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.

I've been pretty sore for the last couple of days. It almost overwhelmed me at work today, but I managed to make it through. I work tomorrow, too, but only for 3 hours or so, and then nothing after that. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a little and also resting my body most of the day. (My mind, however, will have to be put to good use)

Hopefully soreness does not interfere with my plans tonight.

Memory Problems, Too?

I was going to post an entry with links and all kinds of information about my therapy that I had today. I was sort of constructing the phrases in my mind while I was on my drive back to campus, complete with any diagrams I found and information available. One problem, though:

I forgot what my therapy is called, and I left the sheet in the car.

So, pretty pictures later. I'll wait to explain it until I have some diagrams or...something.

A New Step

Yay for being at work and doing something else.

First of all, an update on my various illnesses. I think the tonsillitis has been beaten, but I managed to get a sinus infection because of my allergies shortly after that went away. So, I'm on my 4th round of antibiotics, along with various allergy meds and some nasal spray. I'm also taking iron suppliments for the anemia. While I'm still very tired, I do feel a lot better than I did last week.

I started my t'ai chi class today. This martial art, I think, will be very beneficial to me, because it teaches balance and stregthens your core body. I only did the steps for about 20 minutes today, but I'm already exhausted from it. I think it will really help, and I'm looking forward to actually getting into it.

I continue to have back, knee, and foot problems, though they've seemed to reach a plataeu on how bad they've gotten. I'm happy to say that my feet haven't caused me immense amounts of pain lately, but I can feel the cramps sometimes. I do not have arthritis, which I figured, so it's most likely related to my back.

The main reason for this post is to mention a new treatment option for me. The physician that I've been going to for a couple weeks now refered me to a massage therapist that works with nerves. Basically, from my understanding, this technique will "turn off" the nerves that cause me so much pain. It sounds valid enough to try, and I am willing to try new things to get this pain under control.

I must admit that, lately, it's been weighing on me pretty heavily. I've always tried to be as optimistic as possible, but I do have my times where it gets to me. An example of this is on Saturday night, I was out with my friends, just hanging out at a local bar, and I had to take the hydrocodone for my back (I was DD already for several reasons, so I hadn't been drinking. Just letting you know). One thing about the hydrocodone that I've noticed is that whatever emotion I am feeling is intensified. Meaning, if I'm happy, I'm really happy, and if I'm irritated, I'm really irritated. This can get hard to control. I prefer not to have my emotions and actions be influenced by external forces, such as, say, painkillers, so even the little bit that I took it out on my friends made me unhappy. It is another reason to try to get off of my painkillers as soon as I can. There are just so many good reasons to not be on them. But I digress.

Massage appointment is on Friday. We will see how it goes.

Pile it on

So, my problems, lately, have been increasing. Not all back related.

First off, I've had tonsillitis for a month now. I've manage to suppress it rather efficiently with antibiotics, but it just keeps coming back. I'm about to start my third round of them tonight. We did do tests, so we know it's not strep or mono. Thank goodness for that.

I've also been having problems with my feet in the last week. My arches have been swollen and at times I can barely walk. I woke up with this problem on Thursday and it just hasn't gone away. It may or not be related to my back. I'm talking to my surgeon on Wednesday anyway, so I'll mention it to him. The health clinic is going to do tests for arthritis >.<

I also found out that I'm mildly anemic. Which just adds to the fun.

I found an internship where I sit, and went back to Piazza, where I stand. I'm going to be a pile of mush by the end of this semester. Or passed out on the street. Probably the second one.

Big Traction and Intimidating Equipment

My day started just the way I suspected it would: in pain. I brought it on myself, since I decided to go knee boarding yesterday. I still believe it was completely worth it. Most of the pain has ended up in my arms, which doesn't surprise me in the least.

So, as I proceeded to get up and take some of the usual painkiller, I realized that there was a little pain in my back, but certainly not as bad as the aforementioned arm pain. And not as bad as a usual work day.

So, I had a pretty good idea where this place was that I was going when I left this morning, but apparently, not a good enough of an idea. In true Amy fashion, I managed to get myself lost. The problem was...I went way too far down Ridgeway. Figures. After a phone call to the office and some directions, I managed to find the place. And after I circled the building, I managed to find the entrance. And after I walked down the wrong hallway, I managed to find the right area. I was embarrassingly 15 minutes late for my appointment, but at least I won't get lost again.

They started off my therapy by laying on a heat pad, which felt amazing. The physical therapist came in and started asking me questions, then finally explained what traction really is. I'll get to that later.

They then took me to the traction machine. This is a rather intimidating-looking piece of equipment. They put two harnesses on me, one around my hips, and one that went the whole length of my back. I was then attached to the machine. This is where it all got kind of medieval. Traction works by stretching your back. Which means...the attach the harness to one end of the machine, which pulls with a certain weight. There are padded posts under your arms, which holds your upper body in place. You are then told to relax as the machine pulls for 60 seconds, then releases for about 40 seconds or so. Rinse and repeat.

All of this is well and good, except for the nerve in my lumbar region that got pinched somehow. The pain started about 10 minutes in, and by 15 minutes it was so excruciating that I couldn't take it anymore. They had to take me off of the machine. They think the cause was the lumbar cushion was inflated too much. In my next appointment tomorrow, they're going to lower the pull weight and deflate the cushion a little. I really hope it works.

All of this is for my lower back, which for some reason, they think they need to do this for. My herniated disk has always been a red herring of sorts: a lot of people focus on that and not the more painful scoliosis pain. I brought this up, and as I suspected, they were focusing more on this less painful area of my back.

My session finished with a 15 minute relaxation time on some cold packs and electrodes. It helped a little.

Tomorrow we are also going to start some exercises with a ball for my scoliosis pain, while continuing the traction for my lower spine. They are also going to continue the electrode therapy. We'll see if the traction goes any better tomorrow.