Summer Fun: Quiet Week

The kids have been at camp all week--I'll tell you about that in another post, once we go to open house this afternoon--and so I'm all alone at the house.  And it's been great.

Sorta.

I didn't quite know what to do with myself (I ended up binging on "Switched at Birth" to practice my ASL and having coffee with a few friends who came over) and my back is in a funky place.  It's been tight and then I pulled a little something bending to pick up something off a table last night.  It's not terrible, just hard to stoop or bend.  Clearly not as bad as many of my flare ups, especially since I can still sit and walk with ease.  But I won't be doing any picking up around the house for a few days.

Looking forward to more quiet days to come:  no camp for the rest of the summer, so it's just me and the kids hanging out.  For almost five weeks.

UGH

I don't know what I did, if anything (I suspect too much driving, to kung fu and school and such, but usually that hurts my SI joint), but my upper back is spasming, limiting my activity yesterday evening and keeping me up all night.

And while it is painful, it's also really interesting.  Upper back pain in the upper thoracic/lower cervical area is totally different than low lumbar pain.  At least with all my lumbar back pain from herniated discs, I could stabilize it and get comfortable, usually lying down on my side in bed.  But upper back pain, spreading into my shoulders and neck, never seems to go away--when I saw the ortho today (at a new clinic that specializes in urgent ortho care, isn't that handy?), he said that those upper back muscles never all relax, even with pillows and such.  That was totally true last night.  However, I also found that with upper back pain, I can move around and still do stuff, even at the worst of it; that was not true of low back pain. That said, this is muscular not a disc (I had tests at the ortho)--a herniated neck or upper back disc might be just as awful, so maybe I should say I'd take muscle pain over disc pain?  As much as it hurts, I'd take today's pain over the old one any day.  For me, now, it's just not as scary or debilitating--though the same pain in my lumbar would be both.

I guess, part of me is grateful:  that it's not lumbar pain, that I've learned techniques for dealing with pain, that I have resources to get the right meds and such.  And of course Mama and the kids are always great.

But I'd still like it to go away.

Of Health and Hormones

TMI warning.

So, we thought it was perimenopause, with all the symptoms on the list.  I went off the pill so we could test to see if it were true.

I LOVE being off the pill--all the symptoms we thought was perimenopause, and I mean all, have gone away.  No insomnia, no irritability, and none of the more private symptoms.

But for the first time since starting the pill, I'm having a period.

And I'm remembering these days why I went on it in the first place--oh, the tight back and cramps.  I'm in bed today with my hot water bottle and television.  And since I'm on this cleanse, I can't blame the discomfort on sugar or caffeine or wheat or soy or whatever.

Just hormones.

So, I guess at least it's nice to know that my hormones are still active and things still work.  And while I doubt I'll go back on the pill because I hated the side effects, I don't like this discomfort much.

Milestone

Milestones.

They're not just for kids.

I had one tonight:  I took a bath!

Four years after my initial back injury and all I could manage safely and comfortably were showers.  Meh. Sure, some of that (most of it?) was fear, but the mechanics of getting in and out of a tub, even lying there in the water, are tricky for someone with back/pelvis/tailbone issues.

But tonight, after weeks of experimenting with getting up and down off the ground/floor (most notably during our reading picnics or stargazing), I figured what the hell and so I did it.

Yep, nice hot luxurious reclining bath!

No problems.

CELEBRATE!

Back in the Swing

I find I remember things better when I write them down and that I can find what I write down if I put it in this blog, like recipes or games for Girl Scouts or crocheting patterns.

So here's another list, of my Pilates exercises, which I imagine you'll just want to skip right over; go ahead, I just need them somewhere so I can have them handy.  I went back today, after a hiatus, and freshened my memory of all my moves.  I don't have much body memory for such things so it was good to revisit it.  My instructor said I looked good, which was nice to hear since I've had aches and pains since Memorial Day and I haven't been as comfortable moving (actually, she thinks this stiffness/tightness is good because it's a balance against my "loosy-goosy" hypermobility.)  So, it was good to get back in the swing of things, with these:

1. Piriformis stretch--leg bent perpendicular to body and pressed forward with other leg
2. Laying-down "schlump"--touch small of lower back to surface in reclining position 
3. Knee squeeze, using yoga block between bent knees
4. Yoga Block Press--press block between bent knees, then lift butt off surface in reclining position (anchor with big toes!  lead with butt!)
5. Pelvic Tilt or Bridge--similar to #4, but without block
6. Leg lifts--with one knee bent
7. Upper Body Crunch--flatten abdomen (think of pulling it down and in) and do small crunch with hands behind head
8. Sitting up "Schlump"--roll back into a slump and come up
9. Sitting Yoga Block Squeeze--with block between kneeds
10. Piriformis sit, or the "guy sit," one leg crossed
11. Standing "schlump"--up and down like a pull-string stick figure
12. All-fours push against floor (for core)
13. Wall push, in lunge position (also for core)
14. Alternating hands wall "dance" (ditto)

You should see all he little drawings!  I think all PTs etc take the same stick-figure drawing course.

