Not Where I Wanted to Be

Friday I stopped to take this photo as I was finally leaving the hospital where a friend had just come out of the operating room. He had had an emergency gall bladder surgery and was doing well but I myself felt trapped in the building. The back of my left knee was killing me with pain and I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk to my car. I did hobble down the steps and drove to my own doctor. Thank god it was Friday and the practice was still open. They fit me in for a bit of triage evaluation. While the pain was bad, I  was most worried that it might be a blood clot. I was sent for a doppler imaging and phew! there was no sign of a blood clot. 

My husband had a friend drop him off so he could drive me and my car home. Boy, it sure was not going to be me driving my beloved stick shirt! Pushing the clutch in was hell. Two Aleve and a nap later helped a lot. In many ways now, I realized I really was just overwhelmed with my husband's own medical issues which seem to have no resolution. So far.

But I was so grateful to have my him drive me home and also to get me an iced coffee. (No lunch while I waited in the surgical waiting room to find out about my friend.) I slept in today, meditated, journaled and see what small steps I can take in my own life today.  Just for today...I'm ok with being where I am.

AAM Project Life and More

Lately, I have had a dull but often persistent pain in my upper right arm. I attributed this to the increased exercise I was getting in my aerobics class, flinging the arms hither and yon, plus work with weights. But, seriously,  that made no sense, as I had no pain in my left arm.  (I'm right handed btw.) I started to consider it must be something I'm doing... duh.

Well the other day, I 'discovered' that my painful arm is a condition related to what I call 'mouse finger'. It isn't computer work per se, it's using that finger and apparently a muscle connection to my upper arm while in PSE or Lightroom. Guess what I've done a lot of lately....Guess what I enjoy doing???

Well despite my 'injury', I managed to put these two together yesterday. ( eta: Yes, I got them done but with the wrong week. It was only Week 10! What can I say? brain cells failing...) I'm giving the arm a break so no 'Travel With Me Tuesday'.  I do want to get more of that trip done, so maybe Thursday, maybe next week. My arm will make the decision!

 

My Achey, not Breaky Arm

I'm really getting tired of this. My left shoulder was described by the doctor as a frozen shoulder in January. I had noticed the sudden (?) lack of range of motion on morning in early January. I say sudden because one day, my left arm didn't cooperate in fastening my bra. Yowza!! it hurt when I pulled that arm up mid back, the same motion I had made for most of my adult life. Right arm and hand up there mid back waiting for its partner left arm. Left arm not willing to participate and answering back with a stab of pain.

Ok, like most occasions, I waited a few days, tested it out again, OUCH!, and made adjustments. Bras can be twisted, fastened in front and re-twisted. A bit of a nuisance but something I could live with. However I realized I did need my left arm to be part of the team a little more, and went to the doctor. "Frozen shoulder" she said, which I had never known as a medical diagnosis, I mean no Latin phrase?

I started my bi-weekly trips to the Physical Therapist. It's a wonderful practice, all the staff are great and they did say it wasn't a rotator cuff issue. That was a big relief. With a variety of exercises and stretching, my arm made great progress in a lot of the angles an arm can move in. But behind my back, and the one where you reach up and back to get the seat belt from its fastener up by your left shoulder you drive..uh, uh.  It still hurt or was pretty much undo able.

Oh, and did I mention sleeping? I was and still am, waking up about every two hours, needing to shift, twist, turn and get myself into a new position and hopefully fall back asleep. If himself is snoring hard, I drag myself downstairs, and pull out the sofa bed. Seriously, I can now do this without totally waking up! WooEE. Yeah, right. I've tried a night or so with Ambien. I still wake up even tho one pill lets me sleep through a noisy trans-Atlantic flight.

Wednesday, I have a re-evaluation with the PT Dr. How would I describe how my arm feels a lot of the time?  achey (continuous dull pain is the definition - that dull is so accurate), burning and now I often have a stiff neck too. I've never been a napper but I could go to sleep easily most afternoons. I'd like to spend the whole night in my own bed and be the sound sleeper I once was.

In the scheme of life and issues, it's not a serious big deal, but just one that's wearing me down. I'm tired, and I'm tired of it. I would like to fasten my bra behind my back but mostly I just want my arm to stop hurting.

Aches and age?

I do hope those two are not seriously connected for me.

I had been having a very good time at the gym recently, enjoying my morning workout there, and sticking to the Personal Trainers guidelines. Then came snowmageddon 10, and my workouts became shovel, shovel, shovel. Ok, shovel time mixed with on the couch, fireplace on, under the comforter time with Netflix's Wire in the Blood. Then my dh came home from Oklahoma, and I happily turned the shoveling over to him. So over a week away from the gym. I missed it!!

Back to the gym Monday and all was fine. Tuesday, my ankles ached as I walked the circuit. That was new! I also added my biweekly strength training, never going beyond what I had been doing. I felt fine when I left but by afternoon I felt like I was coming down with the flu...fortunately not gastro but achy all over. I slept on and off all afternoon and evening, and soundly through the night.

Weds am, I woke up with a seriously tight and painful back and hips. Mostly rest and heat all day, and this a.m., almost as bad. More heat, some JinShinJyutsu and it feels somewhat looser. This is really dismaying as I have had the enthusiasm and the get up in the a.m. willingness to get serious about exercise.

I'm not used to feeling like this and I don't like it! Ok, time for more heat and willingness to do what has to be done. I just don't know what that is right now.

Oh what a time

December means mammogram time for me. Not the ideal time imho but how it works out short of waiting till January to start the bit by bit delay with the insurance people. It has to be at least one year since the prior test, and once I was literally on day 365 and had to reschedule.

Well this year I was told by the call center that I didn't need a referral! Yeah. One bit of bother out of the way. So yesterday, in I go and I am asked for a referral. Turns out the call center didn't know that my doctor requires a referral. Not the insurance company, not the radiologist, but my doctor. I really like her but... so now I have an appnt to see her in ....February, so that Dec mammogram willl now be a Valentine's treat not a Christmas present.

But wait...there's more. I go to bed last night, and wake up at 3am with a sharp pain in my right chest with itching 'inside' my right back. The weird itchy feeling is how I feel when I get bronchitis. I get out of bed, debate about getting dh to take my to the hospital, but I don't think it's my heart. Wrong side. The burning pain is intermittent and after doing some energy work, I get drowsy, the pain is gone, and I go back to bed.

Come morning, I tell dh, who gives me the look I would give him if the tables were turned, and I say yes, I'll call the Dr. Turns out my Dr. is out today, so I see another Dr. who examines me and considers it may be gall bladder pain. hmmmm. No pain all day but tonight I'm not at a dinner with dh, I'm staying home, fasting in the am and having a gall bladder sonogram.

Such a week it's been, and it's only Tuesday!