Catch up – physio and flares

Hey followers!

It’s been a while since I have been here so here’s a catch up post!

The heartburn meds are helping a lot and I’m looking forward to healing/preventing any damage that has happened from the naproxen. Which is good because I’m back on the naproxen from this flare. More on that later.

We’ve been alternating between being exhausted and sleeping a lot (love naps right now) and being busy and trying to get everything done. I’m still working on the habit of doing a few chores each day before bedtime.

Working on the physio and training still and seeing some results. I feel like I already look a little different (to my naked eye) in the core region and I’m generally feeling more confident and strong. We’ve added foam rolling to the mix as well which is a love-hate kind of thing. It helps to loosen up the muscles in my bum and hips but man does it ever hurt! Slow and steady I’ve been told and it will start to hurt less and feel better so I’m looking forward to when it starts to feel better!

That’s me, foam rolling like a boss :p

 

TV at physio has been throwing all of the tools at me and my physio sessions include wonderful relaxation of muscle stimulation on accupuncture needles with a hot pack on my legs, manual release of my muscles (OWIE!), and the delightful traction of having my legs pulled down away from my back to make some lovely pain free space. That’s my favourite part and I’m getting Marc to do it occasionally as well.

Since Friday night/Saturday morning I’ve been in a big pain flare. I don’t really know why since I didn’t do anything different at physio or the trainer last week. It may just be that it is frustratingly coming back like it was doing before without any real notice. The good news is that I didn’t have a whole lot to do this weekend, and it was -35 C here, so I stayed in and rested a lot.

Unfortunately though I was in a lot of pain at the Brewfest that we went to on Saturday night with SB and SS. I needed to sit and there weren’t any chairs available. When I finally found one I ended up sitting alone in a corner until the meds kicked in and the pain went down. It gets embarassing. Suddenly I’m “different” and that hurts emotionally. I don’t like being singled out or having attention on myself for that reason. I’d rather be the centre of attention for my bad jokes or witty insights!

Today I’m home for the day to get work done. When I take the pain meds my brain gets fuzzy and it is much easier to get things done in the quiet house and in a comfortable position on the couch/floor/chair.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow will be a better day – physio with TV almost always makes me feel better.

 

Pros and Cons and Inbetweens

I like lists and a lot has happened lately so here’s a brief summary.

Pros:

• BC the trainer has upped me to a new level in terms of my exercises. I’m using the black band that is twice as hard as the red band to do my strength and core exercises. It is harder but in a good way.
• I’m doing pushups! They are on my knees, but stretched out a bit instead of on all fours like a rectangle. I do 2 sets of 10 and feel like a strong beast when I’m done!
• My physio, TV, reminded me that I have to work harder on the physio exercises and I am trying to do that now. I definitely feel it though!
• My posture is on my mind all the time. Sitting or standing without my legs crossed or too close or too far, not slouching, and keeping my shoulders above my hips are all my goals. I have very wiggly feet that move out of the “approved standing/sitting position” very easily so I bought a yoga block as a tactile reminder. It is a foot rest when I’m sitting and will go between my feet when I’m standing to give me a reference and prevent my “monopod” stance that I seem to favour.
• My boss is fantastic about me having to take time for appointments and such. He completely understands that a flexible schedule to let me get to appointments means more productivity and fewer sick days from pain and medication impairment. And I know he legitimately wants me to get better, too!

Cons:

• I am now taking medication to counter the effects of a medication. The naproxen has been causing some wicked heartburn and tums is just dulling the fire not getting rid of it. I’ve stopped the naproxen for a few days and got a Rx antacid to help repair the damage the naproxen has done.
• Not taking the anti-inflammatory naproxen means that I have inflammation that is causing pain. Not so much that tylenol can’t help but enough that it is annoying and all of the pros like good posture and strength exercises become simultaneously more important and more difficult
• Changing eating habits is harder than I had imagined. I’m doing well with packing my lunch and eating only that but between the heartburn and the super bowl I’ve been very all or nothing lately.

Inbetweens:

• I love to sleep and always feel like I don’t get enough. Last night I lay down to assist with the heartburn and basically slept from 6pm to this morning at 5:20am with a little dinner break in there. The reason this isn’t a con is because I got an epic amount of cuddles from Husband and that made me feel better about the heartburn and also about sleeping away the whole evening.
• Work is busy, which is good. I had a period where I had nothing to do and that was frustrating. Right now it is raining work with lots of leads (where were you a month ago?!) and training a new person. At the end of the day, work is work.

