, but it's redder when I have a headache, and darker/blacker when I don't.

Hey, I'm all for using the placebo effect if it continues working - or maybe there is something to this?

I have always been of the opinion that if the placebo means it works, then that's all to the good!

I've had sporadic headaches since high school, but they increased in frequency in the early 2000s. I started with a triptan only in the last 7 years or so to take when I sense one coming which has given me days back - almost always stops it with just one dose, though there is a limit to how many to use/month and I was going over some months. (I used to lose days going back to bed or just suffering through) Started Qulipta about a year ago, but that hasn't changed frequency significantly - also some of the meds are hard on heart, liver or kidneys so trying to keep those numbers in range. Moved on to Botox treatments - had to go through all the other options first. I just had one treatment which they said may not do much. Second treatment is scheduled for the end of the month and that seems to be when most patients notice a reduction in frequency.

Good luck with the botox! I know someone who finds they really help her. I'm sorry Qulipta didn't do it for you. Have you tried Nurtec or any of the other newer meds?

I used relpax (which I think is generic name eletriptan) and the side effects got progressively worse. I also took amitriptyline as a preventative daily for a little over 10 years, and that one also had awful side effects. Getting off of those two and onto my current meds was such a huge improvement for me. They were awful.

Migraines? Clusters? I get the sense no one really knows for sure and they just guess and see if something helps.

Yep, that's my impression too, and I think cluster headaches are even less understood than traditional migraines.

Anyway, I hope the hat keeps helping you!

@Rontuner wow! So you’ve just been wearing the hat? All day long or only outside?

I didn’t realize you were a migraine sufferer. What kinds of medicine do you use for them? I started having regular migraines probably around 2006. In late 2022 I switched the new class of migraine medicines (I now take qulipta daily and ubrelvy if I get a headache or migraine). These medicines have been life changing for me, so I always recommend to anyone who hasn’t changed their treatment protocol in a few years that they consult with a physician, because there are now many more migraine-specific treatments than ever before.

@dolmansaxlil said:

I’m grateful we don’t have to worry about the financial ramifications of a serious medical issue on top of everything else.

This is so important!

I don’t know anything about seizures or their treatment, but I would imagine there many more options than in generations past, so that should be helpful as well. Best wishes that it is!!

I’m really sorry to hear this @dolmansaxlil

I hope you get some clarity soon and a good treatment plan!!

Yikes!! I had no idea!!

@wtg I’m so sorry. I hope things will improve over the next few days!

Sending you lots of positive energy and hugs!!

@Rontuner hmmm that's interesting to see.

So when you push down, the lever goes up, but I would need something where I push down, and then it pushes the pedal down... Mechanically, that seems more complicated.

Someone at PT wrote:

IMO anything with enough leverage to depress the right pedal from the left is going to be big and heavy and any slight bump is going to dislodge it or nick your pedal box/lyre.

There are probably a lot more logistical challenges than I realize....

Sending Mr WTG and you best wishes, hugs, and positive energy for healing!

@RealPlayer said:

Sounds like a great opportunity to practice Bach and other Baroque composers using only finger legato!

I know, I know… I would just rather make repertoire choices based on what I want to play, as opposed to have to make choices based on something I’m not able to do.

More to the point, that isn’t the kind of music I am motivated to play. Sorry, I don’t mean to whine, but the whole thing is depressing. I am certain to go stir crazy as it is, and not being able to play piano (the way I normally do) is just going to make it worse. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself during that time.

Anyway, if nothing else, the impending immobility will hopefully compel me to polish and record all the things I’m working on beforehand.

@Bernard said:

This next bit is where you may have reservations:

Yikes, Bernard, I couldn't even read past that!! No holes in my piano!!

@rontuner what happened to your achilles? Did it rupture, or did you have a problem with your heel?

My problem is that the heel deformity apparently triggered achilles tendonopathy, so both the heel bone needs fixing and the achilles tendon itself.

Re a digital... I don't currently have one. My mother has one, but it's the furniture type, I'm not sure how easy it would be to move the pedal for that.

if this were longer term, I might consider just getting one. I wonder if you can attach an extra pedal to a furniture type and just override the sustain pedal....

