So, here are some things
1. I missed my TW_Reverse_bang posting date, and will be posting instead during Amnesty. The lovely and immensely talented puckboum was kind enough to hold off and post with me. Tonight - basically every night in the next week or so - is write-like-hell night. But I kind of love my story and I hope I can make it good.
2. I have discovered that Domino's makes a gluten free pizza. There's a local place in my neighborhood that also makes a gluten free pizza, but it's sort of subpar to regular pizza, so I thought I'd try Domino's out. I'm sort of horrified to find that their gluten free pizza is AWESOME. I don't like the founder's politics and in general I'm not a fan of supporting big chains, but OMG. Gluten free pizza that tastes like PIZZA. *rends clothes*
3. A beautiful thing is happening to me and I'm terrified it's not going to last. I've posted a ton here about my mobility status and pain issues, most of which center around my legs. I've got a ton of knee pain and foot pain, and have had for years, so bad that I creak around like an 80 year old woman and eat Advil like candy.
I've spent years trying to address the pain through various forms of physical therapy and drug therapy, and nothing has worked. But a few months ago, one of my knee doctors put me through some tests and decided it might be worth it to get my back checked out, to see if there was any involvement. I got an MRI, which showed a gigantic hernia at L5-S1 and another smaller one at L4-L5, and as a result, I got set up for a cortisone shot in my back.
Honestly? I put it off for a while. I didn't actually have pain in my back, and my leg pain did not present like sciatic pain. I didn't have shooting pain and it wasn't localized to the backs of my thighs - it was all knee and ankle stuff. I didn't make it a priority. I put off my appointment for over a month, and even up until mid-day on Monday, I was not sure I was going to keep my Tuesday appointment. I didn't want to take yet another sick day due to ongoing health concerns - I have a new boss, and he has a new boss, and I've started to worry about how it looks. But in the end, I decided (with a little pressure from
therienne) to just call in randomly "sick" and get the shots.
The shots were... extremely uncomfortable. Never let anybody tell you it won't hurt to have needles jammed in next to your spine. Yow. Also, just try to not jump when a 60-year-old male nurse is randomly drawing lightly on your ass. He had to mark the spots for the shots, which were at the very very base of my spine. And then the doctor had an incredibly light touch, which meant every time he touched me, it tickled.
However, shots were accomplished, I took a cab home because I was not allowed to drive, and almost immediately I was walking better than I had been in weeks. By the end of the day, I was walking better than I had in months. Today, I made 6000 steps without even trying, and for the first time in over a year the limiting factor was my aerobic endurance, NOT my pain.
I still have knee pain and ankle pain - that hasn't resolved, and probably won't on its own. But apparently there WAS back involvement. For one thing, I have no back pain -- which is strange, because I didn't know I had back pain before. But I DID, omg, I so did - I had apparently had it for so long that I didn't even recognize it as abnormal until it went away. And some of the leg pain from my upper thighs has gone away - the back of the knee, above the knee; and the horrible tightness right above my knees in front.
I'm not miracle-cured or anything, I still can't run and jump and play like the cool kids. And there's no telling how long a cortisone treatment will last - for some people it's a week, and for some it's a year. You can get three of them a year, but it is NOT something I look forward to doing on a regular basis.
I guess the good news is that if this works, it means that part of my pain DOES come from the hernia. And worst-case, the hernia can be treated with a microlaminectomy surgery that will just remove the stuff pressing on my spine, which is an easy out-patient surgery with a quick recovery time. And, I can try PT again, without the limitation of horrible pain preventing me from doing what the PT wants me to do.
I was showing off all day at work, to anybody who had ever shown any interest in my mobility problems - from my original Chief, Harry, who always asks me how I'm doing, to my ex-Project-Manager, who sometimes yells "Hey, Crip!" when I pass by her desk (sooooo slowly). Every time I get up to do something at home, I say "And now I am standing up! and walking across the room, JUST LIKE A PERSON WHO WALKS PLACES!"
Seriously - I have woken up devastated from dreams where I was able to walk this easily and painlessly. It's kind of a revelation. I keep forgetting I can do stuff, and asking therienne "While you're up, could you...?" And then I remember that *I* can do it, and I get up and I DO it. 6000 steps! WITHOUT TRYING HARD!
