Back to normal (for the most part).

I am so glad last week is over.

After posting on Monday about my back issues, I struggled all day at work on Tuesday (walking really slow, not able to get out of my chair without using my arm rests, etc.), came home and took it easy in the hopes that it would resolve itself. Unfortunately, I couldn't relax because I couldn't get comfortable. Sitting was painful, laying down was painful, and walking was almost impossible. It was pretty miserable. But I took some Advil, laid down with the heating pad and went to bed thinking I would wake up the next morning and it would have improved slightly.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. I woke up the next morning and could barely get out of bed. I wasn't strong enough to lift myself up from laying down, and when I tried to use the bathroom, the pain of trying to sit down was excruciating. So of course, I stayed home seeing as I could barely sit.

I figured one day would be plenty of rest for my back to get a little better, so I resolved to go back to work the next day.

Wrong again.

I woke up Thursday morning and it was the same if not worse. I was almost completely incapacitated and could hardly move. It was quite possibly the worst back pain I've ever had. I didn't know if I'd pinched a nerve, pulled a muscle or slipped a disc. All I knew was that every time I moved, my back hurt so bad it was unbearable. And nothing was working to help ease the pain. I couldn't even turn over in bed at night because my back muscles weren't strong enough for me to flip over. I had to put my hands underneath my hips and push myself over to one side. I started to panic at that point.

So I called the advice nurse on Thursday night, explained what was happening and she advised me to go to the doctor the next day. In the meantime, she told me to keep doing what I was doing with the heat and cold compresses and taking Advil every 4 hours. So I'd be missing another day of work on Friday. Super.

I called my doctor first thing on Friday morning and made an appointment for the afternoon. Because I couldn't drive and my husband was working, my mom was gracious enough to come pick me up and take me to my appointment. The most humbling part of the day? When my husband had to help me get dressed because I was too weak to put on my pants. I've never been more vulnerable in my whole life.

I hobbled in to the office that afternoon, where I was examined by the physician assistant on duty and was diagnosed with severe muscle strain in my back. The good news was that it wasn't a slipped disc or a pinched nerve, which made me VERY happy as you can imagine. She prescribed Vicodin (woooo!) and a muscle relaxer (wooooooooo!), told me to continue with the heat and ice packs, and to take 2 Aleve every 12 hours for the pain/inflammation.

My mom and I drove to the pharmacy afterwards (they send your prescriptions electronically directly to the pharmacy - how cool is that?) and I picked up my pain pills. I'm not normally a person who takes a lot of pills, so I was wary about what I was given. But I was in so much pain and so uncomfortable that I was willing to try anything.

Later that night, my mom picked me up and took me back to their house so I wouldn't have to spend the evening alone, since my husband was still at work and I was in no shape to be home alone all night. She fixed a delicious dinner and I laid on the couch all night being uncomfortable - the Aleve wasn't working as well as I'd hoped, so I planned on taking one of my muscle relaxers that night before I went to sleep.

I got home, took half of one of the pills (5 milligrams) and got into bed, looking forward to a (hopefully) restful nights' sleep. And as soon as the pill kicked in, I was OUT. Dead to the world. I could feel a little of the effects of it before I fell asleep, and I've never felt so weird before. The TV started to sound strange, I felt like I couldn't speak - very odd stuff. Thankfully, once I nodded off, I had no weird dreams and slept OK (not great).

Saturday was about the same, although I took more Aleve and tried to walk around a little, since sitting made my back stiff and feel worse. I spent the day at my grandparent's house while my mom and grandmother took care of me, my grandfather and my great-grandmother. It was a regular hospital, minus the doctors and bad smells. My grandmother fed me with homemade pizza, homemade lentil soup, homemade goulash and dumplings and homemade apple pastry. DELISH. My back may not have felt good, but my soul was sure soothed. It was a perfectly comforting day spent with my family, and it was wonderful (even though I was in pain). I haven't spent a day like that with my grandparents in a long time - it took me back to when I was little and would spend every day there during the summer. Except the fall weather made it so cozy and I couldn't help but be happy.

Thankfully, I woke up yesterday morning in significantly less pain and was able to get myself out of bed and dressed on my own. Yippee! I did laundry, dishes and a little grocery shopping. I even met my husband on his lunch break and enjoyed his company as we ate outside (and yesterday was the perfect day for it).

Today was a little better than yesterday pain wise, so I think I'm out of the woods. I went back to work and I'm feeling more like me today, but still get twinges in my back if I move the wrong way. Exercise is out of the question until I'm completely pain-free, which I'm hoping will be the end of the week. If not, I'll wait a few more days. As long as it takes me to heal is as long as I'll be waiting.

The moral of this story is two things:

1) I have a lot more compassion for people who need the assistance of others. I was completely at the mercy of everyone around me, and thankfully I have the best family a person could ever ask for. Even though I was only down for a few days, I was totally helpless and dependent on everyone else to help me, which is a terrible feeling to have. I never realized how much I love my independence until last week. And I will not take it (or my good health) for granted again.

2) Running in place with the Wii is BAD. VERY BAD. At least for me. I doubt I'll be doing it again.

I'm just so glad to be feeling better and more mobile. And so thankful that I have such a wonderful support system in my family.

Now, where's that heating pad...?