Morristown Monday

On Monday morning, after revelry and celebration the night before at Iron Hill Brewery where Bud loved both the fisherman's stew and mussels and the rest of us liked the pommes frites with rosemary-garlic mayonnaise (also, the Kennett Square mushroom soup), we headed home.

But not without a little hiccup:  in the middle of the night, when I got up to check on Sis who was wimpering a bit in her sleep, I pulled a muscle in my back.  At first, I feared it was the disk and I'd have lots of trouble; but while there was pain and discomfort, I could still walk and sit and stand.  Meds, ice, and my brace (which I always travel with) made it better than it would've been.  And I could travel by morning, taking it slowly and carefully, with the above-mentioned help.

And so we stopped at Morristown National Historic Park.  We enjoyed the museum display of artifacts of the privileged classes--spinnets, game pieces, shaving implements, the thinnest knitting needles, and the like, as well as the reconstruction of the soldiers' hut with its numerous bunk beds.  We also liked exploring the farmstead, with its 18th-century house and extensive kitchen gardens.  The kids, by now, are experienced historic house tourists and so know about the expense of glass windows, how they cooked on an open hearth, what the root cellar was used for, etc.  But they still get grossed out by privvies and chamber pots.

Of all things, the kids were least impressed by the fact that George and Martha slept there!

Terrific Tuesday

Snow

Okay, normally, I count snow as pretty terrific, but regular readers of this blog will note my waning enthusiasm. It reached an all-time low yesterday as we drove through it to get to NYC. Much more than a dusting, we probably got 2-3". And we sat in traffic for more than 2 1/2 hours to get to town. I hadn't thought of it much before, but I think I might be scared of snow. Or specifically, being out in it. I like watching it from inside, playing in it later, but I don't drive in it while it's falling nor walk around outside too much before we're shoveled. You know what they say, "If God had wanted Texans in snow, he would've made bullshit white." I knew I'd gone round the bend when I actually turned to Mama and said, "Well, at least it's unlikely that we'll get into a fatal car accident going this slow." To her credit, she just patted me and kept driving. And we did get there safely with no problems.

Doctor's Appointment

We'd left early because the kids had a school delay and we decided to go to the museum before my appointment. The weather didn't cooperate. We found ourselves in town too early to go the doctor but too late to really go anywhere. So I called the office and they said he'd see me early, special exceptions for out-of-town patients, though there might be a wait. Now, when there's a "wait" at most doctor's offices, it can be a long time. I bet we didn't wait, from entering the office to seeing him, more than 10 minutes. Bless him. He thinks I'm still doing well, gave me three trigger shots to my lumbar area to help with pain, prescribed a muscle relaxer in addition to my other meds, applauded the treadmill purchase (talked bad about ellipticals as unnatural again . . . if only we'd found him before we bought it), bemoaned hormones and the weather, and was all-around encouraging and friendly, especially to the kids who jumped when I squealed at the shots (he didn't let that alcohol dry! And, well, my lumbar spine is very sensitive). Another great visit.

"Dinosaur Museum"

The kids had voted for the American Museum of Natural History since we'd been to the Met the last two times (and the exhibition on the Forbidden City hadn't opened yet), so we headed there next, across the park covered in snow. We always go on Saturdays, so it was nice to have the museum to ourselves, well, relatively, for one of the top tourist attractions in the city. Sis chose to see the bunny diorama and Bud the dinosaurs, so we went to those first. And just happened across the monks, who we hadn't known were going to be there.

Tibetan Buddhist monks. And they were creating a traditional Tibetan medicinal mandala out of colored sand (that's the sand up above). It was fascinating to watch them work, beautiful to see, as they applied minute amounts of brilliant sand layer upon layer in synchronized silence, one monk on each side of the mandala table, no instructions, no model, all from memory and study and teamwork. The kids, at least conversant with Buddhism from their talks with Ma and Gong and visits to temple in Queens, were still surprised to see the red-robed men. And, because Ma and Gong follow a different tradition, curious about the Dalai Lama, whose picture was on the altar next to the mandala.

