One End is Another Beginning

In keeping with my trend of not updating much, it has been a few more months since my last post. Here is what is new.

I quit my job at Soho 3 weeks ago. The endless hours and stress took a toll on my back that I couldn't stand any longer. Ibuprofen, even in quantities far beyond what is usually recommended by a doctor, gave absolutely no relief.

I have always worked in spite of back pain. This is the first time I have quit a job because of it. Its not a step I ever wanted to take, but it seems that it was inevitable that I did. The condition only seems to worsen the older I get.

I have felt a lot better in the last 3 weeks, though I realize that I need to maintain a certain level of activity in addition to rest. I hope I have recovered a bit and dropped some of my immunity to ibuprofen, so at least it will provide a bit of relief when I need it.

Ideally, I'd like to only focus on my freelance design company, but the reality is, I cannot make enough money to support myself only doing that job. I will need to find another job, probably part-time again, to at least be able to afford the place I live and to feed myself. I do, however, also need to make sure that this job is one that puts less strain on my back. This may not be very easy, but we will see.

A Look Back, A Look Forward

Hey again to all who still read this dusty old thing. I imagine that, since I have not updated in the last year and a half, no one even checks this anymore. But for archive sake, and to update those who still do, I think I will begin to post again.

I can't make this long, because I need to go to work in about 10 minutes. . I still work at SoHo, though I do not work at the nightclub anymore, and haven't for 6 months or so. The decision to quit was, fortunately, not pain-related. As for SoHo, I began to work breakfast shifts there about 2-3 months ago, and that is when my back problems really began anew. I will get into that when I have a bit more time.

D'nA (my company) is just now beginning to get off the ground a little. I really hope that I begin to make enough money from it that I can quit working part-time jobs with full-time hours and too much stress and pain.

See you in about 8 hours.

6 Months Later

If you thought not updating for 2 months was bad, I think I just topped it.

I have been doing quite well. Of course, I will never be 100% pain-free. But the day-to-day pain is not nearly as debilitating as it used to be. Which is a very good thing, in many ways.

I still work at the two jobs that I mentioned in the previous note; SoHo and Jokers. I have adjusted to the routine quite nicely. I have also started my own graphic design business, D'nA, with one of my friends. We have already begun working with some local bands to help promote them. Hopefully, this will be a good source of income for me.

I still do not have health insurance. This mainly affects my access to the hydrocodone I was taking to manage the pain. Therefore, I have not used hydrocodone for several months. I have wanted it a few times, but for my daily routine, I have sufficed with ibuprofen.

The last few days, I have been in a little more pain than usual. Only time will tell if this will be a regular thing. I hope not, but if it is, I will manage it like I always have.

Lucky Break

My day could have been crappy. It wasn't.

I went roller skating for my step-sister in law's (whew) birthday party. I was afraid that my back would hurt, or that my ankle would hurt. Neither happened. My back had a bit of soreness, but that's all. I just managed to wear myself out and get a couple blisters. It was a good time.

I need to go skating more.

Build-up

It's about 45 minutes before I'm supposed to start work. As usual, I'll be working about 6 hours today.

So, the fact that my back is already hurting is not a good thing.

It's not bad, yet. But the only thing that I've done so far today is sit on my butt at a computer. I've taken some ibuprofen, and I really hope that it helps. I guess I'll have an update about it later.

I hope my back doesn't hurt tomorrow. I'm going roller skating for the first time in many years, and I would really like to enjoy it. My left ankle will be a bit of a problem, too (I sprained it about 3 years ago). I guess, like everything else, we will see.

*edit*

Well, It's about 2, and the ibuprofen did it's job for the most part. The pain is coming back, but it's not too bad, so I won't take anything for awhile. We'll see after I go back to work.

My back hurt really bad at work yesterday. And I mean really bad. I'm not entirely sure why, but it was worse than it usually is. I suppose, though, that some days I'm just going to have to deal with it. I really hope it starts getting better, though.

I guess the good news is that my herniated disk doesn't hurt much anymore. I haven't really even noticed much pain there. I'm sure, though, that if I did something stupid like trying to lift 50 lbs or so, that it would resurface very quickly.

I don't have work today, but I do have class. That, paired with the fact that I got lots of sleep last night, should help. I hope so.

Predicted Outcome

I suppose I'm not surprised that my back is hurting right now. It's my first true day back at work (by that, I mean that I worked more than an hour and a half), and I worked for a good 5 and a half hours today. It didn't start hurting until about 12:30 or so, which means I worked 3 1/2 hours without any pain. I guess that's a good start.

I knew this would happen. I've known for awhile. It's my first day really working and being out for an extended period of time since I got done with finals week. I just hope I get used to it.

The pain is very widespread through my mid-back. My knees also ache a bit. This is the old pain. The disk pain hasn't surfaced...yet. Give it time...

I took ibuprofen for it, but as expected, it didn't do a damn thing.

One thing for another

I have good news and bad news. Don't you love those words?

The good news is that my knees don't hurt.

The bad news is that now my back hurts.

It's not too bad, but it does kind of put a damper on my day. I was going to go get some things from my storage garage, but now I don't know if I'll be able to. If the ibuprofen works, I will probably go.

Artistic Suffering

I tried shopping this week, with my mom. I did it without pain killers, but I was only able to walk around for about an hour before I got very sore. It wasn't my back, it was my knees. That seems to be the problem lately.

I have a tendency to hyperfocus on my artwork. It's almost a meditative state. The good news is, I don't notice pain when I'm in the middle of it, but when I decide to take a break, the awareness goes back to my legs. All I can say is "Ow" It's all in my knees, which isn't surprising, since I've been sitting on my bed working on this art for a good deal of time now. I just took ibuprofen, I hope it helps.

I've also been trying to work on organizing my room, but there are certain things I can't do. Like move the mini fridge. I guess I'll just have to live with it as is, for now :)

One thing that's become clear to me is that I will need to regain some sort of stamina for standing before I go back to work. While this constant rest has done wonders for my disk pain, I'm finding that I can't stand up for as long as I could even two weeks ago. We'll see what happens.

One pain, or another

It has been a few days since I last updated, but there really hasn't been much to say.

I haven't taken hydrocodone since Friday. I'm actually very happy about that. The only problem I've had is a pretty bad leg pain that wakes me up at 5 am. That's been going on the last 3 nights. I've taken ibuprofen, and that has done the trick. I'm starting off with some Advil PM tonight, so hopefully I don't wake up to that again.

Currently, my mid-back is hurting, but really nothing out of the ordinary. My lumbar region isn't really bothering me. I did go out tonight, so I'm actually doing well considering the circumstances. Once I lay down, I should be okay.

The first of a few today, I'm sure

The pain today is probably the worst it's been yet. I had to take my last hydrocodone this morning, and it did no good. One of my coworkers was very considerate and went to get things from the back today, since I continue to have problems walking.

I have a clinic appointment for 2 today with the doctor I usually see, so hopefully I can get some relief later today.

What do you do when nothing works?

The pain in my lower back has gotten a little worse. I tried to take hydrocodone for it, but it didn't help much. Ibuprofen didn't work at all.

I had trouble walking today, especially at work. I'm finding that standing or sitting still makes it feel better. I'm not sure why it's so localized in my lower back, but it's been like this for a couple of days now. Nothing seems to be helping, so I don't know what I'm going to do.

I don't work tomorrow, so hopefully that'll give me some time to recover. I don't have much hydrocodone left, so I have to make it last until Monday, at least. This may prove to be a very difficult weekend.

I'm supposed to hang out with one of my friends tonight, but if it's not sitting down, I don't think I'll be able to do anything.