Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hanging In

I'm back at work today....still uncomfortable, but not suffering terribly. I'm just so tired. Probably because of the medication. I'm behind closed doors having my lunch and BOY could I use a nap! After I finish my sandwich I'll knit a few moments on a sock I keep here to work on during lunch breaks. That should occupy my head enough to keep me awake. :-)

Monday, June 22, 2009

"Temporary" is a Relative Term

Well, last Tuesday I was not only still suffering terrible pain from the tendonitis, but it was getting WORSE. So, after being in misery all day at work, I went straight to the Urgent Care center from the office. A doctor "examined" me there (asked a few questions, pressed painfully on the back of my leg), said it was a pulled hamstring and I just needed to wait awhile longer. To get me through the worst of the pain he prescribed pain pills and pain patches.

Wednesday morning I was worse....I thought it was probably because he'd pressed so painfully on the tendon. I went to the office, worked an hour to get out the most pressing issues, went back home, and went to bed. By Thursday I couldn't get out of bed. The pain was so bad that I couldn't move without bringing myself to tears.

Mom and Dad cut their Pigeon Forge visit a day short, came home, and took me back to Urgent Care. This time I saw a different doctor who actually gave me an examination. He checked my range of motion, listened thoughtfully while I described my pain, checked my reflexes, and asked if I'd mind if he ran x-rays. I told him I'd be THRILLED for him to run x-rays. When he did, he found some arthritic spurring on my spine and said that he feels sure that I have sciatica. He told me that he planned to put me on a pain medication, a muscle relaxer, and Prednisone for nine days. He further told me that if I didn't see a BIG improvement by Monday that I should call and tell him so he could schedule me for an MRI to check for disc damage in my back.

Because I'd actually had to use a walker to get into his office, he checked to see if someone had driven me in so he could give me a pain shot. Since Mom and Dad had brought me in, he had the nurse give me a shot of Torodol. This numbed the pain immediately and helped greatly. Unfortunately, when it began to wear off I found that it made me terribly ill and I spent the night with a blinding headache and nausea.

Friday was spent dealing with the remains of the Torodol reaction and sleeping from the pain meds and muscle relaxers.

The good news, though, is that when I woke up Saturday morning, I was MUCH better. I still had some pain in my leg, but nothing like what I've been going through.

And so the improvement, thankfully, continues. If only I'd known in April that it wasn't tendonitis, but sciatica. I could have been pain-free WEEKS ago. Oh well. At least I seem to be on the right track now.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Pain Hurts...But Is Temporary, At Least

I've just been running through my head, trying to figure out just how long my stupid tendonitis in my stupid leg has been hurting. (Bitter? ME? Naaaaaaah.)

As nearly as I can tell, it must have been along about the middle of April, which means it's coming up on 2 months now. The good news is that I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and learned that it really IS tendonitis, and nothing more serious. More good news is that I was doing everything right as far as treating it....except I just haven't been patient enough. *rolling eyes* The doctor said that it takes as long for tendonitis to heal as it takes for a broken bone. So, I still have a little waiting to do. At least now I know for sure what's going on. It still hurts, but it's a little easier to stand knowing that there's some light at the end of the tunnel.

I knitted a little while last night on my sweater. I hadn't picked it up in awhile, so it was nice to get back to some "zen knitting". Knit, knit, knit, knit, around and around and around. No counting, no thinking....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I was able to start the second of the "Women's Murder Club" audiobooks. I just love that!

OH....I haven't told you about my new toy! My Zune finally arrived from Amazon last week, and I just adore it. The software they provide for the PC is very user-friendly and my favorite part is that I can sync the Zune to the computer WIRELESSLY. The Zune hasn't been connected by wire to the computer since the initial setup! (I recharge it with a wall charger.) Such fun!

I needed a way to carry it around the apartment while doing housework (or to keep it handy while knitting) so I knitted a little pouch for it with an i-cord long enough to go around my neck. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it so you can see. I think it turned out pretty well for an amateur knitter. *L*

Well, I have a friend coming in a moment so I can help her with a knitting problem during lunch, so I'll hush for the moment.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Monday, Monday

And so, after a good weekend, I return to the land of the office with no windows and fluorescent lighting. *sigh* Oh well. At least it's been relatively quiet this morning. I was very happy to see lunch time roll around though so I could lock my door and hide from humanity for 30 minutes. Anti-social? Me? Naaaaaah.

I'm still suffering a little leg pain (tendonitis is the pits), but it's much better than it's been at least. It really gave me a fit Friday night; I'd gone to Wal-Mart that morning, so I guess I just walked too much. Bummer. I spent some time at Mom & Dad's Saturday, then just stayed home with The Infamous MeggieDog yesterday. We spent a lovely afternoon napping, knitting, napping a little more, and watching the second DVD of Season Two of "Dexter". I really like that show. Not enough to subscribe to Showtime, but I really like it. I always liked Michael C. Hall in "Six Feet Under", so that's the reason I started watching "Dexter" on DVD. Fun stuff....quirky, which I love.

I'm only a couple of inches away from starting knitting sleeves for the sweater I'm knitting for myself. If I could stay awake, I'd be much farther along, but the knitting relaxes me so much that I doze off from time to time. Luckily I'm not under a deadline.

Well, time to unlock the office door and face the public once more....lunch break's over.