Okay, One More Post Tonight

First of all, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Shannon posted two of my favorite quotes:
"The time is always right to do what is right."
and "What are you doing for others?"

I need to work on those things a bit more.

But, first of all, I would once again like to make a plea to the person with my voodoo doll and ask them to PLEASE take the pin out of my neck. I am once again not sure what I did to you, but I am truly sorry. Please accept my apology and remove the pin from my neck. And as long as I am at it, in the morning, please stop sticking the pins in the my back. Much appreciated.

Oh, workouts you are wondering - well I did try. But the pool was closed. And yes, I could have done some weights at home, which was the plan, but I got distracted by making brownies. Yes, I made HOME MADE BROWNIES from scratch. Yesterday Karen gave me the bug for brownies and my personal chef insisted I attempted to make them from scratch. And because I know he doesn't read this I can say, he was right. They were pretty good! And I made a breakfast quinoa casserole. And I did my last 2 loads of laundry. And I did some dishes. Yes, Martha took over my body for a bit.

So, I am off to the pool tomorrow - assuming the pin is out of my voodoo doll neck.

Dang Nab It!

I thought it was too good to be true.

I knew that I should have knocked on wood when I typed that I thought 2009 could have turned around.

Augusta was awesome, but I am not paying the price.

If you haven't figured out what I am talking about yet - the back spasms have returned and returned in a massively painful way.

I went to PT today and told my therapist about the past few months of travel, moving, and Augusta. She wasn't surprised about the spasms returning, and said she would have advised against doing the race - however was proud/impressed with how I did.

So, I am stretching, doing new/old exercises, sitting with a heating pad, wincing in pain.

Boo.

Still Trying to Figure It Out

Well, I was supposed to participate in a race today with Tammy this morning- but no, not for me right now. I really wanted to go, but knew it wasn't a good idea. I was going to go volunteer, however sitting in a car for a few hours, and not sure what I would be doing - while still having spasms, I figured wasn't smart either. So, the weekend was good but pretty uneventful.

Saturday I ran a boat load of errands and my back hardly had 1 twinge. It was sore, with some tightness, but that was all. When I got home, I threw in a movie to relax. After I got up, spasms on the left side galore. Interesting.... Sitting isn't good.

Sunday Arin, Brooke, Diane and K headed out to Sandy Point for an OWS. Now my Dr and PT both said I could swim, as swimming doesn't bother the back. Things felt okay and it was nice to do something. We relaxed at the beach for awhile but the sun never came out and grocery shopping needed to be done. And spasms - not so many...

So I am taking notes, trying to figure out what sets off the spasms, where they are, how intense, what I was doing. It's quite the web and I can't find any one solid, full proof, trigger.

Trying EVERYTHING I Can Think Of

Really, I am.

Doctors.
Drugs.
Physical Therapy.
NOT WORKING OUT.
Sitting.
Standing.
Changing my work chair.
Made and appointment with the ergonomic department to come look at my office set up (it's on Monday).
No more flip flops.
Shoes with inserts.
Shoes without inserts.
Also, acupuncture.

A bit of a (n expensive) long shot, but I am willing to try anything to get my back better.
Well, it was an experience.

First of all, I was yelled at for drinking an iced coffee (apparently cold drinks makes pain worse...), told to stop taking my anti inflammatories, informed that muscle relaxers don't work, and to stop taking all other prescription drugs I am on... But I could take 1 over the counter Aleve...

Given all of this, I went through with the treatment anyway. Was stuck with a few pins on my left forearm, right hand, left knee, and tried to relax as directed. When she came back in, I think she fully expected the pain to be gone - but no, not so much. Still spasms when I sat up, and moved around. More pins in the back, stomach, forehead - still not better. And I was trying. I wanted the spasms to go away. If I could get the mind of matter to work - totally worth the money. But no luck.

And I don't think I will be going back for treatment #2... It's hot and I like iced lattes

Meh

Not again!

It's really not fair. Really! I had been doing the right things. Am a good person. KARMA! I know you shouldn't do good things just so good things happen to you, but why do I feel I can't get a break?

Horrible.Back.Spasms.AGAIN! Not cool. Don't like taking so many drugs. Nothing is working. Not fair!!!

BOOO!!!!

It hurts.

Well My Therapist Said

Today was day 2 of physical therapy. I had to switch therapists because the first one I saw on Tuesday was going out of town. So, I had to go through what happened again, along with my laundry list of foot/knee/hip/shoulder/elbow issues, but this time my back was feeling fine. The prescriptions were working wonderfully and it was like night and day.

So, it was a bit hard to explain the exact problems I was having because they were no longer there. I know drugs won't solve the problem - they are just a (wonderful) band-aid, so I am still keeping my appointments for next week.

If I want to keep doing tri's - and possibly another Ironman, I need to fix these issues NOW.

Oh, and my therapist said I was fine to race on Sunday! As did my doctor. Both said yes, assuming I felt okay. Woo-Hoo!

Update

Well, things have been a bit interesting the past 2 days. I have been in so much pain from back spasms that I was stuck on the floor for 20 minutes and I have also been feeling w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l. I went to my general doctor and she prescribed me some muscle relaxers and anti inflammatories. She said they would make me feel very mellow or I would be up to 4 in the morning cleaning out my closet.

I went the mellow road.

Thanks to everyone to was making sure I was okay through out the day!!

Seriously???

Right now I am sitting at home, on the couch, with a heating pad on my back. On Saturday afternoon of a day of sight seeing - my back started to twinge. Not good I thought, but whatever. I took some Aleve, but it didn't seem to help much.

Sunday was, well, Sunday, and it really didn't bother me much during the swim. After is a different story. I attempted to relax the muscles with some cider - but that didn't help either.

Yesterday during touristy stuff I did more stretching, resting, whatever I could to help. Not much worked. With some DC tri club forum advise, along with facebook advice, I kept trying different things. Ice/heat/ice/heat. More Aleve. Nothing seems to be working.

This morning, I tried to lay down with the legs up against the couch for 15 minutes. It took me 20 minutes to get back up - and was worse than I imagined. The spasms won't stop! Poor Mom and Dad stopped by to say goodbye on their long drive home and I was in so much pain... not the way I wanted to say goodbye.

So, I have an appointment at 2 and I am really hoping things go okay. I am starting to get a bit frustrated and down about this stuff and not sure what to do. Sunday's race is looking bleak and I am really trying to stay positive. Really REALLY trying.