Daily Log
13:30
I got up at 11, after decent but not solid sleep. My pain level was higher than yesterday, but not enough to really interfere, just on the edge of my awareness all the time. My right knee was swollen and stiff, but stable. My lower back wasn't as stiff as it has been some days this week, so that's something. My mood was low, though, somewhat depressed and apathetic -- I woke up thinking about the state of the yard, and how I don't know when I'll have enough strength to tackle the weeds and get the vegetable garden running.
I had a shower and put liniment on my knee, noting that it's less swollen than yesterday. The Chinese liniment does wonders for swelling, and since I can't ice it (the joint stiffens) and I can't take ibuprofen anymore, it's good to have something that helps. I didn't need the cane to come downstairs.
I fixed myself breakfast and did some correspondence to set up for a game event tomorrow. It's surprisingly cold in the house, though it's reasonably mild outside; I should put on a little more clothing and start some laundry. I need to go grocery shopping as well.
I'm definitely a little depressed today, though. I'm having to measure out my energy in small portions so that I don't exhaust myself, and that's rather wearing in itself. I get tired of this nickel-and-dime crap. So many projects waiting to get done...
17:15
I loaded the washer and stood for about 20 minutes, pre-treating and handwashing some items. My knee was stiff from standing when I took my binder upstairs to hang it in the shower to dry.
I spent about 90 minutes on the computer, doing game stuff, and had a couple of hotdogs for a snack; I dug some green tomato chutney out of the fridge, and it had a bit of a kick to it. I don't think it was too hot for my system, and if it sits okay, I may take some cayenne with dinner to help my knee and back settle down.
I shifted the laundry and started another load, and when I came in to sit down I realized I was suddenly very tired. I had planned on hitting the grocery store today, but I guess that'll have to wait... a nap may be in my future.
20:00
I went up to take a nap around 17:20, and slept until I was called for dinner shortly before 7:30. I got up a half hour later, foggy and physically exhausted. Naps have only about a 50/50 success rate for me, which is why I often don't bother.
I find that my feet are tender to walk on, and I have some slight muscle tremors in my hands and neck; my head was nodding agreement the whole time I was assembling a plate of food for dinner. I can make it stop, but that's usually more effort than it's worth.
The tremors made me think I might have a B-vitamin imbalance, though, so I got a multivitamin (mine have lots of Bs) to take with dinner. Climbing the stairs took some spoons, but I'm resting now.
01:55
I went out around 21:30 to try to meet up with somebody; that didn't work, so I went to the Willows instead. I drove around for 30 minutes, got out to walk, and after 15 minutes my knee was getting rather stiff and sore. I went back to the car to pull my bike out again, and get warmer clothing (it was 43 degrees).
I got the bike out, assembled it, and was about to set off when I realized the back brakes had caught the chain. They had never done that before, and I spent 15 minutes kneeling on the asphalt in the cold trying to sort it out. I finally did, and at least I had put my scarf on first, so I was actually reasonably warm. I added gloves and headed off.
I rode around on some of the smoothest and most level pavement I've had the pleasure to ride on, such that most of what I was doing was coasting. I did that for an hour and fifteen minutes, and by the time I loaded the bike back into the car, the cold had crept through my clothes and I was pretty thoroughly chilled. I was tired, too; I could feel the effort it took to lift and pull the bike frame into the car.
When I was done, I had managed to do something to my left hip that made it seriously painful to put weight on my left leg; I got into the car and realized it wasn't much fun to operate the clutch, either. It was a dull, severe ache inside the joint, and it almost felt slightly dislocated... nasty. It eased as I drove, enough that I could get home. It's still unpleasant to walk on it, but I hope it was mostly a function of the cold getting into the joint, and that a nice warm night in bed will sort it out most of the way. I can try to adjust my lower back and sacral plate in the morning, too.
I hope my knee is speaking to me tomorrow too... I'll be spending a lot of time in the car tomorrow, but it would be nice not to need crutches to get around the rest of the time.
I have an account as Torquill on Dreamwidth, and that's where I posted this. You can sign in with OpenID to comment on the original post, or you can go ahead and comment here; either way works.
