The Return

I've been doing so well lately with pain. Tonight changed that.

I have a massive cramp in my lower right side of my back, which kind is creeping up the rest of my back. It's almost to spasm level. I have no idea what is causing it. Hopefully, it is just an isolated incident. The next few days will answer that question.

I have antibiotics for my budding sinus infection, and I bought a multivitamin. This is now what I'm taking daily:

Multivitamin
Iron Supplement
Zithromax (allergy meds)
Tri-Sprintec

Plus Z-pack (antibiotics)

As needed:
Hydrocodone
Cyclobenazpiene
Albuterol (inhaler for asthma)

Goodness.

Anyway, I took my hydrocodone, which is sort of working. I hope it does. This is the last thing that I need right now.

Yesterday, I had some pain, but not enough to really bother me. It was mostly evident when I moved in the wrong way; I felt little twinges of pain.

I'm getting sick again. I've been coughing (with substance) since last night, and I'm getting congested as well. It's probably going to lead to another sinus infection. Joy. I'm sure that all of this isn't helping my back, either.

I feel okay pain-wise so far today, but whatever bug I caught this time is running me down. I didn't go to t'ai chi, mostly because I don't think I could make it through an hour of working out feeling the way that I do.

Something I wanted to mention: there was a comment left on my blog explaining SRA in a lot more detail. I will post this in the main posts soon, but I want to do a little research, first. I hope to have that up in the next couple days or so.

The Third Day

Third day of my SRA thing today.

I went in feeling pretty stiff and sore. T'ai chi, and the walk to and from, really wore me out. That, combined with changing weather and stress, are a triple threat that takes a lot of willpower to deal with.

I had given the therapist the link to this site, and she checked it in the meantime. Not only did my x-ray help her out immensely, she was both impressed and excited that I've been documenting my story. Hearing that makes me very happy. If this treatment works, she believes that my story will help other people dealing with the same issues as I am. I am more than happy to contribute to furthering knowledge on this new type of treatment and the uses it has.

The pain didn't really come back until about half an hour after I left. Even then, it was fatigue pain for the most part, until about an hour ago. That, though, has a separate cause, since my back hurts when I get stressed, and I was under a great deal of that tonight. Hopefully, a good night's sleep will help that, as will turning in the project that caused the night's stress levels to peak.

Hopefully, I won't hurt much tomorrow. Publication design critique will be pretty much painful even without back pain.

Giving in

Most of the day yesterday and today, I've been really sore.

I think it's partially due to the fact that the weather changed so drastically. This has affected me before in a negative way, so it's a very good possibility.

I finally gave in and took some hydrocodone. I was so stiff and sore that I could hardly move. The high has hit me, so I may take it easy for awhile. If the pain goes away, I might try some t'ai chi to relax me a little. Or do some stretching, if I feel up to it.

I don't feel so bad that I broke my two week streak of no painkillers. I needed them, and that's what they're for. I have proved that I have the willpower to not take them all the time, so that's what matters, right?

I was going to go out tonight, but I'm too tired and sore to make it until 2. Another moment in the countless times that I've been restricted by my pain. Let's hope that these times continue to become less frequent.

I work tomorrow. Hopefully, I will do okay.

Giving In

I gave in at about 12:30 today. I couldn't stand the pain any longer.

I just took some more hydrocodone about 10 minutes ago. I'm going out tonight, so we'll see what happens.

The Come Back

It's days like this that make me want to do something about this condition.

I was in a great deal of pain earlier. So much so that 2 hydrocodone didn't take care of it.I'm okay now, but it hurt very badly while I was at work.Not only my back, but all the way down my right leg and my left knee. All of my usual pains, but at once.

I'm high right now, and I don't like it. Better than debilitating pain, I suppose.

I'm very glad that something will be done about this.

Departure

This will be short, since class will eventually get back on topic soon.

I had to call in to work yesterday because of being sick. I really didn't want to miss 5 hours of valuable work, but I really had no choice. I was hacking my lungs out and it really did a number on my back. I had to take hydrocodone last night...again. I'm lucky I didn't have to go anywhere.

At least I'm not sick today.

I posted a long article right before this, so I'll leave you with less reading for this one.

A Different Source

The last couple of days have been pretty crappy. I've managed to catch something. Whether it's a cold or the flu has yet to be determined, but I'm exhausted. I've heard that illness goes for the weakest part of your body. Which explains why it hit my lungs first. I also have asthma, for those of you who don't know. On both Friday and today at work, my back has also hurt quite a bit. It seems more like the aches and pains of illness, though. It still doesn't make it any better.

I really hope that I'm not seriously sick. I really need to be able to go to work and class.

Speaking Too Soon

It only figures that I have back pain two days before my appointment.

It was pretty bad today so far. I had to take hydrocodone for the first time in about a month, so the full force of the side effects is hitting me right about now. I really don't like it at all. I would rather not take anything, but I can only take so much before I cave and take something. Especially when I'm at work.

I'm done working today, so hopefully I don't have to take anymore.

Day of Reckoning....Or maybe not

So, today was the first day of work in a month. I thought I would be there for about 4 or 5 hours, so I was prepared for some pain when I left.

I was there for an hour.

I am in some amount of pain right now, but I doubt it's because of work. It's not so bad, but I'm aware that it could get worse, so I guess tonight is a night I stay home and rest.

Here's hoping work isn't bad tomorrow, either. I think I only work for an hour and a half, so it's not really that big of a deal.