I’m glad my pros list is longer than my cons list. I’m trying for a positive attitude towards life in general these days. Hopefully soon the cons will melt away and I’ll be a super strong, pain free, superstar!

BioFeedback

Today TV the physiotherapist did some biofeedback with me to remind me of how hard I need to be working while doing my exercises. Turns out I was slacking a bit and not even realizing!

I’ve been listening to my body a lot the last few days. At the spa with LA on Sunday I had a vivifying treatment, which my body told me was AMAZING, spent the day in the hot tubs and saunas which my body said I needed, and had a full body massage which my body told me would help get every sore thing back to shape.

After all that relaxing on Sunday I woke up Monday with my back being a bit angry with me. I don’t know what I did but maybe the relaxation limbered me up enough to sleep in all sorts of funky positions?

Tuesday morning I forgot tried to go without my morning meds and it was a disaster. I was sore at my training appointment with BC and although I made it through like a trooper I wasn’t feeling super great afterwards. Same with this morning at physio with TV – I can do it all but it is just tough.

I’ve been doing better at getting things around the house done when I get home from work including getting dinner made and eaten and a few things cleaned around the house. I feel like we have a constant up and down of clean on the weekend and sliding to gross by Friday. My goal this weekend is to get the house to the steady state I’d like it to stay at then Husband and I can keep it that way as we go through the week instead of fighting to get it back to “normal” all the time.

The other thing I’m proud of is getting to bed when I need to. I’ve been sleeping a lot but also doing long days – 3 days this week are leaving the house at 6:30-6:45 and getting home about 12 hours later. I know that sleep is key to my mood and productivity so I’m  trying really hard to fit it in around all the other things going on.

 

My Team part 2

When I talked about my team in my previous post it was all about technique: trainers and physio, doctors and specialists.

This post is about the others who are on the team. The friends and family who are always on my side. Everyone is super supportive whether lifting and carrying for me, or coming for an exer-date instead of coffee to get moving. They are always there with support and encouragement which means the world to me.

The other person I didn’t mention is the MVP of my team: Husband. He’s been there since the beginning, the original teammate. This is the guy who will do anything to help – even put my socks on and brush my hair. He’s the cheerleader; the one who is always on my side, but who also knows when I should stop and think about what I’m doing before something happens.

Husband reminds me that all these appointments, exercises, and medicines are worth it and I need to keep plugging away at it. He takes me for a walk in Walmart when it is snowing or cold because he knows how moving helps. Most importantly he reminds me that it’s ok to take care of myself by going to bed early or having some “me time” to relax.

I’m lucky that my MVP happens to live in my house and spend lots of time with me. Other people’s MVPs are not so close and work just as hard to make sure that their star player is doing well. If you have someone on your team like this take today to thank them for their awesomeness!

 

The Hot Tub is Physio!

TV the physiotherapist confirmed today that sitting in a hot tub and sauna completely qualifies a therapy and I should be doing it often!

I went to the local pool last night that has a hot tub and sauna and spent a bit over a half hour relaxing and stretching in the nice warm water. It was also nice that it was not at all busy so I could relax in peace.

This weekend I’ll be going back to the Nordik to enjoy my Christmas gift from Husband: a day in the baths, massage, spa treatment…..it will be delightful to share the day with LA as well since we never have enough time to catch up it seems!

Today was physio with TV and she worked on the dreaded nerve flossing (feels so strange!) and also did some muscle stimulation along my spine. There are pockets of tightness all along the spine so we’re really trying to get every vertebrae to be where it should be and playing nicely with all the others. The massage felt really good, and the muscle stimulation tickled!

Friday I’m back to see BC the trainer and hopefully he’ll give some homework to go along with the new physio exercises that I have. Those 2 are also conversing back and forth via a google doc so the 3 of us are all in the loop. Isn’t technology wonderful!

PS Don’t forget today is Bell Let’s Talk day. I’m learning to be more open about all aspects of health on this blog so you’ll see the occasional reference to how I’m feeling mentally as well. Our brain is an important organ and deserves the same care as the rest, so if you need a hand Let’s Talk.

Stronger than I think I am

Today was my first official visit with the personal trainer, BC. It went really well: we took my measurements, set some habits to work on, and did some baseline exercises. Turns out I’m stronger than he thought I was and I have pretty decent range of motion. I’m greatly looking forward to improving both!

I left his place feeling great, especially after the quick rinse in the shower that he has for his clients. I felt strong, confident, and ready to deal with whatever is going to happen in the next few hours, days and weeks.

