Beyond the Pain

When you are dealing with non-specific pain like that associated with fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, nerve damage, and others — it usually takes more than a pretty pink pill to end it.

I’ve been grappling with severe, lengthy episodes of pain since the Fall of 2002.

And, I’ve tried a lot of things to make that pain go away…. far, far away.

I was just updating my daily health log this morning when I realized that I hadn’t experienced any severe pain episodes, of any length, since January 1st.

Whooooee!!

How come?

Putting aside all the work I did last year…and the year before… and the year before that…

Here’s what I believe made the difference. Not one thing, but several.

1) At Christmas I had a REAL break…no clients, no demands, no Internet, lots of sleep, naps, rest, and walks in the early morning, alone.

2) January 1st I revised my daily practices… see this post for the details. My three daily practices are now:

1. Write first thing — either in my diary or in my Blogs
2. Stretch — stretch physically and mentally
3. Listen — to my body, to what’s callig me, and to ALL of me (all those little voices inside)

These changes, added to the work I did last year have brought me to a place where I am free of severe myalgia.

And, I KNOW, I’ll stay that way… as long as I keep up my practices..

Last weekend I buggered up something in my left leg ‘system’.

I’ve been to 2 docs and gotten 4 opinions. Swell!

Ever happened to you?

So, who do you believe?

What’s great is the first doc, my family doc, wants me to get an ultrasound to check out the, hopefully slim, possibility that the problem is due to a wee clot in a deep artery. Booked the ‘doppler’ ultrasound  and guess what! Can’t get in till March 3rd. Swell, I says to the booking agent, "I could be dead by  then!"

She laughs it off, thinking I’m joking. I’m not, really.

So, what do I do.

Yesterday, the pain is worse, family doc is off… so I go to walk-in clinic, which in my case is a limp in clinic. 🙂

Get to wait an hour. Sitting on a hard bench. Yes bench, not chair. Spend much of the time standing and reading an old Time magazine.

Wait in the exam room 10 minutes. In bounces a young French Canadian doctor. She asks me to lay down on the exam table and has me try various movements. "Does that hurt?" "Try this. Does this hurt?" She gets me to stand up, a fun exercise in itself. And, I try some other moves.

She sketches a picture on the paper covering the exam table. "Here’s the hip bone. Here’s the pubis whatever. Here’s where your abductor tendon attaches. Here’s where it attachs to your leg muscles"

She concludes the problem is an inflammed tendon. And, prescribes an NSAID – non-steroidal Anti-inflamatory.

Off I go. Spend 30 minutes at the drug store waiting for the Rx to be filled.

Go home and collapse. Rest a bit. Eat supper so I can take NSAID.

So, far it ain’t helping.

But, I do like her Dx (that’s med script for diagnosis) better than the others.

I’ll tell you why… later.