We watched for a long time, purchased a few children's books on Buddhism and a new set of flags to hang outside, and then headed to the cultural anthropology dioramas of Asian peoples. Where we happened upon a children's activity about to begin. They would be able to make their own sand picture, over the brain logo of a current exhibition, using Tibetan techniques with the help of a monk. Sis and Bud were the only kids there when it started, taking the chakpur, long, tapering, hollow metal tubes and tapping them, with the monks' help, to distribute colored sand on the outline. They concentrated very hard, were very careful and serious, and then became shy when they looked up to see about a dozen curious adults watching them. It didn't deter them long and they went back several times to add different colors, as other kids and adults took turns too. We spent quite awhile traversing between the two stations, the monks working on their mandala and the visitors working on their picture. It was such a special experience.

(Actually, it always seems to be at AMNH, from our wandering through polar tents during an Arctic global weekend, to watching traditional Chinese performers during another, from the Silk Road exhibition to this. While I'm usually biased in favor of art museums, AMNH has done a better job of capturing our attention and delighting (and educating) us with new experiences. )

Fondue

We stayed much later at the museum than expected or intended. And so we decided to stop for dinner on the way home, realizing we'd get home too late to eat, especially because they'd probably fall asleep. And so we stopped for fondue. The kids were cautiously optimistic, since we promised shrimp and chocolate (no, not together) and told them it was "Swiss night." And we all had a great time. They both tried the traditional cheese fondue but then just ate the bread and apple bits, leaving all the cheese to Mama and I, which was fine by us. Then they had chicken, steak, and shrimp in a boiling vegetable broth. Because they've had Korean BBQ, they've had some experience with cook-your-own-at-the-table, though not quite in a soup pot (and Bud wanted to drink the boiling soup, like you would for sukiyaki, so we'll have to do that with Ma and Gong), but we still had some cross-contamination with eating forks touching raw food and impatience for food to be cooked before it was. Bud loved the shrimp, Sis the chicken. I ate all their vegetables. Mama ate surf-n-turf. And then we had room for chocolate! The highlight for both kids because there were strawberries too. It was late, but they revived when they saw dessert and our server was nice to bring extras.

After such a day, you won't be surprised that they slept all the way home. A good sleep after a great day.

Tread Carefully

The exercise curse exists! I posted awhile back, in a post I can't find (nor can google), that I tend to injure myself within a week or two of starting a new exercise regimen, from walking after Memorial Day almost 3 years ago to swimming this summer to the elliptical I got just a week before herniating my disk.

Unrelated? Though I was bound to blow that disk doing something, my physiatrist has confirmed what I suspected: ellipticals can be bad for people with disk trouble (or, as my PT put it, special sensitive people like me. In her Australia accent, "your body just doesn't like fancy!"). The timing was too coincidental in August and I've had pain after using it since then (before I knew it was something I shouldn't be doing).

And so yesterday we bought a treadmill. I've used treadmills at the physical therapist's office and tested it extensively before deciding on one. And I got the doctor's approval, even though walking was already my only approved activity but I wanted to be sure treadmills aren't different somehow. I'm hoping this will solve some of my problems, mainly my inability to exercise when it's cold and icy, like it has been for almost five weeks. Why not a gym, you wonder? Because I can't get there with slippery parking lots and sidewalks. That's right, I don't get out much these days unless I'm with other adults, who can drop me off up front or hold my hand, even in my snow cleats. It would be one of the worst winters in years--it's 8F outside now, with two days of snow, maybe a blizzard, coming around Wednesday.

Come on spring . . . . and hopefully the end of the exercise curse!

Backwards

Is it the cold? The lack of my regular walking exercise because of the ice and snow? (Walking at the stores just isn't the same.) Strain caused by the elliptical, which we've decided to exchange for a treadmill (but shopping Friday didn't turn up a good one?)? Hormones? Something else? All of the above?

(But not weight gain!! I'm still maintaining, even adding a bit to, my losses, and am less than I've been in years.)

It is not a good back week. Not bad enough to call in reinforcements, but that's a pretty low standard. I'm slipping backwards, it seems: not sleeping well, waking up tight, achy off and on through the day, more numbness in my right foot, strain on my neck and thoracic spine, reducing activities and outings, even wearing my brace a time or two. I had hoped it would dissipate, but I'll be calling the doctor tomorrow for advice, prescriptions, and an appointment. Because today I went walking and made it only 16 minutes before I could almost not stand upright and had spasms in my lumbar.

Not good. Too reminiscent of September, which should be long behind me as I approach the six-month mark here at the beginning of February.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Update: On a hunch, I called the doctor today. I have an appointment for next Tuesday and a prescription refill today. I'll talk to him later this week about how I'm feeling.

And I spoke to my beloved physical therapist, who is letting me use the office treadmill and was generally supportive and calming.