serene | (no subject)

1) I slept all night last night! This is huge. (It's come to my attention that not everyone is aware that I've had a pinching pain at the base of my spine since November, and haven's slept a full night since then.) I slept on the recliner, so I woke with a headache and swollen legs, but I SLEPT! What a relief. With the hypothyroid, I need sleep more than ever.

2) Coincidentally, today was my appointment to talk to my doctor again about the back. Before, he assumed it was my hips (which have mild arthritis). Then when I assured him it was my back, he signed me up for a back class. I screwed up all my dealing-with-doctors energy and went and saw him today about Just My Back, Nothing Else. He poked and prodded (note to self: wear underwear when you wear a short skirt to the doctor -- he may want to put your legs up over your head!), prescribed a new pain medication, and SENT ME FOR AN X-RAY, FINALLY! So I did that (and gosh, lying on a hard x-ray table is SO good for one's aching back, not.)

3) My mom is really not well. She's so weak it takes her a huge amount of energy just to get out of her car, because her legs aren't strong enough that she can lift them without using her arms. They did a PET scan last Monday, and she still hasn't heard. So frustrating.

4) There's probably more, but my brainpower is failing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm glad you got some sleep, sweetie.

Yes, wear underpants to the doctor!

Thanks for the updates on this stuff. You don't come across as whiny to me, and I appreciate knowing about the difficult stuff you're dealing with as well as the good stuff.

I knew that you'd been in a lot of pain and that you hadn't slept well for a few months, but like your doctor, I had assumed that this coming from your hips -- I'd missed the part about your back. I hope the new medication and whatever the X-ray turns up are useful. And I hope things get easier for your mother, too.

You are one of the very, very few people who I actually totally believe when you say you are not feeling whiny about this.

YAY SLEEP!!!

OK, I'm still back at the short skirt, no underwear and your legs over your head part. Thanks for that lovely mental image!

Sorry your mom is struggling, I wish for her strength and wholeness right frackin now.

Boo for pain, yay for sleep. Hope you get relief soon!

Congrats on sleep and doctors who pay attention eventually.

Does your mom have appropriate mobility aids?
e.g. http://www.activeforever.com/p-126-leg-lifter.aspx

those leglifters rock. i have one; got it after my knee replacement. i loved it. loved loved.

Yay for sleep, yuck on the pain. So sorry to hear your mom is not well it is so frustrating when parents are ill and you can't help. Hope the new pain meds help.