So, that's my update, and also btw, I'm sorry I stalled out on my December questions, but I will return to them after my TW reverse bang story is posted! =D
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2. I have discovered that Domino's makes a gluten free pizza. There's a local place in my neighborhood that also makes a gluten free pizza, but it's sort of subpar to regular pizza, so I thought I'd try Domino's out. I'm sort of horrified to find that their gluten free pizza is AWESOME. I don't like the founder's politics and in general I'm not a fan of supporting big chains, but OMG. Gluten free pizza that tastes like PIZZA. *rends clothes*
3. A beautiful thing is happening to me and I'm terrified it's not going to last. I've posted a ton here about my mobility status and pain issues, most of which center around my legs. I've got a ton of knee pain and foot pain, and have had for years, so bad that I creak around like an 80 year old woman and eat Advil like candy.
I've spent years trying to address the pain through various forms of physical therapy and drug therapy, and nothing has worked. But a few months ago, one of my knee doctors put me through some tests and decided it might be worth it to get my back checked out, to see if there was any involvement. I got an MRI, which showed a gigantic hernia at L5-S1 and another smaller one at L4-L5, and as a result, I got set up for a cortisone shot in my back.
Honestly? I put it off for a while. I didn't actually have pain in my back, and my leg pain did not present like sciatic pain. I didn't have shooting pain and it wasn't localized to the backs of my thighs - it was all knee and ankle stuff. I didn't make it a priority. I put off my appointment for over a month, and even up until mid-day on Monday, I was not sure I was going to keep my Tuesday appointment. I didn't want to take yet another sick day due to ongoing health concerns - I have a new boss, and he has a new boss, and I've started to worry about how it looks. But in the end, I decided (with a little pressure from
therienne) to just call in randomly "sick" and get the shots.
The shots were... extremely uncomfortable. Never let anybody tell you it won't hurt to have needles jammed in next to your spine. Yow. Also, just try to not jump when a 60-year-old male nurse is randomly drawing lightly on your ass. He had to mark the spots for the shots, which were at the very very base of my spine. And then the doctor had an incredibly light touch, which meant every time he touched me, it tickled.
However, shots were accomplished, I took a cab home because I was not allowed to drive, and almost immediately I was walking better than I had been in weeks. By the end of the day, I was walking better than I had in months. Today, I made 6000 steps without even trying, and for the first time in over a year the limiting factor was my aerobic endurance, NOT my pain.
I still have knee pain and ankle pain - that hasn't resolved, and probably won't on its own. But apparently there WAS back involvement. For one thing, I have no back pain -- which is strange, because I didn't know I had back pain before. But I DID, omg, I so did - I had apparently had it for so long that I didn't even recognize it as abnormal until it went away. And some of the leg pain from my upper thighs has gone away - the back of the knee, above the knee; and the horrible tightness right above my knees in front.
I'm not miracle-cured or anything, I still can't run and jump and play like the cool kids. And there's no telling how long a cortisone treatment will last - for some people it's a week, and for some it's a year. You can get three of them a year, but it is NOT something I look forward to doing on a regular basis.
I guess the good news is that if this works, it means that part of my pain DOES come from the hernia. And worst-case, the hernia can be treated with a microlaminectomy surgery that will just remove the stuff pressing on my spine, which is an easy out-patient surgery with a quick recovery time. And, I can try PT again, without the limitation of horrible pain preventing me from doing what the PT wants me to do.
I was showing off all day at work, to anybody who had ever shown any interest in my mobility problems - from my original Chief, Harry, who always asks me how I'm doing, to my ex-Project-Manager, who sometimes yells "Hey, Crip!" when I pass by her desk (sooooo slowly). Every time I get up to do something at home, I say "And now I am standing up! and walking across the room, JUST LIKE A PERSON WHO WALKS PLACES!"
Seriously - I have woken up devastated from dreams where I was able to walk this easily and painlessly. It's kind of a revelation. I keep forgetting I can do stuff, and asking therienne "While you're up, could you...?" And then I remember that *I* can do it, and I get up and I DO it. 6000 steps! WITHOUT TRYING HARD!
So, that's my update, and also btw, I'm sorry I stalled out on my December questions, but I will return to them after my TW reverse bang story is posted! =D
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comments ]