Monday, May 15, 2006
An encouraging word??
Last night, I decided to re-build my address book since the hard drive crash wiped it out again (by the way, if you haven't sent me an e-mail within the past month or so and want to make sure you're in my book, you might wanna contact me). Went to Dan's inbox to see if he had any addresses from his family there, and lo and behold, he has a new message from a potential employer! Basically, it said that he would be talking with Dan soon and would try to get him there by June! This is the place that makes brochures. In no way is Dan taking this to mean that he has the job, but it is encouraging that he is still being considered. It would really be awesome if Dan could find new employment before he gets laid off at the agency.
I also got motivated to do more de-cluttering. Since yesterday afternoon, I've packed four boxes of knickknacks and framed pix. I am slowly re-claiming the kitchen countertop. I may get it completely cleaned off tomorrow if Dan can find the original boxes to our Disney snow globes (that's why we don't have kids, so we can claim Snow White's castle and Lady and the Tramp for ourselves, heh heh). My entire back is screaming fairly loudly about the extra activity, even though I just took a shower hoping the hot water would calm the muscles. I haven't found a way yet to do any packing without straining some part of my back. If I put the box on the floor, the low back spasms; if I put it on a countertop, my mid back complains about me lifting my arms so high repetitiously. I figure the best thing I can do is stop packing each day before the pain gets so bad that it carries into the following day. Now if I could just find a way to stop the fatigue from carrying over.....
Yesterday, I got kinda grumpy with myself for having so much stuff in the house. I mean, it doesn't seem excessive until you cram most of it into one room and start calculating how many boxes you'll need to pack it away. But today was Mother's Day, and after I returned from visiting the cemetery, I realized that a lot of the momentos Dan and I have once belonged to relatives who are now deceased. We have items from all four of my grandparents, Dan's grandmother, his uncle, my great aunt and my mom. So I really can't consider it junk. But I definitely want to think at least twice before acquiring any more souvenirs.
Still having trouble with nerve pain in my teeth/face. Went to the massage therapist on Thursday, and he worked on my face and neck, which oddly enough made it temporarily WORSE. Thought I was gonna go crazy. But then it was much better on Friday. I'm still getting pain on the right side of my face, but I can finally tell which tooth is the troublemaker because the teeth on either side of it settled down some. Only thing is, I can't decide whether going back to the endodontist would be a waste of time. It's really embarrassing when something I find excruciating is actually a minor matter or maybe not even something worth treating. But if it does need treatment, I'd better get it taken care of while we know Dan still has dental insurance. Sigh.
Saw the physiatrist last week, and he says that while I have made improvement thanks to the osteopath and the physical therapy, I am still somewhat weak, especially when you compare the right side of my low back with the left. He recommends one more month of physical therapy, and I have to say I agree with him. He also cautioned me that because of my physical limitations from the arthritis and fibromyalgia, I will never fully regain my function or strength and will have to continue daily stretching because as soon as I stop, the problem in the SI joint will come right back. So I will get as fit as I can in the next month and then do the injections again if Dan is still in town then (it's outpatient, and I'll need someone to baby-sit me for 24 hours). I would be discouraged if I hadn't made measurable progress over the past two months. I am able to walk on a treadmill now for up to 15 minutes at approximately half a mile an hour (can't walk in an open area that far because I need hand rails), whereas previously I was unable to walk on a treadmill at all. And yesterday, I was FINALLY able to use my Gazelle for 20 minutes again, which is the amount of time I had been doing before that functional capacity exam kicked my ass in January. Yes, it took me three months to get my previous function back.
Um, my brain has gone blank, so I guess that means it's bedtime.
I also got motivated to do more de-cluttering. Since yesterday afternoon, I've packed four boxes of knickknacks and framed pix. I am slowly re-claiming the kitchen countertop. I may get it completely cleaned off tomorrow if Dan can find the original boxes to our Disney snow globes (that's why we don't have kids, so we can claim Snow White's castle and Lady and the Tramp for ourselves, heh heh). My entire back is screaming fairly loudly about the extra activity, even though I just took a shower hoping the hot water would calm the muscles. I haven't found a way yet to do any packing without straining some part of my back. If I put the box on the floor, the low back spasms; if I put it on a countertop, my mid back complains about me lifting my arms so high repetitiously. I figure the best thing I can do is stop packing each day before the pain gets so bad that it carries into the following day. Now if I could just find a way to stop the fatigue from carrying over.....
Yesterday, I got kinda grumpy with myself for having so much stuff in the house. I mean, it doesn't seem excessive until you cram most of it into one room and start calculating how many boxes you'll need to pack it away. But today was Mother's Day, and after I returned from visiting the cemetery, I realized that a lot of the momentos Dan and I have once belonged to relatives who are now deceased. We have items from all four of my grandparents, Dan's grandmother, his uncle, my great aunt and my mom. So I really can't consider it junk. But I definitely want to think at least twice before acquiring any more souvenirs.
Still having trouble with nerve pain in my teeth/face. Went to the massage therapist on Thursday, and he worked on my face and neck, which oddly enough made it temporarily WORSE. Thought I was gonna go crazy. But then it was much better on Friday. I'm still getting pain on the right side of my face, but I can finally tell which tooth is the troublemaker because the teeth on either side of it settled down some. Only thing is, I can't decide whether going back to the endodontist would be a waste of time. It's really embarrassing when something I find excruciating is actually a minor matter or maybe not even something worth treating. But if it does need treatment, I'd better get it taken care of while we know Dan still has dental insurance. Sigh.
Saw the physiatrist last week, and he says that while I have made improvement thanks to the osteopath and the physical therapy, I am still somewhat weak, especially when you compare the right side of my low back with the left. He recommends one more month of physical therapy, and I have to say I agree with him. He also cautioned me that because of my physical limitations from the arthritis and fibromyalgia, I will never fully regain my function or strength and will have to continue daily stretching because as soon as I stop, the problem in the SI joint will come right back. So I will get as fit as I can in the next month and then do the injections again if Dan is still in town then (it's outpatient, and I'll need someone to baby-sit me for 24 hours). I would be discouraged if I hadn't made measurable progress over the past two months. I am able to walk on a treadmill now for up to 15 minutes at approximately half a mile an hour (can't walk in an open area that far because I need hand rails), whereas previously I was unable to walk on a treadmill at all. And yesterday, I was FINALLY able to use my Gazelle for 20 minutes again, which is the amount of time I had been doing before that functional capacity exam kicked my ass in January. Yes, it took me three months to get my previous function back.
Um, my brain has gone blank, so I guess that means it's bedtime.
Comments:
Post a Comment