@Mark said:

I was pedaling the same day of surgery, and every day since my total knee replacement on December 30th.

That's great! How are you doing now?

Trying to pedal with your left foot might prove to be less than ideal/accurate. Would it be akin to writing left handed if you're right handed?

What I noticed when I tried it yesterday was that I could get the pedal down, but I couldn't get go up and down... And I felt like my body was twisted. I don't know, maybe I can make it work some how...

@Rontuner said:

Yamaha C3?

Yamaha C2 (2020), I assume the pedal design is the same between these two models.

@Mark said:

You might be surprised at your ability to use the pedal after surgery.

Unfortunately, probably not. I think it's two weeks of complete immobility along with NWB, and then another 2-4 of total NWB, and then the slow return to weight bearing and PT would start. It's a horrible process and I want to avoid it if at all possible! But my doc visit last week was kind of grim.

The problem is that this is open surgery. They would have to make an incision along the back of the heel up about 3 to 4 inches. The achilles would have to be removed from the heel bone (because they have to shave off two locations along the back of the heel bone to address a bone deformity and also a bone spur) and then the achilles has to be reattached. I asked the doc about what contributes to successful outcomes, and one of them was adhering to the recovery protocol. So I most definitely would not be pushing it!

Probably at some point, I would be cleared to pedal (presumably/probably earlier than clearance for a return to weight-bearing), but it could be 8 weeks before that clearance.

@Rontuner Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Also, I don't like that word, clamp, it sounds like it would damage the pedals!

@Rontuner said:

Most of these have been more permanent solutions that involve a redesign to the trapwork under the piano. Probably more than you want to do!

Yeah, I definitely don't want a permanent modification. (Trying not to think about worst case scenarios where that would be necessary!)

@Rontuner said:
I'd add an "up and over" section to the left and then down to pedal level. Lots of possible issues with twist and stability come to mind

Right, it seems like "up and over" would have lots of room for falling over, or breaking...

Someone on Piano Tell wrote:

disconnect the mechanism (e.g. the vertical rod) of the Una Corda and Sostenuto pedals, then make a horizontal bar to link all three pedals so that they depress/release together.

What do you think about that? Presumably this would be reversible. And I rarely use the other two pedals, so if I could get the left pedal to connect to the damper, temporarily disabling the other pedals, that would be ok.

Is this possible?

Btw here’s one of the single pedal extenders, designed to raise the pedal but it’s still on the right side. I would want something that comes over to the left… I was wondering if modifying an existing one would be possible, but it doesn’t seem like it.

.

Or I’ll just pedal with my left foot, no modifications…

It is becoming increasingly likely that I will have to have surgery on my right foot. If so, that means I won’t be able to pedal with my right foot for possibly two months or maybe more. I don’t want to be forced to play without the pedal during that time, and the last time I tried, it seemed like playing the damper pedal with my left foot would not work. (Although maybe it will and maybe I’ll try it again this evening)

I googled around and didn’t see any “pedal extenders” designed to allow you to pedal with your left foot, the only ones I saw were for children, to allow those with short legs to reach the pedals.

So it seems like this ought to be something one could design (my husband is quite crafty). But also you wouldn’t want to design something that would damage the pedals, or the finished etc.

How would you go about trying to design something like this? (For the record, we don’t have a 3D printer).

@Steve-Miller said:

But the garage would be so worth it!

@Steve-Miller Yikes! It is one of those "great potential but soooo much work" places!

I love the front/outside, but just looking at the photos (those drop ceilings... carpet, industrial toilets).... makes me tired.

@Big_Al thanks for sharing that! That was a very nice news spot.

I saw somewhere else that the Germantown location was closing and initially confused it to mean that the business itself was closing. Fortunately that’s not the case!!

Here it is (that was easy, just google "Drake Bosendorfer and tons of photos pop up, how funny!)

So, full disclosure: I love how the keyboard looks. But I would not want this for my own piano.

By the way, here's the artwork inside the lid:

It's by the Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami. If I were commissioning him for some piano artwork, I would pick something more like this:

Or this, which would be especially appreciated in this dreary weather!

But again, I wouldn't want this for my piano.

The piano can be black (as mine is) and the artwork can in the room around it (as mine is.....
/smug