On the way in though it wasn’t quite the same. Recently I’ve been feeling generally more anxious, worried, and concerned at things that are not familiar or are new. I took a new bus and was walking to a new place (thank goodness for GPS on my phone) and half way through I felt my confidence melt away. I called Husband and he talked me through it – the feelings that all this working, appointments, nutrition plan, keeping house and social life is manageable. He will always remind me to take things one step at a time when it feels like the whole world is coming at me at once.

The early mornings and hard work are taking their toll. I’m up at 5:45 am to either try to get in a walk/workout in the morning or to head off to the trainer or some other appointment. I leave work between 5-5:30 and return home an hour later, hungry and tired from my 12 hour day. I know I will get used to it and having a strict bedtime will help with that. I’ve been sleeping on the couch again (but ready for bed so I can just saunter up) and need to kick that habit.

This week I’ve committed to working with the trainer 2 days this week, doing physio tomorrow, and taking my friend SB to aquafit on Thursday night. Surprise! She thought she was just coming for dinner!

My homework is to set and alarm for my and Marc’s FitBit to vibrate on Sunday and Wednesday evenings to remind us to do meal prep and get all the snacks for lunches ready. With him driving to the office over an hour each way each day and my equally long days we are going to need to step up the snacking game and the slow cooker meals.

I’m certain I’ll have more homework on Friday after session 2 and also after physio tomorrow which I’ll do (willingly or grudgingly) because I am stronger than I think I am.

 

The circle of my day

Some days are just frustrating. I try to keep positive and at least I have options.

This is how the last few days this week have been:

…> in pain > can’t focus > take meds > get tired > can’t focus > stop meds > in pain…

and so it goes round and round.

The last few days I have been going to bed at between 7:30 and 8:30. I’m just so exhausted and the meds make me tired so as soon as I stop moving I’m done.

Husband is great in understanding my long days: 10 hours at work+commute/day + appointments before or after most days this week. It means we’ll be busy doing things this weekend like tidying up and cleaning the house, grocery shopping and meal planning.

At the moment this is what works for us so we’re rolling with it. Hopefully next week will be different. Maybe it won’t. That’s why we take it day by day and week by week.

26 days and counting until the MRI…

My team

What I’ve come to realize is that complex care requires a lot of experts. Sometimes jack of all trades isn’t as successful as many people who all work together.

My team has a number of people who I all try to keep in the loop.

• Family doctor Dr M
• Osteopath TN
• Physiotherapist TV
• Sports med doctor Dr T
• Spine surgeon Dr W

and newly added to the roster will be

• Personal Trainer BC
• and hopefully psychologist

It seems like a lot. And it is. But I’d rather have a number of people who are really good at what they do instead of trying to make due with one generalist (though I know Dr M would be to the task!)

I have my first meeting with the personal training on Friday and I hope that he will be able to help me. Physiotherapist recommended him to me and he specializes in backs. In a perfect world I’d be able to go once a month and do exercises at home but it’ll all depend on how the consult goes and how strong I need to get and how much I need to learn. I’ll know more on Friday.

Nordik Spa

I have a new favourite place – the largest Spa in North America – Spa Nordik in Gatineau.

It is nestled in the Gatineau hills and has hot and cold baths, saunas, and relaxation rooms spread over a beautiful wooded site. My friends S and A and I sat in a 37 C pool as the snowflakes drifted softly around us and we took in the view of Ottawa in the distance.

The heat, whether the pools, saunas, or the heated rock beds, did wonders for my back and sore muscles. It left me in a total state of relaxation and we didn’t want to leave – even after extending our pickup time by Husband by an hour and a half!

I’m excited to go back, hopefully in 2 weeks with L, for the massage, body treatment, and baths that Husband got me for Christmas. He knew that some relaxation time for mind and body was just what I needed! He’s an amazing guy 🙂

MRI date + free healthcare

I got my MRI date today – mid Feb in the early evening. It is such a relief to have an appointment and to also be on the cancellation list if anything comes up earlier.

Sometimes I grapple with the idea of throwing money at a problem and getting services faster, but at the end I come back to the fact that I am so glad that we have such good health care coverage. Between Dr appts, specialists, MRIs, and maybe surgery I am happy that we have never had to make the decision between rent and the doctor as so many do south of the border.

We’re also very lucky to both have generous employee insurance plans to take care of chiro/acupuncture, osteopath, physiotherapy, and all of the medicines that I have tried to get this under control. I am very grateful.