I guess I haven't written here in a little while. I didn't want to keep focusing on myself; I wanted to get back to the types of posts I made originally when I first started this blog. However, that has been on hold...mostly because I am having difficulty creating good and interesting posts. I also wanted to take the bulk of focus off me, but sadly this post is going to be about me again.
As I've mentioned before, I've been having problems with my sciatic for some time now. A couple of months ago I went for an X-ray, but that didn't reveal anything much so I continued to take the Advil (which helped some). The pain eventually got more frequent and I wasn't too keen on having to take so many pills to help ease the pain...though the Advil would help get rid of any inflammation that was happening.
Nearly two weeks ago, the pain was still a little worse so I made another appointment with my doctor (which he told me to do) to see about being sent for an MRI. Well, I talked to him again and he examined my mobility (how far I could bend and lift my legs until the pain came), and he could tell it was worse than before. I inquired about physiotherapy because a lot of people were telling me to try that. My doctor said he didn't want to send me to physio and didn't think chiropractors would work (well, he said they chiropractor might help some but then I could do something such as sneeze or cough again and have the same problem all over). So, he scheduled me for an MRI and is going to refer me to an orthopedic surgeon who would have more knowledge and know more of what to do about my situation.
This past Friday, the pain had greatly increased and I could barely get around...no fun! The only thing that I seemed to be able to do was lay down. Everything else gave me pain. The next day I woke up and made it out to the living room to sit for a short while. That was very difficult to do, as walking was painful at this point as well. I managed to make it back to my room, and I remained there the rest of the day!
I didn't want to stay in bed, but I was in excrutiating pain and I could barely move at all. Keep in mind that during all of this I have had a cough which had not helped matters any (still have the cough somewhat). Every time I coughed I was in agony! The ibuprophen (either Advil or Motrin) didn't seem to be helping much, and neither was the Robax Platinum I was taking at times either (it seemed like my muscles were stiff and tight).
I couldn't stand the pain any longer, so we ended up calling the ambulance to take me to the hospital. Like I said, I was in agony. couldn't move and the muscles in my were either having spasms or cramps. Once I got to the hospital, they took good care of me. The nurse I had, and the on-call doctor, were both great. I got three shots - one for pain, one for relaxing the muscles, and one to help inflammation. It took about half an hour to kick in, and then the got me up to see if I could walk and to see how much pain (if any) I had at this point.
I was never so thankful for medication! After getting those shots at the hospital, I was pretty well pain-free for the first time in awhile. The doctor sent me home with prescriptions for pain meds, an anti-inflammatory, and a muscle relaxer; I'm still taking these, and I believe I have enough pills to last for a week. They seem to be helping so far, but I still have some pain. I am thankful that I am back to being able to walk, I can sit up for awhile (though I tend to have to lay down again shortly after because my back still feels sore), and I can cough without pain...well, I do get a little bit now and then but nothing like before.
So, that's where I am at this point. I'm waiting to hear when I'll get an appointment for the MRI and an appointment for the orthopedic surgeon. Please pray that I can get both appointments ASAP because I want this taken care of before school starts in September (I'm a supply teacher), because that's when I will start back to work.
