Monthly Update From Garry McGivern

My monthly update for January 2026, well, what can I say? It’s been a quiet month, as far as cycling goes, that is. I’ve not been out anywhere as I’ve got bad sciatic pain. I relented to the doctors and am now on blood pressure tablets. I’ve got to go for more tests on my myelopathy. And I’ve spent much of the month on the laptop changing things around on my website and YouTube channel. Oh yes, and the weather hasn’t been great, which is to be expected, I suppose. After all, it is January.

Fingers Crossed

As I mentioned last month, just cycling to Chichester would hurt. Not hip pain, I think I’ve got that under control with all the painkillers I take. (which is probably enough to knock a rhinoserus out) No, I seem to get bad sciatic pain when I cycle now, which physio thinks is linked to my hip moving around, as I only get it when I ride my bike. I really hope it is my hip and not my back. But as Mike, my physio, says, we won’t know until you’ve had your hip done.

I already get a lot of sciatic pain in my left leg and have had several operations to cure it. (each has failed) But the pain these days is controlled with nerve blockers and was always better after a good ride. In fact, on a long tour, i.e., over 1000 miles, I could stop taking them altogether. Anyway, I’ve now increased my nerve blockers up to the max, hoping that they will work on the other leg. Unfortunately, they aren’t a quick fix, and I’ve only just started to up them. But hopefully by the end of next month, I’ll be back out on my bike.

Or even better still, I won’t be out cycling as I’ll be recovering from having my hip operation, which I somehow doubt, but you never know. The only good thing about not being able to cycle far is that it hasn’t exactly been cycling weather. And if I’m going to be off the bike, January is the best month, in theory!

At Least I Tried

After trying to get my blood pressure down on my own, which I thought I had, I decided to phone the doctors. After explaining that the hospital had told me to call them, they asked for the readings I’d been taking at home. Confident I’d got it down, I waited for the doctor to work out an average. Unfortunately, I hadn’t got it down far enough, and she said I think we need to put you on some medication to lower it. Blast, I thought I’d got it down enough. Ah, well, what’s another tablet to take? I’ll just add it to the ever-growing number of tablets I take. Although I am surprised they don’t investigate more. They just seem to give them out like Smarties. I do worry sometimes that all my painkillers hide too much.

Let’s Hope Not

Mike, my physio, who keeps an eye on my myelopathy, thought my myelopathy might be getting worse, on my last visit. The little finger on my right hand has started to numb up, the same as my left finger, which is a possible sign that my myelopathy is getting worse. So he’s talking about me having another nerve conduction test. I had one a few years ago before I was diagnosed.

At Least I Had Something To Do

Seeing as I’ve been unable to ride too far, I’ve been updating my YouTube channel. And while doing it, I couldn’t help but notice how many hospital and doctor’s appointments I’ve had over the years. Nearly every tour I’ve been on since 2018 seems to end with me having to return home for an appointment. Or the reason for not touring was that something was wrong with me. Ha, and in recent years, some of my tours have even been based around getting to a hospital appointment (Europe 2024)

I’ve now added some new playlists to my YouTube channel in a bid to raise awareness and possibly help others. One charting my journey through sepsis and another documenting my journey with myelopathy, which is obviously still ongoing. I’ve even had Wilson, Julie’s daughter’s dog, sitting with me, seeing as I’m at home so much, and to keep me company.

Read my previous update from December.

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