Mind Dump

The appointment today went about as I expected. I waited an hour to see the doctor, and the only thing he decided was further observation. I'm actually happy about that. Hasty decisions aren't a good thing.

I go back on January 30th. The office is moving to the area between the Dome and the Wellness Center, which is great news. That means that it's now on campus.

After my appointment, I went to my storage garage and got my bass guitar out. I plan on learning how to play it. It's in my car until I clean up my room a little more. I was also going to get some wire shelves, but I couldn't find some pieces in the really low light. It was also just a little too cold.

As for now, I'm going to take some hydrocodone and deal with the high while I'm home. We'll see if I feel better tomorrow. If I do, I need to clean up my apartment more.

Appointment Day

I go to the surgeon today. I'm actually leaving in about 10 minutes.

It only figures that I hurt on the day of my appointment. It's not terrible, but I'm not so happy about it. I took one hydrocodone, because I don't want to be too high to drive. It's taken the edge off, but I still hurt.

I'm not sure what he's going to say. I will certainly post after I get back.

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.

Like a Kite

The pain has persisted for the whole day. It's my herniated disk pain, right at the base of my back. It hasn't radiated at all, so it's very localized. It still hurts enough, though.

I took hydrocodone about an hour and a half ago. Since I haven't been on it for a week, the high is a lot stronger than it has been for awhile. My lips are numb, my mouth is dry, I'm kind of dizzy, and I'm euphoric. The euphoria is the reason why people abuse this stuff. As for me, I prefer to have my head not so high in the clouds. Oh well. The pain is mostly gone now.

I had to go out to buy several things today, and I'm very grateful that one of my good friends came with me. He has been a great help to me. He's also agreed to help me carry my full laundry basket down to my car tomorrow, something for which I'm eternally grateful. One thing that has made me very happy is the generosity of some of my friends. I don't know if any of you read this, but trust me when I say that your help means more to me than I can fully express :) Thank you so much, if you are reading this.

A Return

When I woke up and tried to move today, I realized my pain in my lumbar region is back. It's not terrible, but it wasn't a pleasant thing to wake up to. I think it had to do with all of the dreams I had last night. There were at least 3 different ones, and a couple of them were pretty distressing. It makes sense to me that there would be some movement while I was sleeping.

So, right now, my entire back hurts in some way. I don't think I'll be spending long stretches in my computer chair today. Even under the best circumstances, it gets uncomfortable. Today, it would be torture.

We'll see how I am later today. I don't have plans, so hopefully continuing my rest will do me some good.

Last Day

Yesterday was the last day of work until next semester. I'll try to take the pain meds only when I'm going out, but we'll have to see. My pain today isn't bad, but I don't know how it'll go when I decide to go out tonight.

Side effects

Last night, I decided not to take my painkillers after about 3:30 or so. So, it wore off at about 7:30 or so. It didn't work terribly well at work, either. Today, I took the hydrocodone only in the morning, but didn't take any more after it wore off at around 11 or so.

I'm trying to keep my intake down, so I don't kill my liver. Plus, it dehydrates me, and drives my appetite to almost nothing. There's also the main side effect of the high. I called it my "happy vicodin bubble" soon after I started taking the stuff. However, I don't really enjoy being high all the time. So, as much as I can stand it, I'm going to try not to take anything.

I did have to walk to my last final today, though, since my car is currently covered in an impenetrable sheet of ice. It wasn't so bad on the way there, but the way back was pretty terrible. The pain level right now is pretty high, but I'm going to bed soon, so I'm not worried about it too much.

The thoracic pain is still around. Hopefully that goes away soon.

Sorry, but this is mostly complaining, but I haven't had any time to find anything else. Hopefully later.

Return of an old enemy

So, I did manage to get my prescription filled on Saturday, through the blowing snow and crappy roads. I thought they were going to give me vicodin with codeine, but instead, I got generic hydrocodone with acetaminophen, like the ones I had before. The only difference is, they have 7.5 mg hydrocodone instead of 5, so I don't have to take as much. They also only last 4 hours, a fact I found out the hard way today. The meds wore off right about 11:15 or so, which happened to correspond to when I started a shift at work. Fortunately, I only had to work for 45 minutes, so I managed to deal with the pain for a bit.

I do work again tonight, but I'll make sure that I'm prepared.

A bit of a side note; yesterday, I had my regular mid-back general pain that is caused by my scoliosis along with everything else. I really don't need that pain to be coming back, too. I managed to keep my back from spasming, which is good, since that would have compounded the issue. I seem to be doing okay today, but we'll have to see about later on.

Stays the same

I didn't update yesterday, but really, not much changed. The pain level is the same, the pain location is the same.

I haven't taken any hydrocodone yet, but I certainly will before I go out. I'm going to fill my prescription today. Other that that, I'm not doing much.

Both are still present

For the last 20 minutes or so of work, the hydrocodone wore off, and I waited until I got home to take more. I wanted to see where it hurt.

My entire left leg hurts. Down both the front and the back, the knee, and the top of my foot. I could put weight on it, but it hurt. Of course, there's still the back pain.

A lot of people have been saying "Ohh, that explains it" when I tell them about the herniated disk. I want to point out that the pain that I've been having recently is completely different than the pain that I usually have. Normally, my mid-back hurts, and it's spread through the entire area. Don't write off the scoliosis just because of the herniated disk. It's still there, and it's not going to go away.