I got up at 11, after decent but not solid sleep. My pain level was higher than yesterday, but not enough to really interfere, just on the edge of my awareness all the time. My right knee was swollen and stiff, but stable. My lower back wasn't as stiff as it has been some days this week, so that's something. My mood was low, though, somewhat depressed and apathetic -- I woke up thinking about the state of the yard, and how I don't know when I'll have enough strength to tackle the weeds and get the vegetable garden running.
I had a shower and put liniment on my knee, noting that it's less swollen than yesterday. The Chinese liniment does wonders for swelling, and since I can't ice it (the joint stiffens) and I can't take ibuprofen anymore, it's good to have something that helps. I didn't need the cane to come downstairs.
I fixed myself breakfast and did some correspondence to set up for a game event tomorrow. It's surprisingly cold in the house, though it's reasonably mild outside; I should put on a little more clothing and start some laundry. I need to go grocery shopping as well.
I'm definitely a little depressed today, though. I'm having to measure out my energy in small portions so that I don't exhaust myself, and that's rather wearing in itself. I get tired of this nickel-and-dime crap. So many projects waiting to get done...
17:15
I loaded the washer and stood for about 20 minutes, pre-treating and handwashing some items. My knee was stiff from standing when I took my binder upstairs to hang it in the shower to dry.
I spent about 90 minutes on the computer, doing game stuff, and had a couple of hotdogs for a snack; I dug some green tomato chutney out of the fridge, and it had a bit of a kick to it. I don't think it was too hot for my system, and if it sits okay, I may take some cayenne with dinner to help my knee and back settle down.
I shifted the laundry and started another load, and when I came in to sit down I realized I was suddenly very tired. I had planned on hitting the grocery store today, but I guess that'll have to wait... a nap may be in my future.
20:00
I went up to take a nap around 17:20, and slept until I was called for dinner shortly before 7:30. I got up a half hour later, foggy and physically exhausted. Naps have only about a 50/50 success rate for me, which is why I often don't bother.
I find that my feet are tender to walk on, and I have some slight muscle tremors in my hands and neck; my head was nodding agreement the whole time I was assembling a plate of food for dinner. I can make it stop, but that's usually more effort than it's worth.
The tremors made me think I might have a B-vitamin imbalance, though, so I got a multivitamin (mine have lots of Bs) to take with dinner. Climbing the stairs took some spoons, but I'm resting now.
01:55
I went out around 21:30 to try to meet up with somebody; that didn't work, so I went to the Willows instead. I drove around for 30 minutes, got out to walk, and after 15 minutes my knee was getting rather stiff and sore. I went back to the car to pull my bike out again, and get warmer clothing (it was 43 degrees).
I got the bike out, assembled it, and was about to set off when I realized the back brakes had caught the chain. They had never done that before, and I spent 15 minutes kneeling on the asphalt in the cold trying to sort it out. I finally did, and at least I had put my scarf on first, so I was actually reasonably warm. I added gloves and headed off.
I rode around on some of the smoothest and most level pavement I've had the pleasure to ride on, such that most of what I was doing was coasting. I did that for an hour and fifteen minutes, and by the time I loaded the bike back into the car, the cold had crept through my clothes and I was pretty thoroughly chilled. I was tired, too; I could feel the effort it took to lift and pull the bike frame into the car.
When I was done, I had managed to do something to my left hip that made it seriously painful to put weight on my left leg; I got into the car and realized it wasn't much fun to operate the clutch, either. It was a dull, severe ache inside the joint, and it almost felt slightly dislocated... nasty. It eased as I drove, enough that I could get home. It's still unpleasant to walk on it, but I hope it was mostly a function of the cold getting into the joint, and that a nice warm night in bed will sort it out most of the way. I can try to adjust my lower back and sacral plate in the morning, too.
I hope my knee is speaking to me tomorrow too... I'll be spending a lot of time in the car tomorrow, but it would be nice not to need crutches to get around the rest of the time.
I have an account as Torquill on Dreamwidth, and that's where I posted this. You can sign in with OpenID to comment on the original post, or you can go ahead and comment here; either way works.